[Modern] Finalizing Grixis Delver
Decklist: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/12-08-15-qon-grixis-delver/
I'm looking at finalizing my copy of Grixis Delver for a PPTQ this weekend. Some notes:
The main deck feels perfect. I know there are a lot of different builds of the deck but I love the five delve creatures version with a 19th land and 2x Stubborn Denial. With so many decks playing out their spells on a curve, the Denial's are very good even when I don't have an angler/tasigur out.
Remand has been performing very poorly for me. 2 Mana counterspells in general are fairly bad at protecting a threat and remand is especially weak - remanding a path to exile or similar is just a joke. Mana Leak is mostly in there to stop creatures.
Maindeck Dispel is again focused on helping defend our creatures. With Stubborn Denial and Dispel, we can often play a turn 2-3 fatty and counter their removal spell.
With five delve creatures instead of four, a 19th land is almost essential. Since it's another fetchland, it helps fuel out delve count anyway.
4 Snapcasters over three works in a deck that prioritizes single mana counterspells. With another three one-mana counters in the board, it's very likely that we can snap one back on three mana. So far, I've almost never wished this was a young pyromancer.
2/1 Kommand/Electrolyze split. The 19th land helps us run three of these cards. I'm very happy with the 2:1 split so far - having multiple Kommands in hand is typically too clunky.
Sideboard:
2 Blood Moon - I hate blood moon against Tron since they can just hardcast wurmcoil and it harms our development. Sowing Salt or Molten Rain would be better but I run these because it's the best card, by far, against Amulet Bloom.
2 Dispel, 1 Negate, 1 Spell Snare - The dispels are extremely good against Grixis variants and having a total of three seems correct. Spell snare is good but seldom exceptional. I'd like feedback on Negate over Countersquall from those who have played it. How often is 2-4 damage relevant vs. the mana cost?
1xFar/Away. Something I'm currently testing. This used to be a Dismember but the life cost was proving to be too much. The ability to kill a Bogles creature is extremely important here, as is the ability to bounce a wurmcoil. I'm still not completely certain this is the correct card to be playing however since three mana is a lot for a removal spell.
2xRough/Tumble - This is mostly against CoCo and Elves. I'm not sold on it. The theory is that Delver is a key threat in this matchup and the ability to wipe their board and save our delvers is important. I'm tempted to try out Anger of the Gods in this slot since kitchen Finks is such a pain in the ass but 2 mana vs. 3 is a big deal. Other options are Pyroclasm or perhaps a Volcanic Eruption. I'd love thoughts on this.
2xVampiric Link - definitely the best anti-burn card for delver. Put it on an eidolon and then counter their removal spells targeting their own creatures for maximum benefit. Just be sure you understand it's NOT the same as lifelink - the damage happens first, then the life is gained back. If there isn't an Eidolon in play, a 5/5 lifelink creature is almost as good.
1x Hurkyl's Recall - I think this is correct, over vandleblast, shatterstorm etc. The low mana count and the fact that it's an instant (and can thus hit activated man lands) is key here. It also comes in against Tron, mostly because we don't have a good enough board against them yet (use it to bounce wurmcoil).
Magma Spray - Kitchen Finks and general CoCo nonsense. I'd like to run two here, or perhaps one plus 1-2 Anger of the Gods.
Anyway, give all the above, any suggestions?
I feel like we are still a little weak against Tron and I'm not completely happy with how we play against Grixis Control. Any suggestions against those two matchups specifically?
EDIT: I'm thinking of changing the SB to this:
- 2x Magma Spray
- 1x Anger of the Gods
- 1x Vendilion Clique (Tron and Grixis Control)
- 2x Blood Moon
- 2x Dispel
- 1x Spell Snare
- 1x Negate
- 2x Vampiric Link
- 1x Hurkyl's Recall
- 1x Spellskite
- 1x Engineered Explosives
I'd love to fit in a sowing salt against Tron but I think the clique is going to have to be enough. I'm pulling the Far/Away because it's not doing quite enough. I could see going to 1 magma spray but I really hate Kitchen Finks and it's an excellent card against affinity as well. The Anger is again a concession to CoCo in general and finks in particular.
Posted Aug 12, 2015, 4:56 PM UTC · edited