Green/Black Delirium 5-7-16

Alright, draft review time!

(draft review here. Having trouble with the mythic draft site so using a new one that is basic but very functional)

http://www.empirimancy.net/draft/9677988

Pack 1 

Pick 1

  

The Moondrakes are a bit 'meh' for a 7 drop. Thraben Inspector is a happy card that every white deck loves but I went with the higher power level of the Witch. It's transformation into the "drain 1 every turn" makes it a very real win condition.

Pick 2

  

Dead Weight is just solid removal. The Breakneck Rider is also very solid (3 mana for 3/3 with upside) is no joke but it's close enough where I would match my color.

Pick 3

  

According to my 'god why would you ever listen to ME' signals post these are all premium cards at home in any white or blue deck. I take the removal and putter onwards.

I trundle along, taking some good white and black cards. Next interesting pick:

Pick 7

  

I am shocked to see a Vessel this late. I haven't nabbed any green yet, but I do take note. I take the Wicker Witch as she's great for helping enable Delirium, which increasingly seems like the way I'm going.

Pack 2 

  

No help from the rare. I'm still a little torn on white vs. green as my secondary color so I take the Dead Weight.

Pick 2

  

Arguably the pick I was most proud of in the draft. Duskwatch Recruiter is just 100% solid gold premium green. I snatch it instead of a meh white card and start looking to go into green.

The payoff is not long in arriving. Pick 4 Solitary Hunter verified by a shocking amount of green in Pick 5:

   

Followed by a Byway Courier in P2P7, and four really solid value picks to close the draft (2x Might Beyond Reason, Fork in the Road, and a Kessig Dire Swine)

Pack 3 

Very straightforward value drafting. One agonizing choice in pick 3:

  

Oooof. I want them all! I take the Watcher because right now I have zero defenses against fliers of any sort. But I am cautiously optimistic that maybe one of those two will wheel. How many green delirium decks can there be?

Apparently there were two other players, as neither wheeled. Fine.

Ze Deck

My first thought was whether I splash white or not. The Inquisitor Oxen in particular looked tempting: great stabilizing the board presence that turn into 3/5 vigilance attackers? Sounds like what I want to be doing! 

      

And I had some decent tools to help make it happen: 

  

Ultimately I opted against it. I had a good spread of card types and I was pretty happy with my four drops. Straight G/B for me! Again!

Pretty good removal (two dead weights, Sinister Concoction, and a Kindly Stranger) along with a decent smattering of win conditions and solid value cards. How would it play out?

3-0!

This deck 3-0'd the draft! I had some good luck (I faced R/U, R/U, B/U) which were a little more durdly and probably had thinned out the blue cards a little too much for there to be real power. I overcame SOME adversity: I had an opponent flip his Aberrant Researcher on the FIRST try and some out of control Pyre Hounds. But I was able to grind down most games and eventually land my very surprising win condition.

MVP

An astonishing display by a surprise rookie! This card SHOCKINGLY overperformed. I don't think I would want a third, as it's pretty far from great on turn four but dropping a permanent +3/+3 at instant speed is pretty good guys. Everyone is so agog over the Spiteful Motives (+3/+0 first strike) that they're kind of overlooking that +3/+3 is basically the same thing except harder to remove with direct damage. And it's a common. If you can reliably get Delirium going, you can get these late and enjoy the payoff. Pairs great with Crow of Dark Tidings for a hilarious 5/4 flier.

MIA

I've always been an admirer of your work, Ms. Witch; I don't know why you wouldn't appear in even one game for me. I'm your biggest fan!!

Lessons Learned

It really helps being somewhat familiar with a decktype before drafting it! I knew I wanted a good solid diversity of card types: 3-4 sorceries, 3-4 enchantments, 3-4 instants. Early defenses are critical against the aggro decks and then try and line up win conditions.

Sorceries

   

In decreasing order of priority. You really only want one Fork in the Road, you'll run as many Murders as possible, and the others fill out how many sorceries you have.

Enchantments

     
The first three are all hotly contested and should be snap-picks. Crawling Sensation looks like a nice fit for enabling Delirium. Autumnal Gloom is great but doesn't provide early defenses when you may need it most. Think of it as a 5-drop. Weirding Wood's value varies according to how much you're splashing.

