Without much experience or testing, I can't really say what combination would be best.
A good thing about Ghitu Encampment is that if it's out and you cast Blood Moon, it will still produce the same color that you may have already fetched around.
While thinking about how YP would love some free spells, it dawned on me to look at Cascade. The only relevant spell is Violent Outburst, which could play like Goblin Bushwhacker when we have tokens, but that's not a given.
It is the only decent instant speed cascade spell, which means it can act as a combat trick. It also could be an overpriced chance at digging up a counter when we need one.
This, of course, requires playing RUG and no man lands which I would rather avoid.
Just an idea.
So after playing around with the deck adding green, I'm pretty sure that it isn't worth stretching the mana and goyf honestly isnt needed in the deck... The ONLY card that makes me want to run green is treetop village
Fair enough. Treetop is pretty amazing.
I do like that we don't NEED the green, like RUG delver did a year ago.
The deck is so much more redundant and stable.
Pyroclasm really is a house against you if your only creatures are snappy delver and YP, which is what makes tarmogoyf so good. Do you need him? no. Do you want him? id say so.
Pyroclasm really is a house against you if your only creatures are snappy delver and YP, which is what makes tarmogoyf so good. Do you need him? no. Do you want him? id say so.
The 12 counters in the deck can all counter pyroclasm
Young Pyromancer is bad in U/R Delver. There, I've said it.
It makes you run terrible cards like Goblin Bushwacker on a deck with 14 creatures. It makes you lose a race by paying life for Gitaxian Probe. It doesn't synergize with any of the other cards already in UR Delver.
Tapping out second turn on Modern is a recipe for disaster in a deck light on answers like UR Delver. If the opponent lands a Tarmogoyf, racing is going to be hard, and if the opponent lands Pyromancer's Ascension, you're basically screwed. Cranial Plating is going to be a challenge no matter how many removals you have, and a Ravager can be game.
Young Pyromancer is good in Legacy and Vintage because of all the free spells. Young Pyromancer seems bad in Modern in my play testing. If you want to play a combo deck, play Storm, which can actually utilize Young Pyromancer.
So... playing your spells is a bad line of play? I don't get what you're saying. Gitaxian probe is also used to gain information on your opponents hand to see what you CAN do (Delver played a set of probes during it's whole lifetime as a deck in standard). Also, he actually does work in a delver deck because the high instant/sorcery count... And is ONE bushwacker over the top??? It's just there as a silver bullet
Young Pyromancer is bad in U/R Delver. There, I've said it.
It makes you run terrible cards like Goblin Bushwacker on a deck with 14 creatures. It makes you lose a race by paying life for Gitaxian Probe. It doesn't synergize with any of the other cards already in UR Delver.
Tapping out second turn on Modern is a recipe for disaster in a deck light on answers like UR Delver. If the opponent lands a Tarmogoyf, racing is going to be hard, and if the opponent lands Pyromancer's Ascension, you're basically screwed. Cranial Plating is going to be a challenge no matter how many removals you have, and a Ravager can be game.
Young Pyromancer is good in Legacy and Vintage because of all the free spells. Young Pyromancer seems bad in Modern in my play testing. If you want to play a combo deck, play Storm, which can actually utilize Young Pyromancer.
He's not bad, the deck is just a little different.
The play isn't:
Turn 2 Pyro then Probe for a free body.
It's:
Probe to know if there would be anything you should instead be countering then the pyro.
Also, I've rarely tapped out for YP. I usually try for the above scenario or have some countermagic/removal still up (3-4 lands total)
YP isn't like other two drops that you just slam down and profit. Unless it's in a combo deck, it requires very precise play and is not forgiving.
Last, regarding your card mentions:
Goyf shouldn't be an issue if we're getting at least one free blocker each turn.
Affinity and storm are tough, but as tempo against aggro/combo, there's no reason for you to be tapping out in the first place unless it will stop what their gameplan is.
Once again, the card is not forgiving and requires a more patient mindset than the combo-ish nature the card could have.
