First thing first: Punted cause I forgot about the Surgicals for the SB. Welp, I knew I forgot something, but missing the Graveyard hate is kinda hard.
Round 1 vs UR As Foretold Restor Vision.deck (yeah, that janky brew):
Game 1 I went Nacatl into Obsession into Mandrills into gg basically. No way he can deal with an active Obsession.
Game 2 was more drawn out, I was stuck on two lands (own fault for only playing 17 lands), he fired of a Resto via Electrodominance where he needed to sac 3 of his lands just to clear the board from 2x Goyf which represented lethal for the next turn. I went Bolt on Jace, he Dispelled, I went Mandrills into beats into gg. He was not able to land an As Foretold (nor Moon) due to the cheap counter mana set-up which basically allowed to play beater + counter.
Round 2 vs UR Phoenix
'Member that I forgot the Surgicals? Doh.
Game 1 was a slugfest. He didn't find any Phoenixes while my Delvers didn't flip at all (5 turns in a row btw). Since I only drew lands (even with the Fetch to re-set my top trick) I had no out vs his Crackling Drake. In his turn 5 (played Drake on turn 3 cause of an Path on TiTi) he was capable of pumping his Crackling Drake from a mediocre 3|4 into an 12|4 thanks to Thought Scour, Lootings and Manamorphose. Combined with a Bolt it was lethal.
Game 2 was a quick start from my side, early Nacatl into Obsession, Stubbing a Moon into value chain. At least I had the first Delver flip in that tournament in this game, and he still needed 3 turns to pull it together.
Game 3 was quite interesting. I countered a Flashback Looting via a Stub (as a Force Spike), cause he was so greedy to not play the land. On my board was a Goyf + 2x Nacatl and on his 5th turn he went for massive Phoenix turn, churning out 3 guys. He had in his hand a Lightning Axe + pitch (I didn't knew) so he swinged with all three, putting me down to 4 (he also had an Bolt). On my turn, I Bolted him, attacked him and Leaked his Axe and won the game off it.
Thinking about it, I should have leaked the flashback Looting in that Phoenix turn. Would have meant, that I would need another turn to win the game, but it was the more save line (only one Phoenix reanimates, the other two were in hand).
Round 3 vs Devoted Druid
Game 1 I lost the die roll, he went land, I went Serum Visions, he went Druid, I went Nacatl, he went Vizier, I bolted the Druid, he floated mana and cast Postmortem Lunge on the Druid and won from there. There was no way for me to win this since I would need to leave up double interaction to deal with this (which I had) but I would have no clock, which is the bigger problem than him getting the nut draw. Even Bolting in my turn would not be doable, since he still could have won on his turn.
Game 2 I had an early Nacatl with Obsession. I Bolted + Pathed everything releveant while Nacatle generated a ton of value (he didn't want to block with his Dorks, since he was mana screwed). I won on the back of an Mandrills and Snap + Bolt + the Nacatle through his Saheeli. Spell Snare + Pierce countered his combo attempts.
Game 3 was quite interesting. I played it more slower so that I can keep up double interaction when it came to this turn 4: His side: 3 lands (including an Canopy), Duskwatch, 1 Dork, 1 Vizier, 1 Forge Tender vs my 4 lands and Nacatl.
I Bolted the Vizier pre combat, he sacced the Forge Tender, attacked with Nacatle (no blocks) and EoT he sacced Canopy for a draw and in response I cleaned his board with Kozilek's Return. From there it was a smooth sailing, since it was basically a 2 for 4.
Round 4 vs GDS
We ID to get locked first and second and played it out for the exact position:
Game 1: We both mulled to 6, I kept a somewhat greedy 1 lander with a shock on top. He IoK me on turn 2 (he was otp, but wanted to draw the IoK). Lots of resource trading happened and in the end I won the game based on clever life management from him. Not "pumping" the Nacatl and thus only attacking for 2 damage was one of these things (and afterwards fetch to have the mana).
Game 2 was more of game 1, a slug fest where he landed an Angler with double Stub pack-up. I went Path, he stub, Snap Path, he stubbed again into topdeck Path which allowed my Goyfs and Nacatls to swing in. He followed up with an Death Shadow, which put this game in a draw position: If he attacks, he dies at the back swing, if I attack, I lose my board and than die on the backswing.
