[Deck] Team America (BUG Delver)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheHeff

I've been toying around with a couple of the lists suggested on here, just wanted to add my thoughts on here. Almost all of my testing is based on MTGO and that meta (heavy combo/UR Delver presence) so keep that in mind.

I've mainly been toying around with land count (19 or 20) and some of the flex spots (3 or 4 Cruise, Hymn/Thoughtseize/Stifle) as well as numbers in the sideboard. I've been running Chill in my list for awhile now, and even though it hoses Burn (and Goblins, which has been popping up more on MTGO for some reason), unless it comes down T2 against UR Delver it's not enough to bring you back into the game if you're already behind. If I end up running the 20 lands (which I'll get to in a second), I might end up running 2x Zuran Orb. Running 1x Jitte in the sideboard also proved to not really come down and become useful fast enough, as it's a wasted card unless you can stick a Goyf AND a Jitte AND get hits in. Not to mention we don't run SFM to tutor it. Still a WIP, but I'm liking this board right now:

3x Disfigure
2x Golgari Charm
2x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Null Rod
1x Pithing Needle
3x Spell Pierce
1x Vendilion Clique
-2x Flex (Chill, Liliana, Duress, Zuran Orb)

As for the Hymn/Stifle/Thoughtseize debate, I can say I definitely DON'T like Thoughtseize here. Lifeloss in this meta can be a tough pill to swallow without reliable lifegain (like a Jitte or BSkull), and DRS isn't exactly that. Hymn is the card with more raw power, but Stifle is the one with more flexibility. Former RUG players will know the power of this card- Miracle triggers, Living Weapon triggers, Storm triggers, Jitte activations, Annihilator triggers, Craterhoof triggers...the list is endless. This card selection very much chooses the style of the deck as well- running Hymn encourages a more "tap-out" philosophy, efficiently using all your mana every turn to play things like Goyf and Hymn to put yourself ahead. Stifle encourages you to play more on your opponents turn, only tapping mana to play out a threat or Ponder while holding mana up for your reactionary cards. In this meta, I personally love the more RUG tempo style feel of the Stifle lists as it's a more versatile card and allows the deck to play a solid tempo game, even against UR Delver. As far as lands go, 20 lands is superb feeling, it's comfortable, it's safe...and probably just one too many. Even with Brainstorms to bury extra lands I've often found myself flooding out on 20 rather than 19. Running 19 can occasionally get you into some bad situations, but Stifle can protect your manabase against Wasteland and DRS is still the best planeswalker in Legacy, protect him and you won't have mana problems. Running the traditional 19 land setup (3 Trop, 3 Sea, 4 Waste, 9 Fetch) can also let you play some cute games...4 Scalding Tarn + 4 Flooded Strand + 1 Delta/Verdant/Misty still fetches all your duals, and can fake people into thinking you're on UR Delver, Miracles, Storm, etc.

---

TheHeff - I am in the same debacle as you. First, I will say I enjoy Hymn more than anything in the world. It can punish players that like to gamble their hand or sometimes take away potential wins from others. With the rise of U/R, wasteland has lost some of it's luster, but I still think it is a necessity. I have not jumped onto the Stifle bus, but you make some great points about the versatility mid-late game. I never want to hold up one mana on turn 1 for mana denial. I am casting Delver everytime unless I don't have delver it goes to deathrite. If neither of the two I'm casting ponder, and lastly Brainstorm during their EOT. On turn 2 I want to be casting my 2 drops, Goyf, Bob (my list has 3, no cruise :p), Hymn. I like tapping out every turn and using Daze as it is designed to be used. Everyday I playtest against U/R Delver. I feel this deck has a better than 50% win against TA. Young Pyro is a huge pain and easily taken out with AD, but that leaves Delver to fly over with bolts. YP stops Goyf in his tracks and for good reason as Goyf can win the game since they cannot, in most cases, bolt him away. My current SB is close to yours:

3 Disfigure
1 Golgari Charm
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Null Rod
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sylvan Library
2 Vendilion Cliques
2 Crafdiggers Cage
2 Spell pierce
1 flex (Was a K. Grip, but might become a second Charm)

I got some testing in last night with Bob Huang's list from SCG Worcester (slightly different SB) and the list felt pretty good, but I was admittedly rusty and also didn't play against the strongest players or decks. Still, I was able to get a feel for the deck and jam a good set of games against a few archetypes, specifically Esper Deathblade with Cruises.

