Well, build like you would for an open meta then, I suppose. Pure control thrives in an anticipated meta, as such I would think a more midrange approach would give you better pressure against the unexpected and unknown. But by all means, try both out and lemme know.

Also... Grixises =...Grixi? :) lol fun with conjugation of imaginary words.

It may be just like colossus or octopus where the conjunction just works and is grammatically correct either way.

I guess wizards only know for certain.

The conundrum lies is sometimes jund style is good ( discard pressure removal). But in a longer game that style does not protect against top decks from the opponent. Or counter a storm players Past in Flames for instance.That is what my testing group calls the jund problem.

So then if I play counterspells what kind of configuration helps me maintain delirium for Grim Flayer while having enough counters, removal, and pressure?

I find a harder control build might have me abandon the flayer in that build forcing me into very few threats.

A one mana fix for flying spirit bastards - Illness in the Ranks. Sweet midrange deck. Share game play results - good matchups, bad matchups, and everything in between.

Forgot about that one, thank you! And if they decay it, it just makes Goyf bigger, definitely worth testing. Echoing Truth was another idea I was playing around with, particularly because I can snap it back later. Will do on the reporting.

Maelstrom Pulse is also a good multi-purpose removal spell. I really dig this deck. I am playing BG Rock and will give this a try on MTGO in the near future. Also, has Grim Flayer done well for you? Perhaps it is just me, but I nevr seem to get value from him. Would love to find a home for them, and if they work in this build, another good reason to build your deck.

Shocker, my experience with flayer has been both extraordinary and mediocre, never in between, and can be summed up with one question: did I connect with him. Grave scry 3 has stabilized/cinched every game I've gotten through, but if delirium isn't active or the board is cluttered, he just kinda sits there or eats immediate removal. Now, there's something to be said for an effect powerful enough to respond to without fail, (opponent's know better these days) but delirium isn't always easy to achieve early. Scooze may be better, but green is my splash and I rarely have 2-3 green available turn 4 to play him and immediately get him out of bolt/blaze range. I've also toyed around with the idea of Pack Rat (who plays well with Bob but is hugely punished by pulse) and V Clique (love the instant speed and versatility but doesn't line up well against souls), and honestly the jury's still out. By all means, try all three out, just know that this tends to play more like UBx than GBx, and clutching the gears between instant and sorcery speed has been the biggest challenge so far.

Mana Leak is much better here than Deprive

Wurmlover, being that i have both, may i ask for elaboration? leak is great...until they have the mana to pay for it. Deprive has been great against Tron and Valakut, where spare mana is never an issue. and when im racing against burn and all they need is a topdeck bolt, having a condition free answer while i beat down is invaluable. And just in case remand crosses your mind, i have tested it and have always wanted a hard counter in its place. In short, of all my answers I pack, I have never been sad to see deprive in hand.

Deprive puts you back a land, which is something that you don't want. leak also pairs with remand by letting you get them to expend their mana. you remand the spell, and when they recast it, you will more likely be in reach of a hard counter with mana leak. I would say cut both deprive for 2 remand.

Agreed that deprive is not at its best on turn two, but that's what leak, IoK and all the removal is for. Putting me back a land is rarely an issue, as I curve out at three with the vast majority of my spells being 2 or less. The only time I notice the land drop set back is when I want to snap a spell back on curve, but again, it's a remote corner case. I openly embrace that remand is better in a control deck, but this is midrange, and I'd rather have a hard answer.

I think deprive is an amazing card and it very much underplayed in modern. I think you having two is perfect for your deck. I run three in my grixis deck and I think it's great. With the new cycle lands coming out it is gonna be nice to return those to your hand and cycle the extra lands you have late game. You ever think of running flip Jace? It works well with deprive to also discard extra lands.

T12H, I considered Baby Jace, and he definitely has strengths. If I were running ancestral visions, I would probably run a few, but I much prefer the instant speed of snapcaster. Also of note, a 2/1 has beaten down for lethal in more than a few games in this decks history, something a 0/2 just can't compete with. In regards to the cycle lands, etb tapped is such a huge liability with a curve this low, and they're competing with manlands for that slot. Just the wrong deck for them.

Yeah I can see that with it not being a threat and all. But I think Jace is way more impactful in the long run. It's slower than snapcaster for sure. But it is a threat that needs to be killed right away. A snapcaster doesn't because it's just a deathtouchless ambush viper after it does the etb. I am not saying run Jace over snapcaster. I do agree snapcaster is better. But I think if you have like 2 jaces then you would be able to attack from different angles.it also exhausts your opponents resources because like goyf and flayer are must answer threats, Jace is in the same boat as them. If you play a turn two Jace and they throw a fatal push at it and it's the only removal in their hand then your goyf and grim are freed up to do some damage. I think it's alright not to have Jace, but I have been playing it in my lists and it just seems really powerful. Especially along side a Lilly the last hope. :)

06 Sept 2017: Modern Wednesday

Match 1: Mono Blue Taking Turns

G1: Opening discard reveals 3 land, howling mine, 2 time walks and a cryptic. Take cryptic. Decay mine after drawing off of it. Snap discard T3, t4 goyf with stubb back up takes it.

In: 2 x squall, 3 x Extraction

Out: 3 x Push, 2 x Cut

G2: No discard, but deprive, snap and a clock seems good enough. It's not. Opponent exhausts and gigadrowses his way to victory.

G3: Discard, Flayer, Extract Snap Extract. Also, Decay hitting Dictate of Kruphix was very helpful.

Match 2: Mono White D&T

G1: Discard his Arbiter, play Flayer, swing into blocking Thalia ans 2nd (drawn) Arbiter. Cycle Architects to 2 for 1 him. However double Tec Edge taking me off green gives him enough time to get me with Wisp and Resto.

In 2 x Damnation, 1 x Baloth, Lili

Out 2 x Cut, 2 x Deprive

G2: This game goes much longer, gain some life off of baloth, clear the board, fight through 2 (!) Relics. But... double Tec Edge gets me off Snap Damnation and he takes it.

Match 3: Esper Tap Out Control.

G1: Dicard on both sides, pushes my goyf, cut his Tas, double Tec Edges me off green (for f***s sake). Top deck forest, play Flayer, he has souls, opponent wins race by 3 life.

In: 1 x Golgari Charm, 1 x Lily, 1 x Baloth, 2 x Damnation

Out: 3 x IoK, 2 x Push

G2: Same dance (I love these games) trade resources into top deck war. Snap Golgari Charm clears overextended Souls, lone Goyf survives damnation via stub for win.

G3: Opponent has more respect for Charm now :) We both have field cleared by sweeper at one point or another, get into a race of manlands. Lumbering shows the value of hexproof, but only gets in twice before Tec Edged (at least it wasnt doulble this time) I have 2 Tarpits, can only activate 1 though, he has Tarpit and 2 Souls. I needed 2 more lands over 2 turns to activate both Tarpits and win race, or removal. Cant find it, he takes it by 1 life. Most fun of the night by far.

Takeaway: My rust was on full display, and more than 1 of those losses could have been prevented with better sequencing or prioritising. Having the full spectrum of disruption, however, did make some bad situations much more manageable. It should be noted that i have yet to pick up the Explosives, they were Spreading Seas this evening. Not sure how much difference that would have made, but I do plan on getting them sooner than later.

+1 For not selling out to Death's Shadow.
Also a cool deck. Architects of Will is such a good card. Can easily end the game by shutting off your opponent's draw.

Any interest in Eternal Witness for recursion effects?