Sideboard


Maybeboard


This is semi-budget list avoiding Scalding Tarn and Snapcaster Mage due to their high price.

Creatures:

Delver of Secrets  : The namesake of the deck archetype, Delver is the highest value blue one-drop available. Flipping one of these on turn two feels great.

Young Pyromancer: This card has been in and out of Delver lists in various quantities, but with the amount of cheap spells in the deck, Pyromancer gives insane value starting from turn two (with a Gitaxian Probe) and compounding if left alive.

Gurmag Angler: The largest and most expensive creature in the deck, the Angler supplies a way to face down Tarmogoyfs. Super cheap come late game, and great value.

Tasigur, the Golden Fang: Not only is this card a big body for a cheap cost, his ability is amazing when you can delve away cards you don't want back.

Spells:

With 28 spells in the deck, this might take a while...

Lightning Bolt: The most played red card in the format. Your modern burn spell for killing pesky creatures or just threatening their life total.

Thought Scour: One of the best delve fuelers around. Tack a cantrip onto the end of it and this is a must run card.

Gitaxian Probe: A free spell good at any point in the game: ensuring the coast is clear for a Delver of Secrets  , getting a Young Pyromancer trigger on turn two, or late game as a cantrip and to see their hand.

Kolaghan's Command: Returns a Tasigur, the Golden Fang or Gurmag Angler that was killed or Thought Scoured, works as a partial Mind Rot, becomes an Ancient Grudge, or even a Shock. The best part is that it works at instant speed and you choose the best two options.

Mana Leak: The best cheap, easy to cast counterspell in modern. Works in 90% of all cases (besides maybe Tron).

Serum Visions: The best blue cantrip available in modern, barring a Preordain or Ponder unbanning.

Terminate: Our unconditional kill spell of choice. The casting cost can be a little tight on our mana base, but it's worth it.

Murderous Cut: for an unconditional kill spell? Sign me up! This deck can easily handle six delve cards, especially without Snapcaster Mage cutting down our graveyard.

Remand: This card is good as a tempo play, and is a great combo disruptor.

Dispel: I like the single copy of this card in the main because of its myriad of uses against basically every deck in Modern. It is extremely effective in control matchups and counter wars, it's an even trade or better with any of burn's instants, and is especially valuable in Delver mirrors.

Electrolyze: This card is extremely flexible and useful in most matchups, tagging multiple X/1s or even just cycling at the end of the turn.

Spell Snare: Arguably stronger than Dispel in the average match, Spell Snare tags important cards in all matchups, regardless of card type, in exchange for being a slightly inferior spell in combat scenarios and against combo. This card hits Scavenging Ooze, Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Terminate and Grim Flayer out of Jund, Eidolon of the Great Revel and Boros Charm in Burn, as well as Remand, Snapcaster Mage and Mana Leak against control.

Anger of the Gods: Good against Burn and Zoo, really good against Dredge, this comes in against any aggro strategy.

Countersquall: Similar to Negate, this really helps in control matchups to make it easier to burn them out.

Dismember: A , 4 life kill spell for when you really need it. Mostly for Bant Eldrazi.

Dispel: In case you need a second copy for the control or burn matchups. Also decent against Infect.

Inquisition of Kozilek: Great in the control matchup, this card is also effective against combo to strip their combo piece or slow them down.

Izzet Staticaster: Blows Lingering Souls and other token strategies out of the water.

Negate: Similar to Countersquall, this is better against burn to reduce the damage you have to take from shocklands to get it online.

Pithing Needle: The catch-all for any activated abilities, good for Affinity.

Rakdos Charm: Cheap, effective graveyard hate for Storm and Dredge.

Rough/Tumble : A more flexible Pyroclasm. Used against aggro.

Spellskite: Decent against Infect, although they may have Twisted Image. Also great against Bogles and Burn.

Vampiric Link: For the Burn matchup. Stick one of these onto a Eidolon of the Great Revel to gain life whenever its ability triggers.

The maybeboard is my current sideboard. This will change frequently to adapt to my local meta.

If you liked this deck, don't forget to upvote it! Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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2-3 finish this week. I felt like I've improved and made some tighter plays, but general decisions in certain matchups are lacking.

