[Deck] Blue Sligh

[Kitchensphinx]

Delver of Secrets and Snapcaster Mage have quickly become legacy staples. Delver clearly ranks amongst the best one-drop creatures of all time. These creatures have already been used to great effect in RUG and BUG Tempo/Control Decks. Yet, I feel that Snapcaster Mage has much more potential in a deck where the 2/1 body can be made to matter. One such approach is to play him in a red-aggressive deck with other cheap, efficient creatures and burn spells as a means to push through extra points and re-buy powerful spells, such as Price of Progress. Here is an initial list for the deck:

4 Goblin Guide
4 Delver of Secrets
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Vendillion Clique

4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder

2 Rift Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
3 Magma Jet
2 Fire//Ice
2 Price of Progress
3 Fireblast

4 Volcanic Island
1 Steam Vents
1 Island
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Mountain

So what do you guys think? Help and suggestion on this list would be appreciated. :)

[catmint]

I played against such a deck in Amsterdam and i talked to the guy a bit...

I think the best way to go is to build a normal burn deck with 4 delver, 4 snapcaster, 8 cantrips and the best burn in the format. It is a little bit slower but more consistent than normal burn and has obviously some sidebaord options versus combo.

Since it is all about making snapcaster mage deal 3 damage when she comes into play I would cut rift bolt, fire ice and magma jet (what for scry if you have so much filter). Also vendilion dlique does not seem to fit..

The full set of price of progress is a must I guess.

My take would be
4 Vulcanic Islands
8 Fetch
4 Mountain
1 Steam Vents
1 Island

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder

4 delver
4 Goblin Guide
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Grim lavamancer

4 Bolt
4 Chain
4 Lava Spike

4 Price of Progress
3 Fireblast

SB maybe:
4 surgical extraction
4 Pyrostatic Pillar
3 Spell Pierce
4 Hellspark Elemental

[Beatusnox]

I actually brainstormed something similar to this the other day. I went more blue heavy for stronger control elements.
4 Delver
4 Goblin Guide
4 Grim lavamancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
2 JTMS
4 Daze
4 Force
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Brainstorm
4 stifle/Ponder (depending on meta)
4 Volcanic island
4 Scalding tarn
8 Island
8 Mountain
just the rough draft of what I thought up more of a U/R Aggro-Control than slig but this topic seemed closest to the deck i had found.

[Whippoorwill]

I played a version of this Sunday and finished 2-1 (4-2 in games) since we only had 8 this week. Here's the list I played:

7 Mountain
1 Island
2 Volcanic Island
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Arid Mesa
2 Wooded Foothills

4 Goblin Guide
3 Grim Lavamancer
3 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Brainstorm
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Lava Spike
4 Magma Jet
2 Price of Progress
4 Rift Bolt
2 Fireblast

Sideboard:
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroblast
3 Smash to Smithereens
3 Pyrstatic Pillar
3 Leyline of Punishment
2 Faerie Macabre

I originally started with 4 Delvers and 4 Lavamancers, but cut a Lavamancer due to the dissynergy with Snapcaster and cut a Delver because I didn't always want it turn 1 due to the low land count and wanting to avoid being Wasted out of the game. Lava Spike ended up being added in that spot.

Round 1 vs. Burn
He had recently had his cards stolen, so he was playing what he had available. I win in two quick games due to card quality and him having mana issues (flooding one game, screwed another).

Round 2 vs. UG Infect
I lose in 2 quick games since Invigorate + Invigorate/Berserk + Force backup laughs at burn.

Round 3 vs. Junkblade
Game 1: I'm on the play.

Turn 1: Mountain, Goblin Guide, swing for 2.
Opponent T1: Land.

Turn 2: Mountain, double Goblin Guide. He StPs one, but the remaining 2 get there after a couple turns with burn to speed it up.

Game 2: Tarn, Island, Delver which confuses him. I get there shortly after since he never draws a Plains.


Overall I really like the deck. Rift Bolt doesn't go well with Snapcaster, but I like the ability to target creatures since it kills most of the popular creatures right now (Snapcaster, Delver, Stoneforge, etc). Otherwise I'd max out the Lava Spike slot. I loved Magma Jet for the same reason and the Scry 2 also helped quite a bit. I would rather max the Magma Jet spot before adding Ponder just to avoid being so reliant on blue.

The land count/split worked out great, fetching the basic Island with a Tarn covered me for Blue then the rest went for basic Mountains. Volcanic was only fetched when I knew it was safe or if I didn't have a Tarn.

