Best of 2013: Delving a Legacy

By Gerry Thompson

Ever since its release, Delver of Secrets has been the scourge of Legacy. For the most part, it played the role of combo breaker thanks to the wall of counterspells it played. However, with the release of True-Name Nemesis, the possibility for a slower, more resilient Delver deck appeared.

RWU Delver had existed prior to True-Name Nemesis, but it was RUG Delver that was widely regarded as the "best" Delver deck. Now the title of "best Delver deck" is up in the air, although RWU Delver has finished better than RUG Delver in the last couple of months.

By playing RWU instead of RUG, you get a better long game thanks to Stoneforge Mystic, ways to break stalls with True-Name Nemesis, and some excellent sideboard cards like Meddling Mage, Wear & Tear, and Rest in Peace, the latter of which is phenomenal against Tarmogoyf-based Delver decks.

Grand Prix Washington DC was not only the breakout tournament for RWU Delver, but also for Owen Turtenwald, who scored his first Grand Prix trophy. As most of you know, it didn't take long for him to score his second trophy, either. One of Owen's greatest assets is his ability to play one of the best decks at any given tournament, so if Owen is playing it, you can probably assume that it's the best deck.

Owen Turtenwald's RWU Delver

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

Creature (10)

4 Delver of Secrets 4 Stoneforge Mystic 2 True-Name Nemesis

Sorcery (4)

4 Ponder

Instant (24)

4 Brainstorm 4 Daze 4 Force of Will 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Spell Pierce 4 Swords to Plowshares

Artifact (2)

1 Batterskull 1 Umezawa's Jitte

Land (20)

4 Arid Mesa 1 Flooded Strand 4 Polluted Delta 4 Tundra 3 Volcanic Island 4 Wasteland

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

1 True-Name Nemesis 1 Grafdigger's Cage 2 Grim Lavamancer 4 Meddling Mage 2 Pyroblast 1 Red Elemental Blast 2 Rest in Peace 1 Sword of Feast and Famine 1 Wear // Tear