[DTB] U/R Delver

[KobeBryan]

Combination of competitive Legacy dying + younger players preferring low-effort social media (Reddit, Discord) to high-effort forums (Salvation, The Source).

Primers? Text? Nah, they just want to write 5 words + emoji.

I hate chat room type discussions. You cant read it at your own leisure

[PirateKing]

4 Delver of Secrets
4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
4 Orcish Bowmasters
3 Sibylline Soothsayer
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Daze
3 Thoughtseize
2 Mishra's Bauble
1 Molten Collapse
1 Pyroblast
1 Badlands
3 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Polluted Delta
3 Wasteland

1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Dress Down
1 Flusterstorm
4 Force of Will
1 Hydroblast
1 Meltdown
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pyroblast
1 Sheoldred's Edict
2 Surgical Extraction

This is my dumb list of late. After Eternal Weekend and Leyline-Scion-Beans being the thing a bunch of local people were playing I was struggling to close out games with the traditional Murktide build. I found too many opponents were favorably set up to deny or remove Murktide in stride and the game would proceed to my detriment, so a sidestep to Soothsayer provided the same late game inevitability while still pressuring the mid game with 3 power flyers. By the time their resources are expended stabilizing, the Emrakul hits. Against enough of the rest of the field the standard 3 power flyers plus Bowmaster plus Bolt is enough to make you forget you're evening playing something out of the norm. Maybe the most felt impact is knowing I don't have Forces game 1, against some matchups I have to remember there's no outs to brainstorm into against some combo decks. But that's also been a fun personal challenge to navigate games carefully and keep my decisions sharp because I don't have a panic button to press if I didn't plan multiple steps ahead.

I think my winrate is no more improved than before, I farm Beanstalk decks all day now, but I definitely suffer against other matchups as a result. But it's definitely a giggle to play so I haven't changed it back yet.

[FTW]

Interesting build.

So you have a 50% chance to hit another Soothsayer (repeat trigger in 3 turns), 25% to hit Dinos (making 2/2 per turn), and 25% to suspend Emmy. Has that been effective? I guess you out-grind the removal Murktide usually dies to.

But it means 0 Force game 1 vs combo (Thoughtseize instead). When you bring in Force vs combo, do you cut the 5-card Soothsayer package? What 5th slot do you bring in? Do you find that you struggle to close games vs combo without a big finisher (no Murktide, Emrakul combo cut)?

[PirateKing]

Honestly I'd put it about even with the effectiveness of just Murktide, I'm just having more fun like this :p
Maybe after some 10,000 game parametric simulation we could find out it's half a percent advantaged or something.

Occasionally I get to cheat the math with a second Soothsayer in hand or a cheeky Brainstorm to set up, but you're right, most times it's a coin flip. Getting Dinos really helps me lean in and get the last 5-6 points of damage in, I don't think I've had a game where the actual Dinosaurs on a Spaceship has resolved in a meaningful way, the 2/2s along with the other pressure made the +1/+1 and Vigilance moot. Getting Emrakul does shift the tone of the game, the opponent gets notably more aggressive. trying to kill you in 3 turns. Bowmasters is really great at turtling up and just preserving life in time for the inevitable. Can't be countered, the extra turn & haste on the creature because of Suspend rules has always resulted in a win (mostly through a scoop the cowards). Just watch out for those Stifle players.

Against fast combo, the Soothsayer package comes out and the Force of Wills come in along with a flex depending on the specific deck. Flusterstorm or Meltdown typically for the vanilla storm decks. Molten Collapse and the main deck Pyroblast also get moved around often for better sideboard cards. It's difficult to judge the performance, I have no clear moment where I thought "If I draw a Murktide here I'll win." Against combo my first priority is to not lose, and after that the winning comes mostly easy. Good hands with an early creature and card selection or good draws wins games, bad hands lose games. 1-3 attackers plus a Bolt or two (Bolt-Snap-Bolt) is enough that I don't miss needing to attack for 7 or 8 with a single creature.