This is my version of a delver deck that is not really a delver deck except it has the right colors and can play like delver, but it is still completely different. Hence, Self Denial because it is in denial of its true identity of a midrange deck and disguises itself as tempo.
This deck has the usual amazing delver matchup against affinity, struggles more than the usual delver with twin but it is still very favorable, and has a much, much stronger burn matchup and an improved abzan matchup. Try it out! I think that this is the list to be playing. It can. beat burn in game 1 on the draw and is not much weaker to affinity or twin than traditional delver.
The difference between this deck and traditional delver comes in with Vampire Nighthawk instead of Young Pyromancer and Countersquall instead of Remand. Young Pyromancer was good in the old delver, but in todays meta it does not help against twin or affinity, already our 2 best matchups, and just sits there against burn or abzan, so he needed to go. Vampire Nighthawk is the card to be playing because abzan hates to see their stuff die, and burn can't handle the lifegain he gives us.
So why no Remand? Remand is good, but same with young pyromancer, burn and abzan don't care, and every other deck falls to the floor underneath us anyway. We are better off with Countersquall because it allows us to race even faster, hard counter a lot of cards, and is better in a lot of hard matchups. Remand is a stall, not an answer. Yes, it builds tempo like nobody's business, but this deck does not benefit as much from tempo. Setting them back a turn is not game-changing like with traditional delver.
You may have also noticed I am not running Tasigur, the Golden Fang. This is because Gurmag Angler beats every abzan creature besides an above average goyf. Tasigur only ties. I also almost never play to get a turn 2 Taz so the 1 extra mana is negligible, and I have never found Taz's ability super useful, so 4 Angler is better. Angler is also good in the mirror for opposing Tasigurs. I am also just not a big banana eater. I prefer fish.
Game 1 is usually pretty simple. We play aggro-tempo like in true delver in game 1. Open strong with a creature threat, then try to win by counterburn.
The Sideboard: The sideboard is one of the most thought-out portions of this deck. The mainboard is pretty self-explanatory, but the sideboard deserves more of an explanation.
The sideboard is split into two main sections: the general sideboard, and the Abzan sideboard. The general sideboard contains Spellskite, Rakdos Charm, Izzet Staticaster, Counterflux, and
Slagstorm
. The Abzan sideboard contains Batterskull, Bitterblossom, and Jace, Architect of Thought. The general sideboard is my versatile catch-all cards that, collectively, can answer to most any deck. The Abzan sideboard contains cards to rebuild our deck into an anti-Abzan machine because Abzan is our worst matchup in game 1. The Abzan sideboard is not strictly for Abzan, but they were picked with that matchup in mind. Let's look at individual cards:
General Sideboard:
Spellskite: This is one of the best sideboard cards ever. I love its versatility and usefulness against a lot of decks. It steals tons of relevant cards including Splinter Twin, Arcbound Ravager, anything in Bogles, and anything in Infect. It also can help protect our other creatures from Abrupt Decay and other removal spells. It's also very useful for helping our life total from burn spells.
Rakdos Charm: The definition of awesome. Also the definition of versatile. While it may seem underpowered on the surface, it's game-changing against some decks. Against Twin, it wins outright. Against Affinity, it removes everything. Cranial Plating is especially relevant. It also hurts a lot of decks with the graveyard hate, especially a lot of tier 1.5 and tier 2 decks that I don't have a particular sideboard plan for. Rakdos Charm will always be one of my favorite sideboard cards ever.
Izzet Staticaster: a new experiment. It is great against small creatures to kill outright and can also be used to power up a lightning bolt or help one of our creatures seem a little bigger. If they play stuff bigger than 1 toughness, then you can use it as a chump blocker. The haste and flash are fantastic.
Counterflux: our only hard counter. Also a new experiment. The overload is relevant against not only infect, but also some fringe decks like storm. It also can win us the counter war against control decks. Overall pretty useful despite its difficult mana cost. Because of the other narrow counters i use, I figured a hard counter would be nice
Slagstorm
: It Lightning Bolts everything. What's not to love? It may hurt my own creatures, but a mini-wrath is worth it. It is used against Bogles, Hatebears, Infect, Abzan, Jund, Burn.... the list goes on and on. I chose
Slagstorm
over other similar spells like Anger of the Gods because
Slagstorm
can hit planeswalkers as well, which warrants a spot for me.
Abzan Sideboard:
Batterskull: This card wins games. The life we gain quickly takes over the game and because we can re-equip it too something after the germ dies, it is always an issue for them. It is fantastic with Bitterblossom in particular. Although at 5 mana it is slow to hit the field, it will win us the game when it does. Although intended for Abzan, it is also used against Burn, any control, and Tron.
Bitterblossom: Interestingly, this card is my tempo replacement for Vampire Nighthawk. It fits all the criteria to be a strong delver threat - low mana cost, gets better as the game goes on, and can take over the game if left unanswered. I prefer it to Young Pyromancer because it's harder to remove and the tokens have flying. I always side it in for Vampire Nighthawk if I need a more tempo-oriented deck.