Game ended by me drawing a Bolt, which turned the attack into a lethal one. Though, I had a Looting in the graveyard, so I was in an better position than him, since any form of pump/interaction would win the game (as it did).
Thoughts:
Obsession is REALLY good, sadly an echantment and thus kinda iffy with Delver (kinda low on the Instant + Sorcery count). Also kinda want to play the 18th land, but no idea what to cut. Blossimg Defence allowed some cool tricks (like countering removal, killing an TiTi with an Nacatl and so on), however, not so sure if it is that much better than Mutagenic Growth. Gut feeling says yes atm.
SB was a mess, but I already mentioned it. Would need to ponder about what I want and what I need. Some number of graveyard interaction has to be in there, most likely Surgicals but could also be something like Cage, which is less painful and also fills the same role. Btw. Magma Spry was the "5th" Path for the Phoenix match-up, but I definitely want a "true" 5th. No idea what to play though, cause stuff like Condemn is just garbage :/
Greetings,
Kathal
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What I play or have:
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Glad to see someone else is playing this deck! Nice result. Congratulations!
I think we definetly need 18 lands. I think the room for it should be made cutting a draw spell. For keeping the number of ins/Sor high enough I think you should cut an obsession. By the way you made me change the 2 opts I was running with the enchantment and I'm pretty happy even if 24 may be too few inst/sorc. I'll see.
I'm pretty happy with this sideboard configuration. Since you don't play Shoals, I'd cut needle for another counter of your choice.
About the 5th path. The only similar card I can think of is Celestial Purge even if it costs 2.
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Decks played: Modern:
0 Affinity;
URG Delver
URGW Countercats
(Here you can find some video contents about Countercats and Temur Delver decks)
So, another 9 rounds in (5-4), conclusion regarding Curious Obsession:
When the card is good, it is broken level good. Had a draw against Amulet Titan where I went Pool -> Nactl (one lander) into double Obsession where the opp had to start jumping with Azusas/Tribe Scout just to not die from the card advantage.
However, the other side of the coin is a dark place, a very dark one. There are lots of situations (and also match-ups) where the card just sucks, where it is basically a dead draw (Elves are a great example for this btw). Basically, in every match-up where we need to even remotely need to play the Control route, the card is a dead draw.
Because of this I will change the package going forward (I might try it once more though). However, what that packaged showed me is, how potent Blossoming Defense is. That is a card, that I will continue using, cause it does so much. At worst, it is a G Shock, at best it is a G Negate (with a Shock sticked on it). So, list update looks like this:
So, lots of standard stuff, the few noteworthy things:
- Only 17 lands: Xerox says hi. I added 2 additional cantrips basically instead of the 18th land, which (overall) fells really good. The deck never really wants to draw the 4th land (but in the SB situation with Huntmaster and Snap + Leak) so I still have the feeling, that this is the correct number of lands for my playstyle of the deck. Sure, I have my fair share of mulligans, but I honestly do not know, what I would cut for the 18th land but a spell, which makes (again) Delver worse.
- Condemn: I really need and want a 5th/6th Path in the deck for decks like Phoenix, Dredge, Hardening Scales and GDS (lots of them in my current meta), Condemn is the best one out there for one mana. If (in theory) there would be a better two mana removal spell, which doesn't give the opponent life, I would play it above Condemn, but for now I have to deal with the life gain of it. Sucks, but what can you do?
- Boros Charm: Ol' goody, which I always try to cram in. Would love to have a second one of them (to be able to compensate the life gain of Condemn). The only card which I consider to cut for the 18th land (or the 4th Bolt).
- Faithless Looting: While I absolutely love that card in this deck, I'm considering cutting it for the 4th Opt. Instant speed Cantrip is really nice, especially since the alternative (Sleight of Hands) isn't really better (and no, I won't run more Thought Scour, I'm not playing RUG Delver).
The Sideboard is in a flux basically, since I need to figure suff out first, aka against what do I need what. I noticed, that I have a lot of good (and also overlapping) cards in the SB for a variety of match-ups, I do not have those "oof" cards to say it this way. Because of this I usually want to board in a lot of cards but simply do not have the slots for it. Basically, I need to rework the SB to fit my (and the decks) needs for the given (and required) match-ups.
Greetings,
Kathal
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What I play or have:
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Brew time with the deck.
