U/x Delver Tempo

[Atreties]

Several articles have been written about the new blue flying Wild Nacatl.

Delver of Secrets first made it's debut in Legacy (in arguably the best deck, as well), with RUG Tempo dominating several SCG Opens.

It didn't take long for people to begin experimenting with the powerhouse in standard, too. Several Lists began popping up, ranging in colors and success rates.

Dever of Secrets Tempo is so good and so versatile that it has splashed into literally every other color of magic. The following color combinations feature Delver (In order of popularity):

• Monoblue (With Moorland Haunt)
• UR
• UG
• RUG
• BUG
• UW
• UB

Each featuring the same basic core cards, but splashing into each color to compliment the core in different ways.

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THE CORE:

Delver of Secrets: The archetype's namesake and main win condition. The ultimate goal of the archetype is to resolve a Delver on turn 1, have it flip as soon as possible, and protect it with countermagic and tempo- based bounce spells. This is also the reason that a minimum of ~18 sorceries and instants are seen in these decks, and the reason most of the decks run between 18-22 land (VERY small land count). It is NOT uncommon to have 1 Delver do all 20 points of damage or close to it.

Snapcaster Mage: This card has near perfect synergy with the Delver Tempo Archetype. At best, this rebuys countermagic that keeps delver swinging for 3 per turn in the air or rebuys bounces that do the same or help you race faster than the opponent. At Worst, it rebuys a draw spell.

Mana Leak: Countermagic is the key in an aggro-control deck. If you can resolve an early threat (delver), countermagic is there to protect it hopefully long enough to win the game. Obviously, Mana Leak is the best counter in standard and

Ponder: This card allows you to Dig for answers, run a lower land count in the deck, smooth out your draws, and (perhaps most importantly) almost guarantees you an Insectile Aberation after you cast it, as it can

Vapor Snag/Disperse: Deals with any creatures (or permanents) that are troublesome that you could not counter or otherwise deal with. Can also be used in a pinch to bounce YOUR creatures, saving them. One interesting play is to bounce your beatstick when they play Oblivion Ring. They must then exile one of THEIR permanents. Overall, these function as a psudo Time Walk in the best situations, forcing the opponent to do nothing but replay the same thing he just played. The Ping for 1 on Vapor Snag is also relavent as you are the aggro deck.

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All deck support options:

Dissipate: Unconditional counter with a HUGE upside. In a world of Geistflame, Snapcaster Mage, Think Twice, Forbidden Alchemy, Reassembling Skeleton, Unburial Rites, etc, the value of exiling the spell cannot be underestimated. This card usually sees play in either the sideboard, or in some of the slightly slower versions of the deck, such as UG. This is easily powerful enough to see MB play in all versions, however.

Gut Shot: A killspell that is GREAT in this metagame. Birds, snapcasters, infect creatures, Inkmoth, and turn 1 1/1s that grow is ALL OVER standard at the moment. Hell, our namesake card gets demolished by this. Can also be re-bought with snapcaster to great effect.

Gitaxian Probe: A sorcery that gives us many, many things. This allows us to keep our land count low and our spell count high for delver, while also allowing us to run an effectively 56 card deck with higher concentrations of threats, and also lets us see what we need to deal with and how we should by showing the opponent's hand.

Think Twice: Think Twice and Counterspells have obvious synergy. If you do not counter their spell, you have wasted your mana for the turn. Instead, you can Think Twice to get nice value and card advantage.

Dismember It's Dismember. It kills things really well.

Stitched Drake: A card with a bit of dissynergy with Moorland Haunt, but has great game against the worst MU for the deck, RDW. It is very similar to Serendib Effreet and in many situations, better.

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MONOBLUE SUPPORT:

Lord of the Unreal/Other Illusions: This basically merges the old Delver tempo shell and the Illusions aggro together with great effect. While delver may not be pumped by the lord, it is not uncommon to see a Phantasmal Image of Insectile Aberation which becomes +1/+1 and Hexproof. This does lower the total sorcery/instant count in the deck, but it allows for a much higher sustained aggression that is REALLY hard for most decks to deal with.

