This deck is a UR Tempo/Burn Hybrid. It uses efficient threats (Goblin Guide and Monastery Swiftspear) to smash the opponents life in the early game, while putting them on the back-foot with Remand and Vapor Snag. Then ancestral.. ahem Treasure Cruise will give you the draw-power to find a sufficient amount of burn to finish them off. You may be noticing a few UR stars which are not here.
Delver of Secrets
+ Serum Visions: I'll cover these two together, as they aren't here for the same reason. They screw with the burn plan. As you may see from the list, there is 52 points of burn spread throughout the deck, and if you count guides and swiftspears, then there's 64. If you want burn to work, you have to be all-in. This deck is slightly more complex than that, but it means that there's limited spaces to complement my 24-card (32 counting the creatures, and 48 if including lands) burn package. This means only the best of the best can fit, and with Treasure Cruise being a sorcery-speed Ancestral Recall, and Thought Scour being a Dark Ritual that cantrips, there wasn't enough space for these two.
Snapcaster Mage: Treasure cruise means my graveyard is not a place I want to be relying on, and space is tight, so this guy doesn't make the cut. (This guy would be awesome otherwise though)
Young Pyromancer: 2 mana for a "sorcery speed" non-haste 1 toughness body is just a bit too prohibitive for a 16-land deck. This guy is better in slower builds
Spell Pierce: It doesn't deal damage or draw me into anything which deals damage. This deck tries to only interact when it will push more damage through so this is too unreliable in the main
Click me for the Deck BreakdownHide Breakdown
_________________________________________________________________________________________The Creature-BaseHide Creature-Base
_________________________________________________________________________________________Monastery Swiftspear: This has become pretty standard in UR tempo lists, and nothing about him changes in this deck. Gitaxian Probe now deals damage (to them), and he's a nightmare to block. Personally my favourite card in the deck. Goblin Guide: This guy is seen a bit less in UR tempo, and that's because people play delver and pyro, meaning that their instant/sorcery count has to be high. Here we don't have that problem, and so this guy is right at home, often dealing upwards of 4 damage. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Burn SpellsHide Burn Spells
_________________________________________________________________________________________ Lightning Bolt: This card is awesome. We all know it. Despite having large amounts of burn elements, this deck often just wants to bolt a blocker or annoying dork so guide or swiftie can push through more damage in the long-run.Lava Spike: Obviously not as good as bolt, but it does its job. 3 damage to the face, trigger prowess, fuel cruises.
Rift Bolt
: Similar to Lava Spike, this card just gets in for three. It can deal damage to creatures which is nice, but it doesn't immediately trigger prowess, which is not nice. Again, it does its job. Skullcrack: Possibly the worst of the burn package, but it has its upsides. Firstly, it's instant speed, so you can hold it up with Remand, and secondly it stops life gain, which is nice particularly when playing against pod. _________________________________________________________________________________________ CantripsHide Cantrips
_________________________________________________________________________________________ Treasure Cruise: I don't know whether this classifies as a cantrip, but to me, it's a cantripping Divination. With 8 fetch-lands, 4 Gitaxian Probe, 4 Thought Scour, and 12 1-drop burn spells, it's pretty easy to pull off for just 1 mana. The great thing is, one cruise usually gives you enough cards to chain off a second cruise a couple of turns later. We all know how good this card is: so good that the deck would be half as good without it. Oh, and it shrinks opposing goyfs as a bonus. :)Thought Scour: Now for the Dark Rituals to complement the Ancestral Recalls. This card makes cruising 3 mana cheaper, triggers prowess, and replaces itself. Not bad for 1 mana. Gitaxian Probe: Don't underestimate the power of information... for 0 mana.... and 0 cards. While this isn't as explosive as Treasure Cruise or as... "ritually" as scour, it serves its purpose and it does it well. The 2 life is annoying, but late game (such as in topdeck mode) 1 mana isn't an issue when your most expensive spell costs 2 (ignoring cruise)_________________________________________________________________________________________ The LeftoversHide Leftovers
_________________________________________________________________________________________ Vapor Snag: The tempo burn-spell. This shines in midrange match-ups, but it still does work in any matchup where they have creatures. It can fizzle a Splinter Twin, screw over an Insectile Aberration
or just bounce an annoying blocker (I'm looking at you, Tarmogoyf)Remand: Remand has an interesting place in the deck. It allows this deck to drop one of its creatures, then switch roles for a turn or two. There's no rush to win in burn in 4 turns flat if you can just chip away whilst they're trying to resolve spells. Meanwhile, you fill the grave with delve fuel and sculpt a hand of 10-15 points of burn to fire off when the time comes. _____________ Im very happy with the mainboard right now, but feel free to suggest something. Just be prepared to give a good reason, as there is no real weak link in this deck.
Vapor Snag is probably the worst card, but it is still extremely good. The sideboard is where I need the most help. I suck at making sides or sideboard plans, so any help there would be greatly appreciated.
