Meddling_Mage
08-20-2015, 09:06 PM
First off, I apologize if anyone else has a thread up for this, or if it's close enough to delver to belong there. I did search the forums and didn't find anything, but it's possible I just didn't see it. Anyways...
What colors?
White and blue are in for obvious reasons. The deck could stay at just two colors, although I'm inclined to think it's better with a 3rd. All three options bring something useful to the table. A green splash helps the clock with the addition of Tarmogoyf, as well as all around consistency with Deathrite Shaman. There's also useful SB options such as Krosan Grip. I'm inclined to think Black is probably the best choice in a combo/control heavy metagame. Cabal Therapy in particular has a great synergy with a deck that's able to play with Mentor and Gitaxian Probe. An End of Turn Intuition for 3 copies of Therapy with a Mentor on the table is bad news. Also useful are Lingering Souls, Thoughtseize and the aforementioned DRS.
However red is what I've opted to present here, as I feel it's the strongest of the three options. Young Pyromancer obviously fits quite well with the Mentor plan, and the ability to double up on Lightning Bolt and Swords to Plowshares gives the red variation the best game against aggro decks. Also (more subtly) not trying to stretch the manabase to 4 colors for Deathrite Shaman was very helpful from a consistency standpoint, particularly against decks that can pack Blood Moon (not to mention allowing me access to Moons myself!).
Decklist
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
2 Island
1 Plains
2 Tundra
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Monastery Mentor
3 Dig Through Time
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Preordain
3 Force of Will
4 Daze
SB:
2 Rest in Peace
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Underground Sea
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Sudden Demise
1 Wear/Tear
1 Meddling Mage
2 Pyroblast
2 Blood Moon
1 Null Rod
1 Pithing Needle
In general, most of the matchups are similar to UR delver, as the decks share quite a bit of common core. Notably, the deck is somewhat weaker against combo (except for Reanimator where Rest in Peace and STP are more relevant than anything in UR) but the presence of Mentor and STP provide a boost against aggro.
Areas for further study:
Things I'm currently looking into are:
Is the singleton Cavern of Souls (obviously naming humans) worth being played?
Is there room for a Magma Jet or potentially even Isochron Scepters?
With 22 cards having a CMC of 1, is there a better answer to game 1 Chalice of the Void?
Related to the first item; how about a copy or two of Vendilion Clique and the Karakas to support them.
What colors?
White and blue are in for obvious reasons. The deck could stay at just two colors, although I'm inclined to think it's better with a 3rd. All three options bring something useful to the table. A green splash helps the clock with the addition of Tarmogoyf, as well as all around consistency with Deathrite Shaman. There's also useful SB options such as Krosan Grip. I'm inclined to think Black is probably the best choice in a combo/control heavy metagame. Cabal Therapy in particular has a great synergy with a deck that's able to play with Mentor and Gitaxian Probe. An End of Turn Intuition for 3 copies of Therapy with a Mentor on the table is bad news. Also useful are Lingering Souls, Thoughtseize and the aforementioned DRS.
However red is what I've opted to present here, as I feel it's the strongest of the three options. Young Pyromancer obviously fits quite well with the Mentor plan, and the ability to double up on Lightning Bolt and Swords to Plowshares gives the red variation the best game against aggro decks. Also (more subtly) not trying to stretch the manabase to 4 colors for Deathrite Shaman was very helpful from a consistency standpoint, particularly against decks that can pack Blood Moon (not to mention allowing me access to Moons myself!).
Decklist
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
2 Island
1 Plains
2 Tundra
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Monastery Mentor
3 Dig Through Time
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Preordain
3 Force of Will
4 Daze
SB:
2 Rest in Peace
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Underground Sea
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Sudden Demise
1 Wear/Tear
1 Meddling Mage
2 Pyroblast
2 Blood Moon
1 Null Rod
1 Pithing Needle
In general, most of the matchups are similar to UR delver, as the decks share quite a bit of common core. Notably, the deck is somewhat weaker against combo (except for Reanimator where Rest in Peace and STP are more relevant than anything in UR) but the presence of Mentor and STP provide a boost against aggro.
Areas for further study:
Things I'm currently looking into are:
Is the singleton Cavern of Souls (obviously naming humans) worth being played?
Is there room for a Magma Jet or potentially even Isochron Scepters?
With 22 cards having a CMC of 1, is there a better answer to game 1 Chalice of the Void?
Related to the first item; how about a copy or two of Vendilion Clique and the Karakas to support them.