Jace, Architect of Thought: A sideboard staple these days. It slow token decks, gives me card advantage, helps me dig for a specific card, and can usually win if I use his ultimate, but we don't play for his ult at all, except against Tron. Very strong card as a whole.
Sideboard Swaps
In: 2 Spellskite, 3 Rakdos Charm, 2 Jace, Architect of Thought, 1 Counterflux
Out: 4 Vampire Nighthawk, 2 Gurmag Angler, 2 Thought Scour
This matchup is not too difficult, but it can be tricky. This deck is not designed to handle twin as well as other delver decks, but it is still a favorable matchup. Luckily we have an answer for every threat they can throw at us. Just be sure to counter Splinter Twin if they try to cast it and keep the pressure on. If they do manage to go infinite with their tokens, don't worry! Rakdos Charm is there for you to kill them at instant speed when they go infinite. Be sure to use Dimir Charm to screw their topdecks so they don't find the Splinter Twin for the win. A turn 1 Delver of Secrets
is a serious threat for their deck as well. Be sure not to get screwed by Blood Moon from their sideboard in game 2. In this game we stick to the aggro counterburn plan and try to win quickly but controllingly.
In: 2 Spellskite, 2 Batterskull, 2 Slagstorm, 1 Counterflux
Out: 3 Gurmag Angler, 4 Thought Scour
This matchup is easy, but don't take it for granted. Burn is still an explosive and deadly deck so play smart. Use your counters and Spellskites early to stop their burn spells from resolving and protect your life total. Slagstorm is here to sweep their creatures early. We keep card:Delver of Serets in the mainboard as blockers. Don't play Vampire Nighthawk until their hand is low. The last thing you want is for him to get immediately burnt, but don't worry if he does. Never scry a nighthawk away unless you have 2-3 in hand. Always try to play 2-3 nighthawks because they are much stronger together and much harder to remove. Don't worry about not having a counter when you cast nighthawk - you usually won't and that is just fine. Although this matchup is easy, don't let it get to your head. They still win on occasion, even post board. Stay focussed throughout the game and keep track of the cards your opponent is holding. This game we play control with Vampire Nighthawk as our wincon.
In: 2 Spellskite, 2 Slagstorm, 2 Bitterblossom, 1 Izzet Staticaster, 1 Counterflux
Out: 2 Gurmag Angler, 2 Thought Scour, 4 Vampire Nighthawk
Not much to this game. Either you have the game after 2-3 turns or you lose. We have some relatively cheap counterspells and removal that can be used to keep them down, but our best card is Inquisition of Kozilek. It removes their creature from their hand, leaving them with nothing to pump. Slagstorm is extra removal that we can pay lots of life to fetch the right colors without worrying. If you use Lightning Bolt or Terminate, watch out for Apostle's Blessing. It can ruin the day. Using Spellskite to steal all of their pump spells is probably the best course of action, but they know that trick so look out for artifact or creature hate. Bitterblossom is an experiment for me. The life loss is meaningless and 1 chump blocker every turn seems pretty good. Not sure about it yet, still playtesting. Overall about an even matchup. Not favorable or unfavorable, just meh.
In: 2 Bitterblossom, 2 Slagstorm, 1 Izzet Staticaster
Out: 4 Vampire Nighthawk, 1 Countersquall
This one is somewhat favorable. We try to play a slower delver than them. We usually have more Gurmag Angler than they do and if we can play him early and protect, then we are usually good. The delver mirror is never a fast game and usually grinds out similar to Abzan, but for not as long. Delver is not a blisteringly fast deck so we can usually survive long enough to go to midrange where we pick up steam and overpower them. If they draw several Remand then we are in a bad spot because they can get more tempo than we can answer. Young Pyromancer gives them favor if they can land it, so watch out and remove it with any removal spell.
Slagstorm
can reset the board state if they get too far ahead, but make sure they don't counter it. Inquisition of Kozilek gives us favor because delver hates hand removal used against them. This is definitely the most fun matchup for this deck because it is so evenly matched and interactive.
In: 2 Batterskull, 2 Bitterblossom, 2 Jace, Architect of Thought, 2 Spellskite, 2 Slagstorm, 1 Izzet Staticaster, 1 Counterflux
Out: 4 Delver of Secrets
, 3 Countersquall 4 Inquisition of Kozilek, 1 Mana Leak
The most dreaded matchup, but post-board it is somewhat doable. We need to completely rebuild this deck from the ground-up in order to have a chance at winning. In game 1, all that you can do is pray they get manascrewed or manaflooded because that is the only way to win. In games 2 and 3, side in your sideboard and side out your deck. We switch to a midrange deck that can interact with their deck, but we try to keep their deck from interacting with us. To do this we try to make their signature cards and efficiency meaningless.