So... playing your spells is a bad line of play? I don't get what you're saying. Gitaxian probe is also used to gain information on your opponents hand to see what you CAN do (Delver played a set of probes during it's whole lifetime as a deck in standard). Also, he actually does work in a delver deck because the high instant/sorcery count... And is ONE bushwacker over the top??? It's just there as a silver bullet
Gitaxian Probe with Young Pyromancer is good, Gitaxian Probe without Young Pyromancer is bad.
Goblin Bushwacker with Young Pyromancer is game breaking, Goblin Bushwacker without Young Pyromancer is terrible in a deck that is mostly blue.
A 2/1 in Modern can be killed by literally anything. Of course that doesn't make it a card bad as Dark Confidant is still one of the best creatures ever. But building a deck around it expecting it to stick AND give you an advantage is unreal. There are so many plays that the opponent can make 2nd/3rd turn if you tap out to play Young Pyromancer, you're basically dead.
You're a tempo deck, your strongest point is right before both players start top decking. Building a couple 1/1's isn't going to help you race. I much prefer the Spellstutter Sprite game plan that provides evasion, disrupts spells, and keeps your counters open for the Tarmogoyf/Cranial Pating/Pyromancer's Ascension/Arcbound Ravager/Voice of Resurgence.
He's not bad, the deck is just a little different.
The play isn't:
Turn 2 Pyro then Probe for a free body.
It's:
Probe to know if there would be anything you should instead be countering then the pyro.
Also, I've rarely tapped out for YP. I usually try for the above scenario or have some countermagic/removal still up (3-4 lands total)
YP isn't like other two drops that you just slam down and profit. Unless it's in a combo deck, it requires very precise play and is not forgiving.
Last, regarding your card mentions:
Goyf shouldn't be an issue if we're getting at least one free blocker each turn.
Affinity and storm are tough, but as tempo against aggro/combo, there's no reason for you to be tapping out in the first place unless it will stop what their gameplan is.
Once again, the card is not forgiving and requires a more patient mindset than the combo-ish nature the card could have.
If your game plan is to drop a Young Pyromancer turn 3/4 with 3/4 lands out, you should just play control. Tempo is about having a clock. If you don't have a clock, you're going to lose to combo, midrange, and agro.
And who says Jund has to attack you? Jund is more than happy to go to 7-8 lands and beat you down with a combination of manlands, Tarmogoyfs, and superior top decks.
Good thing young pyromancer isn't the deck's main focus, dude. Delver of Secrets is there, snapcaster beatdown can happen.... did you read the first post? And playing pyromancer with countermagic online is the smartest thing to do. If you know your opponent doesnt play removal, that's the only time you throw him into the fire with no help
Good thing vapor snags and lightning bolts exist for those pesky manlands, right?
If your game plan is to drop a Young Pyromancer turn 3/4 with 3/4 lands out, you should just play control. Tempo is about having a clock. If you don't have a clock, you're going to lose to combo, midrange, and agro.
And who says Jund has to attack you? Jund is more than happy to go to 7-8 lands and beat you down with a combination of manlands, Tarmogoyfs, and superior top decks.
Also, If jund doesn't attack you, fantastic. You'll have some number of elementals greater than their amount of creatures swinging back at them.
A big bonus of playing YP instead of SSS is that the deck does a lot better against Jund in fact. SSS's ability isn't that relevant when Jund curves out so well. Pyro supplies a clock of which SSS can't even dream for most matches.
There is no specific play-style that any UR Tempo deck is going to play every game. Sometimes you want to race, others you'll play control. This is all relative to the speed of the opponent's deck. You're not actually playing aggro or control. Especially against combo, which is the context of my thoughts on which you're making huge assumptions, you don't want to slam a threat down on any turn if you think the opponent can go off or will make some utterly backbreaking play. Yet, tempo wants to have its threats out. I've yet to see if YP is indeed too hard to capitalize on.
Again, the deck is not proven. It is 100% in development. The cards in the deck, the way the deck plays, and how to play is right are also up in the air.