Instants

     

As we discussed last time, Grotesque Mutation is a perfect trick, buying both time and trading favorably. Might Beyond Reason is a great finisher (shockingly so) and can be picked up late. Merciless Resolve always feels like the 23rd card to me. Aim High is great in the sideboard. I'm not as sure about Throttle. It feels like by turn 5 you've either stabilized or lost.

Marshall's U/W tempo

Marshall (of LR fame) recorded his run at his (and mine) favorite deck type: the blue/white tempo deck. It's shockingly viable in SoI with strong tempo cards as well as a mechanic (Clues) that can help provide some gas in the mid/late game. Sadly Marshall went 0-1 in an 8-4 round (grisly details here), but how he built his deck has some solid bones.

Overview:
A tempo decks relies on a 2-3-4 curve out that then uses some tapping tools to keep the opponent on the back foot just long enough to finish the job. Since curving out is pretty important, you'll generally want to run 5x two drops, 5x three drops, 4x four drops. With 17 lands, that leaves 9 spell slots (plus any playable higher curve creatures) Let's break it into some pieces. All cards extremely unscientifically  ranked by desirability/priority in the deck.

Two drops

    

Pretty good bounty of choices. Sadly Delirium will be difficult to turn on (more on that later) but both semi-crappy commons (Fox & Homunculus) means you can fill this out late in a pack. The Illuminator is a more defensive card but the sheer power level is so high, definitely fit one in if the opportunity arises.

Three

       

The three drops are a rich bounty. The Stitched Mangler is the real prize, being both a decent body and a 'trick'. Seeing those past the first few picks is a great sign that the deck (and possibly blue in general) is pretty open. Similar story for the Dauntless Cathar: solid body that comes back as an evasive creature? Sign me up! The Cathar's Companion is surprisingly solid in this deck and can be picked up late, hence it's relatively lower rating.

Assume Delirium is not happening so rate the Parish Blade as just a 3/2. The Inquisitor has a similar problem given the lack of equipment you are (presumably) running.

Four

   

The four drops are a little thinner on the ground. Both the Skaab and Chaplain are great cards and should be snapped up when seen. The Aberrant Researcher is more chancy. While you will have an above average compliment of instants and sorceries, assume the fail case of a 4 mana 3/2 flier. Which is... decent. Sadly the only real playable common is the Inspiring Captain. The other commons in the four slot (Ox, Drownyard Explorers, Silent Observer) are all too defensive.

5+

  

The five+ drops are... sadly lacking. 5 mana for a 3/3 flier will get the job done but not the way you want to be spending 5 mana. Most of the time a second three drop and a trick are the ideal. The Snapper IS kind of interesting but I'd have to play with it to see if it is an actual finisher. The lack of trample makes me think 'no'.

Tempo Cards

     

This is the payout of the deck. With the significant exception of Jace's Scrutiny, the U/W tempo deck is the only customer for the Investigate tricks. Scoop them all!!

Other Quality Contested Cards

       

Good removal is good; nearly every white deck loves the Boon and the Ghostly Wings is a surprisingly flexible card as well. So don't expect to see a lot of them but snap them up when you do.

The one drops are more interesting. Thraben Inspector is a no brainer. The Stern Constable is more... interesting. Excellent tempo card and might actually make Delirium happen in the deck (ease of pitching lands into the graveyard). Needs further investigation.

Delirium Variant

Almost entirely in white, there is a decent batch of cards that pays you out for going Delirium:
   

The problem is that there's no room for 'engine delirium' cards in your deck, like Vessel or the like. You're tempo too, so you actually don't WANT to put creatures in your graveyard. So now you're down to just instants and the occasional sorcery. But let's say those sweet uncommons flowed to you and you want to make it work.

First question: do you have a discard engine?

   

The reckless scholar is particularly a reach at the 3-drop slot, but could work if the payout is there (see above)

Diversify Card Types

   

Hopefully you have some good enchantments! Note that I am DEEPLY skeptical of the two Vessels being the right choice here. 5 mana for 2x 1/1 fliers seems like the exact opposite of what a tempo deck wants to do and the Vessel of Paramnesia (milling yourself) might not be worth a card slot even if it does replace itself.

 

The Wicker Witch is a great way to power up (and not a TERRIBLE 3 drop). The Runaway Carriage is pure theorycraft. Heck, maybe it is a decent 4 drop for you!

Personally I think going delirium tempo wouldn't work. Tempo is all about speed and delirium is all about stalling until you get Delirium-powered items into play. The tension is too big of a gap to paper over.