After making Top 16 at Star City Games Open Memphis, I thought I wouldn't Top 16 again. But I was wrong. I played a list that was almost identical to what I played in Memphis: U/W Delver. This deck fits my play style very well. It is the only Standard deck I have been playing, besides B/r Zombies and I’m getting rewarded for my familiarity.Once I get a feel of what their deck is trying to do I have a much easier time playing against them and adjusting my game plan accordingly. I struggle with visualizing how a match up will play out; I really need to play through the match up myself before I’m comfortable. I think this is the reason for my recent success. I have played against almost all of the popular and semi popular decks in Standard at least once and I have previous information to pull from when trying to figure out my lines. I’ve read it in other people’s writing many times, but I’m going to repeat it: If you want to be successful in tournaments pick a deck you know you will enjoy, play it a lot, and don’t audible.
U/W Delver I played in Memphis.
Artifacts
2 Runechanter's Pike
2 Sword of War and Peace
Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
1 Dungeon Geists
4 Snapcaster Mage
Instants
3 Gut Shot
4 Mana Leak
4 Midnight Haunting
4 Vapor Snag
Legendary Creatures
4 Geist of Saint Traft
Sorceries
3 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
Basic Lands
8 Island
3 Plains
Lands
4 Glacial Fortress
2 Moorland Haunt
4 Seachrome Coast
Sideboard:
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Spellskite
2 Celestial Purge
2 Divine Offering
2 Flashfreeze
2 Negate
3 Timely Reinforcements
U/W Delver I played in Birmingham.
Artifacts
3 Runechanter's Pike
Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Dungeon Geists
2 Invisible Stalker
4 Snapcaster Mage
Instants
3 Gut Shot
4 Mana Leak
4 Thought Scour
4 Vapor Snag
Legendary Creatures
4 Geist of Saint Traft
Sorceries
2 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
Basic Lands
9 Island
1 Plains
Lands
4 Glacial Fortress
2 Moorland Haunt
4 Seachrome Coast
Sideboard:
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Sword of War and Peace
2 Spellskite
2 Celestial Purge
1 Divine Offering
2 Flashfreeze
2 Negate
3 Timely Reinforcements
The Maindeck Changes: -2 Sword or War and Peace, -4 Midnight Haunting, -1 Gitaxian Probe. +1 Dungeon Geists, +1 Runechanter's Pike, +2 Invisible Stalker, +4 Thought Scour.
The Sideboard changes: -1 Divine Offering, +1 Sword of War and Peace.
The lists are very similar, or at least the sideboards are. So lets move on to the Tournament report.
Round 1 vs. Esper Tokens.
Game 1. I was on the play, I pondered Turn 1, shuffling the cards away. No other spells were cast until Turn 3, where I landed a Geist of Saint Traft. He had no answer for it, and I won game 1.
Game 2. He started with Evolving Wilds, go. I started with Seachrome Coast, Delver. Turn 2 he played an Intangible Virtue. My turn 2, My Delver flipped, revealing a Mana Leak. I swung for 3, Post combat I played an Island and passed the turn. His turn 3 was land go again. My turn 3 I simply Swung for 3, and played land go. At the end of my turn he tried to resolve a Midnight Haunting but I stopped it with a Mana Leak. His turn 4 was land, Intangible Virtue and Gather the Townsfolk. At the end of his turn I vapor Snagged one of the Tokens, putting him down to 13 life. On my turn I played a Geist of Saint Traft and Swung for 3, and then played a Glacial Fortress. On his 5th turn he swung for 3 with his Human token, and played Snapcaster Mage and flashbacked his Midnight Haunting while I only had a Glacial Fortress untapped. At the end of his turn I vapor Snagged his Spirit Token knocking him down to 9 life. I topdecked a Snapcaster Mage and Cast it, flashing back my Vapor Snag on his Spirit Token, knocking him down to 8 life. I sent in Geist and Delver. He blocked the Geist with his Human Token and took 7 Damage from the Delver and Angel Token. On his turn he didn't find an Answer, and scooped. Giving me the win, 2-0.