I definitely like Stifle, and will probably still end up playing that at the GP, but after discussing the deck with a friend he was pointing out how awkward it can be to:

A) Hold up mana early on when you are trying to fill your yard for Treasure Cruise
B) Get stuck with Stifle in your hand when your opponent goes "Treasure Cruise".
C) Not have Stifle in your GY when you want to Cruise on turn 3/4.

I realize that Stifle works wonders in a variety of other matchups, and that it synergizes well with Daze, so I am reluctant to cut them. But I'm going to test 3 Thoughtseize and another card, likely True-Name Nemesis, in the Stifle slot. It's possible the Nemesis of Tennessee should just be another counterspell like Dimir Charm or Spell Pierce to mitigate the lack of Stifle, but I also wanted the extra resilient threat, since I sorely missed my Lightning Bolts in a few spots already.

The reason for Thoughtseize is twofold for me: First, I found that despite my more aggressive mana-denial theme, my Esper opponent was often able to Seize my Cruise and then set his own up first, even while I aggressively Wastelanded and Stifled his mana. I also noticed that I was wasting my mana potential a LOT in the first few turns, having a DRS on the board but not being able to use his mana ability due to nothing to cast, and not using his pain/gain abilities due to lack of targets or my own Cruise considerations. Being able to TS someone else's Cruise or early threat gives us a lot of velocity, since we can pressure them with our threats while threatening to Cruise first, and we get to slow their hand down rather than their mana development. And while Stifle IS super flexible, so is Thoughtseize, and they are often both just as dead in the late game, depending on the matchup. Seize does more work against Combo decks, specifically Elves (a bad matchup Game 1, with a couple Stifle targets but nothing game-winning). It also does obvious work against the various other combo decks, namely Sneak/Show, Storm, Reanimator, and any prison decks as well that might pop up to fight this meta. Mostly, you can always cast TS turn one without fear of doing the wrong thing, and the information is very valuable in playing out the rest of your game.

The second reason is that I've been out of Legacy for awhile and having the crutch of Thoughtseize is a useful way for me to get more information about my opponents' decks while simultaneously closing the window on mistakes I could potentially make with the Stifle build. And my friend Keith, who is a practiced player, indicated that he liked Thoughtseize in testing recently. I don't think the 2 damage is all that relevant except for maybe against UR Delver and Burn, but even there you can take a threat or PoP or Blood Moon that would have otherwise stolen the game from you anyway.

So for this week and upcoming "Buncha Duals" tournament on Saturday in Attleboro, MA, I'll likely be running with this list:

3 Polluted Delta
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
4 Wasteland

4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tarmogoyf
1 True-Name Nemesis

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Thoughtseize
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Dimir Charm
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Treasure Cruise

Sideboard
2 Disfigure
1 Engineered Plague
2 Golgari Charm
1 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Pierce
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Krosan Grip
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle

Other options I'd consider in the board include: Toxic Deluge, Null Rod, Hydroblast, Darkblast, Sylvan Library, another Disfigure, Maelstrom Pulse, Sultai Charm, and possibly Chill, though I've basically written that card off as too narrow. It's possibly I should condense the Elves/Death&Taxes/UR Delver hate into a more consistent package, but I like having options. Flusterstorm seems better than Spell Pierce right now with Cruise being everywhere, and Miracles and combo picking up speed. There aren't as many planeswalkers resolving these days and most artifacts are either too cheap or get vialed in, so I'm pushing for Flusterstorm here. Does basically the same in the mirror and against Burn as well, while again being less likely to get countered. I still need to test the "extra threats" out, specifically against Miracles, but my hunch is that Library is a bit slow and redundant when you have Cruise in the deck, while the Clique and Tarpit help fight their Sorcery removal and overload their pinpoint spells. Tarpit is especially great under a CounterTop lock when you can't find Decay. Clique is also relevant against any mirrors, as cycling a Cruise while beating down is pretty key, and nabbing an Equipment is as good as usual. But mostly he's the extra spell against combo.