Moorland Haunt: While the goal is to protect your creatures with countermagic and bounce spells, sometimes that just isnt possible (especially with the illusion downside), so monoblue splashes 7-8 white sources to have this extra bit of lategame inevitability.

Manabase: While this is not a card, it is important. This version has by far the best mana. You almost never get color skrewed and can run as low as 18 land with little downside because of the strong manabase.

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RED SUPPORT:

Incinerate/Arc Trail/Other small removal/burn: I don't think I need to explain the worth of burn to anyone. Red Deck WINS for a reason, and this is basically a red deck that splashes blue for the Delver tempo shell because it is THAT GOOD.

Brimstone Volley: GREAT synergy with Snapcaster Mage. You can cast snapcaster, block, and burn face for 5. This ends games QUICKLY. Sometimes, Delver gets in loads of damage but just cannot go the extra last bit. This gives you the end game power to just win the game where the opponent thinks he has stabilized.

Grim Lavamancer: You're running tons of sorceries and instants that go to the bin. You shoot them at stuff.

Stromkirk Noble: Another agressive 1 drop that gets bigger. This card is the centerpiece for RDW and does the job damn well here too.

Chandra's Phoenix: Another inevitability card. Gives you late game reach to finally win the game.

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GREEN SUPPORT:

Mayor of Avabruck: Turn 1 Delver, turn 2 Mayor is insane. You can easily be swinging for 4 in the air on turn 2 while threatening to make 3/3s every turn for free. Werewolves find thier home best in a blue deck with counters but also have great aggro potential. Sounds perfect for delver.

Green Sun's Zenith + Friends: Lets you run a virtual 5-8 mayors, while also giving you tons of options. You can have melira, thrun, Acidic Slime, Birds, and Veridian emmisary in the deck as needed.

Garruk Relentless: A kill spell in green who also make lots and lots of wolves. Note the synergy with Howlpack Alpha.

Naturalize: Sideboard goodness.

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RUG SUPPORT:

Ancient Grudge: Do I need to explain this?

Daybreak Ranger: Demolishes White based decks, and small flier strategies like infect or wolf run (as long as you can handle the ground guys) and can be fetched with Green sun.

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Black Support

Doom Blade: It kills bigger things than Dismember can handle without the 4 life issue.

Forbidden Alchemy: Similar to a mix between Think Twice countermagic synergy and Ponder digging power.

Tribute to Hunger: Deals with pesky Hexproof that evade the countermagic.

Sever the Bloodline: Reassembling Skeleton, Wurmcoil, and Chandra's Phoenix are fairly popular. Also, This is contstructed, so multiples are common.


Wring Flesh: 1 Toughness guys all over the format.

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White Support:

Celestial Purge: Great sideboard

Stony Silence: Great sideboard

Day of Judgement: It's a wrath.

Mirran Crusader: Great in this metagame.

Hero of Bladehold: Makes an army while also making delver swing for a BIT more

[zhule]

i kind of want to see these decks. most of the ones i've seen are all about hitting delver turn 1 and then basically having 3-5 creatures out by turn 3. they are ok, but i think a fair amount of decks only have to sideboard a bit to fight them correctly. i kind of feel delver is better is an already set deck rather then building around it.

[vger]

As requested by popular demand, this thread is sticked.

P.S: Sorry guys, I know how much you wanted a U/x Delver Tempo sticky. Actually wanted to do one but didn't have the time to do it these few days. But I'm glad that Atreties started this, thanks! - Vger

[eeeli]

the blue/red version of this deck is pretty nasty, i went 2-0 in my first two matches last night with a GW humans build and then got spanked by a UR delver deck 0-2 (granted i mulled to 5 both games

[DrwDRdng]

With the release of Innistrad, I was super excited to play U/R counterburn. I liked Delver of Secrets, but first experimented with Burning Vengeance which didn't turn out too well. With the recent success of Delver decks I was happy to try something new. I thoroughly enjoyed playing U/R Delver in my first FNM with Innistrad last night. I ended up a mediocre 2-2, but I think a slight change will fix the problem I had. The list I ran last night was:

4 Sulfur Falls
10 Island
8 Mountain

4 Delver of Secret / Insectile Aberration
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Grim Lavamancer

4 Ponder

4 Mana Leak
2 Negate
4 Vapor Snag
4 Gut Shot
4 Shock
3 Incinerate
3 Brimstone Volley

Sideboard:
4 Flashfreeze - Any G or R deck, can replace Mana Leaks or Negates
4 Steel Sabotage - For Birthing Pod, and Wurmcoil Engine
3 Ancient Grudge - A resolved Wurmcoil Engine scares me this much
2 Arc Trail - Good for 2 for 1 or even 1 and damage to the player, not liking sorcery speed too much
2 Nihil Spellbomb - Thought Solar Flare, Burning Vengeance or G/x Dredge decks might show up, I was wrong

I had a terrible problem with drawing way too much land, even at 22, so I am making the current change of -1 Island, -1 Mountain, +2 Gitaxian Probe. I will see how that goes.

FNM Report:

Game 1 RDW - 1-2

I had not play tested against RDW, but read and assumed it to be my worst match up since they can deal with Delver and my limited creatures very easily. I found that if they are targeting my creature with their removal then they run out of fuel and do not have enough reach to burn me out while I have multiple ways to keep going. I won game 1 when he mulled to 5, I flipped Delver on turn 2 and protected it with counter magic and Snapcasters. Game 2 was a very close race, but I drew 10 land. On my last turn he was at 2, I was at 3, and I could have drawn multiple cards to win the game, but drew a land. Game 3 wasn't even close, I kept a 2 land hand, but drew 7 more and did not have enough to disrupt him. During this match I was most worried about Koth hitting the field so I kept a counter in my hand as often as I could specifically for him. I have enough burn for his creatures, Vapor Snag is awesome against Stormkirk Noble and Stormblood Beserker. Snapcasters were great at keeping me somewhat in the game by giving me what I needed from my graveyard and swinging for 2 at a a time.

Game 2 R/G Werewolves - 1-2

I thought this would be a very easy game, but got buried in land again. I was not able to protect my creatures against his burn Game 1 and without enough burn to keep his werewolves in check I got Overrun by Instigator Gang. Game 2 went perfectly for me, turn 1 Delver, turn 2 flip and Vapor Snag his creature, turn 3 Mana Leak, Turn 4 Snapcaster - Mana Leak. I was reminded what I loved about the deck. Game 3 was a disaster. Too much land, not enough gas, Daybreak Ranger ruins Delver's day when I cannot Remove it.

Game 3 GWU Something? - 2-0

This was a new brew and clearly my opponent was not having much luck with it. Gut Shotting birds ruined his game plan and he was never really in any of the games. Game 2 I was playing great with 3 land after 5 turns and he Acidic Slimed my Sulfur Falls, Ponder was able to dig for a new land and I won pretty quickly. This game is what made me think I could go down to 20 land. I am perfectly fine playing with 3 land which lets me play Snapcaster into burn or Vapor Snag and Brimstone Volley after a creature dies. 4 land is optimal allowing me to do everything but Snapcaster into Brimstone Volley which is a luxury.

Game 4 Mono White Humans - 2-0

This was a new player with some good cards but not an optimized list. Even with too much land, I was able to use my Limited Resources and scare him into playing around Mana Leak, giving me time to draw something relevant. Oddly enough, the land issue actually saved me against a Trepanation Blade. He double equipped two blades to a soldier and attacked revealing 2 lands. Next attack, 2 more land which gave me enough time to win on my next turn. Just for fun we looked at what another attack would have revealed , lo and behold it was 2 more land. I enjoyed playing with him and explaining some intricacies to my deck and some better plays he can make in the future with his deck.

My sideboard was lackluster and I took a general approach without knowing what my meta game would be. I will replace the Nihil Spellbomb for 2 Arc Trail, but other than that I'm not sure what to do with it yet.

Card Analysis:

Delver of Secret - White, Blue and Green do not have an answer for an early Delver and if you can protect it you will have a great game. Before the FNM I was thinking that without a Delver in the first 3 turns my chances of winning would be slim, but I found that with enough disruption Snapcasters can attack enough for the win.

Snapcaster Mage - Even though Delver is the namesake and important win condition, this is the best card in the deck. I think everyone knows how good he is. Vapor Snag makes a great partner for an aggressive Snapcaster. Funny enough, my least favorite play with him is to play him on my turn to flashback Ponder, oh our first world problems.