Edit: Sideboard was just thrown together based on what I was expecting to see. I think REB/Pyro round 2 and StS round 3 were my only cards boarded in.

[Suneloon]

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
5 [MBS] Mountain (1)
4 [ON] Bloodstained Mire
4 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
3 [ON] Wooded Foothills
4 [R] Volcanic Island

// Creatures
4 [TO] Grim Lavamancer
4 [ISD] Delver of Secrets
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny

// Spells
4 [EX] Price of Progress
4 [LG] Chain Lightning
4 [IA] Brainstorm
4 [TSP] Rift Bolt
4 [VI] Fireblast
4 [B] Lightning Bolt
4 [NE] Flame Rift

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [B] Red Elemental Blast
SB: 4 [WWK] Searing Blaze
SB: 4 [SHM] Smash to Smithereens
SB: 3 [ISD] Snapcaster Mage

This is what I have been testing on MWS. And i love it! It's very close to mono sligh, with only two best blue cards for the deck imo. This deck does not scoop when cut off from blue mana. And i love playing that many burn spells.

[death]

Been wanting to play Burn for the longest time. Briefly tried R/w with Steppe Lynx and Plateaus because it had the most explosive openers, ended up ditching it because I randomly bricked due to lack of draw/filter. Splashing blue just for Brainstorm wasn't convincing for me although I've seen a few who did it.

Delver of Secrets + Brainstorm? HELL YES!

4Bloodstained Mire
4Scalding Tarn
2Arid Mesa
6Mountain
4Volcanic Island

4Delver of Secrets
4Goblin Guide
4Grim Lavamancer

4Brainstorm
4Rift Bolt
4Lightning Bolt
4Chain Lightning
4Lava Spike
4Price of Progress
4Fireblast

As you can see this is a bit super aggressive. Goblin Guides alone deals 4+ damage before answered. The early beatings are key in bringing them closer to burn range. I like Lavamancers, opponent drops a blocker, sure. Ping for 2. 2 life points a turn is huge, slowly chipping away their life total brings them closer to Fireblast/Price of Progress range. GL have this pseudo-evasion.

I don't think Snapcaster Mage would fit in an aggro deck, it's hella slow and mana-intensive. The deck is already packed with redundant damage dealing spells, all you need is burn their face off without some fancy plays.

[troopatroop]

As you can see this is a bit super aggressive. Goblin Guides alone deals 4+ damage before answered. The early beatings are key in bringing them closer to burn range. I like Lavamancers, opponent drops a blocker, sure. Ping for 2. 2 life points a turn is huge, slowly chipping away their life total brings them closer to Fireblast/Price of Progress range. GL have this pseudo-evasion.

I don't think Snapcaster Mage would fit in an aggro deck, it's hella slow and mana-intensive. The deck is already packed with redundant damage dealing spells, all you need is burn their face off without some fancy plays.

At 4 mana, Snapcaster is GGNORE with PoP buyback. It's what makes a midrange-burn strategy more than viable in Legacy, winning the game against dual heavy decks frequently. Lightning Bolt and Brainstorm aren't bad buybacks either, and you'll need 19-20 lands and cantrips, but I like that plan much more than Goblin Guide, tbh. Snapcaster Mage is more consistently good. TBF Guide is a staple in "sligh".

[death]

At 4 mana...

You lost me. This is Sligh, besides reaching 4 mana without being Stifle-Wasted is quite difficult, sandbagging your fetchland/Volc equals you not casting spells. 2-3 lands + TONS of burn = win, not ramping to 4 mana + SCM shenanigans which occasionally scoops to Spell Snare/Stifle. Likewise, adding a singleton Island would be a huge mistake.

SCM/PoP is nice and all but it feels unreliable. Like I said the deck is already packed with redundant cheap damage dealing spells, SCM will likely replace those burn slots and the effect would just be your burn spells becoming more expensive to cast.

[luckme10]

A deck similar to this just won SCG St. Louis. If we ask Santa really nicely, maybe that person will give us a report. Here was his decklist.


Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Delver%20of%20Secrets)
4 Goblin Guide (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Goblin%20Guide)
3 Grim Lavamancer (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Grim%20Lavamancer)
3 Snapcaster Mage (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Snapcaster%20Mage)

Instants
4 Brainstorm (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Brainstorm)
2 Daze (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Daze)
2 Fireblast (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Fireblast)
3 Force of Will (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Force%20of%20Will)
4 Lightning Bolt (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Lightning%20Bolt)
3 Price of Progress (deckbox.org/mtg/Price%20of%20Progress)
3 Spell Snare
(http://deckbox.org/mtg/Spell%20Snare)
Sorceries
4 Chain Lightning (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Chain%20Lightning)
3 Ponder (http://deckbox.org/mtg/Ponder)

Basic Lands
2 Island
2 Mountain

Lands
2 Arid Mesa
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Volcanic Island
1 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard:
3 Pyrostatic Pillar
2 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Force of Will
3 Pyroblast
3 Submerge
3 Surgical Extraction

[Lemnear]

It's always awesome that this decktype just won SCG a few hour ago and now everyone claims to have gotten the same idea long ago...

[miko]

The idea of this deck is very obvious I think. I mean Snapcaster already sees a lot of play in RUG and a lot of times you use him to get your last damage through flashbacking Lightning Bolt.

[death]

It's always awesome that this decktype just won SCG a few hour ago and now everyone claims to have gotten the same idea long ago...

What the fuck are you talking about? Look, those posts were in a day BEFORE the event started and whats his name took first place. Who would have thought soon enough someone is going to take down a big event with U/R Delver? LMFAO.

[RogueMTG]

It's always awesome that this decktype just won SCG a few hour ago and now everyone claims to have gotten the same idea long ago...

Doug Mckay (DampingEngine) has been top8ing back to back to back tournaments with this deck for the past two months or so. It's not new.

From last Saturday:
12/3/2011 (http://jupitergamesonline.com/2011/835/december-3rd-2011-nelcq-coverage)

4 Delver of Secrets
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Brainstorm
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
4 Daze
2 Price of Progress
4 Force of Will
2 Fireblast

1 Island
1 Mountain
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Volcanic Island

Sideboard

3 Submerge
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Price of Progress
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Smash to Smithereens
2 Spell Pierce


From the month before that:
11/5/2011 - (http://jupitergamesonline.com/2011/677/north-east-legacy-championship-qualifier-november-5-2011-top-8-decklists)

4 Delver of Secrets
4 Goblin Guide
3 Grim Lavamancer
2 Snapcaster Mage

4 Brainstorm
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
4 Daze
1 Fire/Ice
2 Price of Progress
3 Force of Will
3 Fireblast

1 Island
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Volcanic Island

Sideboard

3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Submerge
2 Price of Progress
2 Smash to Smithereens
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Fire/Ice
1 Force of Will
1 Snapcaster Mage

[Dyvith]

I top 4ed the last Jupiter NELC with a very similar list:

Main deck:

4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Delver of Secrets
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Chain Lightning
2 Dismember
4 Stifle
4 Brainstorm
3 Preordain
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Pierce
3 Daze
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Wasteland
4 Volcanic Island

Sideboard:

1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Smash to Smithereens
2 Shattering Spree
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroblast
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Submerge

I'm obviously not sporting as much burn, but I was very happy with how it played out. I'll have a tournament report out today or tomorrow, it's written and is just being last minute edited. It will be on Jupitergames.net as soon as that's done and I'll be happy to provide a link.

Just a quick aside on the use of Price + Fireblast. I opted not to play them in favor of stifle and wasteland. I don't know if I would have done better or worse with Price and Fireblast, but I know in my testing, I liked having the ability to stifle. Also, my sideboard turned out to be really useful, Crucible and Jace just made it so that I could become this dominant control deck out of the board because most decks didn't know what the hell was going on. While my deck is closer to a RUG Tempo deck, it's still rather useful for examining what it is you want to be doing in legacy.

[crovakiet]

It's always awesome that this decktype just won SCG a few hour ago and now everyone claims to have gotten the same idea long ago...

The dude that won with UR Delver basically said he was planning to play with RUG Delver but then found out that he wouldn't have access to Tropical Islands since the 'friends' he went with were going to play RUG Delver. Apparently there wasn't enough Tropical Islands to go around so he just went ahead and cut green from the deck. Could have been a fluke or coincidence that this happened as he went on to only lose I think one match in the Swiss and literally undefeated in top 8 (did not drop a game).

[death]

I loved the interview of the #SCGSTL winner. "I couldn't get Trops, so I guess I'll just Snapcast this Price of Progress"

LOL

I don't think it's a fluke the deck is actually good. I'm hoping my meta gets flooded with it so I can crush them with 12/12s. The deck that won is a U/R aggro-control variant and not U/R Sligh.

[Zilla]

Closed this thread because it's a essentially a duplicate of this deck discussion (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?22676) and the other thread is longer. Please continue the discussion of this deck in the other thread. Thanks.