After playing with Domri, Anarch of Bolas at the pre release, I found him so strong I wanted to give him a chance in Countercats. We have a decent number of creatures and he helps a lot with the aggro plan thanks to the buffing static ability. It helps developing our board giving us mana and can be a repeatable removal. He also hates out random counterspells for our threats.
I played a few matches and he feels quite strong. I'll surely keep him for now.
Post side I'm trying God-Eternal Kefnet (still have to cast it) and a Return to Nature. Domri in this case helps reaching 4 mana for payoff spells.
No love for the deck right now? I'm 2 Scalding Tarn and 4 Misty Rainforest away from finally completing it. Have a lot of cards that I do want to try, but this is what I will begin with:
Sideboard (which I still dunno how to get it to work on here)
// 8 Artifact
SB: 2 Pithing Needle
SB: 2 Engineered Explosives
SB: 2 Damping Sphere
SB: 2 Grafdigger's Cage
// 4 Creature
SB: 1 Hazoret the Fervent
SB: 2 Knight of Autumn
SB: 1 Huntmaster of the Fells
// 1 Instant
SB: 1 Send to Sleep
// 2 Sorcery
SB: 2 Deafening Clarion
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4 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
2 Wooded Foothills
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Breeding Pool
1 Island
1 Forest
//Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Hooting Mandrills
1 Snapcaster Mage
3 Curious Obsession
4 Serum Visions
1 Faithless Looting
1 Thought Scour
2 Sleight of Hands
//Interaction
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
3 Blossoming Defense
2 Mana Leak
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
2 Huntermaster of the Fells
2 Damping Sphere
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Dispel
1 Pyroclasm
1 Kozilek's Return
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Destructive Revelry
1 Engineered Explosive
1 Magma Spry
First thing first: Punted cause I forgot about the Surgicals for the SB. Welp, I knew I forgot something, but missing the Graveyard hate is kinda hard.
Round 1 vs UR As Foretold Restor Vision.deck (yeah, that janky brew):
Game 1 I went Nacatl into Obsession into Mandrills into gg basically. No way he can deal with an active Obsession.
Game 2 was more drawn out, I was stuck on two lands (own fault for only playing 17 lands), he fired of a Resto via Electrodominance where he needed to sac 3 of his lands just to clear the board from 2x Goyf which represented lethal for the next turn. I went Bolt on Jace, he Dispelled, I went Mandrills into beats into gg. He was not able to land an As Foretold (nor Moon) due to the cheap counter mana set-up which basically allowed to play beater + counter.
Round 2 vs UR Phoenix
'Member that I forgot the Surgicals? Doh.
Game 1 was a slugfest. He didn't find any Phoenixes while my Delvers didn't flip at all (5 turns in a row btw). Since I only drew lands (even with the Fetch to re-set my top trick) I had no out vs his Crackling Drake. In his turn 5 (played Drake on turn 3 cause of an Path on TiTi) he was capable of pumping his Crackling Drake from a mediocre 3|4 into an 12|4 thanks to Thought Scour, Lootings and Manamorphose. Combined with a Bolt it was lethal.
Game 2 was a quick start from my side, early Nacatl into Obsession, Stubbing a Moon into value chain. At least I had the first Delver flip in that tournament in this game, and he still needed 3 turns to pull it together.
Game 3 was quite interesting. I countered a Flashback Looting via a Stub (as a Force Spike), cause he was so greedy to not play the land. On my board was a Goyf + 2x Nacatl and on his 5th turn he went for massive Phoenix turn, churning out 3 guys. He had in his hand a Lightning Axe + pitch (I didn't knew) so he swinged with all three, putting me down to 4 (he also had an Bolt). On my turn, I Bolted him, attacked him and Leaked his Axe and won the game off it.
Thinking about it, I should have leaked the flashback Looting in that Phoenix turn. Would have meant, that I would need another turn to win the game, but it was the more save line (only one Phoenix reanimates, the other two were in hand).
Round 3 vs Devoted Druid
Game 1 I lost the die roll, he went land, I went Serum Visions, he went Druid, I went Nacatl, he went Vizier, I bolted the Druid, he floated mana and cast Postmortem Lunge on the Druid and won from there. There was no way for me to win this since I would need to leave up double interaction to deal with this (which I had) but I would have no clock, which is the bigger problem than him getting the nut draw. Even Bolting in my turn would not be doable, since he still could have won on his turn.