Any deck light on threats is going to have to build a bit around them, and it is hard to tell at this point how exactly this deck would most efficiently be doing so.
To be somewhat productive in this "discussion" (In quotes solely because we're not agreeing on anything)
Have you played UR PyroDelver?
What was your list like?
What matchups did you abhor?
What was your play-style in various matchups?
What do you like about the deck (if anything)?
Which cards were all stars?
How did YP fit into the list?
What could you do to slightly cater the list to the card, without it becoming a bad combo deck?
I got to throw some support to the Youngest new card. Looking over dailies... theres quite a few YP delver lists... And really no Delver lists with out him.
I got to throw some support to the Youngest new card. Looking over dailies... theres quite a few YP delver lists... And really no Delver lists with out him.
That is completely false. If you look at the last three MOCS on 08/10/13, 08/11/13, and 08/12/13, there are:
1 UW with Restoration Angel and Geist
3 UR with Spellstuter
1 UR with Pyromancer
1 Mono U with Cryptic
As for the dailies over the last week (08/06/13 to 08/12/13), there are:
4 with Pyromancer
3 with Spellstutter
I've been following Jeff Hoogland closely on his stream and doing play testing of my own against other Modern decks on tappedout, and I can't help but feel that Young Pyromancer just doesn't get it done. It seems powerful, but at the end of the day you're just doing all this work to get a few tokens on a good day. Is it really worth playing sub-optimal cards just to get a few tokens on the board?
General: I used the UR Delver lists seen in Legacy as a basis for creating this deck. The deck wants to land a quick threat (Delver of Secrets or Young Pyromancer) and protect it while disrupting the opponent. The deck wants to leave mana open as much as possible, so the 1 and 2 CMC slots are prioritized. I feel that Young Pyromancer is a great fit in the deck as it will often provide 4+ power for 2 mana without deviating from the goal of a tempo deck. The deck gets a lot of free wins either from having a turn 2 3/2 flier or a turn 3 Blood Moon. While the deck doesn't have many sources of card advantage (mostly just Snapcaster Mage), the low curve allows running just 20 lands, which allows the deck to see more spells on average than most other decks.
Card Discussion:
Mana Base:
The deck doesn't have any card advantage outside of Snapcaster Mage; the advantage comes from having a higher spell to land ratio then most decks. The deck optimally wants to see only 3-4 lands the entire game and can function off of 2.
Misty Rainforest/Scalding Tarn - Usually fetches Steam Vents and Island, as the deck can usually function off of one or two red sources, but wants as many blue sources as possible. Helps to thin the deck of lands. Use the Misty Rainforest before the Scalding Tarn, as the Scalding Tarn can fetch the basic mountain in a racing situation. Fetching after/in between Delver triggers can shuffle away unwanted cards.
Steam Vents/Island/Mountain - The numbers may not be correct, although the deck doesn't need more than 2 red sources in play and the mountain can be fetched in a racing situation. The large number of islands is for Blood Moon and having multiple blue sources is usually a higher priority than having multiple red sources.
Mutavault - Doesn't come into play tapped and animates for 1 mana. Doesn't slow the deck down in the early game and can swing if mana flooded late game.
Delver of Secrets - Provides a very fast clock. Fetchlands can shuffle away the revealed card. Flips about 40% of the time without Serum Visions.
Young Pyromancer - Better with countermagic back up. Makes tokens very quickly in this deck, providing blockers and provides a growing clock. This is a great threat as you often will get 4+ power from a 2 mana investment.
Snapcaster Mage - The sole source of real card advantage in the deck. Can be disruption, burn, or draw depending on the situation. Acts as a blue 2/1 Elvish Visionary with Gitaxian Probe. Not sure if the deck can support 4 copies.
Vendilion Clique - Best against other draw-go decks. I usually wait until the opponent's end step to play Vendilion Clique if I have other answers unless the opponent is in topdeck mode or if no other threats are in play. Harder to play with protection due to having CMC 3.
