MTG Salvation

Quote from OneShotGame »

agreed, loothouse is definitely a worse choice than tar pit (which can even help against nahiri). but a "comes into play tapped"-land is horrendous in a deck that

a) plays a boatload of 1 cmc spells it likes to cast on turn 1 (delver, snare, bolt, serum visions, ancestral vision, scour)
b) wants to have 2 open mana on turn 2 to cast tasigur, remand, leak, terminate etc.

so, you got 2 options:

dont play any fancy lands as the mana base is greedy as it is OR play it over a spell as land 21.

I'd recommend sticking to the overturf/jones mana base.

EDIT: sageofthesixpaths, do you have your marchesa list online somewhere i am looking into the deck as my commander deck, for my recently founded playgroup

Give me a bit, I'll get it uploaded. It's not the best deck ever, but it is still quite good and very fun. For a really, really detailed and amazing Marchesa primer, look up the one by Solrune on here. I used that list alot building mine.

I'm inclined to agree with Moutz. A hand with basic Mountain, basic Swamp is unkeepable (in some corner cases, it may be fine, but rarely). I don't even run Blood Crypt. The color requirements of the deck are high, especially early on. Loothouse isn't card advantage, so in the long games vs control where you want it, it doesn't help as much as you need it to. Personally, I'd even run Creeping Tar Pit first, it does more of what you want at the times you want it (I still don't run even this though).

I've stumbled by drawing basic Mountain and swamp enough times that I can't even imagine a third land that could cause a stumble, no matter what. Sideboard I do run Ghost Quarter, but I cut a spell for it when it comes in, I don't cut a colored land.

Whoops, my bad on that one. First time I've owned a Clique, tbh. Only happened once, another time I did in fact catch "nonland" in the text box. My opponent is equally to blame, though. I revealed it, he said "ok" and we moved on. I won that game, but that was the match I lost, so justice was served on me for that it seems.

Every other time, it was still a beast lol.

The newest versions of Delver (Ryan and Kevin's builds) are actually not tempo oriented at all. They're much more of a low-cost control deck that has a creature that, in the right circumstances, can close the game quickly, which is lacking from the pure Control versions. This is the reason I believe it's had a resurgence lately, it's nothing like the Delver decks of last year. I've been playing the deck for over a year and a half, and I can say for sure these new versions play far differently from what I played last year, and the change in deck philosophy is exactly what it needed to be a contender again. It's not really a "Delver" deck, it's a Snapcaster control deck with a lower curve and faster clock. And I think in the current meta, this type of deck is very well positioned.

Hey all, got a short write-up from Monday Modern last night. This is the list I ran.



I took 2nd place, going 2-1.

Round 1, Abzan Company, win 2-1

Game 1 (on the draw) was a pretty typical Grixis game: Bolted his Bird, played a Delver, he got a slow start, I jammed a Tasigur next turn, it was over from there.
In: Dispel, 2x Anger, Kalitas, 1x Rakdos Charm, EE
Out: 1x Snare, 1x Thought Scour, 2x Remand, 1x Leak
Game 2 I kept a one land hand (Steam Vents) with Delver, Thought Scour, 2x Bolt, Snare, Dispel. I didn't see another land until turn 4, and he dropped a Choke turn 3. Choked out of this game.
Game 3, I kept a fairly fast, aggressive hand. Delver on one, flipped, delver on 2, flipped, then I got Choked again, leaving me with just basic Mountain. The Delver clock was too fast, however, so I beat him down without ever casting another spell.

Round 2, Infect, win 2-0

Game 1 he made the smallest of misplays, but it cost him the game. He chose to trade a Glistener Elf for my Delver instead of using a pump spell to save it.
In: Dispel, 2x Countersquall, EE, PKN, Staticaster
Out: 3x JVP, 1x Snare, 2x Remand
Game 2 was a slaughter. We both kept incredible hands, but Grixis perfect hand beats Infect perfect hand.

Round 3, Infect again, loss 1-2

He was a very good player, with allot of experience playing Infect. Game 1, he just had it all at the right time. I died on turn 4 to Become Immense with double Vines up.
Same sideboard as last match.
Game 2, I did what Grixis does, and killed everything. Then I put him on defense with a fast Tasigur. Took this game.
Game 3, I made a very small error and chose the wrong answer for the situation at hand. As soon as I cast Staticaster, I knew I had messed up and instantly lost. He had Inkmoth animated with two land up still, I was at 5 infect. He went for Become Immense with only one card left in hand, I went to Staticaster his Inkmoth, but he had the vines to end the game. I should have Leaked the pump spell, if I'd done that he would have scooped to my far superior card advantage and him having no more threats. So I blew this game, but live and learn.


Vendilion Clique is a beast!!! Overperformed all night. Best play with it: 6 mana vs Infect, he swings with double Inkmoth, I Kommand one of them getting back Clique, flash in Clique, he had nothing in hand so I bottomed my land in hand and got a Bolt, and trade with both lands. That was game 2 of the finals, and it ended quickly from there. I'm in agreement, that Clique should for the most part be a core piece of the deck, that card just does work. And without Probe, it's our only way of getting information. It's just dirty with Kommand also. It's also another 3 power evasive creature, which doesn't hurt.