Round 2 vs R/G Aggro.
Game 1. I was on the play. My turn 1 was Island, Delver. He started with Copperline Gorge and played a Birds of Paradise. My turn 2 I drew the land I needed, and Played Seachrome Coast and resolved two more Delvers. His turn 2, he played a Sword of War and Peace. My turn 3, my three Delver's flipped, revealing a Vapor Snag on top. I sent in my three Delvers for 9 damage. On his turn he tried to equip the Sword to the Bird, however I Gut Shotted it in response. He scooped.
Game 2. I can't remember all of this game. He kept a hand with 5 Land, and 2 Birds of Paradise, and he kept drawing land. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. R/G Aggro.
Game 1. He won the dice roll, so he was on the play. He started with Copperline Gorge, Llanowar Elves. I started with Glacial Fortress, go. His turn 2 was a Daybreak Ranger. I played a Glacial Fortress Tapped again, and just passed. His turn 3 was a Thrun, the Last Troll. I scooped, as I had no answer to Thrun.
Game 2. I was on the play with Island, Delver. His turn 1 was Rootbound Crag. My Delver flipped, revealing a Gut Shot on top, I swung for 3, and then played a Glacial Fortress before passing the turn. On his turn 2 he played another Rootbound Crag tapped. On my turn 3 I played a Seachrome Coast and a Geist of Saint Traft, while swinging for 3 again with my Delver. On his turn 3 he drew and played a Forest, and then passed again. I drew and played a Island, and then Sent in my team for 9 damage, dropping him to 5 life. On his turn, he tried to resolve a Huntmaster of the Fells, however I stopped it with a Mana Leak.
Game 3. His turn 1 was Forest, Birds of Paradise. At the end of his turn I paid 2 life a Gutshotted the Bird. My turn 1 wasSeachrome Coast, Go. He simply passed his next turn. My turn 2 was Land go. He continued to draw no land, and just passed. On my turn 3 I played a Geist of Saint Traft and Simply passed the turn. He didn't draw land again, and just passed the turn. I swung for 6 with the Geist and Angel, post combat I played a Delver of Secrets. He finally drew a land and played a Strangleroot Geist. However at the End of the Turn I Vapor Snagged it. On my turn, My Delver flipped, revealing a Mana Leak. I then played a Runechanter's Pike and Equipped it to my Geist. And swung for 11 Damage, dropping him to 3 life. He scooped. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Solar Flare.
Game 1. I faintly remember this game; I remember he killed 3 of my Geist that game, with Phantasmal Images. He resolved a Sun Titan at one point, bringing back images. Needless to say, I lost.
Game 2. I was on the play. Turn 1 I played Seachrome Cost, Delver. His turn 1 was land go. My turn 2 was Island, Delver, Delver. And swung for 1. His turn 2 was land go. On 3rd turn, I swung for 3 with my Delver's. Post Combat I played a Glacial Fortress and Resolved a Geist of Saint Traft. On his 3rd turn he played a land and cast forbidden alchemy before passing. On my 4th turn my Delver's flipped, and I sent my team in for 15 damage, and simply played land go. On his 4th turn he dropped a land and tried to cast Day of Judgment, but I had a Mana Leak.
Game 3. He mulligan to 4, and he kept a no land hand so he just said go on his turn 1. On my turn 1 I drew my first Gitaxian Probe of the day, and probed to see his hand. I drew and played a Seachrome Coast and Resolved a Delver of Secrets. However on his turn 2 He drew a Swamp and Tragic Slipped my Delver. On my turn 2 I played land go. On his turn 3 he drew a Drowned Catacomb and tried to resolve a Sphere of the Suns however I stopped it with a Mana Leak. On my Next turn I played an Island and Resolved a Geist of Saint Traft. On his next turn he didn't draw land again. So he just scooped. 2-1.