Game 2 I had an early Nacatl with Obsession. I Bolted + Pathed everything releveant while Nacatle generated a ton of value (he didn't want to block with his Dorks, since he was mana screwed). I won on the back of an Mandrills and Snap + Bolt + the Nacatle through his Saheeli. Spell Snare + Pierce countered his combo attempts.
Game 3 was quite interesting. I played it more slower so that I can keep up double interaction when it came to this turn 4: His side: 3 lands (including an Canopy), Duskwatch, 1 Dork, 1 Vizier, 1 Forge Tender vs my 4 lands and Nacatl.
I Bolted the Vizier pre combat, he sacced the Forge Tender, attacked with Nacatle (no blocks) and EoT he sacced Canopy for a draw and in response I cleaned his board with Kozilek's Return. From there it was a smooth sailing, since it was basically a 2 for 4.
Round 4 vs GDS
We ID to get locked first and second and played it out for the exact position:
Game 1: We both mulled to 6, I kept a somewhat greedy 1 lander with a shock on top. He IoK me on turn 2 (he was otp, but wanted to draw the IoK). Lots of resource trading happened and in the end I won the game based on clever life management from him. Not "pumping" the Nacatl and thus only attacking for 2 damage was one of these things (and afterwards fetch to have the mana).
Game 2 was more of game 1, a slug fest where he landed an Angler with double Stub pack-up. I went Path, he stub, Snap Path, he stubbed again into topdeck Path which allowed my Goyfs and Nacatls to swing in. He followed up with an Death Shadow, which put this game in a draw position: If he attacks, he dies at the back swing, if I attack, I lose my board and than die on the backswing.
Game ended by me drawing a Bolt, which turned the attack into a lethal one. Though, I had a Looting in the graveyard, so I was in an better position than him, since any form of pump/interaction would win the game (as it did).
Thoughts:
Obsession is REALLY good, sadly an echantment and thus kinda iffy with Delver (kinda low on the Instant + Sorcery count). Also kinda want to play the 18th land, but no idea what to cut. Blossimg Defence allowed some cool tricks (like countering removal, killing an TiTi with an Nacatl and so on), however, not so sure if it is that much better than Mutagenic Growth. Gut feeling says yes atm.
SB was a mess, but I already mentioned it. Would need to ponder about what I want and what I need. Some number of graveyard interaction has to be in there, most likely Surgicals but could also be something like Cage, which is less painful and also fills the same role. Btw. Magma Spry was the "5th" Path for the Phoenix match-up, but I definitely want a "true" 5th. No idea what to play though, cause stuff like Condemn is just garbage :/
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
I think we definetly need 18 lands. I think the room for it should be made cutting a draw spell. For keeping the number of ins/Sor high enough I think you should cut an obsession. By the way you made me change the 2 opts I was running with the enchantment and I'm pretty happy even if 24 may be too few inst/sorc. I'll see.
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Hooting Mandrills
1 Snapcaster Mage
Draws
2 Curious Obsession
2 Thought Scour
4 Serum Visions
1 Sleight of Hand
1 Chart a Course
Interactions
3 Disrupting Shoal
2 Spell Pierce
2 Mana Leak
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
1 Echoing Truth
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
1 Stomping Ground
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple Garden
1 Island
1 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Damping Sphere
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Hazoret the Fervent
2 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Negate
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Destructive Revelry
2 Pyroclasm
I'm pretty happy with this sideboard configuration. Since you don't play Shoals, I'd cut needle for another counter of your choice.
About the 5th path. The only similar card I can think of is Celestial Purge even if it costs 2.
Modern:
When the card is good, it is broken level good. Had a draw against Amulet Titan where I went Pool -> Nactl (one lander) into double Obsession where the opp had to start jumping with Azusas/Tribe Scout just to not die from the card advantage.
However, the other side of the coin is a dark place, a very dark one. There are lots of situations (and also match-ups) where the card just sucks, where it is basically a dead draw (Elves are a great example for this btw). Basically, in every match-up where we need to even remotely need to play the Control route, the card is a dead draw.