My primary focus is on Delver decks, Blade decks, Miracles, Elves, and Combo. While I still think Stifle is great, I'm curious to see how Thoughtseize stacks up against the field as well right now. Keep in mind it's actually less likely to be a dead card going late now, as everyone will be drawing extra cards. Often a Cruise will dig you into mostly air, and a timely followup Thoughtseize can easily mitigate the damage from an opposing Cruise by protecting your one threat or keeping them from executing their plan for another turn. And hey, it if works for Ari.....

Couple things....
I think Sylvan Library is unneccessary now with cruise. It doesn't have immediate impact, doesn't draw cards like cruise does, and more importantly, it isn't blue.

I also disagree with thought seize as UR delver will just smirk at you when you look at their hand of virtually identical commons and uncommons. You will write down their hand and they will draw three brand new cards that all do the exact same thing. Oh and you gave them 2 life to boot. Hymn to Tourach at least mitigates some of the damage done by cruise.

I feel like stifle vs discard comes down to player's choice and skill. I have never played a stifle deck so I might try it for a bit but my hunch is I will need some time to become a competent pilot of it. So it might be that we need to play whatever we are most comfortable with.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thorhammer

Couple things....
I think Sylvan Library is unneccessary now with cruise. It doesn't have immediate impact, doesn't draw cards like cruise does, and more importantly, it isn't blue.

I also disagree with thought seize as UR delver will just smirk at you when you look at their hand of virtually identical commons and uncommons. You will write down their hand and they will draw three brand new cards that all do the exact same thing. Oh and you gave them 2 life to boot. Hymn to Tourach at least mitigates some of the damage done by cruise.

I feel like stifle vs discard comes down to player's choice and skill. I have never played a stifle deck so I might try it for a bit but my hunch is I will need some time to become a competent pilot of it. So it might be that we need to play whatever we are most comfortable with.

---

I disagree with your points about Sylvan Library. The Hymn / Cruise build is pretty much a midrange control deck, and card advantage and selection is king. It's pretty rare to lose a game where you're roughly even on board and you drop Sylvan Library, even more so if they're playing white and you do get to draw some extra cards. Sylvan Library was insane in the previous builds of Team America before Cruise, and nothing has changed there. I cut it for Cruise, but ended up re-adding it. Not being blue doesn't matter as much because Cruise bumps the blue count so much.

I'm onboard with your arguments against Thoughtseize and on Stifle v. Hymn though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phazonmutant

I disagree with your points about Sylvan Library. The Hymn / Cruise build is pretty much a midrange control deck, and card advantage and selection is king. It's pretty rare to lose a game where you're roughly even on board and you drop Sylvan Library, even more so if they're playing white and you do get to draw some extra cards. Sylvan Library was insane in the previous builds of Team America before Cruise, and nothing has changed there. I cut it for Cruise, but ended up re-adding it. Not being blue doesn't matter as much because Cruise bumps the blue count so much.

I'm onboard with your arguments against Thoughtseize and on Stifle v. Hymn though.

---

+1 to that on both remarks.

About Hymn vs. Stifle:
I actually don't play either of them right now. I lack the skill to play Stifle well, and I felt Hymn was too demanding on the mana base for the list I had in mind. And there's an abundance of cards we could play in those slots. I chose to run Disfigure and Spell Pierce. Very useful cards againt most of the decks that are currently popular.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phazonmutant

I disagree with your points about Sylvan Library. The Hymn / Cruise build is pretty much a midrange control deck, and card advantage and selection is king. It's pretty rare to lose a game where you're roughly even on board and you drop Sylvan Library, even more so if they're playing white and you do get to draw some extra cards. Sylvan Library was insane in the previous builds of Team America before Cruise, and nothing has changed there. I cut it for Cruise, but ended up re-adding it. Not being blue doesn't matter as much because Cruise bumps the blue count so much.

I'm onboard with your arguments against Thoughtseize and on Stifle v. Hymn though.

---

Do you like sylvan in the main or side then...???