Round 5 vs. Wolf Run Ramp.
Game 1. He won the roll, so he was on the play. He mulligan to 5. He started with Forest, Bird, go. At the end of his turn I gutshotted the Bird. My turn 1 was Delver, Island. On his 2nd turn, he just passed. On my turn i drew and played a SeachromeCoast, and sent in my Delver for 1 damage. He didn't draw a land on his turn 3. On my turn 3 I sent in my Delver for another Damage and then played a Geist of Saint Traft. On his 4th turn he didn't draw land again, so he just scooped.
Game 2. He mulligan to 5 again. He started with Rootbound Crag. I started with Glacial Fortress. On his turn 2 he drew a Forestand Played Rampant Growth. On my turn 2 I drew an Island, and passed. His turn 3 was Forest, Huntmaster of the Fells. However I mana leaked it, my turn 3 was Geist of Saint Traft. He drew a Rootbound Crag and passed. I sent in my Geist for 6 damage before passing. On his turn He drew another land, which he needed and tried to resolve a Primeval Titan. Snapcasted-Mana Leak stopped it though. On my turn I drew another Mana Leak, and sent in my team for 8 damage before passing. On his turn he tried to play a Inferno Titan, I Mana Leaked it. 2-1.
Round 6 vs. Heartless Summoning. (SCG Live Coverage)
Game 1. Bruce started with Glacial Fortress, while Zee Shan began on Darkslick Shores. Seachrome Coast and pass from Bruce, but he fired Thought Scour during the end step after Zee Shan played Swamp and nothing else. Geist of Saint Traft on turn 3 gave Bruce his first threat of the match. With his opponent tapped out, Zee Shan cast Phantasmal Image to trade before playing Ponder, leaving his top three cards in place. Bruce had a fourth land, but no threats before ending the turn. Zee Shan Pondered again on turn 4, thinking over his three more carefully but still keeping all of them in place prior to playing a land and passing. Snapcaster Mage during his end step Thought Scoured again, hitting Gitaxian Probe but nothing else relevant. An attack for 2 brought Zee Shan to 18, and Bruce passed after playing his fifth land. Zee Shan also had just a land and passed, nodding when Bruce tried another Geist of Saint Traft after attacking—it resolved. With only two mana up, Bruce was slightly vulnerable. A sixth land from Zee Shan let him try Phyrexian Metamorph to kill Geist, but Vapor Snag on the Geist forced Zee Shan to settle for his own Snapcaster Mage, and a flashbacked Ponder. Not so bad…
Once more leaving his top three in place, Zee Shan tapped out for Perilous Myr and passed the turn. Moorland Haunt from Bruce gave him some more action, and Zee Shan elected to block Snapcaster with Snapcaster, saving the Perilous Myr for later. Ponder and Geist left Bruce with two mana untapped once again, but Zee Shan could beat the Geist with Black Sun's Zenith—except that another Vapor Snag kept Geist in the wings. That put Bruce to 16 life after Myr's trigger, and Zee Shan cast yet another Ponder, quickly leaving the top three in place before tossing Heartless Summoning off the top of his library. Now Bruce replayed Geist (again) and cast Ponder, but his top three earned a snap-shuffle. Only concerned with beating Mana Leak—hardly a concern at all with Summoning on the board—Zee Shan prepared for a big turn. Phyrexian Metamorph for two mana brought the Leak, which Zee Shan paid for. He followed with Ghost Quarter on Mooorland Haunt before ending his turn. Bruce cast Delver of Secrets and quickly passed, while Zee Shan equally quickly slammed Rune-Scarred Demon on the next turn. Bruce tried Mana Leak again, but Zee Shan remembered to pay and resolved the tutor/Demon. Missing his trigger, Bruce used Dungeon Geists to tap the Demon before attacking for 1 damage. That didn't matter—Zee Shan had Havengul Lich now, and cast it to play perilous Myr five times, killing all of Bruce's creatures and dealing him 4 damage. Snapcaster Mage on Vapor Snag bounced the Lich, but Bruce was all out of gas not. Recasting the Lich, Zee Shan executed Bruce's team and then Bruce himself.
