Magic the Gathering - Modern U/R Delver Deck Tech and Review

by Phoenix Desertsong

For those that played Magic: the Gathering during Innistrad Standard, you may remember a certain common Transform card known as  Delver of Secrets. It was a pretty nifty card. So nifty, in fact, that the Delver tempo deck dominated Standard for some time. In fact, Delver is such a good card that Delver-based decks are actually a major archetype in Legacy, also running Green in order to play the mighty Tarmogoyf. Well, it was only a matter of time before Delver made its way into Modern, and even without Ponder and Preordain, the deck has some life.

Today, we're taking a look at a U/R Delver list that went 4-0 in a Modern daily on MTGO. Best of all, this is a fairly budget deck (around $250 in early 2015, but about $350 in mid 2019) and contains zero fetch-lands.

Here’s the list that MTGO user Darkrouge piloted to a perfect record and some M15 packs:

CREATURES

4  Delver of Secrets
4  Young Pyromancer
3  Snapcaster Mage
2  Grim Lavamancer

NON-CREATURES

4  Gitaxian Probe
4  Serum Visions
4  Mana Leak
4  Lightning Bolt
3  Vapor Snag
3  Spell Snare
2  Spell Pierce
2  Izzet Charm
2  Electrolyze
1  Dispel

LANDS

5  Island
5  Mountain
4  Steam Vents
3  Sulfur Falls
1  Temple of Epiphany

(NOTE: Because Gitaxian Probe was banned after this list was played, we will replace the 4 copies of Probe for four copies of Opt.)

Young Pyromancer  is a really awesome card. Its combination with Delver it actually has made some serious noise in Legacy before. While the non-creature spells in Modern aren’t nearly of the same power level as in Legacy (you still have Ponder and Preordain legal in that format) there’s a pretty good package here. Making a 1/1 Elemental creature token every time you can an instant or sorcery is extremely cool in this burn/tempo build. You’re slowing down your opponent’s early plays enough to make those 1/1’s potentially become lethal threats after only a handful of turns.

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Next, we have a fairly staple Modern card in  Snapcaster Mage. Obviously, he was a major part of the Innistrad Standard Delver deck, and he continues to do a lot of work here, helping you flashback your previously used spells in order to gain even more tokens and more tempo advantage. He’s definitely the priciest card in the deck, but well worth the investment. Getting those second uses out of your spells is important in keeping the game's tempo in your favor.

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We round out the creature line-up with a card quite familiar to burn decks in  Grim Lavamancer. His appearance in a more tempo-based list is interesting, but his ability does help you to deal with smaller problem creatures while saving your counter-magic and Lightning Bolts for greater threats. Having to exile two cards from your graveyard doesn’t seem to have great synergy with Snapcaster Mage, so you’ll have to decide when it’s worth it to use the Lavamancer’s effect. It also does have the option of hitting players, so it can be a way to deal the final 2 damage that you need.

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Onto the non-creature spells, this deck used to run a full play-set of  Gitaxian Probe. The cool thing about the Probe is that it has a Phyrexian mana cost, meaning you can pay 2 life rather than pay a single Blue mana to cast it. It draws you a card, plus shows you your opponent’s hand. The 2 life for a card draw and a Peek at your opponent’s hand are often worth it turn one.

But, since Gitaxian Probe was banned in the Modern format, we will substitute those four copies for Opt, a card that was introduced to Modern in the Ixalan set. While it doesn't provide the Peek that Probe gives you, it does allow you to Scry 1 before you draw your card. It's a solid draw spell, although you can't play it for 2 life.

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We next have a play-set of  Serum Visions. Since Ponder, Preordain, and Probe are banned in Modern, due to their power level in decks like Storm and – you guessed it – Delver,  Serum Visions  is now the premier draw card of Modern. It’s pretty much backwards Preordain. Instead of Scrying for 2, then drawing a card, you draw a card, then Scry 2. But because the card filtering comes after the draw, it’s a bit less powerful. Still, it’s a very good card that predates  Preordain, which was printed in the Magic 2011 core set.

Then we have 4 copies of  Mana Leak, the classic permission spell that costs 1U and counters a target spell unless its controller pays 2 colorless mana. Plus, we have 4 copies of  Lightning Bolt, the classic hit a creature or player for 3 damage.

After that we get into the meat of this deck, which is the tempo package. There are three copies of  Vapor Snag, which is basically  Unsummon  except that the creature’s controller also loses 1 life. Forcing a player to tap out to play a creature then force it back to the hand can ruin many a player’s turn, so the loss of life on top of that is fairly relevant.

