I've been testing and tuning this list quite a bit. For some reason, I keep missing Lands drops early even with a bunch of cyclers and 27 lands in the deck. Hopefully the bad variance ends soon, but it's still been performing very well for me. No one else has been playing Stasis Snare, but it's been an important piece of the removal suite for me, being able to hit creatures that aren't attacking which the instants can't and manlands which Cast Out can't. Glyph Keeper is just a very resilient threat as long as you watch out for Void Shatter and Westvale abbey is a nice backup threat.
I'm playing 3 Hieroglyphic Illumination as well. X=1 is not optimal, but you have the option if you're stuck on lands or you need an answer right now or you'll lose. X=2 is basicly cycling 2 cards in the same situation, but at least there you aren't going down a card or just sitting there without the card you need and dieing. You're playing it for the end game, but it's so good because it's flexible enough to filter through your cards early when you need to. Sphinx's Revelation was worse early and was still a locked in 4 of for every control deck by the time it rotated out. People started out playing a couple copies like you are, but I'm betting that after the Pro Tour, assuming Control doesn't get crushed for some reason, everyone will be playing it as a 4 of in the dedicated control decks.
I'm already playing 4 Pull from Tomorrow in mine, but I only have 1 Essence scatter main with 2 more in the board. Pull from Tomorrow is crazy good though, much better than Sphinx's Revelation in the early game and Blessed Alliance/Fumigate help catch up on the difference in life. Between Pull being acceptable even at X=2, X=1 even having utility when you just need to find the right card immediately, and having all of my 4 mana spells also cycle for 1 mana, I've come back to win games I had no business winning where I kept a 2 lander and the 3rd land was 5 cards down. Even with all of the cyclers, I'm starting to think the 27th land is probably correct with 4 Irrigated Farmland and 2 Blighted Cataract to mitigate flood. It could just be variance, but even with 26 lands, I've found myself having to cycle to hit 3rd and 4th land drops far too often.
I started testing UW with Gideon of the Trials, but cut him after he kept dieing to Grasp of Darkness. I replaced him with 2 resilient Glyph Keeper and 2 more pieces of interaction. The main reason to play Essence Scatter over creature removal is that many creatures like Torrential Gearhulk and Rogue Refiner give the opponent value even if you kill them. Using a removal spell on those after they've gained value leaves you down 1+ cards in the exchange while Essence Scatter is an even exchange. The reason not to overload on Essence Scatter is that you can't always counter every creature, especially on the draw and it's easy to get run over if you don't run enough cheap removal.
Thanks Tiemuuu, I'd forgotten that was a card. Might even play a couple main and board 2 more in. I have too many Standard decks right now. I should see if people want to buy some of them.
For black decks, Invasive Surgury, for everything else, Dispel. There are two cards out there likely to be sideboarded in that can now kill our game plan with by just resolving 1 spell.
There were 5 Sultai Delirium pilots that made top 64 at SCG Atlanta although there were really two versions of the deck represented with small variations from list to list.
While the UW deck on camera round 1 of SCG Atlanta got embarrassed in games 2-3 and ended up dropping a few rounds later, his wasn't built very well either. I've been doing a decent amount of testing with Xmage and have come up with this so far.
Censor is fantastic, but there are enough people playing around it that I shaved 1 for another hard answer so I wouldn't have too much air in the late game.
Pull From Tomorrow I think people have forgotten how good these types of spells are in control. This gives inevitability in the late game via sheer card advantage, but it's even playable at X=2 if you just need to filter your hand. I'm sure going with the full 4 is correct which makes the cycling on Cast Out and Hieroglyphic Illumination huge to make sure your hand doesn't get stuck full of big spells that you can't cast early.
Glyph Keeper This guy is here as backup to the Gearhulks. He's a 5 power flier for 5 mana that plays well vs Glorybringer, is resilient vs Removal, and comes back if they do kill him. The only thing in the format that answers it cleanly is Void Shatter and outside of that, it's very possible the opponent has to use 4 cards to completely deal with it.
Eerie Interlude seems like the best anti Sweeper tech as it beats Yahenni's Expertise as well as the other sweepers. Repel the Abominable is better vs Kozilek's Return/Elder Deep-Fiend and in racing situations though. Having access to a couple of each in the board seems reasonable.
Yeah, after dieing with no good place to play Insult/Injury in the Prerelease several times, I'm not considering it. Bloodlust Inciter is a great card, the only reason I'm not running it is because it only has 1 good target in my deck.