Gitaxian Probe - Automatic 4 of as it thins the deck, allowing you to draw better spells more often and play 18-20 lands which increases the chance of flipping Delver of Secrets. Provides information on whether to go on the offense or hold up countermagic. As a bonus, it is a free spell for Young Pyromancer (I would play this in any Delver deck even without Young Pyromancer). Side out only against very aggressive decks.
Serum Visions - The best cantrip modern has. Finds lands 2-3 and puts extra lands on the bottom. Helps flip Delver of Secrets.
Disruption:
Spell Pierce - Protects Delver/Pyromancer. Fights combo and control decks.
Spell Snare - Mostly here to fight Tarmogoyf, as other CMC 2 creatures can be bolted. Decent against combo and control.
Mana Leak - Counters everything. Still relevant in the late game in combination with Tectonic Edge and other counterspells.
Remand - The best answer to flashback and cascade spells. Helps soft counters maintain relevance in the late game and can bounce your own spells against other blue decks.
Blood Moon - Dropping this on an empty board against 3 and 4 color decks usually wins the game. However, there are enough UR/monocolor decks that this should only be a 1 of (2 at max) before board. The deck doesn't want to rely on this card, but this card can steal otherwise unwinnable games. Fetch as many islands as possible early. Can cause opponents to dilute their deck with enchantment removal and hinder mana development by forcing them to fetch basics. Can be sided out against enchantment removal.
Sideboard
Dispel - Great against draw go decks and protects Delver and Pyromancer.
Spellskite - Great against splinter twin and Bant Hexproof.
Matchups
I recorded the wins and losses from about 15 Daily events and am listing what I think of the matchups below. These could be incorrect due to small sample size and are arranged in descending order in difficulty.
Strong matchups - I have won over 75% of the matches
Bant Hexproof - I am actually 5-0 against this deck. Know what enchantments to counter and keep removal in for Kor Spiritdancer. Counter lifelink enchantments and prevent trample and Keen Sense from being stacked on the same creature. Spellskite is great against this deck.
Tron - Counter their tutors and anything over 5 CMC. Watch out for sweepers. Side in dispel against the mono blue version.
Living End - Counter Living End. Remand is great. Remember that they can cascade at instant speed. Trickbind can stop the cascade trigger.
UWr Control - This seems like a bad matchup since they have as much removal as the deck has creatures, but their mana base is very greedy with a much higher average CMC. Tectonic Edge and Blood Moon can keep them from casting many of their spells. Save counters for Sphinx's Revelation and Cryptic Command and don't overextend into Supreme Verdict. By the late game we will often have 2-4 more spells due to running less lands. Blood Moon can win the game by itself and will usually draw some sideboard cards in games 2 and 3.
UR Twin - Land a threat and counter the combo. Spellskite is good in this matchup.
Decent matchups - Even, or I won more than I lost
Scapeshift - Counter Scapeshift/Primeval Titan. If there is no clock, they can ramp past soft counters.
UR Faeries - Almost a mirror; they usually have a higher curve. Make sure to counter Electrolyze and Cryptic Command. Young Pyromancer generates more pressure, but they have more disruption with Spellstutter Sprite.
Birthing Pod - They have a high curve but have lots of sources for card advantage. Landing a quick threat is important.
Tough matchups - I lost more than I won
Merfolk - Unblockable creatures that are uncounterable (with an active Aether Vial). The deck must keep them off a critical mass of lords, and more importantly, islandwalk.
UR Storm - Very difficult to win against an active Pyromancer's Ascension. Tough to fight with counterspells as they can cast rituals to pay for soft counters. The deck must land a quick threat for a chance to win.
Burn - Difficult to race
Zoo - They empty out their hand quickly, weakening counterspells. Very difficult to race.
Terrible matchups - Very difficult to win
White Lifegain - Maybe I have been unlucky, but I have dealt over 30 damage multiple games and still lost. Tokens, Squadron Hawk, and anthem effects make it very difficult for Delver of Secrets to swing.
Shamans - Cavern of Souls and lords that give +1/+1 counters instead of a passive boost. Very difficult to race and they run many more uncounterable creatures than you have removal for.