Grim Lavamancer - These were my last inclusion to the deck when I didn't feel 8 creatures was enough. He has great utility and you only need to be cautious of what targets you leave in the graveyard for Snapcaster. I think 2 is the perfect number. He supplements early drops or comes in late and has a full graveyard to use.

Ponder - Must include 4, I may not be shuffling as often as I should with it leaving me stuck with too much land, but its too tempting to draw 1 land, leave an instant on top to flip Delver with a second land underneath. Any tips on better Ponder decisions would be great.

Mana Leak - Must include 4, not much to say.

Negate - 2 Negate are a good supplement to 4 Mana Leaks. It will protect Delver and keep Planeswalkers off the field.

Vapor Snag - Most list placing in TOP 8 only run 2 of these, but I think they play great with Snapcaster and our tempo game to warrant 4. I am always happy to draw one and they are the best way to deal with large creatures that hit the field and Golem Tokens.

Gut Shot - There are few decks that this will not get a turn 1-2 kill. Paying 2 life to get rid or a Birds of Paradise, Stormkirk Noble, Delver of Secrets, Champion of the Parish, Phantasmal Bear...the list goes on, is well worth it. I found that I'm most likely to side them out for Arc Trail against some slower aggro decks where it is not necessary to kill something on turn one.

Shock - Cheap removal is what this deck is all about. I like the picture and nostalgia that comes with Shock, but if you feel like running Galvanic Blast then by all means.

Incinerate - I've been back and forth between 3 and 4 Incinerate because of the finishing capabilities and creatures with 3 toughness. I think that 3 with Snapcaster recursion is just enough to get the job done.

Brimstone Volley - Probably the most likely to get replaced card. Going down to 2 might not even be a problem. Snapcasting and Brimstone Volley is very nice and even dealing 5 after losing a Delver can take out big chunks when you need it most. 3 CMC though limits your options for the turn. I don't have a replacement for it yet though so it will continue to do work for me.

Other Considerations:

Chandra's Phoenix - I don't see the appeal of this card beyond a recurring creature, but I have not played with it at all and RDW beat me with one that I had to keep removing. I don't like playing cards on my turn and 2 damage for 3 mana is not quite up to par. I don't think I will be play testing this at all.

Stormkirk Noble - I want to try these in place of Grim Lavamancer, but they may be put into the sideboard to come in against Haunted Humans for the chance to run away with a game where it comes out early. I don't like the idea of drawing it late game, and I like having blue mana on my first turn way too much.

Phantasmal Bear - I've considered this 1 drop, but based on theory I don't see it doing quite enough to warrant the inclusion. I see it losing value the later you draw it and it is easily traded with or removed.

Think Twice / Desperate Ravings - I've wondered if the deck could use more card draw, but I don't think either of these fills your hand fast enough. And after playing Burning Vengeance I've learned my lesson of drawing relevant cards rather than more card draw.

I'm enjoying U/R and don't think I'll be testing any other colors for Delver, though I agree that other colors do provide interesting options.

[eeeli]

With the release of Innistrad, I was super excited to play U/R counterburn. I liked Delver of Secrets, but first experimented with Burning Vengeance which didn't turn out too well. With the recent success of Delver decks I was happy to try something new. I thoroughly enjoyed playing U/R Delver in my first FNM with Innistrad last night. I ended up a mediocre 2-2, but I think a slight change will fix the problem I had. The list I ran last night was:

4 Sulfur Falls
10 Island
8 Mountain

4 Delver of Secret / Insectile Aberration
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Grim Lavamancer

4 Ponder

4 Mana Leak
2 Negate
4 Vapor Snag
4 Gut Shot
4 Shock
3 Incinerate
3 Brimstone Volley

Sideboard:
4 Flashfreeze - Any G or R deck, can replace Mana Leaks or Negates
4 Steel Sabotage - For Birthing Pod, and Wurmcoil Engine
3 Ancient Grudge - A resolved Wurmcoil Engine scares me this much
2 Arc Trail - Good for 2 for 1 or even 1 and damage to the player, not liking sorcery speed too much
2 Nihil Spellbomb - Thought Solar Flare, Burning Vengeance or G/x Dredge decks might show up, I was wrong

I had a terrible problem with drawing way too much land, even at 22, so I am making the current change of -1 Island, -1 Mountain, +2 Gitaxian Probe. I will see how that goes.