Along with Nevermaker type stuff, I've had huge success with Brutalizer Exarch. This guy has just been the nuts for me. Tutor and removal, what more can you ask for?

Hey Outcryqq, nice to see how active you remain.

Stonehorn Dignitary does mostly the same thing Subjugator Angel does, though there is some merit to tap down to deal with certain effects. If Angel works well, please do tell. For now, I think I like Dignitary still.

Thalia's Lancers: Depending on the specific build, I could definitely see running her. Mine, maybe not, but a more Legend heavy build could wreck house with it.

Identity Thief looks interesting, at very least worth a try.

Spell Queller, Eldritch Evolution, and Tamiyo I plan to run all 3. They all seem just amazing, and though Tamiyo isn't really on theme, she's just a powerhouse that will end the game if unchecked. I guess she helps with the soft lock plan, so not entirely off theme. But still so powerful she warrants a slot.

As an aside: Anyone tried Linvala, the Preserver? I'm putting in one to test out, a second Thragtusk seems great. Taking out Drowner of Hope.
Also, I'll be putting in Aura Shards and putting back in Pod. My friend built 5c walkers with Horde of Notions and is playing Necropotence. If he's playing that busted card lol, I told him I get to play Pod.

Quote from jocispr »

I've been out of the game for some time due to being sick these past few months and this sunday is my local WMCQ. I saw the Kevin Jones list and have tested some matches with good results. I even tried a build with TiTi which had great synergies against lots of decks and Snapcaster Mage (peoples doesnt seem to use him anymore).

Right now my worst matchups are against Nahiri decks specially the WR version which destroy lands. ¿Any tips on how to beat that deck?

Go as fast as you can. Prioritize getting rid of Nahiri and/or Ajani Vengeant. Land destruction is hard for us, since we run few lands. The upside of that, though, is that we can function on very few lands, so only Armageddon crushes us. It can be played around though, keep lands in hand for post-wrath. It's not an easy match, by any means. The presence of Bolt and Path in the same deck is a serious issue. If you give them enough time, they will win, almost guaranteed.

I've been on a single Dreadbore for a few weeks now, and I love it. Sorcery speed doesn't hurt nearly as much as it would seem. Same with Pillar. It's cheap, a "5th Bolt", and maindeck exile has saved me a number of times. I don't even consider Electrolyze anymore, with Kommand running around. Vendilion Clique seems great, I'm trying to get one so I can run it.

The tier update should come in tomorrow.

@Jonny_Tempel
My source is the Modern Metagame top decks from MTGGoldfish. Modern Nexus hasn't been updated for the recent metagame yet, it's only up to the end of May. To the end of May, it shows a 0.9% of the metagame. Currently on the Top Decks page, it shows it as 2.19% as of that post. Tier 2 ends at roughly 1.9%, 1.8% and below are Tier 3. And we also have big results to add in that were not there before.

OK, so I know Infect has a bad match vs Grixis Delver (the deck I play lol). Pre-board, my friend playing Infect gets about 60% or more of the games (I believe our tally is 11-6, there was a point where it was 7-3). Post board, however, it's plummeted to 6-1 in my favor. Is this normally how the matchup goes?

EDIT: I'm sorry if I sound like a noob with this deck, frankly I am. I'm trying to learn it also, along with my friend. It's always intrigued me. I've played only one Modern deck for the almost two years I've played Modern, Grixis Delver, and the two strategies are vastly different.

Thank you for your quick reply, I greatly appreciate it He's learned game 1 well now, so we're moving on to post-board games tonight. The advice earlier in the thread has also been very helpful.

As a side note: I'd just like to say how friendly and helpful this thread feels, compared to.... other threads..... I'm a part of. It's quite nice.

Hey guys, I have a friend who recently started playing Infect. Neither of us have Finks for the board, is there a good replacement? Or should he just do without them? What should he play in those slots?

@MarcWizard
I like the new Lily. She seems very reasonable, and history says reasonable is far more powerful than it seems. I plan to at least test a copy if I can get one.

Regarding Anger of the Gods: I play 2 in sideboard, and I wouldn't change them for anything. They have been invaluable. The 3 damage is highly relevant, what with Nacatl's and such running around. Exile is the biggest reason I play it though. Finks, Voice of Resurgence, Dredge, the times exile is relevant is many. Double R isn't an issue if you search it up early in anticipation of having Anger in your deck. You control the Anger, so you can set it up the best. I run it alongside an EE and a Staticaster as my board wipes. It's just simply amazing.

Chaos Revelers doesn't seem to be where we want to be. RR is usually the most we can hope to have, and if I'm using that for a threat, I'd rather it be PKN which has a much higher board impact.

And a final note: Grixis Delver is now pretty solidly Tier 2. It now composes 2.19% of the metagame, up from its previous 0.9%. People are now ready for the deck. Be prepared for this change.

With this, I'd like to ask that the deck be moved from Developing Competitive to Tier 2, if possible.

I only have the Glen Elendra Archmage, not the other two, hence their absence. Glen Elendra is great, I'll probably put her in. I'm a control player naturally, so I tend to play at instant speed when possible.