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thorhammer

Couple things....
I think Sylvan Library is unneccessary now with cruise. It doesn't have immediate impact, doesn't draw cards like cruise does, and more importantly, it isn't blue.

---

You must have missed it, but I mentioned that too when I said: "but my hunch is that Library is a bit slow and redundant when you have Cruise in the deck, while the Clique and Tarpit help fight their Sorcery removal and overload their pinpoint spells."

I still like Sylvan Library, and may end up running it, but my problem with it is that you are primarily siding it in against Miracles and other grindy matchups (like perhaps the mirror). Against Miracles though, I think I'd just rather have more threats, since that's how you lose. You can dig for the existing threats or just side into better ones (while still having the virtue of Treasure Cruise finding them too). I just fear that, as good as Library is, it could be a better used SB slot for other matchups.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thorhammer

I also disagree with thought seize as UR delver will just smirk at you when you look at their hand of virtually identical commons and uncommons. You will write down their hand and they will draw three brand new cards that all do the exact same thing. Oh and you gave them 2 life to boot. Hymn to Tourach at least mitigates some of the damage done by cruise.

I feel like stifle vs discard comes down to player's choice and skill. I have never played a stifle deck so I might try it for a bit but my hunch is I will need some time to become a competent pilot of it. So it might be that we need to play whatever we are most comfortable with.

---

So on this front, I'll admit I'm unsure of how this will actually play out in practice, but that's why I'm testing Thoughtseize here. First of all though, while UR Delver is MOSTLY the same cards, they do have a few key cards that you will be glad to take, namely:

Delver
Pyro
Swiftspear
Cruise

Those are their threats. If you take out all their threats, they become a bad Burn deck. Thoughtseize can easily act as a removal spell for their best creature when you're light on removal, or just take their disruption or Treasure Cruise when you have all the answers and just need to out-attrition them. Seeing their hand is still going to be valuable in any situation, and in my opinion taking their Cruise is the biggest reason to have the Pinpoint discard spell in the first place. As I mentioned in my theorycrafting above, the first one to Cruise early will generally pull ahead in the Delver "mirrors", and Seize sets you up to take the lead here. Sure they might just run you over anyway, and sure the 2 damage will sometimes hurt you, but if they can't Ancestral Recall their chances of burning you out get much worse.

Postboard it's probably pretty likely that I will side out most or all of the Seizes against UR and Burn for efficient removal and sweepers, but it's far from a laughable card game 1. The whole reason I'm testing Thoughtseize over Hymn or Stifle is that it can strip Treasure Cruise before they ever resolve it. Sure they can draw it, we know this, but it still increases your chances of Out-Cruising them. (Aside: Stifle is similarly embarrassing when you are holding it up and they just go "nonfetchland, swiftspear/delver, go". Aside from their fetchlands, our only targets to stifle against them are Prowess and Pyro triggers. Not exactly hot tech. You might slow them down with a good Stifle/Waste hand against their fetch/dual hand, but they have enough basics and cantrips to not really give a shit going long, and you've then wasted cards fighting their mana base when all their spells cost 1. You've also enabled their Cruises for 1 mana. I tend to think Thoughtseize is actually a little better than Stifle here.)

Hymn does also technically mitigate the damage from Cruise, but in a much less reliable way. An early Hymn actually makes their Cruises cheaper (Same for Thoughtseize, but a little less so), and if you miss the Cruise they can easily recover. After they Cruise, I would tend agree that Hymn is probably better, but at that point it's likely too late for both discard spells, especially against the Red decks.

In short, Seize is still a scalpel that can extract their critical spell, while Hymn tries to play catchup against a more powerful spell. I'm not sure either is correct, but hence the testing.

I also like Seize in a lot of other places. It can disrupt Control and Combo equally well (again, nothing like setting up a protected turn 2 Goyf that's a 4/5 or better), and it can gain you information that Hymn cannot. I love Hymn, don't get me wrong, but I'm not entirely sure that now is the time for it. That being said, I will try and do diligence and test out Hymn as well before the GP next weekend just to be sure I know what I'm looking for. Stifle is still perhaps my favorite option, I just want to run the gamut of options before I hone in on my final build.

