This is as close to Control you can get in Modern. The decks trying to emulate a "pure" Control strategy are subpar at best and often just garbage. I learned to accept it.
Again, going for a turn 2-3 fattie is not obligatory. It requires skill to evaluate the game state and make that decision. If you do that every game (or never do that) you'll have a bad time. The nice thing about the deck is the *ability* to go for that, while the "purer" Control decks in the format always failed due to the lack of an ability to "shortcut" games when needed.
I guess Izzet Charm can be okay because the looting is useful for this deck, but I just hate that card. Overcosted Shock, overcosted Spell Pierce, overcosted Faithless Looting. I'm pretty sure Shadow of Doubt is a better 1-of as a flex card, especially if you play online (Tron and Amulet are somewhat popular).
I don't think Shackles is fast enough to be good against Menfolk, Zoo or CoCo. Against Fish especially you're not even going to be able to block the island walkers. Also I don't think this deck wants MD discard spells really.
Not a fan of Deprive (I think I even hate that card), but other than that I think your list is fine, pretty close to LSV's. I still think 3 Anglers is better because sometimes you just need to play it ASAP.
Instead of Bob, I've tried Phyrexian Arena and Monastery Siege in this deck, but just 1 or 2 copies at most. They're awesome against the non-linear decks in the format, with Siege being occasionally good against Burn if you manage to survive.
It's the kind of card that combo decks would want to protect their game winning play since the suspend wouldn't matter after that, but we also have cheaper alternatives like Swan Song and Dispel, so Delay doesn't see a lot of play.
Not sure. I started with Fabiano's deck and, while it's solid, it's not that great. The "Delver-less" version I posted some days ago basically uses Tas + Angler + Goyf as enablers for Stubborn Denial, which's a good reason to try this (I also have the Grixis Delve/Chapin deck). Decay and Pulse are fine, but losing Snapcaster's best friend (Bolt) is the real pain.
This is a pet card of his... I'm not at all sold on it. It really doesn't help shore up bad matchups, so I don't want to play a card that wrecks me as well.
Gerry loves Leyline of the Void. I tried that card for a while and had mixed results.
First, you need at least 3 but probably should just play all 4. It's devastating against URx decks relying on Snapcaster and Delve creatures when you play it on turn 0 (besides the usual suspects - gy/reanimator decks). After that, it's a 4 mana sorcery that's probably not resolving and doesn't deal with the cards already in the graveyard.
5 mana in Modern is unbelievably high. Heck, Keranos and Batterskull are borderline playable in the current meta. Spell Pierce/Twiddle on a stick is probably not doing a lot. It's also competing for gy resources with Tas and Snapcaster in a 22 land deck.
That card will probably be very good as a "finisher" in Limited, but I don't see it making an impact in Modern.
Well, idk... creatures that cost more than 3 and are good against BGx? Olivia, Desecration Demon, Mulldrifter (I really wanted to play a K Command + Mulldrifter deck, but the format is too fast for that), Meloku, Grave Titan, Thundermaw Hellkite?
But really the "traditional" ones (Keranos, Batterskull) are probably unnecessary (according to Chapin), so I think you're fine with the "Delve guy + bunch of Dispels" plan.
The thing that attracts me to the list with Delver is the overall pace and tempo attack strategy, going through the deck quicker, needing less lands, and leaving the minimal amount of mana open for smaller tempo gains with soft permission rather than trying to fight the late game cryptic command maneuvers. I want to push through damage quickly from more angles.
Even though my list plays 2 Cryptic Command, it's definitely not planning to fight for long games. It's there because, well, it's a great card and helps closing games out.
The deck actually does exactly what you describe: you can play an Angler/Tasigur as early as turn 2 and play the tempo game from there. That's even the main plan in most games. I just don't play Delver of Secrets because it's not that good in Modern and Shoal is just pure card disadvantage.
I see that build as a third option. It's not BUG Delver but it's also *very* different from Fabiano's deck (I've played it for about 2 months).
Again, going for a turn 2-3 fattie is not obligatory. It requires skill to evaluate the game state and make that decision. If you do that every game (or never do that) you'll have a bad time. The nice thing about the deck is the *ability* to go for that, while the "purer" Control decks in the format always failed due to the lack of an ability to "shortcut" games when needed.
The deck got promoted on the back of strong GP/Open/MTGO results. The criteria is posted on each section of this forum, it's not arbitrary.
Not a fan of Deprive (I think I even hate that card), but other than that I think your list is fine, pretty close to LSV's. I still think 3 Anglers is better because sometimes you just need to play it ASAP.
Asking because I still haven't played since then but could use some feedback.
It only affects your opponent's graveyard.
First, you need at least 3 but probably should just play all 4. It's devastating against URx decks relying on Snapcaster and Delve creatures when you play it on turn 0 (besides the usual suspects - gy/reanimator decks). After that, it's a 4 mana sorcery that's probably not resolving and doesn't deal with the cards already in the graveyard.
I usually go with Nihil Spellbomb over Leyline.
That card will probably be very good as a "finisher" in Limited, but I don't see it making an impact in Modern.
Well, idk... creatures that cost more than 3 and are good against BGx? Olivia, Desecration Demon, Mulldrifter (I really wanted to play a K Command + Mulldrifter deck, but the format is too fast for that), Meloku, Grave Titan, Thundermaw Hellkite?
But really the "traditional" ones (Keranos, Batterskull) are probably unnecessary (according to Chapin), so I think you're fine with the "Delve guy + bunch of Dispels" plan.
Even though my list plays 2 Cryptic Command, it's definitely not planning to fight for long games. It's there because, well, it's a great card and helps closing games out.
The deck actually does exactly what you describe: you can play an Angler/Tasigur as early as turn 2 and play the tempo game from there. That's even the main plan in most games. I just don't play Delver of Secrets because it's not that good in Modern and Shoal is just pure card disadvantage.
I see that build as a third option. It's not BUG Delver but it's also *very* different from Fabiano's deck (I've played it for about 2 months).