I’ve had a lot of people of the last month or two reach out to me about Azorius Delver and so I thought I’d write an article to make it easier for everyone to get the information they need for the upcoming GP in Niagara Falls. I’ll briefly breakdown how I view the deck, the ever-important sideboard guide, and a few notes to keep in mind while sideboarding.
The Deck
One of the most common misconceptions about the Azorius Delver deck is that it’s not actually a “Delver” deck in the conventional sense. This archetype is much more of a Stoneblade deck that incorporates the standard Delver of Secrets package to bolster its combo matchups and give you and aggressive slant against some of the decks you aren’t built to contend with Game 1. That being said, you certainly give up a few percentage points against some decks—some of your draws in Game 1 will be awkward since you have spells that don’t synergize well together. Sideboarding largely fixes this issue and is where I believe this deck’s greatest strength lies.
Let’s take a look at the 75 I would register if I were going to the GP:
Legacy Azorius Delver
| Creatures (14) 4 Delver of Secrets 2 Snapcaster Mage 4 Stoneforge Mystic 3 True-Name Nemesis 1 Palace Jailer Spells (26) 4 Brainstorm 4 Ponder 3 Spell Pierce 2 Spell Snare 4 Swords to Plowshares 2 Daze 1 Council’s Judgment 4 Force of Will 1 Umezawa’s Jitte 1 Batterskull | Lands (20) 1 Arid Mesa 4 Flooded Strand 4 Island 1 Misty Rainforest 2 Plains 2 Polluted Delta 1 Scalding Tarn 2 Tundra 3 Wasteland Sideboard (15) 1 Engineered Explosives 2 Flusterstorm 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Celestial Purge 2 Containment Priest 2 Disenchant 2 Back to Basics 1 Council’s Judgment 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Supreme Verdict |
The most noticeable change that I’ve made to the deck since my Top 4 finish at SCG Syracuse is the inclusion of Palace Jailer, and the relocation of Jace, the Mind Sculptor to the sideboard. Jace was always one of the biggest reasons I was playing this deck over something like Izzet or Grixis Delver, but he has become more of a liability in recent weeks with the uptick of Pyroblast. Jailer lets you still have a great card advantage engine for grinding out your Miracles and Grixis Control opponents, while also having better synergy with your aggressive game plan in Game 1.
The Sideboard Guide
This sideboard guide is not something I consider set in stone. I am unlikely to always board the same way, but I have laid out my general board plan for each matchup.
Izzet Delver:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Supreme Verdict
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Spell Snare
Miracles:
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-4 Swords to Plowshares
Golgari Depths:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Disenchant
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-2 Daze
Storm:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
+1 Supreme Verdict
-2 Swords to Plowshares
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-1 Council’s Judgment
-1 Palace Jailer
Sneak and Show:
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Containment Priest
+2 Disenchant
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-2 Spell Snare
-1 Council’s Judgment
Death and Taxes:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Containment Priest
+2 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Supreme Verdict
-4 Delver of Secrets
-3 Spell Pierce
Moon Stompy:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-4 Delver of Secrets
-2 Spell Snare
Eldrazi Stompy:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Disenchant
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Supreme Verdict
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Daze
Eldrazi Post:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Disenchant
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Daze
Lands:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Surgical Extraction
+2 Disenchant
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Daze
-4 Stoneforge Mystic
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Batterskull
-1 Council’s Judgment
Grixis Control:
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-4 Delver of Secrets
-3 Swords to Plowshares
Grixis Delver:
+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Supreme Verdict
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Daze (on the draw)
-2 Force of Will (on the play)
Rakdos Reanimator:
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Surgical Extraction
+2 Containment Priest
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-1 Council’s Judgment
-1 Stoneforge Mystic
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Plains
Azorius Stoneblade:
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Swords to Plowshares
-1 Wasteland
Azorius Delver:
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Daze (on the draw)
-2 Force of Will (on the play)
-1 Wasteland
Elves:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Containment Priest
+1 Disenchant
+1 Supreme Verdict
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Daze
-1 Council’s Judgment
-1 True-Name Nemesis
-1 Batterskull
4c Loam:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Disenchant
+2 Back to Basics
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-4 Delver of Secrets
-4 Stoneforge Mystic
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte
-1 Batterskull
Dimir Death’s Shadow:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Celestial Purge
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
+1 Supreme Verdict
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Daze
Burn:
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Celestial Purge
-1 True-Name Nemesis
-1 Palace Jailer
-1 Wasteland
Infect:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Supreme Verdict
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Daze
Grixis Phoenix:
+2 Flusterstorm
+2 Surgical Extraction
+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Containment Priest
-3 True-Name Nemesis
-2 Daze
-1 Council’s Judgment
-1 Palace Jailer
Goblins:
+1 Engineered Explosives
+1 Celestial Purge
+2 Containment Priest
+2 Disenchant
+1 Council’s Judgment
+1 Supreme Verdict
-3 Spell Pierce
-2 Spell Snare
-2 Daze
-1 Palace Jailer
You’ll notice the only cards from the main deck that never come out are the Blue mana producers, the eight cantrips, and Snapcaster Mage. Everything else in the deck is only fundamental to your game plan in certain matchups, and the real trick is assessing your exact role in the matchup. Keep in mind that the weakness of this archetype is the split focus in the configuration of the main deck, so you want to identify how you want to approach the next game and board accordingly.
Feel free to hit me up on Twitter (@HarlanFirer) if you have any questions or comments about this archetype or Magic in general! Best of luck to all those competing at GP Niagara Falls!