Match 1: Eldrazi Tron

This matchup went as usual; Reality Smasher is a strong 3-drop, and having a basic Wastes is good against Blood Moon.
Sideboarding
+2 Blood Moon
+1 Dismember
+1 Crumble to Dust
-1 Dispel
-1 Mana Leak
-1 Electrolyze
-1 Spell Snare

0-1 (0-2 in games)

Match 2: Tokens

This should be a heavily unfavorable match, since Lingering Souls and general token makers are very effective against spot removal. In the first game, a flipped Delver of Secrets  Flip applying pressure on turn 2 baited out Anguished Unmaking post-combat in response to an Inquisition of Kozilek. Young Pyromancer and tokens got there, taking out Sorin, Solemn Visitor along the way. Game two, he got stuck on two lands. Inquisition took his Inquisition, Countersquall tagged a Secure the Wastes for one, Pyromancer ate a Path to Exile after making two tokens and taking down Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and he Pathed his token for a third land. Spectral Procession comes down, followed by a Windbrisk Heights, but the tokens get hit by Izzet Staticaster pre-combat to counteract the Hideaway. My tokens swung for two repeatedly while he floundered, his Inquisition gets him Lightning Bolted in response and reveals a Tasigur, the Golden Fang. My topdecked Inquisition sees double Thoughtseize. He ends up taking my Tasigur, but the tokens get there eventually.
Sideboarding
+1 Izzet Staticaster
+1 Negate
+2 Blood Moon
+1 Pithing Needle
-1 Murderous Cut
-1 Terminate
-1 Dispel
-2 Thought Scour

1-1 (2-2 in games)

Match 3: Affinity

Without Shatterstorm or Vandalblast, this can be a difficult matchup. Game 1 found him a slow start, with Inkmoth Nexus into Signal Pest. A Cranial Plating lands and doesn't get hit by Kolaghan's Command, but the slow rolled Bolt that flipped a Delver earlier breaks the race. The second game sees an unchecked Vault Skirge while Young Pyromancer and Delver of Secrets  Flip both eat Galvanic Blasts. He finds Etched Champion with enough artifacts to keep it safe in the third game, along with Signal Pests boosting Inkmoth Nexus's power to apply pressure in two fronts.
Sideboarding
+1 Magma Spray
+1 Spellskite
+1 Rakdos Charm
+1 Izzet Staticaster
-1 Murderous Cut
-2 Remand
-1 Dispel

1-2 (3-4 in games)

Match 4: Equipment

An interesting deck using Puresteel Paladin for value and Squadron Hawk to carry equipment. Game 1 saw a race which double Delver ended up winning, and in the second game, Keranos, God of Storms did work, providing an unanswered threat.
Sideboarding
+1 Keranos, God of Storms
+1 Magma Spray
-1 Remand
-1 Dispel
I decided that since his equipments were to numberous and cheap to fight over, I would go fully on removal for his creatures.

2-2 (5-4 in games)

Match 5: Burn

The first and third games saw a great burn hand against my mediocre mulligan to 6. In the second one, though, had a flipped Delver eat a Lightning Helix but not after hitting him twice to 11 life, followed by a Tasigur, the Golden Fang into his triple Atarka's Command hand. Countersquall stops the attempted trade of Eidolon of the Great Revel and a Bolt for Tasigur, and the banana king brought that game home.
Sideboarding
+1 Dispel
+1 Magma Spray
-1 Murderous Cut
-1 Remand

2-3 (6-6 in games)

Overall, even though I went 2-3, the 6-6 score in games was pretty solid. Definitely should get a Vandalblast or Shatterstorm for affinity and lantern control, as well as Collective Brutality for burn. Even with Blood Moon, Tron matchups are horrible, and I need to find some way to counteract that.

Comments

Date added 8 years
Last updated 7 years
Exclude colors WG
Legality

This deck is Modern legal.

Rarity (main - side)

20 - 6 Rares

24 - 7 Uncommons

11 - 2 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.15
Tokens Elemental 1/1 R
Folders Delver, Modern, Decks to build, mod, >$100
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