Game 2. Turn 1 Gitaxian Probe revealed Spellskite, Doom Blade, Heartless Summoning, and four lands from Zee Shan's hand. Bruce played Seachrome Coast and Ponder afterward, quickly setting up. Zee Shan just played Swamp, and Bruce had Glacial Fortress. Thought Scour after Zee Shan resolved Heartless Summoning milled Delver and Gitaxian Probe off the deck; seemed like a stronger turn 2 to just cast the Delver? Bruce spent turn 3 casting Invisible Stalker. Continuing to expand his board, Zee Shan played Solemn Simulacrum for a land and then played another from his hand. Bruce revealed his plans on turn 4 by casting Runechanter's Pike and equipping, sending in 5 damage and putting Zee Shan on the clock. Zee Shan had just land and attack, nodding as Bruce knocked him to 10 before playing Delver of Secrets. Pondering, Zee Shan had to be searching for a Zenith. He left his top three in place, playing a sixth land and attacking for 1 before casting Zenith with two up—Mana Leak countered, and he sighed. No trigger for Bruce, who swung in 6 damage and left Zee Shan on 4 life. Precombat Massacre Wurm from Zee Shan mopped the board and deal Bruce 4 damage, followed by another point from Solemn Simulacrum. During the end step, Bruce flashed in Snapcaster and flashbacked Thought Scour, but Doom Blade slew the 2/1. Another Scour during his own turn for Bruce, but no creatures were forthcoming. Zee Shan sent in his Wurm and Solemn, but Celestial Purge removed the Wurm from the game. Wurmcoil Engine resolved through Mana Leak after that, and now Zee Shan threatened to take control. Bruce fired back with Dungeon Geists! While it only tapped Spellskite, Runechanter's Pike gave it the first strike necessary to tap down Wurmcoil Engine. Ponder from Zee Shan dug him into an answer—Phyrexian Metamorph copying Bruce's own Dungeon Geists, which let Wurmcoil land a major hit and boosted Zee Shan back to 10 while simultaneously removing the lethal flier from his opponent's board. Needing a hit this turn, Bruce peeled at the top but didn't find anything that would save him. 0-2.
Round 7 vs. U/B Zombies:
Game 1. Turn 1 he played Swamp, Gravecrawler. My turn 1 was Glacial Fortress, go. His turn 2 was Drowned Catacomb, two Diregraf Ghoul's and attack with Grave Crawler. My turn 2 was another Glacial Fortress. His turn 3 was Geralf's Messenger and an attack for 6. I found no answer on the top of my library next turn, so I scooped.
Game 2. I started with Seachrome Coast, Delver. However on his turn he had a Tragic slip. On my turn 2 I played two Delver's and passed. On his turn 2 he had a Tragic Slip and a Fume Spitter to kill both of my Delvers. On my turn 3 I Probed to see his hand, he had all lands, so I simply cast Geist of Saint Traft with Nothing to worry about. He top decked a Geralf's Messenger dealing me 2 damage. On my turn I played a Dungeon Geists keeping his Messenger tapped and sent in the Geist for 6 damage. On his turn he drew land, and conceded.
