Let's face it, aside from a few decks, NO ONE WAS READY FOR MARDU VEHICLES AT PT AETHER REVOLT. No one was. It blindsided the community as a whole largely. Now, in the weeks after the pro tour, we need ways to battle back against this deck. The best candidate? The next-best deck, B/G Delirium.
B/G Delirium has evolved significantly since the release of Aether Revolt. We've seen a much greater investment in
Winding Constrictor
and the counter generators and a move away from the traditional delirium powerhouses aka
Ishkanah, Grafwidow
and even
Mindwrack Demon
has seen a reduction in play in the last couple weeks. In fact, the popular B/G Delirium decks on a national/world meta only see the delirium mechanic on 2-3 cards in the main board,
Grim Flayer
,
Traverse the Ulvenwald
, and
Mindwrack Demon
. In order to stop the vehicles menace (pun intended) we must return to the old.
How to Deal with the Mardu Vehicles Problem
I'm talking about a return to the powerhouse delirium staple
Ishkanah, Grafwidow
. This deck places a much greater importance upon that aforementioned card. The big green spider is insanely good at tanking those annoying flying vehicles coming at you. Her and her little 1/2 spider minions can easily gain you value almost as soon as she hits the battlefield. This is a card that you are never disappointed to draw into or look for off of
Traverse the Ulvenwald
on turn 5 or later. Hopefully by then between
Grim Flayer
,
Mindwrack Demon
, and
Evolving Wilds
- yeah, I did just say Evolving Wilds because fueling delirium, enabling revolt, and combining with
Tireless Tracker
to get you two clues seems great - you have delirium. If you don't have delirium by the end of turn 4, you have bigger problems.
Ishkanah, Grim Flayer, Mindwrack Demon, and
Walking Ballista
make up the backbone of this deck. Other supporting cards are
Rishkar, Peema Renegade
,
Winding Constrictor
, and
Verdurous Gearhulk
. And that is where this version of delirium differs from others. This delirium archetype is not focused on placing counters. Instead, you want to outlast the initial onslaught of vehicles, remove them when you can, and then fire back. And, in playtesting, this deck does just that.
What Other Responses Does B/G Have for the Other Tier 1.5/Tier 2 Decks?
I can already hear you saying "but what about Jund Energy aggro or B/G Constrictor?" Believe me, as soon as you identify what you're playing against, you know what to do here. This deck runs plenty of removal between main and side and you can easily deal with early threats. Between 2
Fatal Push
es, 4
Grasp of Darkness
es, 2
Ruinous Path
s, and a 1 of
To the Slaughter
in main (but two more in side) you've probably got enough to stifle that early threat to the point where these decks are out of gas and without a boardstate. There is nothing more satisfying than using
Fatal Push
to kill a
Greenbelt Rampager
with its trigger on the stack. I don't know, maybe it's just me but I just have too much fun watching tables get flipped.
How to Counter Control Heavy Metas with B/G Delirium
There is one deck that can shut this deck down about half the time. Luckily, it's not prevalent in the meta right now but it has enough of a presence to be worth noting. Grixis/Jeskai Control can really bring this deck to its knees. If you can
Anticipate
(I already facepalmed for my own joke so you don't have to) if your local meta is control heavy (mine is extremely) there are things you can do to rise above.
Number one, you have to run recursion. Your focus goes from building a boardstate early to making sure you have things to play late game. Rishkar,
Verdurous Gearhulk
, and Constrictor get cut entirely and Ballista gets cut to two. In place of these, you run a third Ishkanah, 3
Grapple with the Past
s, 3
Noxious Gearhulk
, and 3
Liliana, the Last Hope
. Your count of
To the Slaughter
s also rises to two. You need to keep
Fatal Push
es in there because hopefully not EVERY deck in your LGS is control.
Pick the Brain
also now features much more heavily in your sideboard almost entirely to get rid of
Torrential Gearhulk
. If there is one card in blue that will kill you, it is that. You can't call it with
Lost Legacy
so
Pick the Brain
is your best chance to take it out permanently. Unless your opponent is running
Tezzeret the Schemer
as well, you pretty much cripple the deck's damage by taking the gearhulk out. The only one you have to worry about after that is Kalitas but it shouldn't be TOO hard to deal with that due to the amount of removal you run.
Overall Strategy and Important Shortcuts
-
It is important to remember that after your first game, your opponent has a good idea of what you're playing. You can use their perceived knowledge to your advantage. Bluffing instant-speed removal with your untapped mana is one of the most effective strategies in this deck. I've won games because someone failed to act in time due to a bluff.
-
If you want to be mana-heavy in one color, always go black. That will pay off every time.
-
If you have a choice between building up your boardstate more and holding off and saving your mana so you have insurance just in case, choose the latter. It feels really bad if you put all your chips on winning via Ishkanah's ability only to have all your spiders die to Yahenni's Espertise. Plus, you'll have time later to swing back.
-
That being said, applying pressure by turn three is crucial. You don't need it, but you REALLY, REALLY want to have that
Grim Flayer
out turn 2. After turn three you can simply replace your creatures when they get removed and apply pressure like that. There is no rush to build a board. You'd rather your opponent have no board than you have a big board.
-
When you do see that you have the opportunity to build up a board, do it slowly, drop a single
Mindwrack Demon
in a turn even if you have the mana to cast a
Grim Flayer
too.
-
If, for whatever reason, you don't get delirium off of
Mindwrack Demon
, casting a
Walking Ballista
for 0 can save you. It may feel bad, but you'd rather put it in the grave than take 4 every upkeep.
Thanks for reading everyone and good luck against those vehicles!