Insolent Neonate is a fantastic enabler which makes the most degenerate nut draws work when nothing else does. Dread Wanderer is an OK payoff card that doesn't work until you've emptied your hand and have 3 mana. It depends on what you think you need more, but I'm on favor of the Neonate.
I haven't had too much trouble casting Hazoret off of 22 lands so far out of the 10 matches I played him main. He doesn't come down turn 4 every time, but even turn 5-6, he finishes games in short order. Even if he doesn't break through himself, his ability ensures the last few points of damage and there haven been a couple games where I was going nowhere until he came down and just took over. Well worth the 2 of slot so far.
So, I played about 15 matches today against various things and Hazoret the Fervent is busted. I boarded it in twice and then moved the two to the main over 1 bushwhacker and 1 Gryff's Boon. The other Gryff's Boons became Declaration in Stone.
1 Essence Scatter
1 Negate
3 Immolating Glare
1 Blessed Alliance
2 Disallow
1 Void Shatter
2 Stasis Snare
4 Cast Out
3 Hieroglyphic Illumination
4 Pull from Tomorrow
3 Fumigate
4 Torrential Gearhulk
4 Irrigated Farmland
4 Prairie Stream
4 Port Town
2 Blighted Cataract
1 Westvale Abbey
6 Plains
6 Island
3 Dispel
2 Negate
2 Essence Scatter
1 Blessed Alliance
2 Forsake the Worldly
2 Stasis Snare
1 Descend Upon the Sinful
1 Glyph Keeper
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
Ryan Steiner
30th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 4/29/2017Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
3 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Walking Ballista
2 Tireless Tracker
3 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
2 Liliana, Death's Majesty
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Commit // Memory
2 Disallow
1 Dissenter's Deliverance
4 Fatal Push
2 Glimmer of Genius
2 Grasp of Darkness
1 Hieroglyphic Illumination
1 Murder
2 Negate
1 To the Slaughter
1 Never // Return
4 Traverse the Ulvenwald
2 Island
4 Swamp
4 Blooming Marsh
3 Botanical Sanctum
4 Evolving Wilds
2 Fetid Pools
2 Lumbering Falls
2 Sunken Hollow
1 Dispel
1 Dissenter's Deliverance
1 Natural State
1 Negate
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Confiscation Coup
2 Flaying Tendrils
2 Transgress the Mind
1 Yahenni's Expertise
Samuel Braatz
38th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 4/29/2017Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
3 Rogue Refiner
3 Tireless Tracker
3 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
3 Liliana, Death's Majesty
3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
4 Vessel of Nascency
4 Fatal Push
2 Grasp of Darkness
3 Heart of Kiran
2 Never // Return
4 Traverse the Ulvenwald
3 Forest
1 Island
3 Swamp
2 Aether Hub
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Evolving Wilds
2 Hissing Quagmire
2 Westvale Abbey
3 Dispel
1 Dissenter's Deliverance
3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
3 Dispossess
2 Flaying Tendrils
Censor is fantastic, but there are enough people playing around it that I shaved 1 for another hard answer so I wouldn't have too much air in the late game.
Pull From Tomorrow I think people have forgotten how good these types of spells are in control. This gives inevitability in the late game via sheer card advantage, but it's even playable at X=2 if you just need to filter your hand. I'm sure going with the full 4 is correct which makes the cycling on Cast Out and Hieroglyphic Illumination huge to make sure your hand doesn't get stuck full of big spells that you can't cast early.
Glyph Keeper This guy is here as backup to the Gearhulks. He's a 5 power flier for 5 mana that plays well vs Glorybringer, is resilient vs Removal, and comes back if they do kill him. The only thing in the format that answers it cleanly is Void Shatter and outside of that, it's very possible the opponent has to use 4 cards to completely deal with it.
1 Negate
1 Essence Scatter
4 Immolating Glare
1 Blessed Alliance
2 Disallow
1 Void Shatter
2 Stasis Snare
4 Cast Out
3 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Fumigate
4 Pull from Tomorrow
4 Torrential Gearhulk
4 Irrigated Farmland
4 Prairie Stream
4 Port Town
2 Blighted Cataract
6 Plains
6 Island
2 Dispel
3 Negate
2 Essence Scatter
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Forsake the Worldly
2 Stasis Snare
1 Fumigate
1 Sphinx of the Final Word