Bob Huang, if you're still reading, any opinions on these subjects?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Borealis

I still like Sylvan Library, and may end up running it, but my problem with it is that you are primarily siding it in against Miracles and other grindy matchups (like perhaps the mirror). Against Miracles though, I think I'd just rather have more threats, since that's how you lose. You can dig for the existing threats or just side into better ones (while still having the virtue of Treasure Cruise finding them too). I just fear that, as good as Library is, it could be a better used SB slot for other matchups.

---

That makes sense, and I definitely understand cutting it given that your expected meta seems to be much different than my take on it. My take on the meta is a bit different - I expect there's going to be a lot of Delver decks (30%?), and then some Stoneblade and Miracles decks, some combo decks, and some random other decks in roughly equal proportions. Library is great against Blade and Miracles, great against maybe half of the random decks (Junk, BUG Control, D&T, etc), good against about a third of the Delver decks (BUG and UWR), and good against combo. Seems worth having main.

You make some good arguments for Thoughtseize. It's hard to say it's a bad card. If you're testing is going well with it, then go for it, although I've come to different results. For me Thoughtseize just hasn't done enough - hitting one key spell generally isn't enough (unless they're combo).

I definitely agree with the argument against Stifle.

I agree with Borealis's opinion on Thoughtseize. I made top 8 of a local 40-man tourney with the Team America (stock 55 + 1 Liliana/4 Thoughtseize) and Thoughtseize was incredible all day. It allowed me to steal matches from Mono-R Sneak Attack (Thoughtseizing Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon), Death and Taxes (Thoughtseizing Mirran Crusader and Sword of Feast and Famine), and Deathblade/the Mirror by Thoughtseizing their own Treasure Cruises and letting me resolve mine first. Thoughtseize does seem anemic against UR Delver but like Borealis said, Thoughtseize swaps out nicely for Disfigures and Golgari Charms postboard.

I can understand the idea that Thoughtseize can seem very low impact when compared to what the rest of the deck is doing, but early Thoughtseizes still have the power to decide games and can often be your only answer to problematic cards. I definitely like Thoughtseize more than Hymn to Tourach in a Treasure Cruise world and certainly more than Stifle.

How did Liliana perform for you Grand Superior? She still strikes me as strong, but I'm not sure I want to maindeck her in a meta with lots of Young Pyros and Treasure Cruises across the table. She still seems good against combo, but my thought is that a resilient threat like True-Name is better when your opponents can easily draw more cards for cheaper thanks to Lily's +1 or even -2. And as a SB card I tend to like Flusterstorm or V. Clique a little bit more, as Lily only really hoses Storm decks. The other combo players can generally ignore her and force through the Show and Tell or Natural Order I would think.

I'll consider running the 4th Thoughtseize though. I still like Dimir Charm, but lowering the curve is a consideration too.

I'm also going to test a 1-of Dig through Time in place of a Cruise. Not sure it's correct, but I tend to think it's going to be pretty powerful especially post-board, and I've always liked a little spice in my lists. People won't expect the Dig end of turn in the mirror, and it seems much better against combo or control where you need specific answers. It also lets you hold up countermagic postboard.

I actually wanted to mention this. Dig Through Time is obviously the stronger card, but also costs twice a much mana. We are effectively a low-curved, aggressive midrange deck. We generate mana incredibly quickly, and have various cards that are bad at various points. I think it is well worth considering 3 Digs over any Cruises here. I've cast it in various decks in various formats, and I have yet to be disappointed with it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by YamiJoey

I actually wanted to mention this. Dig Through Time is obviously the stronger card, but also costs twice a much mana. We are effectively a low-curved, aggressive midrange deck. We generate mana incredibly quickly, and have various cards that are bad at various points. I think it is well worth considering 3 Digs over any Cruises here. I've cast it in various decks in various formats, and I have yet to be disappointed with it.

