Delver is a different animal now, and the rest of the world hasn’t caught up yet. Recent SCG Open Series events have shown us not only the raw power of the deck but also its proliferation across the metagame. Simply put, you can’t expect to win a tournament without playing against and beating Delver many times. The results of this past weekend’s SCG Standard Open in Columbus, which featured two non-Delver decks in the finals, should give hope to players everywhere.
The success of these new builds is partially due to the tools people use to fight it—cards which were much more effective against older builds of the deck. Delver’s strength lies not only in its consistency and power level but also in its versatility and ability to sideboard into a drastically different game plan. This means that we need our maindeck to be set up well to fight game 1 Delver, but our sideboards should be prepared to play against a much different configuration. Keeping this in mind, let’s look at some decks:
1. G/R Aggro
Traditionally, G/R has taken advantage of cheap, efficient threats and equipment to beat Delver while utilizing cheap removal spells to keep creatures in check. However, all of the most commonly played removal spells for the archetype (Galvanic Blast, Incinerate, and Pillar of Flame) fail to interact with Restoration Angel, which is a huge problem for this deck out of any archetype. Just as we’ve seen with some other decks, I think the time has come again to play Dismember, which is conveniently another answer to troublesome game breakers like Wolfir Silverheart.
Here’s the current maindeck I recommend:
Creatures (23)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 1 Acidic Slime
- 2 Phyrexian Metamorph
- 4 Strangleroot Geist
- 4 Huntmaster of the Fells
- 4 Wolfir Avenger
Lands (23)
Spells (14)
This deck has five direct ways to fight Restoration Angel between Sword of War and Peace and Dismember. A regenerating Wolfir Avenger or suicidal Strangleroot Geist can also combine well with Galvanic Blast or Kessig Wolf Run to take down the flier. As a G/R player, you need to be diligently aware of the Angel. I’m not suggesting living in fear of it, but the card is also a tremendous blowout for unsuspecting players.
A full set of Wolfir Avengers along with the Metamorphs should be able to keep Geist of Saint Traft in check as well while still putting pressure on the opponent.
Sideboarding provides an opportunity to fight Consecrated Sphinx with Plummet and Stingerfling Spider. Both of these serve as answers to Insectile Aberration and Restoration Angel, so don’t worry about playing too many narrow cards.
My current G/R sideboard is:
1 Stingerfling Spider
2 Plummet
2 Zealous Conscripts
3 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Act of Aggression
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Manabarbs
Silverheart, Conscripts, and Act of Aggression help shore up the Ramp matchup, while Silverheart is good against Pod decks or aggro mirrors. Manabarbs is a great card against control decks which are forced to answer it immediately while under pressure from your other threats.
I’m not entirely sold on bringing in Ancient Grudge against Delver, since many players will want to side their Swords out against you. That’s the type of decision that needs to be made in game and perhaps adjusted between games 2 and 3.
One thing to keep in mind while sideboarding with this deck is to not dilute your threat count or mana curve too much. If you are bringing in expensive spells, try to cut some effects that function in similar roles. Naturally, you will sometimes be cutting Galvanic Blasts against decks with no real targets, but for the most part this rule should serve to help your sideboarding.
2. Esper Control
This past weekend, Michael Belfatto took down the SCG Standard Open in Columbus with the following list:
Creatures (6)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (26)
Spells (26)
There are a number of things I like about Michael’s list. The first is his adoption of Ponder, which is a very underused card in control decks. It helps you find the right cards at the right time, and since this deck is more about landing powerful spells than it is about raw card advantage, Ponder fits the bill.
The two Ratchet Bombs in the main are something I’m not a fan of because although Bomb is versatile, I don’t think it does any one thing particularly well. I’d much rather see another Go for the Throat as an answer to Restoration Angel and Titans. Curse of Death’s hold is another card that seems to have fallen by the wayside, especially as some Delver players (see Gerry Thompson most recent list) have started to shave Moorland Haunts. I think a second Gideon Jura or another Day of Judgment would be more effective in this spot.
That said, Lingering Souls is a great card, particularly against Delver, and this Esper deck maximizes it as a threat, a flashback spell, and a way to buy time to get to some real haymakers.
An updated list would be:
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (26)
Spells (25)
While Griselbrand seems very powerful, it concerns me to play a threat that’s very close to uncastable without Unburial Rites. Typically, whatever threat you’re resolving in the late game should be good enough, so I tried to mitigate potentially dead cards as much as possible. One of main advantages to playing this deck is that it preys upon other strategies’ attempts to "pass the Vapor Snag test" by simply crushing creature strategies. Notice that the maindeck threats—Lingering Souls, Sun Titan, Gideon, and Elesh Norn—are all fairly immune to Vapor Snag. As long as U/B Control is a non-factor in the metagame, Esper is a powerful and well-positioned choice.