Hey guys, been playing this deck since M14 came out and am glad to see there is finally a thread about it.
I'm leaving for work but later I'm planning on posting my decklist, which thus far has performed fantastically for me, albeit at the local level. But still, a chain of X-0's means that your deck is probably pretty ok.
But before I post my decklist, a card suggestion for you all: Magma Jet. It's removal, it sets up your Delver to flip, it's an instant. It's kind of everything the deck wants, and it's been a fantastic performer for me. Going t1 Delver, t2 Remand, t3 Magma Jet during my upkeep to set up a Delver flip while killing their blocker... it's backbreaking. Try it out!
I have some somewhat unusual card choices as compared to the other decks I've seen here, so here's my explanation for each of them:
Pillar of Flame: Having 2 more 1-drop burn spells is very powerful, and Pillar is actually pretty good in Modern. Locally I see Melira-Pod pretty often, so Pillar exiles any and all of their Persist creatures, as well as Voice of Resurgence. I have a third one in the sideboard for the matchups where it's better than Bolt, and for the matchups where their deck is too fast for counterspells (and Rx aggro, really).
Magma Jet: As I've said above, this is a great utility spell. More burn is never a bad thing, and being able to set up Delver at instant speed is also fairly powerful. I'd compare it to Izzet Charm, except you get to use the 2 damage and the Looting abilities at the same time (give or take).
Telling Time: A versatile card selection spell. Beyond setting up Delver flips, having a Telling Time in hand makes otherwise unkeepable hands actually playable. It smooths your draws, it finds you what you need, and it's an instant, so you can set up your next turn after seeing what your opponent has done. 2 of them seems like a powerful utility option, though I don't think I would ever want more than 2 in the deck.
Electrolyze (but 4 of them): Most other UR decks only seem to run 2 of these, and I think that's a mistake. This has always been an all-star for me, and is certainly one of the best cards in the deck. Against other tempo decks, this is almost always a 3-for-1. It shuts down aggro, it goes to the face, it draws you a card. All around fantastic. It's our Cryptic Command, since it does almost anything you need. I would never run less than 4.
Repeal: Another utility spell. Being able to save a flipped Delver from removal and draw a card (all for a single blue mana!) is sweet. Having the ability to bounce a spell we couldn't otherwise interact with (like Birthing Pod) is also sweet, since it lets us set up for counters we might have not had the first time around. It also is great tempo against aggro, since for two mana we can bounce an attacking 1 drop and not even lose a card to do it. Again, not sure I would want more than 2 since they can clunkify our draws, but I don't think I would want to play without them either. It's a catch-all, which means these are generally the first thing to replace during sideboarding, since we can replace it with a more specific answer to their deck.
Staticaster: I really like these out of the sideboard, since they make otherwise bad matchups very much in our favor. Lingering Souls decks stop being a problem, aggro decks stop being a problem, Melira decks have all their mana dorks die and stop being as much of a problem. In the mirror (which I expect to happen in the near future) this is a mirror breaking, since everything in the deck is an X/1. Being an 0/3 is sweet too, since it gives us an actual defensive option when we need it.
Combust: This kills most of the creatures that would otherwise give us fits, such as Baneslayer, Restoration Angel, Loxodon Smiter, and other 'hatebears' in such a way that it can't often be responded to. It also gives an answer to Twin decks. Solid, overall.
Spellskite: This is mostly here because there are a disproportionate number of Bogles decks at my local level, and it's really my only hope against them. It's also solid against Twin and Aggro/Burn decks. Again, a solid defensive option when we need it.
Isochron Scepter: Wins games against control and slower midrange strategies, since often they won't have an answer to it. It's too clunky to want to run more than 1-2 of them even out of the board, but generally in the games where it's good, it's really really good, and it'll win the games when it resolves.