---

I feel like this should be called "The Jace Fallacy" or something. It's not just the extra mana; it's the fact that both of those have to be blue mana. It's just like Jace all over again, except at least Dig is a spell so there isn't inherent conflict with Delver. Just because one card is slightly stronger than another in a vacuum doesn't mean that card is suddenly better in a particular deck. If you're cutting most of the black out of the deck or shifting to a control list, then Dig might work. Otherwise, I foresee Dig sitting in hand after DRS gets killed and Wasteland has hit once, or getting hit with Daze because you don't have time to play around it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ESG

I feel like this should be called "The Jace Fallacy" or something. It's not just the extra mana; it's the fact that both of those have to be blue mana. It's just like Jace all over again, except at least Dig is a spell so there isn't inherent conflict with Delver. Just because one card is slightly stronger than another in a vacuum doesn't mean that card is suddenly better in a particular deck. If you're cutting most of the black out of the deck or shifting to a control list, then Dig might work. Otherwise, I foresee Dig sitting in hand after DRS gets killed and Wasteland has hit once, or getting hit with Daze because you don't have time to play around it.

---

I cut all double black spells, and with them the Bayous, so for me this is a serious option. Last tourney I played Cruises because my Dig Through Times haven't arrived yet, but when they do I will give them a spin. I am concerned about the extra mana it costs though, since I have lowered my curve on purpose, and don't like to make it higher again, but the higher power level sure is appealing.

Yeah, my current list is on a single Bayou, with a single Liliana in the board as my BB. I have had room to test Counterspell, and people have beenhaving success with True-Name Nemesis. I'm not sure it's a problem.

Dig Through Time is really good in a list that is running a heavily blue mana base that will keep 2 blue sources on the board through almost anything. Treasure Cruise is better if you're running a Bayou or two to power Liliana, Hymns and for synergy with Deathrite Shaman.

Being able to tap out for DTT at EoT is a big deal. If your mana base doesn't reliably support it then it's not worth it. Stifle builds definitely should consider DTT because they can protect the mana base in a way that the other builds can't. You can look at a huge number of cards from one turn to the next if you are running both DTT and TC in some mix.

Someone give me/lurkers the Cole's Notes pls

In a few words... Pls tell me the contrasts and advantages/disadvantages between blue based tempo focused BUG (Stifle, Spell Pierce) VS. tap out BUG (Hymn, Liliana)

I have access to both and want to better understand the difference between the two configurations

Thanks guys

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Will_L

Someone give me/lurkers the Cole's Notes pls

In a few words... Pls tell me the contrasts and advantages/disadvantages between blue based tempo focused BUG (Stifle, Spell Pierce) VS. tap out BUG (Hymn, Liliana)

I have access to both and want to better understand the difference between the two configurations

Thanks guys

---

Tempo / Dark Thresh style:
1. Reactive playing style
2. Better mana base and curve (no BB costs, no need for Bayou, cheaper cards over all)
3. Better internal card synergy (7-8 mana denial + 6-7 taxing counters, more blue for FoW)

Team America tap-out style:
1. Proactive playing style
2. Higher power level cards (Hymn, Lily)
3. Slightly easier to play in general (play Hymns, play dudes, kill him = valid strategy)

Something like that. :cool:

If we already run 4 stifle why not phyrexian dreadnought?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nossirag

If we already run 4 stifle why not phyrexian dreadnought?

---

Hard to protect against the removal package people run these days (StP, Decay, Terminus, artifact hate, counter the Stifle).
There aren't many popular decks right now that have problems dealing with the 12/12, so it's often just card disadvantage.

Tested this list at a 90+ person event this past Saturday:

3 Polluted Delta
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
4 Wasteland

4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tarmogoyf
2 True-Name Nemesis

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Thoughtseize
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
3 Treasure Cruise
1 Dig Through Time

Sideboard
3 Disfigure
2 Golgari Charm
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Sylvan Library
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Flusterstorm
2 Spell Pierce
1 Krosan Grip
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle

Basically the list I posted earlier, with a few minor tweaks. My friends convinced me to play True-Name Nemesis as a 2-of, which I liked but wasn't amazing for me. (I think I resolved it twice, once it probably won me the game, the other time it was promptly Supreme Verdicted next to a Goyf. Ouch.) We cut Dimir Charm for being too cute and expensive, and I played the 1-of Dig for testing purposes even though I knew it was probably wrong. I never resolved Dig: I was either too far ahead, too choked on mana, or had to pitch it to Force. My experience tells me that Treasure Cruise is just better in this deck, and despite still having a desire for the more powerful effect going long, I can't justify it.

