Architect Delver
Standard*
SCORE: 6 | 13 COMMENTS | 1675 VIEWS | IN 3 FOLDERS
Wednesday Night Magic —Sept. 12, 2012
This deck got second place in an FNM offshoot!
I'm pretty excited about that. I had a really good shot at first place but I made some small but excruciating misplays; for example WAY overestimating a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Somehow my opponent topdecked three in a row and I spent quite a few resources killing her (resources that could have potentially been put to better use later in the game).
Basically I've been learning that A) counterspells suck against Cavern of Souls, though I do have some Ghost Quarters, and B) 4x Buried Ruin is overkill. I'll have to do some playtesting to see what I should do about that... I can either replace one with another Island or add an instant/sorcery to help my Delvers flip just a little more often. I tend to do well (sometimes too well) on lands, so I'll probably go down to 22. And C) Silverblade Paladin is annoying. I may throw in 1-2 copies of Dismember for big guys, since Gut Shot is usually enough for the little ones (Apostle's Blessing is damn good too - I may want a full playset maindeck). I use a LOT of phyrexian mana spells, which can be very daunting to people who are new to playing this unique deck, but have no fear - you gain it all back with Wurmcoil Engine. In one of my games today I reached 70 life before I won. 70.
MATCH REPORT:
2-0 (win) vs Monogreen Midrange
2-1 (win) vs Haunted Humans
0-2 (loss) vs Monowhite Aggro
PRELIMINARY UPDATES:
Removed 2x Psychic Barrier from the sideboard. I didn't play any Wolf Run decks today, but they're a really tough matchup so I replaced the counterspells with... more counterspells. 2 more Flashfreeze for a full playset in the sideboard. I thought about Mana Leaks but the only spells I'm afraid of are red, or creatures that're uncounterable from Cavern of Souls. I'll deal with creatures using removal, not counters.
Ince_Velus says... #2
The only thing I would add...Cackling Counterpart s....using snapcaster (if you have one with nothing to do) you can flash back cackling for 5...then flashback again for 7 in the later game to your more powerful creatures (like an architect)
June 30, 2012 5:43 p.m.
@Inces_Velus Flashback exiles the card, you can't flash it back again. Or I've been tragically mis-informed.
I really like the deck, I was always a touch surprised that no-one I knew used Grand Architect for anything other than a blue creature lord as opposed to a Wurmcoil Engine pusher. Nice work!
July 1, 2012 9:25 p.m.
seems like delver doesnt flip much with only 15 instant/sorcery's.
July 2, 2012 2:40 a.m.
Ince_Velus says... #5
@Dritz I see what I did wrong, I was thinking a double flashback, and in this deck, I would more control...like mana leaks...and then run 3 of each creature to cut down on creatures but still have some (leave the 2 Spellskite s) and with that you can then free space up for 5 more instants and/or sorceries to put in, which this deck needs...other than that, this is GREAT! +1 here
check out my izzet based deck if you really like the delver basis
July 2, 2012 12:59 p.m.
@Tyqar - Flying Wurmcoils would be pretty amazing but I think Delver is more of a threat/beater than Wingcraft. I'll definitely think it over though, since flying would have saved my butt a couple of times.
@Inces_Velus - Cackling Counterpart would still be a good option. At the very least it could replace Phyrexian Metamorph (I sided it out a lot because of Ancient Grudge ) and it would give Delver an additional chance to flip.
@Dritz - Thanks; all the +1s are appreciated.
@djd1002 - 20 is the "optimal" amount of instants and sorceries desired to make Delver flip more often than not. Fortunately for me 15 is actually working quite well. Delver consistently flips and does other things that benefit me even if he doesn't flip (which is rarely, as it turns out). Eats potential removal, taps for colorless mana with Grand Architect , etc. Could I add more non-permanent cards? Certainly. Do I absolutely need to? Nope. 15 isn't as good as 20 but I'm not running a control deck here - it's combo/aggro. 15 is definitely enough to make Delver flip on turn 2 onwards.
July 2, 2012 8:04 p.m.
And by the way I used to run a version of this with Mana Leaks. It wasn't very good.
I need to tap out every turn early game to keep the pressure on, and when counterspells are actually relevant to have in my hand... people can just pay the 3 to ignore Leak. Sideboarded Negate and/or Psychic Barrier are much better options, and I've already added Barrier to my sideboard to help me against my local meta. (It's also sexy to have with Vapor Snag because of that extra life loss.)
Tyqar says... #1
I dig it..I might consider replacing the Delvers with Wingcrafter s, as it seems the Delvers may not be doing everything they can, but flying Wurmcoils are amazing.
Just a suggestion...+1 here =)
June 30, 2012 4:52 p.m.