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By: Joe Fiorini, Joseph G Fiorini
Jan 05 2015 1:00pm
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TarmogoyfDelver of SecretsMonastery Swiftspear
 
     In my last article, "Top of the Food Chain", I discussed the top three decks in modern, and stated a few important facts about each one. 
     
     I feel the need to say a little about that piece. I envisioned writing an article about a modern testing gauntlet that would include the top ten or so decks that you should test against to see if your deck is up to snuff. As my time dwindled down, I realized that I just did not have the time I needed to be able to cover all of those decks. For anyone who felt a little let down with that article, I sincerely apologize. While the work was good in my opinion, I feel that maybe I should have planned better, and given myself more time to write something even better than my previous effort.
 
Now that I got all that out of the way, onward we go...
 
 
with
RUG DELVER
 
I built a new modern deck. I had the itch to play something new, and I went browsing deck lists from Daily Events, looking for lists with relatively low total costs, and seeing if any of the cards in these lists overlap with my existing collection.
I also looked at some Legacy and Vintage lists, because I've always had a fantasy about playing some real eternal Magic. Modern  is awesome and all, but seeing an Ancestral Recall is only a fifty tickets just makes me want one so bad. I owned a few pieces of power in my original paper collection, a Mox Emerald, and a Time Walk, I even  owned a play set of each original dual land, but I never could manage to get my mitts on an Ancestral Recall.
 
Mox EmeraldTime WalkAncestral Recall
 
Legacy has a cheap deck or two, like manaless dredge, or belcher, but I am not comfortable in investing in decks that don't play lands. Both those decks seem like glass cannons to me. Ideally, I wanted to play a more traditional deck.
I thought about how RUG Delver is a deck in Vintage, Legacy, and Modern. I started looking around at the prices for Modern RUG Delver decks as a starting point. Most seemed too expensive. Eventually, I came across some RUG Delver lists (hiding in a different category for some reason) that were a little more affordable.
 
This is the list I ended up with:
 
 
     This version of Delver is based on the deck that Yuuki Ichikawa played at worlds 2014. My list has a less optimal mana base, due to the fact that I can't afford Scalding Tarns yet. The deck differs from the original one I downloaded to build. My first incarnation ran Young Pyromancer over Monastery Swiftspear. That build was based on the RUG Delver deck that won Grand Prix Madrid. I'm not entirely sure if I want to play a Monastery Swiftspear build, or stick with Young Pyromancer, so I play a few games with each list whenever I have time.
 
Just for reference, let's look at a legacy UR Delver list, and a Vintage Rug Delver List for a minute. They use a lot of the same cards. This fact is what sold me on investing in this deck. I have a decent start to owning a Legacy deck, and eventually, maybe, I can swing a Vintage deck as well. 
 
 
 
 
 
I'm aware that I'm still missing a lot of money cards to build Legacy/Vintage versions, but at least  I have a set of Tarmogoyfs, and that card will always be good in any format in which it's legal to play. There is enough of a difference in the modern, Legacy, and Vintage decks that I still have a long way to go, but I feel like I'm getting closer. Someday, hopefully soon, I'll play a game of Legacy or Vintage.

I worry that this may come off as a bit hypocritical, as I wrote an entire article on becoming an expert a few weeks ago. I still stand by everything I said. I still have Kiki Pod and I'm jamming games with it when I can. This just another deck to get proficient with, and a bridge between formats for my collection.

One other reason behind building a Delver of Secrets deck, I've been on the wrong side of variance with Kiki Pod a bunch as of late. I wanted a deck to play for “Overdrive!” that wouldn't cause me to lose to my mana base, or leave a five-drop stranded in my hand. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. I lost round one 2-1, and I had to console myself by crushing some games in the tournament practice room afterwards. The games were several Delver mirrors, and a Fatestitcher Ascendancy deck, so it was good practice at least.

As for my awful result during "Overdrive!", perhaps I should have waited to play the deck until I'd practiced more, maybe I should have taken another mulligan. I certainly wasn't mentally prepared for Longtimegone's main deck Chalice of the Void, and I should have saved mana for a Counterspell to stop it.
   
 I think I've rattled on about my losing ways long enough...
 
Sorrow's Path
 
In the tradition of my previous Modern Adventures articles, let's explore the reasons to play this deck!
 
Why should I play RUG Delver?
 
 
Treasure Cruise
 
MASSIVE Card Advantage!
 
You should play this deck because of Treasure Cruise. Do you remember how I was pining for Ancestral Recall? Well, two nights ago I chained one Treasure Cruise into ANOTHER Treasure Cruise in the same turn. I now truly understand the joy of draw three for one blue! There is a decent chance that the DCI will send the party boat to dry dock with a ban in modern, so cast it while you can!
These Delver decks also pack a lot of self-contained two-for-one's, in the form of Forked Bolt and Electrolyze
 
ElectrolyzeForked Bolt
 
Nothing like killing two Birds of Paradise with one stone!
 
Hyper-Efficient Creatures!
 
Delver of Secrets is another reason to play this deck. That card is basically a flying Wild Nacatl. Depending on if your build plays Monastery Swiftspear or Young Pyromancer, either one of those cards are a fantastic reason to play this deck. Young Pyromancer can lead to some two-for-one's as well, with all the elemental tokens flooding the board, and potentially trading with an opposing creature. 
Tarmogoyf is what makes this deck a RUG deck in the first place, so ol' ugly is getting his own paragraph. Tarmogoyf is a beast against a lot of decks, and really sweet against a UR Delver Deck, as they don't have many ways to deal with it. I never owned 'Goyfs before, and it feels so worth it every time I cast one.
 