Because of this I will change the package going forward (I might try it once more though). However, what that packaged showed me is, how potent Blossoming Defense is. That is a card, that I will continue using, cause it does so much. At worst, it is a G Shock, at best it is a G Negate (with a Shock sticked on it). So, list update looks like this:
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Breeding Pool
//Creatures
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Hooting Mandrills
1 Snapcaster Mage
4 Serum Visions
3 Opt
1 Faithless Looting
1 Thought Scour
//Interaction
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
1 Condemn
2 Blossoming Defense
3 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
1 Boros Charm
2 Huntmaster of the Fells
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Damping Sphere
1 Spell Pierce
1 Dispel
1 Mana Leak
1 Condemn
1 Pyroclasm
1 Kozilek's Return
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Destructive Revelry
So, lots of standard stuff, the few noteworthy things:
- Only 17 lands: Xerox says hi. I added 2 additional cantrips basically instead of the 18th land, which (overall) fells really good. The deck never really wants to draw the 4th land (but in the SB situation with Huntmaster and Snap + Leak) so I still have the feeling, that this is the correct number of lands for my playstyle of the deck. Sure, I have my fair share of mulligans, but I honestly do not know, what I would cut for the 18th land but a spell, which makes (again) Delver worse.
- Condemn: I really need and want a 5th/6th Path in the deck for decks like Phoenix, Dredge, Hardening Scales and GDS (lots of them in my current meta), Condemn is the best one out there for one mana. If (in theory) there would be a better two mana removal spell, which doesn't give the opponent life, I would play it above Condemn, but for now I have to deal with the life gain of it. Sucks, but what can you do?
- Boros Charm: Ol' goody, which I always try to cram in. Would love to have a second one of them (to be able to compensate the life gain of Condemn). The only card which I consider to cut for the 18th land (or the 4th Bolt).
- Faithless Looting: While I absolutely love that card in this deck, I'm considering cutting it for the 4th Opt. Instant speed Cantrip is really nice, especially since the alternative (Sleight of Hands) isn't really better (and no, I won't run more Thought Scour, I'm not playing RUG Delver).
The Sideboard is in a flux basically, since I need to figure suff out first, aka against what do I need what. I noticed, that I have a lot of good (and also overlapping) cards in the SB for a variety of match-ups, I do not have those "oof" cards to say it this way. Because of this I usually want to board in a lot of cards but simply do not have the slots for it. Basically, I need to rework the SB to fit my (and the decks) needs for the given (and required) match-ups.
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
After playing with Domri, Anarch of Bolas at the pre release, I found him so strong I wanted to give him a chance in Countercats. We have a decent number of creatures and he helps a lot with the aggro plan thanks to the buffing static ability. It helps developing our board giving us mana and can be a repeatable removal. He also hates out random counterspells for our threats.
I played a few matches and he feels quite strong. I'll surely keep him for now.
Post side I'm trying God-Eternal Kefnet (still have to cast it) and a Return to Nature. Domri in this case helps reaching 4 mana for payoff spells.
Here's the current list:
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Hooting Mandrills
2 Domri, Anarch of Bolas
3 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Blossoming Defense
4 Serum Visions
2 Thought Scour
1 Opt
1 Sleight of Hand
1 Chart a Course
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Flooded Strand
1 Temple Garden
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
1 Forest
2 Damping Sphere
1 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Hazoret the Fervent
1 God-Eternal Kefnet
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Pyroclasm
1 Negate
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Return to Nature
Modern:
// 60 Maindeck
// 16 Creature
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Snapcaster Mage
3 Hexdrinker
// 21 Instant
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Opt
2 Spell Pierce
2 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
1 Stubborn Denial
2 Simic Charm
2 Force of Negation
2 Lightning Helix
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Stomping Ground
1 Breeding Pool
1 Island
1 Forest
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Flooded Strand
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Serum Visions
2 Chart a Course
Sideboard (which I still dunno how to get it to work on here)
// 8 Artifact
SB: 2 Pithing Needle
SB: 2 Engineered Explosives
SB: 2 Damping Sphere
SB: 2 Grafdigger's Cage
// 4 Creature
SB: 1 Hazoret the Fervent
SB: 2 Knight of Autumn
SB: 1 Huntmaster of the Fells
// 1 Instant
SB: 1 Send to Sleep
// 2 Sorcery
SB: 2 Deafening Clarion