3. Zombies
From the first days of Zombies as a Standard deck, we have seen two flavors: B/R and B/U. Here are recent lists from SCG Open Series:
Creatures (21)
- 3 Phyrexian Metamorph
- 4 Diregraf Ghoul
- 4 Gravecrawler
- 4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
- 4 Geralf's Messenger
- 2 Highborn Ghoul
Lands (24)
Spells (15)
Creatures (24)
- 4 Phantasmal Image
- 4 Diregraf Ghoul
- 1 Bloodline Keeper
- 4 Gravecrawler
- 4 Geralf's Messenger
- 3 Highborn Ghoul
- 4 Blood Artist
Lands (21)
Spells (15)
While I like the reach that the red version provides (and Falkenrath Aristocrat), Michael Marlow’s second place list from SCG Open Series: Columbus looks very promising. Traditional criticism of Zombies is that its card quality drops off significantly after the first 30 or so cards. Your deck is only as good as your Geralf’s Messengers. Michael’s inclusion of Ponder (sensing a theme) not only helps dig for "gas" in the late game, but it improves card quality across the board. Ponder also helps you search for one part of a two-part combo in Blood Artist + Killing Wave.
I’m not a huge fan of maindeck Bloodline Keeper, so instead I would include one Devouring Swarm as a finisher and additional combo piece with Blood Artist. Despite Zombie synergies, Highborn Ghoul seems simply too bad to play. My search for a suitable two-drop leads to Porcelain Legionnaire, which is easy to cast and very aggressive.
As for the sideboard, I’d like to see a couple of Act of Aggressions for the Ramp matchup, which also combines nicely with sacrifice effects. Undying Evil also doesn’t seem particularly good in a deck that already has Gravecrawler, Geralf’s Messenger, and Phantasmal Image. A revised list for Michael’s deck might look like:
Creatures (24)
- 3 Porcelain Legionnaire
- 1 Devouring Swarm
- 4 Phantasmal Image
- 4 Diregraf Ghoul
- 4 Gravecrawler
- 4 Geralf's Messenger
- 4 Blood Artist
Lands (21)
Spells (12)
If you can get to Phyrexian Obliterator against G/R aggro or Wolf Run, it should be close to game over. The extra Swamp should help, but this plan is contingent on being very careful with your Cavern of Souls. As much as I dislike Ratchet Bomb, it does serve as a good way to clear the way against decks with Lingering Souls.
As one of the weaker decks in the format to Vapor Snag, Mental Misstep provides an important effect against Delver. When putting pressure on them, disrupting a key turn can be the difference between a close game and a blowout. In addition, many Delver lists have been cutting Celestial Purge from their sideboards, which is a huge boon for Zombies.
4. Wolf Run Ramp
My starting point for Ramp was John Cuvelier winning list from the recent SCG Standard Open in Orlando.
Creatures (14)
- 4 Solemn Simulacrum
- 1 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Primeval Titan
- 1 Wurmcoil Engine
- 1 Viridian Corrupter
- 3 Huntmaster of the Fells
Lands (26)
Spells (20)
I really like John’s use of Beast Within, which serves as a maindeck answer to Restoration Angel and Sword of Feast and Famine. However, Wurmcoil Engine doesn’t seem like a very good choice when there are so many decks with Vapor Snag and Phantasmal Image. I can see playing Batterskull, which is invulnerable to Image and mitigates Vapor Snag damage if you have another creature in play. As a result of Ghost Quarter sideboards that are becoming more common, I think a third Kessig Wolf Run might be warranted and would serve as an additional way to grind decks out.
Creatures (13)
Lands (26)
Spells (21)
Melira is an interesting Zenith target to combat the Mono-Green and G/U Poison decks that have recently appeared on Magic Online. If you don’t expect any poison in your metagame, this could easily be a Whipflare or an Ancient Grudge.
Something I would consider as a sideboard plan against Delver would be to become a true "Wolf Run" deck. Sideboarding in a threat like Wolfir Avenger to focus on killing them with Kessig Wolf Run and dodging the plan of lots of Phantasmal Images on Titans might actually be a better route to go. That said, I’m not sure how much I like becoming the hybrid deck between G/R Aggro and Ramp, so going over the top with Cavern of Souls is still probably better. At least Stingerfling Spider gives you a few more options, and there are still Huntmasters and Solemns to get in for early damage with.
For right now, I’d say these are the four major decks to consider playing in Standard beyond U/W Delver. In the back of my mind, Delver’s propensity to transform into a bigger, more controlling deck makes me want to try a more middle of the road U/W deck based more around Restoration Angel and less around Geist and Delver. Is this the future of Seachrome Coast in Standard? Who knows, though I find it hard to believe that I would ever sacrifice the raw power of the aggressive version.
Hopefully these tips have been helpful for those of you out there who don’t want to pick up the "big bad wolf" of the format. However, there’s also a bigger picture point to be made about the way metagames transform. Everyone has a connotation attached with the name Delver, and maybe that refers to a Delver list from weeks or months ago. A player might show up to a tournament thinking they’re prepared only to find that playing with or against Delver now is nothing like it was before.
Decks are constantly adapting and sometimes change drastically in the process. Don’t fight today’s battles with yesterday’s tools.
Thanks for reading,