Hyper-Efficient Spells!
 
Lightning BoltSpell PierceDeprive
 
RUG Delver plays Lightning Bolt, the most efficient direct damage spell ever made. Forked Bolt, Vapor Snag, and Remand all team up to tempo out your opponent. Spell Pierce is a blowout when your opponent fails to play around it, and it puts the squeeze on their resources when they DO play around it! 
 
Cheap Cards (besides Tarmogoyf)!
 
Tarmogoyf
 
This card's gone down in price, and is STILL not cheap! 
 
I'm adding this little section because I don't want anyone who is  reading this to shy away from a Delver list because they can't afford Tarmogoyfs or Scalding Tarns. I can't even afford Scalding Tarn yet, and my deck is doing great. You can build a budget Modern Delver deck on the cheap, thanks to the Khan's/Onslaught Fetches. Most of the deck is common or uncommon.
 
The Downside to Delver.
 
Mirror, Mirror, Everywhere...
 
Mirror Universe
 
It's funny, when I was a kid, I thought this card was so broken!
 
 
You're going to play a lot of mirror matches if you play a Delver of Secrets deck, but the same can be said for Birthing Pod decks, too. When you play a deck that represents 15% of the metagame, that statistically will happen quite often.
Facing the mirror, or near-mirror isn't even really a bad thing. Becoming an expert with the deck will give you an edge in the mirror match and help your chances overall. I've won all my mirror matches so far, and I feel pretty good about it.
 
Normally, there would be a spot where I would mention that this deck is weak to sweepers like Pyroclasm. However, this deck has Tarmogoyf, and that makes Pyroclasm much less effective. My preferred build is running Monastery Swiftspear, which also can live through two damage with just one prowess trigger. If you suspect your opponent is packing these sweepers, play accordingly. Don't just over-extend and set yourself up to get wiped out.
 
 Narrow Counterspells...
 
RemandSpell SnareMana Leak
 
 
     Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, and Remand are what is known as "soft counters". They will counter spells quite often, but at times, they will fail at their job, and leave you vulnerable to your opponents cards. The key with playing a tempo deck such as RUG Delver, is learning how and when to use your counters to make them as effective as possible.
 
 
Savage Knuckleblade
 
The Japanese tech of a single Big Knucks in the board is sweet!
 
     In closing, I want to say that I think that RUG Delver is a sweet modern deck, and that you should join the dark side with me, and play a Treasure Cruise deck. Drawing three cards is the best feeling ever.
     The chance that the DCI cracks down on Treasure Cruise is very real. Playing with this card feels extremely powerful. This card seems so much more powerful even than the Delve/Time walk that was recently spoiled from Fate Reforged. If you can put a deck like this together, maybe you should, if only to cast Treasure Cruise while you still can. Sometimes, it feels good to be the bad guy, playing the bane of the modern format.
     Once I get some more experience with RUG Delver, I'll write about some tips for playing the deck and sideboarding. I've noticed a lot of players losing because they were careless with their life totals, Gitaxian Probe-ing and fetching their life totals away needlessly. That's just one of the things I've picked up on since playing the deck, and I think it will make an interesting article.
 
   
     I also want to quickly thank my readers, and give a shout out to Hunter Cutchin, Jeremy Murray, and everyone else who has supported me in writing these things. It's much easier to continue writing when I know someone appreciates it. You guys even helped promote my writing on Facebook, which was very kind of you. Anyone I didn't specifically name, don't be offended, you're awesome too!
 
 
Also, ZXXZ, Thanks.
Joe Fiorini
Underground Sea
Follow me on Twitter @josephfiorinijr
 

 

6 Comments

"...funny, when I was a kid, by Paul Leicht at Mon, 01/05/2015 - 21:26
Paul Leicht's picture

"...funny, when I was a kid, I thought this card was so broken!" It was, then they fixed it. :/

Even with mana burn, and not by Joe Fiorini at Tue, 01/06/2015 - 06:06
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Even with mana burn, and not dying until the end of phase, I don't think that Mirror Universe would be a contender in today's Magic scene.

I also thought Ali from Cairo was the nut, we didn't play much removal when we first played, with our 100-card decks.

Hah! Speak for yourself Joe. by Paul Leicht at Tue, 01/06/2015 - 10:27
Paul Leicht's picture

Hah! Speak for yourself Joe. Mine were rarely over 70...

Also until you've seen Ali From Cairo take down a Grand Melee table at the hands of (future) PT Hall of Famer Steve OMS you haven't seen that card properly in action. IMHO of course. :p

Temur Delver seems pretty by AKMatt at Tue, 01/06/2015 - 23:15
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Temur Delver seems pretty awesome. Even if Treasure Cruise gets banned, UR Delver was picking up wins before Khans launched. Might be rough if Abzan Pod remains trendy, though.

Siege Rhino is a tough card by Joe Fiorini at Wed, 01/07/2015 - 06:15
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Siege Rhino is a tough card to deal with. I thought of a few ways to try to deal with it, but I'm not sure if they are too narrow or not.

The big thing is to stop them from sticking a birthing pod if at all possible.

Siege Rhino is a lot less scary when you can remand or deprive it.

I'm working on a pauper by Joe Fiorini at Thu, 01/08/2015 - 10:19
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I'm working on a pauper version of this deck, but I think that I'm not going to run green.
So far, my build is different from the ur control/delver list i downloaded.

Btw I want to know, whats curse of the bloody tome for in the ur delver sideboard?
I had the unpleasant experience of my first game of pauper being against turbo fog. I hated that. Is that a match where you'd bring in curse of the bloody tome, to mill them out?