Not sure it's the right path, but I've often found Delver of Secrets to be not that great in Modern (compared to the powerhouse it's in Legacy and even Vintage). Chapin proved that the Turbo Xerox shell works in Modern without Delver and that blanking the Bolts, Decays, Electrolyzes and friends is a big advantage. I think the same strategy can work using the Sultai colors, even though you don't have Bolt and the awesome value that is K Command + Snapcaster.
It's probably Dismember or Murderous Cut. I don't play Cut on my "Delve" list because I already have too many cards that rely on the graveyard, but I was playing it on the slower "Control" version.
Yeah, I love me some Lilianas too, but that shell isn't the right place for it. Everything but Cryptic is super cheap, helping me play a quick Tas/Angler and protecting it.
I want to test some changes, mainly -1 Mana Leak, +1 Stubborn Denial/Dispel. The Gitaxian Probes could also be IoKs (I need some extra sorceries so Goyf is good enough), but I like that Probe provides me the same amount of information while keeping me with cards in hand.
So, MattT pinged me on the Sultai Control thread inviting me to post here. The reason I haven't done it before is because my deck isn't a Delver deck, nor it's the classic "control" deck (the one Gerard Fabiano played at SCG Baltimore earlier this year). I started with the control build but the format shifted making that build not that good (all the K Command decks can just outgrind you into oblivion).
Without further ado, this is what I've posted on the other thread:
It's basically a Sultai version of Chapin's Grixis deck. You lose Bolt, Terminate and K Command, among other stuff. You get Goyf, better Stubborn Denial/Feed the Clan, a slightly less painful manabase (Shores), Abrupt Decay and Pulse. Not sure it's better, Bolt and K Command are awesome, but this deck is really fluid and powerful.
I'm 5-0 in test matches (Burn, Infect, Amulet, Blink Riders, Goryo's Vengeance). Gee, MTGO is filled with linear decks hah.
I haven't played any Magic since, but the deck was performing quite well - which surprised me, I wasn't expecting anything from that build.
Don't want to "offend" anyone discussing BUG Delver, but I firmly believe that any Modern Delver deck is actually better without Delver of Secrets. The Treasure Cruise era is gone and Modern doesn't have the same tools available in Legacy to make Delver that good. You don't have good "free" counters, no Wasteland, no good (ahem, broken) cantrips (o hai Brainstorm), Modern has too much removal etc. The same applies to Young Pyromancer, for example.
That's why I think a Turbo Xerox strategy like the one devised by Chapin is the best way to go for a deck like this. Blank their Bolts. Blank their Abrupt Decays (in BUG we'd still play Goyf anyway because it's just too good), play a 5/5 with cheap counter backup and force your opponent to deal with it or try to combo you in 3 turns through all your counters.
I honestly don't like Disrupting Shoal and would rather just play Dispel and Stubborn Denial over it any day. The SB for that deck is probably bad, it's just the same SB I had for the Control version, haven't touched that.
Well, that's it. It's not a Delver deck (it's a Delve deck :P), so feel free to ignore, of course.
I've tried that card on 4C Gifts and always found it to be an overcosted slightly subpar card for all modes, which's true for almost all (if not all) Charms. At least on Gifts you have the "excuse" that it gives you some flexibility in a deck that lacks space.
As a catchall utility 1-of I'd rather play Maesltrom Pulse in this deck.
Tar Pit is a good alternate wincon or an extra way to apply pressure. If they use resources to deal with it, then so be it. It's one less card they have to deal with your main wincons and one additional card in your GY for Delve.
It's definitely the best build at this point. I don't like the "Grixis Moon" versions because Modern is just too fast, you need the velocity/fluidness present on Chapin's build to be able to keep up.
It's basically a Sultai version of Chapin's Grixis deck. You lose Bolt, Terminate and K Command, among other stuff. You get Goyf, better Stubborn Denial/Feed the Clan, a slightly less painful manabase (Shores), Abrupt Decay and Pulse. Not sure it's better, Bolt and K Command are awesome, but this deck is really fluid and powerful.
I'm 5-0 in test matches (Burn, Infect, Amulet, Blink Riders, Goryo's Vengeance). Gee, MTGO is filled with linear decks hah. =/
As others have said, Fulminators double as pressure and can be reused with K Command. It's also instant speed LD, which's *way* better against Amulet (you can destroy a bounceland with the Amulet of Vigor trigger in the stack, for example).