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There are three copies of Spell Snare, as well. It’s a highly specific counter-spell, in that it costs a single Blue mana but only counters spells with a converted mana cost of 2. That doesn’t sound all that great, but consider how many spells are played in competitive Magic that have a CMC of 2:Snapcaster Mage and Tarmogoyf are great examples. You can stop opponents from playing a great many of their early game plays. More often than not, it’s not a dead card.

For problematic non-creature spells, you have 2 copies of Spell Pierce. It’s basically Mana Leak in that it’s a permission spell that counters a spell unless its controller pays 2 extra colorless mana, but it doesn’t work against creature spells. It’s great for stopping removal and opposing counter-spells, as well as planeswalkers.

Izzet Charm  is a versatile little card with three “Modes:” Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays 2 colorless mana; deal 2 damage to target creature; or draw two cards, then discard two cards. It’s basically a Spell Pierce, a Shock, and a Faithless Looting all on one card, except you get to choose which one it is. There are two of these in the deck.

Electrolyze  is a fun little burn card. It deals 2 damage divided between one or two target creatures or players of your choice. That seems pricey for 3 mana (1RU) but you also draw a card off of it. It’s a can-trip Shock with some options.

Lastly, there’s a single  Dispel  in the main-board, which costs a single Blue mana to play and counters a target Instant spell. Typically you’ll use it to stop a Lightning Bolt, other removal, or a counter-spell.

For the mana base, you have 10 basic lands, 5 Islands and 5 Mountains. You then have 4 Steam Vents and 3 Sulfur Falls, plus 1 Temple of Epiphany. Honestly, this doesn’t seem to be the best choice for a mana base, as there are no copies of Shivan Reef, a very common land to play in U/R decks. It may be better to remove the one scry land and the 3 Sulfur Falls with the Reefs, which do ping you for 1 when you tap them for colored mana, but makes your mana-fixing a bit more consistent. However, the pilot of this deck seemed to have no problem with consistency, so it would take some actual play-testing with the deck myself to see how well the mana-base functions as it is.

Onto the sideboard:

SIDEBOARD

3 Combust
2 Smelt
2 Dispel
2 Anger of the Gods
1 Spell Snare
1 Spell Pierce
1 Counterflux
1 Magma Spray
1 Electrolyze

The three copies of Combust exist purely to destroy white or blue creatures. For only 1R, it deals 5 damage to a target white or blue creature and can’t be countered. It’s the perfect answer to cards such as Restoration Angel,Archangel of Thune, or Loxodon Smiter. Basically, anything that can’t be answered with a Lightning Bolt that’s white or blue can be taken out with this card.

Smash to Smithereens  might be better than Smelt overall, as Smash deals 3 damage to an artifact’s controller upon destroying it, but Smelt gets the job done for only a single Red mana. Like Smash, Smelt is also at instant speed, but doesn’t add the Lava Spike effect on top of that. Being only one mana is relevant, too, as it’s easier to Flashback and simply easier to cast.

Anger of the Gods  helps deal with aggressive decks, and while you may exile your own creatures in the process (including even a transformed Delver), most of the creatures you would have on board are probably 1/1 elemental tokens anyway. It’s sort of a card that you sit on until your opponent extends too far with their board-state and you hope they don’t see it coming..

Two copies of Dispel exist in the sideboard to deal with control match-ups. The extra Spell Snare can come in handy against certain decks, and the extra Spell Pierce exists for the same reason as Dispel. The Counterflux  is in the board for Storm match-ups, as countering all spells on the stack when your opponent is trying to reach a certain Storm count is devastating. The lone Magma Spray is an interesting choice against aggro decks, as well. Plus you have another copy of  Electrolyze  to add to your creature removal package.

This list looks pretty solid. While there are some changes I may make to it, it’s mostly in the mana base, which could potentially work just as it is. It’s a fairly simple deck to play as long as you know what to counter and what not to. The deck won’t burn people to death but as your opponent will likely never have enough creatures to block your Elemental tokens from Pyromancer, you should have a good time getting through for a bit of damage every turn. If you like tempo decks, like myself, this is definitely a list worth taking a spin. It does require a bit of an upfront investment, but Snapcasters, Steam Vents, and Serum Visions, the most expensive cards in the deck, aren’t going anywhere, so they’re all solid cards to have. Also, if you want to play blue/red but don’t want to play Storm, this is a pretty good alternative.

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