Hi! I'm Max, and I really like the card Delver of Secrets
... But, I don't play much blue. It's my third favorite blue card, right behind Vendilion Clique and Scornful Egotist. So, I've decided to compile some lists, and make an informative primer. The decklist above will be my personal favorite, UW Delver in modern.
The Formats:
About everybody knows what Delver of Secrets
does. Well, why? I think the main reason it is so well known is that it is a star in Pauper, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Cube. And remember its dominance when it was legal in Standard? Everybody was playing this guy. When paired with Geist of Saint Traft, the wielder of this epic deck was nigh unstoppable.
Modern Decks:
In Modern, you will see Delver of Secrets
played with all 4 other colors. Although this is true for most other formats the guy is legal in, he really shines in modern. As I type this, a friend of mine is at Grand Prix Hartford 2018 playing a budget Izzet Delver list. In fact, he's the reason I made this primer. Let's do this in WUBRG order. Here's a SaffronOlive list from last August. Credits to tennisStar99 on MTGO for having the spicy flicker theme in there, too.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/innistrad-standard-in-modern-uw-delver-modern-stream-highlights
I really like that deck. First, you have the insanity of Delver of Secrets
. Afterward, you note the flicker package in Blade Splicer, Vendilion Clique, and Restoration Angel. There's also the value in Snapcaster Mage and Spell Queller. I do think Gut Shot is an odd choice, but I don't quite remember much about the metagame back then, so I don't want to make an idiot of myself. A really fun inclusion in the deck, though, is Archangel Avacyn
. The ability to save your delvers AND have a flying body is great. It's ability to wipe the board is very nice too. Moorland Haunt is a spicy land, too. Overall, the deck is pretty nice. While white may not be the best color to pair delver with in Modern, it looks fun.
Here's my Dimir Delver list, which features Death's Shadow and Bitterblossom.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1037443#paper
First off, this isn't a Death's Shadow deck. It has a package for it, but if you look at decks like Grixis Shadow, they play Snapcaster Mage, Stubborn Denial, and a third and fourth Thought Scour. We like Serum Visions, because it enables Delver of Secrets
. Also, I would just like to say that Bitterblossom is absolutely busted with both Death's Shadow and Delver of Secrets
. It lowers our life total and goes wide with Death's Shadow, Making spot removal really bad while applying pressure that isn't dealt with by Anger of the Gods and others. With delver, though, it speeds up your flying clock, forcing the opponent to act fast. The card applies so much pressure to the opponent on its own that they really can't do much about the card pre-sideboard.
Here's my Izzet Delver list, featuring Madcap Experiment and Platinum Emperion.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1037433#paper
I love madcap combo in this deck for the same reason I love Bitterblossom. I'm putting down these little fliers alongside my massive creature, and it's just so hard for my opponent to deal with. The combo isn't good against control, in which case you board it out for 2 Chandra's Phoenix and 2 Skullcrack, and against Celestial Colonnade, you want 2 Molten Rain. I really love my inclusion of the new Zhalfirin Void, as it perfectly sets up delver without costing you any mana at all.
Here's a funny UG Miracle Gro list I made. It features the pretty new Deeproot Champion.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/746128#paper
I really built this deck just because I wanted to play 17 lands in modern, without playing red. Also, the old turbo xerox decks really intrigued me. I don't think this deck is good by any means, but it certainly is the most fun I've had playing modern in a while... I think its ability to make a Quirion Dryad or Deeproot Champion so large so fast is unparalleled in the modern format.
Now, let's talk about some 3-color lists, starting with this insane grixis aggro version I just made, yet again featuring Death's Shadow. I will admit, it is more of a shadow deck than delver deck this time, but it's super cool.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1037512#paper
This deck is pretty funny. Killing your opponent on turn 3 (often) is quite nice, and I think if you want to jam games in five minutes, this is one of the best ways. Immolating Souleater is quite the hidden treasure. Its ability to become a 10/1 on turn 3 is nice when paired with Tainted Strike or Temur Battle Rage. And the same goes for Kiln Fiend and Death's Shadow. Delver of Secrets
is a nice backup plan for the lategame, and it is very capable of killing an opponent with 2 Built to Smash and a Tainted Strike if necessary. The hand disruption in this deck is absolutely vital, because it strips your opponents of blockers and removal if need be.
Next up, here's my Esper Flash Faeries deck. It has a huge hand disruption package, and many counterspells.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1037543#paper
This deck is pretty crazy. It does an amazing job of not allowing the opponent to do anything, meanwhile flooding the board with small to medium size fliers. Lingering Souls is really a great inclusion, because it can gum up the board, or smash in and destroy the opponent's life total. Spellstutter Sprite and Spell Queller are really good, because they both put a creature on the board and counter a spell. Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, and Vendilion Clique do a great job of pulling apart the opponent's game plan or defensive options early in the game, buying me time to get in for lots of damage.
Here it is, boys. Mono blue delver. Alas, the deck has no ninjas, nor does it have bears, but it surely is a delver deck.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1037615#paper
This is a funny one. Pongify and Rapid Hybridization both do a good job of clearing out utility creatures or flying blockers, allowing you to attack in, or to get something like a pesky Thalia, Guardian of Thraben out of the way. The faerie package allows us to control the game while being the aggressor, (see more details in the UB version) with delver being the best clock in the entire deck. Vedalken Shackles is not only removal, but a creature. It's great against decks with cheap, high impact creatures like 5C humans or affinity.
Wrap-Up:
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my primer. It was a lot of fun to make, (although it took 3 hours) and I hope it was of use to you. Bye!
Flip