Now even more imporantly, the cards I am NOT running:
Serum Visions/Gitaxian Probe: We aren't storming, so these are really just mediocre. Yes, Visions sets up Delver, and Probe is a free card for Pyromancer to get a 1/1 on turn 2. Which are generally the main arguments for running these two. Which means that Visions is super mediocre when you don't have a Delver out, and I would rather not run mediocre cards in my deck; I would rather run cards that are good all the time, and incidentally power up Delver (like Magma Jet and Telling Time). Same for Gitaxian Probe, with the additional point that you should almost never be playing turn 2 Pyromancer -- in the early turns, leaving up answers is much more important. Generally I'll play Pyromancer on turn 4, or turn 3 at the latest if I have a Bolt in hand. Being able to answer their spells is so much more important than getting a free 1/1 a turn earlier. Basically: Don't play medicore spells to make a specific card in your deck better, just run good spells!
I've been trying out Jeff Hoogland's manabase, which includes 1 Ghitu Encampment and 3 Mutavault.
Thankfully, these colors (and also green if people choose to run it) have a great selection of aggressive manlands (Ghitu Encampment, Faerie Conclave, Mutavault, and Treetop Villiage)
Without much experience or testing, I can't really say what combination would be best.
A good thing about Ghitu Encampment is that if it's out and you cast Blood Moon, it will still produce the same color that you may have already fetched around.
While thinking about how YP would love some free spells, it dawned on me to look at Cascade. The only relevant spell is Violent Outburst, which could play like Goblin Bushwhacker when we have tokens, but that's not a given.
It is the only decent instant speed cascade spell, which means it can act as a combat trick. It also could be an overpriced chance at digging up a counter when we need one.
This, of course, requires playing RUG and no man lands which I would rather avoid.
Just an idea.
I do like that we don't NEED the green, like RUG delver did a year ago.
The deck is so much more redundant and stable.
The 12 counters in the deck can all counter pyroclasm
http://www.twitch.tv/deathstarmtg
Ux Whirza
Rb Goblins
Legacy
U Urza Stompy
Duel Commander
Sai, Master Thopterist
It makes you run terrible cards like Goblin Bushwacker on a deck with 14 creatures. It makes you lose a race by paying life for Gitaxian Probe. It doesn't synergize with any of the other cards already in UR Delver.
Tapping out second turn on Modern is a recipe for disaster in a deck light on answers like UR Delver. If the opponent lands a Tarmogoyf, racing is going to be hard, and if the opponent lands Pyromancer's Ascension, you're basically screwed. Cranial Plating is going to be a challenge no matter how many removals you have, and a Ravager can be game.
Young Pyromancer is good in Legacy and Vintage because of all the free spells. Young Pyromancer seems bad in Modern in my play testing. If you want to play a combo deck, play Storm, which can actually utilize Young Pyromancer.
He's not bad, the deck is just a little different.
The play isn't:
Turn 2 Pyro then Probe for a free body.
It's:
Probe to know if there would be anything you should instead be countering then the pyro.
Also, I've rarely tapped out for YP. I usually try for the above scenario or have some countermagic/removal still up (3-4 lands total)
YP isn't like other two drops that you just slam down and profit. Unless it's in a combo deck, it requires very precise play and is not forgiving.
Last, regarding your card mentions:
Goyf shouldn't be an issue if we're getting at least one free blocker each turn.
Affinity and storm are tough, but as tempo against aggro/combo, there's no reason for you to be tapping out in the first place unless it will stop what their gameplan is.
Once again, the card is not forgiving and requires a more patient mindset than the combo-ish nature the card could have.
Gitaxian Probe with Young Pyromancer is good, Gitaxian Probe without Young Pyromancer is bad.
Goblin Bushwacker with Young Pyromancer is game breaking, Goblin Bushwacker without Young Pyromancer is terrible in a deck that is mostly blue.
A 2/1 in Modern can be killed by literally anything. Of course that doesn't make it a card bad as Dark Confidant is still one of the best creatures ever. But building a deck around it expecting it to stick AND give you an advantage is unreal. There are so many plays that the opponent can make 2nd/3rd turn if you tap out to play Young Pyromancer, you're basically dead.
