Delver after possible Bannings – Future Deck Lists

Will anything get banned on the 20th? Only time will tell. With the way the SCG Standard Open and the Invitiational looked this past weekend looked, something will likely happen. In both events U/W Delver decks were between 40%-45% of the field! I want to go over some possible decklists that could take shape if certain cards get banned.

Using LSV’s decklist from the WMCQ as a base reference, here is a list I would run if Ponder gets banned:

U/W Delver (without Ponder)

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4 Delver of Secrets 4 Mana Leak 1 Merfolk Looter 4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Restoration Angel 4 Vapor Snag 4 Geist of Saint Traft 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Thought Scour 2 Gut Shot 2 Sword of War and Peace 1 Dismember 8 Island 1 Plains 2 Moorland Haunt 3 Cavern of Souls 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Glacial Fortress   -Sideboard- 3 Hero of Bladehold 2 Celestial Purge 2 Phantasmal Image 1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage 2 Dissipate 3 Mental Misstep 1 Dismember 1 Divine Offering

Without Ponder, Delver usually wants to have lots of information.  To do that you need to draw or “see” a bunch of cards.  I replaced the Ponders with the 4th Gitaxian Probe, 2 more Thought Scours and a Merfolk Looter.  This will kind of fall back to the old style list which played those cards and it worked.  Ponder would be a huge loss since you cant setup your draws to flip Delver of Secrets but you have to work with what you got.  In the sideboard I feel like if people went this rout, then Mental Misstep would be a house since you can counter their now “key” spells to gain card advantage.  It is already pretty good but stopping them from seeing your hand to get the card and information they want is crucial.

Next up is a list without Delver of Secrets, the namesake of the deck.  I have heard people complain about this card since it was finally realized how powerful it is if you build around it.  If it does get banned, we cant call it U/W Delver anymore…

U/W No Aberration (without Delver of Secrets)

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4 Invisible Stalker 4 Mana Leak 4 Ponder 4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Restoration Angel 4 Vapor Snag 4 Geist of Saint Traft 3 Gitaxian Probe 2 Thought Scour 2 Runechanter’s Pike 2 Sword of War and Peace 1 Dismember 8 Island 1 Plains 2 Moorland Haunt 3 Cavern of Souls 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Glacial Fortress   -Sideboard- 3 Hero of Bladehold 2 Celestial Purge 2 Phantasmal Image 2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage 2 Dissipate 1 Mental Misstep 1 Dismember 2 Divine Offering

That was easy.  When Invisible Stalker got spoiled, it gained everyones attention with Swords being legal.  I removed Gut Shot as it is not as relevant without an opposing Delver of Secrets to prey upon.  If you play Invisible Stalker, his best friend besides a Sword is Pike.  Since you already play a lot of spells, Pike can overtake almost any create very quickly.  In the board I removed a Celestial Purge and added in another Divine Offering so you can with the Equipment battle.

Tiago Chan might become Tiago Ban if Snapcaster Mage gets the hammer on the 20th.  I like this card but, it is inherently powerful.  With each set, the card abilities increase and this card would only get better.  I am surprised it hasn’t taken over Legacy like Delver of Secrets has since there are just too many good spells to abuse.

U/W Delver Didn't Get Banned (w/o Snapcaster Mage)

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Main Deck 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Mana Leak 4 Ponder 3 Hero of Bladehold 4 Restoration Angel 4 Vapor Snag 4 Geist of Saint Traft 3 Gitaxian Probe 2 Gut Shot 2 Sword of War and Peace 2 Dismember 7 Island 4 Plains 2 Moorland Haunt 3 Cavern of Souls 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Glacial Fortress   -Sideboard- 3 Gideon Jura 1 Day of Judgment 1 Entreat the Angels 2 Celestial Purge 2 Phantasmal Image 2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage 1 Dissipate 1 Mental Misstep 1 Dismember 1 Divine Offering

Now here is a sweet looking deck.  Without having the ability to play or even face effectively 8 Mana Leaks, 8 Vapor Snags, 8 Ponders, etc… this can can run free and play some bigger threats.  Hero of Bladehold was in the board but why have a super efficient creature sitting dormant until game 2 & 3?  I changed the land count to balance the new casting cost of spells maindeck and in the board as well as up Dismember to two.  The deck style changes from an Aggro Control deck to almost a U/W Aggro deck.  In the board we can play Gideon Jura to combat our opponents Hero’s and Angels.  We also have Day of Judgment and Entreat the Angels!  Entreat in this kind of deck is another finisher that we can almost always resolve since our opponent probably used his 1 or 2 Mana Leaks he would be allotted per game.

This is all of course speculation but at least it give you an idea of what may be to come.  StarCityGames sent out a newsletter to their Premium subscribers (like they always do once a week) which had Snapcaster Mages on sale ($15.99 instead of $19.99).  I also head they were selling them for $15 at the Invitational to anyone.  To me this smells of “insider trading”.  I wouldn’t be surprised if a company that big knows something the rest of us don’t by having a friend on the inside.  I am not accusing them of anything, but it is kind of a coincidence if you ask me if it does get banned.

I originally stated that I thought nothing would be banned but after this weekends result, I retract my earlier feelings.  The tournament scene hasn’t really seen a drop in numbers like the Caw-Blade domination era did when Jace and Stoneforge was legal.  Its just the percentage of the Decks being played in a tournament are just getting bigger and bigger.  I feel Snapcaster Mage will probably see the hammer on the 20th with possibly Ponder.  The Mage is just too good and pretty much doubles all the spells in a deck while also keeping up tempo.  I have heard some people say Vapor Snag should get banned but that card is only insane because of Snapcaster Mage.  Ponder is a really good card but as we have seen, it is banned in Modern and Vintage. Wizards doesn’t like us to see 4 cards a turn.

Adam Arndt
MTGO: AdamRA4