We side in several deadly midrange tools that if used correctly can render their deck useless. We use big permanents that out-attrition their deck until they lose. Our first card is Bitterblossom. Although this 2 mana enchantment dies to Abrupt Decay, if we can land it and keep it on the field, we will win. It spits out a chump blocker every turn that gives me time to dig for an answer to their board state or stabilize my board state. Although 1/1 tokens seem small, they trade evenly with Lingering Souls tokens, which are our biggest threat. A common combo for Bitterblossom is to use it in conjunction with Batterskull. If we have 5 mana and they have either Vault of the Archangel or Gavony Township and a few creatures, we can block every turn to gain 5 life, lose our token, then pay 1 life to get a new token to equip. It gets even better if we are 1 token ahead, so we have an equipped token with no summoning sickness and a 1/1 token with summoning sickness so we can attack on their turn to gain more life, remove blockers, or even reduce their life. Oftentimes when we land a Bitterblossom the game instantly turns into a big stalemate for a lot of turns because neither side will gain from attacking, but we eventually win when this happens because we have better attrition. Bitterblossoms only flaw is that it dies to Abrupt Decay which is why we run 3, so we have more available. Also, Vampire Nighthawk usually eats the Abrupt Decay for Bitterblossom, but it is still a danger. We also use Spellskite to help defend our blossom.
Our next midrange tool is Jace, Architect of Thought. It turns off all Lingering Souls tokens making them worthless unless they have Gavony Township. His +1 is also fantastic for making really any threat smaller. With it we can safely block a 5/6 Tarmogoyf with Gurmag Angler and 2 tokens to secure the kill and keep our Angler alive. Jaces symbol:lyoalty-minus2 is great for digging for an answer when his +1 becomes worthless. We rarely use his -8 because if Jace reaches 8 loyalty, then the game has gone on for a while and his +1 has probably been used every turn to nullify their tokens. We can use his -8 to grab another Jace from our deck and a Siege Rhino or Lingering Souls (because we can flash it back) from their deck, but honestly he usually reaches 15 loyalty in the long game. We can use his -8 to grab Maelstrom Pulse to kill all Lingering Souls tokens, but Abzan does not reliably have Maelstrom Pulse mainboard and if they play 1, it is really unlikely to see another. So it is a bit risky unless you know the player and their deck well enough to know that they have a pulse left.
Next up is Batterskull. It wins games. Enough said. Without this in here, we would lose every game before it even got going. Its life gain is fantastic and because it has vigilance, we can attack and block to gain stupid amounts of life. Batterskull only gets better after the germ is out of the way. We can slap it onto a Bitterblossom token to gain flying and be bigger than their creatures, or even more fun is to give it to a Gurmag Angler to make a 9/9 vigilance lifelink. If that happens, we find it hard to lose. Sadly it dies to Maelstrom Pulse, but we can bounce it back to the hand if we have the mana. We usually dont, but there are so many Maelstrom Pulse targets in here that we have little to worry about.
Our final midrange tool is Gurmag Angler. As a 5/5 he does not die to any creature except a fat goyf and with delve he is usually cast on turn 3 or 4. He is immune to Abrupt Decay, but Path to Exile can be a pain. He causes a lot of groans on the other end of the table if he hits the field because he is deadly.
Slagstorm is fantastic to handle Lingering Souls, which can ruin our day in both early game and midrange. Early we can stop their rush and stabilize. Late game their best hope to win is powering up Lingering Souls tokens with Gavony Township, which can be solved with a timely
Slagstorm
.
Our last card we side in is Spellskite. It is here mainly to eat Path to Exile for Gurmag Angler or more importantly save Bitterblossom from Abrupt Decay. Not much of a blocker in this matchup, but can be a last resort Batterskull target if needed. It is not great standalone, but can be fantastic if protecting our other cards.
The biggest challenge when facing Abzan is setting up quickly enough. With only 15 cards available, it is hard to change from aggro to midrange effectively. We have some very strong midrange tools that they can't interact with which is very good, but getting them on the field in time is sometimes tricky. Good luck in this matchup because it is the hardest, but our sideboard is basically designed to handle abzan without too many problems. Game 1 is awful, I would consider conceding after turn 3 to preserve time for games 2 and 3 because they are long. Game 2 is simple because we go through such a drastic transformation and we play first, so we can surprise them with a midrange deck when they anticipated aggro-tempo. Game 3 is where the actual game begins. Game 3 is the most important and you can bank on it happening every time. By game 3 they have probably figured out your midrange strategy and will sideboard accordingly. Play smart and pray. I would say we have about a 60-65% win rate in game 3, so a 60-65% win rate against Abzan in general. Favorable, but barely. It is a fun matchup, and good luck because it is brutal.
I'd love more feedback on the sideboard. It's the area I feel is the most important and also the hardest to build. If it has any major holes, please let me know.
I will be adding to this primer piece-by-piece. I will add a card explanation category for the mainboard and add matchups and sideboarding for all tiered decks based on the Modern Format Primer. It won't be complete for a while, but if I don't do it 1 section at a time, it won't get done. Thanks for reading!
To make this deck more budgeted, replace Snapcaster Mage with Jace, Vryns Prodigy (from origins), replace Spellskite with Mizzium Meddler (also from origins), replace Bitterblossom with Young Pyromancer, and replace Batterskull with 1
Outpost Siege
and 1 Monastery Siege. You can also make the lands cheaper with more check lands and fast lands, but the mana base is important.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to click this upvote button!