FNM Report:

Game 1 RDW - 1-2

I had not play tested against RDW, but read and assumed it to be my worst match up since they can deal with Delver and my limited creatures very easily. I found that if they are targeting my creature with their removal then they run out of fuel and do not have enough reach to burn me out while I have multiple ways to keep going. I won game 1 when he mulled to 5, I flipped Delver on turn 2 and protected it with counter magic and Snapcasters. Game 2 was a very close race, but I drew 10 land. On my last turn he was at 2, I was at 3, and I could have drawn multiple cards to win the game, but drew a land. Game 3 wasn't even close, I kept a 2 land hand, but drew 7 more and did not have enough to disrupt him. During this match I was most worried about Koth hitting the field so I kept a counter in my hand as often as I could specifically for him. I have enough burn for his creatures, Vapor Snag is awesome against Stormkirk Noble and Stormblood Beserker. Snapcasters were great at keeping me somewhat in the game by giving me what I needed from my graveyard and swinging for 2 at a a time.

Game 2 R/G Werewolves - 1-2

I thought this would be a very easy game, but got buried in land again. I was not able to protect my creatures against his burn Game 1 and without enough burn to keep his werewolves in check I got Overrun by Instigator Gang. Game 2 went perfectly for me, turn 1 Delver, turn 2 flip and Vapor Snag his creature, turn 3 Mana Leak, Turn 4 Snapcaster - Mana Leak. I was reminded what I loved about the deck. Game 3 was a disaster. Too much land, not enough gas, Daybreak Ranger ruins Delver's day when I cannot Remove it.

Game 3 GWU Something? - 2-0

This was a new brew and clearly my opponent was not having much luck with it. Gut Shotting birds ruined his game plan and he was never really in any of the games. Game 2 I was playing great with 3 land after 5 turns and he Acidic Slimed my Sulfur Falls, Ponder was able to dig for a new land and I won pretty quickly. This game is what made me think I could go down to 20 land. I am perfectly fine playing with 3 land which lets me play Snapcaster into burn or Vapor Snag and Brimstone Volley after a creature dies. 4 land is optimal allowing me to do everything but Snapcaster into Brimstone Volley which is a luxury.

Game 4 Mono White Humans - 2-0

This was a new player with some good cards but not an optimized list. Even with too much land, I was able to use my Limited Resources and scare him into playing around Mana Leak, giving me time to draw something relevant. Oddly enough, the land issue actually saved me against a Trepanation Blade. He double equipped two blades to a soldier and attacked revealing 2 lands. Next attack, 2 more land which gave me enough time to win on my next turn. Just for fun we looked at what another attack would have revealed , lo and behold it was 2 more land. I enjoyed playing with him and explaining some intricacies to my deck and some better plays he can make in the future with his deck.

My sideboard was lackluster and I took a general approach without knowing what my meta game would be. I will replace the Nihil Spellbomb for 2 Arc Trail, but other than that I'm not sure what to do with it yet.

Card Analysis:

Delver of Secret - White, Blue and Green do not have an answer for an early Delver and if you can protect it you will have a great game. Before the FNM I was thinking that without a Delver in the first 3 turns my chances of winning would be slim, but I found that with enough disruption Snapcasters can attack enough for the win.

Snapcaster Mage - Even though Delver is the namesake and important win condition, this is the best card in the deck. I think everyone knows how good he is. Vapor Snag makes a great partner for an aggressive Snapcaster. Funny enough, my least favorite play with him is to play him on my turn to flashback Ponder, oh our first world problems.

Grim Lavamancer - These were my last inclusion to the deck when I didn't feel 8 creatures was enough. He has great utility and you only need to be cautious of what targets you leave in the graveyard for Snapcaster. I think 2 is the perfect number. He supplements early drops or comes in late and has a full graveyard to use.

Ponder - Must include 4, I may not be shuffling as often as I should with it leaving me stuck with too much land, but its too tempting to draw 1 land, leave an instant on top to flip Delver with a second land underneath. Any tips on better Ponder decisions would be great.