You're a tempo deck, your strongest point is right before both players start top decking. Building a couple 1/1's isn't going to help you race. I much prefer the Spellstutter Sprite game plan that provides evasion, disrupts spells, and keeps your counters open for the Tarmogoyf/Cranial Pating/Pyromancer's Ascension/Arcbound Ravager/Voice of Resurgence.
If your game plan is to drop a Young Pyromancer turn 3/4 with 3/4 lands out, you should just play control. Tempo is about having a clock. If you don't have a clock, you're going to lose to combo, midrange, and agro.
And who says Jund has to attack you? Jund is more than happy to go to 7-8 lands and beat you down with a combination of manlands, Tarmogoyfs, and superior top decks.
Good thing vapor snags and lightning bolts exist for those pesky manlands, right?
Also, If jund doesn't attack you, fantastic. You'll have some number of elementals greater than their amount of creatures swinging back at them.
A big bonus of playing YP instead of SSS is that the deck does a lot better against Jund in fact. SSS's ability isn't that relevant when Jund curves out so well. Pyro supplies a clock of which SSS can't even dream for most matches.
There is no specific play-style that any UR Tempo deck is going to play every game. Sometimes you want to race, others you'll play control. This is all relative to the speed of the opponent's deck. You're not actually playing aggro or control. Especially against combo, which is the context of my thoughts on which you're making huge assumptions, you don't want to slam a threat down on any turn if you think the opponent can go off or will make some utterly backbreaking play. Yet, tempo wants to have its threats out. I've yet to see if YP is indeed too hard to capitalize on.
Again, the deck is not proven. It is 100% in development. The cards in the deck, the way the deck plays, and how to play is right are also up in the air.
Any deck light on threats is going to have to build a bit around them, and it is hard to tell at this point how exactly this deck would most efficiently be doing so.
To be somewhat productive in this "discussion" (In quotes solely because we're not agreeing on anything)
Have you played UR PyroDelver?
What was your list like?
What matchups did you abhor?
What was your play-style in various matchups?
What do you like about the deck (if anything)?
Which cards were all stars?
How did YP fit into the list?
What could you do to slightly cater the list to the card, without it becoming a bad combo deck?
That is completely false. If you look at the last three MOCS on 08/10/13, 08/11/13, and 08/12/13, there are:
1 UW with Restoration Angel and Geist
3 UR with Spellstuter
1 UR with Pyromancer
1 Mono U with Cryptic
As for the dailies over the last week (08/06/13 to 08/12/13), there are:
4 with Pyromancer
3 with Spellstutter
I've been following Jeff Hoogland closely on his stream and doing play testing of my own against other Modern decks on tappedout, and I can't help but feel that Young Pyromancer just doesn't get it done. It seems powerful, but at the end of the day you're just doing all this work to get a few tokens on a good day. Is it really worth playing sub-optimal cards just to get a few tokens on the board?
Awesome report. Keep it up.
I'm leaving for work but later I'm planning on posting my decklist, which thus far has performed fantastically for me, albeit at the local level. But still, a chain of X-0's means that your deck is probably pretty ok.
But before I post my decklist, a card suggestion for you all: Magma Jet. It's removal, it sets up your Delver to flip, it's an instant. It's kind of everything the deck wants, and it's been a fantastic performer for me. Going t1 Delver, t2 Remand, t3 Magma Jet during my upkeep to set up a Delver flip while killing their blocker... it's backbreaking. Try it out!
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Pillar of Flame
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
2 Magma Jet
2 Telling Time
4 Electrolyze
2 Repeal
4 Steam Vents
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Sulfur Falls
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
7 Island
1 Mountain
3 Izzet Staticaster
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Combust
2 Spellskite
2 Blood Moon
2 Counterflux
1 Pillar of Flame
1 Isochron Scepter
I have some somewhat unusual card choices as compared to the other decks I've seen here, so here's my explanation for each of them:
Pillar of Flame: Having 2 more 1-drop burn spells is very powerful, and Pillar is actually pretty good in Modern. Locally I see Melira-Pod pretty often, so Pillar exiles any and all of their Persist creatures, as well as Voice of Resurgence. I have a third one in the sideboard for the matchups where it's better than Bolt, and for the matchups where their deck is too fast for counterspells (and Rx aggro, really).