During the tournament I lost the first round to 12 post, beat UR Delver twice in a row (once due to my opponent's bad draws and slight misplays, the second opponent took a game loss for deck reg error and then I ran him over), beat oldschool RUG Delver (Goose not Cruise), and then lost a very close match to Esper Stoneblade (the aforementioned Verdict crushed me game 3).

I then was faced with Enchantress and had to win to stay in the prize money. Game 1 went as expected, he drew his whole deck and finally found the Helm of Obedience as his 2nd to last card to mill me out via the RIP combo. Game 2 I tempoed him out, countered everything relevant, ignoring his Pithing Needle on DRS until killing it pumped my two Goyfs for the win. In Game 3, I got on the board fast with 2 Delver of Secrets. I decay his Oppressive Rays on one of them, and Golgari Charm a Journey to Nowhere on the other, getting back the Human 1/1 to compliment my Insectile 3/2. I get him down to 3 life, and make a huge mistake: I Brainstorm and see Goyf, Delver, FoW. I PUT BACK the Force of Will and keep the Delver, thinking I will have 3 flipped Delvers on the next turn in case he kills my only remaining active one. He then proceeds to play Helm, and I'm dead. Clearly I needed to keep the FOW there (I had a Ponder in hand) and I could then counter any one spell that stops me from killing him next turn. After that, I was 3-3, and dropped from the last round, a bit burned by my mistake and very tired of being in the Stifling hot room for so long. It wasn't the best-run tournament ever, and the ventilation in there is horrible.

In any case, I learned a lot. Thoughtseize was great for me all day, and those are staying in the list for the GP. The one opponent who tried to Stifle me (RUG Delver with Goose) still lost that game due to me having more lands in hand, and it made me realize that Stifle sometimes just doesn't work out. Thoughtseize was almost always relevant though, and I didn't even play against True Combo or Control, depending on how you classify 12post. Against that deck, Seize was very good, but he managed to topdeck well and I didn't have great disruption either game.

My Delver matchups weren't the best sample size, but they gave me courage that this deck is the best for the mirror matchups. Obviously RUG playing Goose was a little dated, but she still played well and we had interactive games. It's just hard for them to deal with a Goyf and I have all the Abrupt Decays for theirs, so Goose is the only way they can hope to get through. The UR lists were a little scary, but I still feel that with enough removal in your opener and careful timing, you can nullify their offense and then take over with Goyfs and Shamans. Abrupt Decay is basically just a huge card against any Delver deck, and makes me very glad to be playing this version. I'm sure it's still easy to get ran over by a good UR Delver pilot, but we have the tools to defeat them.

Stoneblade is as grindy as ever, and aside from a few minor mistakes there wasn't much I could do to win that particular match. My testing against it last week proved that I can defeat them just as easily, but the match is obviously very close to 50/50. I think in this particular case I got out-Cruised, which will obviously be a common story in the upcoming Legacy season.

12post I expected at this particular store, and the two pilots playing it aren't the most fun opponents ever from what I hear, but it's not a matchup I would normally concern myself with. Ditto for Enchantress, and I should have had that match locked up. I still need to test against Miracles and some Combo decks pretty badly, but I feel my deck is pretty close to tuned. The only changes I will make for next week at this point are:

-1 Daze
-1 Dig Through Time
-1 Bayou

+1 Spell Pierce
+1 Treasure Cruise
+1 Tropical Island

Sideboard might gain a Toxic Deluge and a Flusterstorm in place of the 2nd pierce and something else. Not sure what to cut for Deluge, as I actually was pretty happy with Liliana in a couple places, but perhaps it's unnecessary. Bayou was a huge problem for me, as a I drew it in several openers and suffered for not having blue mana on several turns, but I also didn't play against too many Wastelands. With Thoughtseize and the single Liliana, it's hard to cut the Bayou but at the same time I should be able to find enough black sources when the time comes, and it's much less important than not being able to cast my cantrips and blue spells. Seize can always wait a couple turns, and Lily is primarily for Control and Combo, so I feel okay with this decision. But maybe it was bad beats and the Bayou is actually okay most of the time. We'll see.