Game 3. He started with Swamp, Diregraf Ghoul. My turn 1 was Seachrome, Delver. On his turn 2 he played a Drowned catacomb and a Highborn Ghoul and sent in his Diregraf for 2. At the end of his turn, I gutshotted the the Highborn Ghoul. On my turn I played an Island, and swung for 1. On his turn 3 he played another Drowned Catacomb and tried to Cast Geralf's Messenger. However I stopped it with a Mana Leak. He swung for 2, before passing the turn. On my 3rd Turn I cast a Geist of Saint Traft, Swung for 1, and then passed. His 4th turn was a Phyrexian Obliterator and he attacked for 2 again. My Delver Finally flipped on my turn, revealing a Ponder. I played my 4th land and resolved a Dungeon Geists, tapping down his Phyrexian Obliterator, and sent in my team for 9. On his turn, he cast Black Sun Zenith for 3, whipping the board. At the end of his turn I cast 2 Gutshot's to kill his Phyrexian Obliterator, knocking me down to 10 life. On my next turn I cast a Ponder, and shuffled, drew and played a Moorland Haunt which ended up winning me the game. On his turn he played a Gravecrawler and Passed. At the end of turn, I activated Moorland Haunt. On my turn I drew a Runechanter's Pike and equipped it to my Spirit token, and swung for 6, taking him down to 5. He drew a Tragic Slip, and Cast it on my Spirit Token, and then sent his gravecrawler in for 2 damage. At the end of his turn I made another Spirit Token. On my Turn I simply equipped my Runechanter's Pike to the Spirit Token and swung for lethal. 2-1.
Round 8 vs. U/W Delver.
Game 1. I don't remember much from this match. He played 3 Geist this game, and I didn't have an Answer for all of them.
Game 2. I remember mana leaking his Geist, and Playing my own Geist. He had no answer for it, and I won game 2.
Game 3. Turn 1 he played land go. My turn 1 I played Island, Delver. His turn 2 was Seachrome, Invisible Stalker. My turn 2 wasIsland, swing for 1. His turn 3 he tried to play a Geist of Saint Traft and I mana Leaked it. My turn 3 was Delver, Swing for 1. His turn 4 was Runechanter's Pike, Equip. I didn't draw and White Source, and my Delver's didn't flip for 4 turns. By then He killed me with 2 Runechanter's Pike equipped to the Invisible Stalker. 1-2.
Round 9 vs. R/G Aggro.
Game 1. He won the Dice roll. He played Copperline Gorge, Birds of Paradise. My turn 1 was Gitaxian Probe, followed up by aSeachrome Coast and a Ponder. His turn 2 was Forest, Sword of War and Peace. My turn 2 was Seachrome, Delver, Delver. On his turn 3 he played a two Strangleroot Geist and swung for 4. Unfortunately my Delver's didn't flip on my turn and I just playedIsland, go. On his next turn he played a Hellrider and swung with his whole team, dealing me 4 damage just from the attack. I decided to take it, going down to 5. My Delver's didn't flip again on my turn so I scooped.
Game 2. I started with Gitaxian Probe, Seachrome Coast, Delver of Secrets. He started with Rootbound Crag. On my turn 2, the Delver flipped and I swung for 3. Played Seachrome Coast, and played 2 Ponder's. On his turn 2 he played a Strangleroot Geist and swung for 2. On my turn 3 I played a Geist of Saint Traft and Swung for 3 again. On his turn 3 he played a Daybreak Ranger, and swung for 2. On my 4th turn I played a Dungeon Geists, tapping down the Daybreak Ranger. and swung for 9 damage taking him down to 5 life. On his next turn he didn't find an Answer, so we went to game 3.
Game 3. He mulligan to 6. He started with Forest, Llanowar Elves however I gutshotted the Llanowar at the end of the turn. My turn 1 was Island, Delver. On his next turn he just said go, drawing no land. On my turn the Delver flipped and I swung for 3, post combat I played a Glacial Fortress and then passed. He drew a land and tried to cast a Strangleroot Geist, however I stopped it with a Flashfreeze. On my turn 3, I played a Geist of Saint Traft and swung for 3 again. he drew a Forest off the top, and then passed. I drew an Island, and sent in my team for 9 damage taking him down to 5 life. He drew the Rootbound Crag he needed off the top and tried to cast a Huntmaster of the Fells, however I stopped it with a Mana leak and proceeded to win the Match 2-1.
7-2.
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