Magma Jet: As I've said above, this is a great utility spell. More burn is never a bad thing, and being able to set up Delver at instant speed is also fairly powerful. I'd compare it to Izzet Charm, except you get to use the 2 damage and the Looting abilities at the same time (give or take).
Telling Time: A versatile card selection spell. Beyond setting up Delver flips, having a Telling Time in hand makes otherwise unkeepable hands actually playable. It smooths your draws, it finds you what you need, and it's an instant, so you can set up your next turn after seeing what your opponent has done. 2 of them seems like a powerful utility option, though I don't think I would ever want more than 2 in the deck.
Electrolyze (but 4 of them): Most other UR decks only seem to run 2 of these, and I think that's a mistake. This has always been an all-star for me, and is certainly one of the best cards in the deck. Against other tempo decks, this is almost always a 3-for-1. It shuts down aggro, it goes to the face, it draws you a card. All around fantastic. It's our Cryptic Command, since it does almost anything you need. I would never run less than 4.
Repeal: Another utility spell. Being able to save a flipped Delver from removal and draw a card (all for a single blue mana!) is sweet. Having the ability to bounce a spell we couldn't otherwise interact with (like Birthing Pod) is also sweet, since it lets us set up for counters we might have not had the first time around. It also is great tempo against aggro, since for two mana we can bounce an attacking 1 drop and not even lose a card to do it. Again, not sure I would want more than 2 since they can clunkify our draws, but I don't think I would want to play without them either. It's a catch-all, which means these are generally the first thing to replace during sideboarding, since we can replace it with a more specific answer to their deck.
Staticaster: I really like these out of the sideboard, since they make otherwise bad matchups very much in our favor. Lingering Souls decks stop being a problem, aggro decks stop being a problem, Melira decks have all their mana dorks die and stop being as much of a problem. In the mirror (which I expect to happen in the near future) this is a mirror breaking, since everything in the deck is an X/1. Being an 0/3 is sweet too, since it gives us an actual defensive option when we need it.
Combust: This kills most of the creatures that would otherwise give us fits, such as Baneslayer, Restoration Angel, Loxodon Smiter, and other 'hatebears' in such a way that it can't often be responded to. It also gives an answer to Twin decks. Solid, overall.
Spellskite: This is mostly here because there are a disproportionate number of Bogles decks at my local level, and it's really my only hope against them. It's also solid against Twin and Aggro/Burn decks. Again, a solid defensive option when we need it.
Isochron Scepter: Wins games against control and slower midrange strategies, since often they won't have an answer to it. It's too clunky to want to run more than 1-2 of them even out of the board, but generally in the games where it's good, it's really really good, and it'll win the games when it resolves.
Now even more imporantly, the cards I am NOT running:
Serum Visions/Gitaxian Probe: We aren't storming, so these are really just mediocre. Yes, Visions sets up Delver, and Probe is a free card for Pyromancer to get a 1/1 on turn 2. Which are generally the main arguments for running these two. Which means that Visions is super mediocre when you don't have a Delver out, and I would rather not run mediocre cards in my deck; I would rather run cards that are good all the time, and incidentally power up Delver (like Magma Jet and Telling Time). Same for Gitaxian Probe, with the additional point that you should almost never be playing turn 2 Pyromancer -- in the early turns, leaving up answers is much more important. Generally I'll play Pyromancer on turn 4, or turn 3 at the latest if I have a Bolt in hand. Being able to answer their spells is so much more important than getting a free 1/1 a turn earlier. Basically: Don't play medicore spells to make a specific card in your deck better, just run good spells!
Standard: :symu::symu::symu: Mono-Blue Devotion :symu::symu::symu:
Modern: :symr::symu: UR Pyro-Faeries :symu::symr:
EDH Decks:
Thassa, God of VALUE (now with decklist!)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
People with signatures are morons.