Mana Leak - Must include 4, not much to say.

Negate - 2 Negate are a good supplement to 4 Mana Leaks. It will protect Delver and keep Planeswalkers off the field.

Vapor Snag - Most list placing in TOP 8 only run 2 of these, but I think they play great with Snapcaster and our tempo game to warrant 4. I am always happy to draw one and they are the best way to deal with large creatures that hit the field and Golem Tokens.

Gut Shot - There are few decks that this will not get a turn 1-2 kill. Paying 2 life to get rid or a Birds of Paradise, Stormkirk Noble, Delver of Secrets, Champion of the Parish, Phantasmal Bear...the list goes on, is well worth it. I found that I'm most likely to side them out for Arc Trail against some slower aggro decks where it is not necessary to kill something on turn one.

Shock - Cheap removal is what this deck is all about. I like the picture and nostalgia that comes with Shock, but if you feel like running Galvanic Blast then by all means.

Incinerate - I've been back and forth between 3 and 4 Incinerate because of the finishing capabilities and creatures with 3 toughness. I think that 3 with Snapcaster recursion is just enough to get the job done.

Brimstone Volley - Probably the most likely to get replaced card. Going down to 2 might not even be a problem. Snapcasting and Brimstone Volley is very nice and even dealing 5 after losing a Delver can take out big chunks when you need it most. 3 CMC though limits your options for the turn. I don't have a replacement for it yet though so it will continue to do work for me.

Other Considerations:

Chandra's Phoenix - I don't see the appeal of this card beyond a recurring creature, but I have not played with it at all and RDW beat me with one that I had to keep removing. I don't like playing cards on my turn and 2 damage for 3 mana is not quite up to par. I don't think I will be play testing this at all.

Stormkirk Noble - I want to try these in place of Grim Lavamancer, but they may be put into the sideboard to come in against Haunted Humans for the chance to run away with a game where it comes out early. I don't like the idea of drawing it late game, and I like having blue mana on my first turn way too much.

Phantasmal Bear - I've considered this 1 drop, but based on theory I don't see it doing quite enough to warrant the inclusion. I see it losing value the later you draw it and it is easily traded with or removed.

Think Twice / Desperate Ravings - I've wondered if the deck could use more card draw, but I don't think either of these fills your hand fast enough. And after playing Burning Vengeance I've learned my lesson of drawing relevant cards rather than more card draw.

I'm enjoying U/R and don't think I'll be testing any other colors for Delver, though I agree that other colors do provide interesting options.

in the UR deck I lost to, he was playing Think Twice and Silent Departure instead of the Ponder and the Vapor Snag with Burning Vengeance. (i understand Ponder helps flip the delver, i wasn't suggesting completely removing them). I think it would be worth giving Burning Vengeance a second chance in the deck because there are so many flashback options in the build, especially with 4 snapcasters

[DrwDRdng]

in the UR deck I lost to, he was playing Think Twice and Silent Departure instead of the Ponder and the Vapor Snag with Burning Vengeance. (i understand Ponder helps flip the delver, i wasn't suggesting completely removing them). I think it would be worth giving Burning Vengeance a second chance in the deck because there are so many flashback options in the build, especially with 4 snapcasters

I don't understand what use Silent Departure would serve. There are not enough cards with flashback to warrant it and would only fuel a snapcaster in hand or a Grim Lavamancer on the field. It would have no immediate impact on the game which is necessary in a tempo deck. Burning Vengeance is also a seperate deck idea all together. I see it more as a combo deck, and it requires spending 3 mana on my own turn which goes against how the deck wants to play. I don't think there is a perfect list yet so thank you for sharing your experience and ideas.

[Dragons_Quest]

Guys the best delver deck is called Sux A D control . It runs UW with 4 doj. 4 oring. 2 Sun Titan 2 Image it dominated RDW it has so much control it rediculus. My version doesn't run snapcaster just cause I don't have any!

[Ally]

Wow, that idea is amazing dragon_quest. Where can we find an example deck?

[Dragons_Quest]

Ill post it later today I don't have the deck on me to post the list turn 2 delver was eminant!