UR Ragavan aka Just Monkeyin Around
I couldn't find a UR Delver thread. For a lack of other place to discuss this, I'm posting here.
pre-Ragavan Delver is already Tier 1:
Legacy Open 1st Place: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=30875&d=440163&f=LE
Legacy Open Top 8: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=30875&d=440169&f=LE
Legacy Challenge 4th: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=30925&d=440450&f=LE
Legacy Prelim 3rd place: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=30940&d=440517&f=LE
Legacy Prelim 6th place: https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=30940&d=440520&f=LE
That's just from the last week.
Most people are on a higher curve list with 19 lands, Ethereal Forager, and only Delver in the 1 mana spot.
//Lands: 19
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Flooded Strand
1 Polluted Delta
1 Wooded Foothills
3 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Wasteland
//Creatures: 13
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Sprite Dragon
3 Ethereal Forager
2 Brazen Borrower
//Spells: 28
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Chain Lightning
1 Forked Bolt
4 Expressive Iteration
4 Daze
2 Force of Negation
//Sideboard: 15
2 Abrade
2 Blazing Volley
1 Blood Moon
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Null Rod
3 Pyroblast
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Submerge
2 Surgical Extraction
I'm interested in this 3rd place list because it's a lot closer to the lower-to-the-ground UR Prowess build I've been playing lately.
//Lands: 16
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Mountain
2 Fiery Islet
//Creatures: 14
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Sprite Dragon
2 Brazen Borrower
//Spells: 30
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Chain Lightning
3 Preordain
4 Daze
4 Expressive Iteration
//Sideboard: 15
2 Abrade
1 Blazing Volley
2 Flusterstorm
1 Force of Negation
2 Price of Progress
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Rough / Tumble
2 Submerge
2 Surgical Extraction
Before Expressive Iteration was printed, I was on the same thing with:
-4 Expressive
+2 FoN
+1 Preordain
+1 flex slot (Forked Bolt, 4th Chain, etc)
-1 Islet
+1 basic
The engine is very efficient. Swiftspear and Sprite can hit for a lot of damage while chaining cantrips and burn. Maindeck Borrower is important for answering things you can't burn (and Chalice). Expressive Iteration ensures a smooth stream of cards, and now Ragavan potentially does too.
I think this is a good starting point. Ragavan will provide both mana and cards on an empty board, so it just needs help keeping an open game state and staying protected. Without Swiftspear it won't have the same aggressive burn-type wins and won't need Preordain as much (less cheesy chaining 1 mana cantrips for Prowess). Keeping FoN seems important as protection, while Ragavan and Iteration can recover the lost cards. Forager doesn't necessarily help this plan. You already have cheaper ways to generate cards and just want spells to protect them. That means you don't need as many fetches either to fuel Delve. At the top end Borrower seems more important, removing Chalice and blockers that don't die to Bolt. Going back to Wasteland is probably correct too, as Ragavan leans into a more control version. You want to keep opponent from doing things, while there are ways to draw gas without Islet.
PROPOSED LIST:
//Creatures: 15
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
3 Sprite Dragon
2 Brazen Borrower
2 Murktide Regent
//Spells: 27
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Chain Lightning
1 Forked Bolt
4 Daze
3 Expressive Iteration
1 Force of Negation
//Lands: 18
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Wasteland
//Sideboard: 15
2 Abrade
1 Blazing Volley
1 Pyrokinesis
2 Meltdown
3 Pyroblast
1 Flusterstorm
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Submerge
2 Surgical Extraction
Edit: -1 Dismember, -1 Iteration, -1 Narset, -1 Volley, -1 Sprite Dragon, -1 FoN, -1 Relic
+1 Wasteland, +1 Forked Bolt, +1 Pyrokinesis, +2 Meltdown, +2 Regent
Re: UR Ragavan aka Just Monkeyin Around
UR is the single worst color set vs Goyf. Get Failwhale straight out of there. Here's why DHA was playable: 1x Bolt = actually 2x Bolt and a clean 1 for 1 with Goyf. Delve-Dragon is the first card [since DHA] that beats Goyf in UR. You run this, and you overtake Goyf with tempo. Failwhale is awful, get it out.
Re: UR Ragavan aka Just Monkeyin Around
Wait, what's failwhale? If you mean Ethereal Forager, there are 0 copies.
Edit: UR is weak to Goyf, though there is Petty Theft and Submerge to gain tempo instead of going bigger. Goyf is a relatively small share of the meta. Going big for the Delve-Dragon does beat Goyf, but it pushes back towards the slower 19 land Delve builds. What would it replace? Borrower? That makes you weaker to Chalice and also weaker to early big bodies like Goyf/Angler/Mandrils.