Chapin said he is 0-13 against Collective Company decks between tests and the GP (he lost to matches to CoCo during the GP).
Wow, day 2 matches were quite nice and interactive... the top 8 is kinda surprising in that sense. Chapin not getting there is sad =/
Burn, Elves, Ad Nauseam, Affinity, Goryo's vs Coco and 2 UR Twin. It's actually a good snapshot of Modern as a format (with more linear/non-interactive decks than "fair" ones), but BGx missing is surprising.
I guess the flavor of linear decks just change from week to week according to the amount of hate people play? Given that Tron and Amulet did so well last week, people over-prepared and that opened a door to stuff like ADN and Goryo's.
Why Countersquall? I find the 2 life irrelevant, so I just play Negate because I'd rather play the spell that's easier to cast.
In my testing I'm finding it very hard to beat the Snapcaster + K Command decks. These decks generate a lot of CA and just out-grind easily. At this point I consider gy hate to be a must for this deck. I'm playing 2 Nihil Spellbomb but wanted even more copies.
I want to test some changes, mainly -1 Mana Leak, +1 Stubborn Denial/Dispel. The Gitaxian Probes could also be IoKs (I need some extra sorceries so Goyf is good enough), but I like that Probe provides me the same amount of information while keeping me with cards in hand.
Without further ado, this is what I've posted on the other thread:
I haven't played any Magic since, but the deck was performing quite well - which surprised me, I wasn't expecting anything from that build.
Don't want to "offend" anyone discussing BUG Delver, but I firmly believe that any Modern Delver deck is actually better without Delver of Secrets. The Treasure Cruise era is gone and Modern doesn't have the same tools available in Legacy to make Delver that good. You don't have good "free" counters, no Wasteland, no good (ahem, broken) cantrips (o hai Brainstorm), Modern has too much removal etc. The same applies to Young Pyromancer, for example.
That's why I think a Turbo Xerox strategy like the one devised by Chapin is the best way to go for a deck like this. Blank their Bolts. Blank their Abrupt Decays (in BUG we'd still play Goyf anyway because it's just too good), play a 5/5 with cheap counter backup and force your opponent to deal with it or try to combo you in 3 turns through all your counters.
I honestly don't like Disrupting Shoal and would rather just play Dispel and Stubborn Denial over it any day. The SB for that deck is probably bad, it's just the same SB I had for the Control version, haven't touched that.
Well, that's it. It's not a Delver deck (it's a Delve deck :P), so feel free to ignore, of course.
As a catchall utility 1-of I'd rather play Maesltrom Pulse in this deck.
Also, replying to someone who asked about Cryptic vs Affinity:
It's basically a Sultai version of Chapin's Grixis deck. You lose Bolt, Terminate and K Command, among other stuff. You get Goyf, better Stubborn Denial/Feed the Clan, a slightly less painful manabase (Shores), Abrupt Decay and Pulse. Not sure it's better, Bolt and K Command are awesome, but this deck is really fluid and powerful.
I'm 5-0 in test matches (Burn, Infect, Amulet, Blink Riders, Goryo's Vengeance). Gee, MTGO is filled with linear decks hah. =/
Chapin said he is 0-13 against Collective Company decks between tests and the GP (he lost to matches to CoCo during the GP).
Burn, Elves, Ad Nauseam, Affinity, Goryo's vs Coco and 2 UR Twin. It's actually a good snapshot of Modern as a format (with more linear/non-interactive decks than "fair" ones), but BGx missing is surprising.
I guess the flavor of linear decks just change from week to week according to the amount of hate people play? Given that Tron and Amulet did so well last week, people over-prepared and that opened a door to stuff like ADN and Goryo's.
He posted it recently, then said the GP list is 95% of that one: https://twitter.com/bazardebagda/status/601114270085083137
Why Countersquall? I find the 2 life irrelevant, so I just play Negate because I'd rather play the spell that's easier to cast.
In my testing I'm finding it very hard to beat the Snapcaster + K Command decks. These decks generate a lot of CA and just out-grind easily. At this point I consider gy hate to be a must for this deck. I'm playing 2 Nihil Spellbomb but wanted even more copies.