First Merfolk of the Pearl Trident, then
Fugitive Wizard, then Wandering Ones... what is
it with Blue and its 1/1's for U? Of course,
Delver of Secrets isn't really an inheritor to
that line, because it does have an ability. If
the top card of your library is an instant or
sorcery, this Human Wizard can become a
Human Insect, and demand respect in combat as a
3/2 flyer. I do like that the Delver's ability
doesn't require you to show the card you look at
unless you're Insectisizing it, so you don't
have to broadcast to the table that you just
drew a sweet creature or that you're in a land
clump. Obviously, remember to make sure you've
actually got instants and sorceries in your deck
before including this card-- that'd be an
embarassing thing to forget. But getting a 3/2
flyer for a mere one mana (and having to wait a
few turns to actually get it) is a pretty sweet
deal, especially since you can drop the Delver
early, have everyone forget about it for a
while, and then suddenly flip it and immediately
swing for 3.
I imagine this card will be rather divisive for
its color pie interpretation: some people look
at it and see a 3/2 for one blue mana and call
"out of flavor," where others see a
groundbreaking cross-universe adaptation along
the lines of Thoronir and his department store
in the Imperial City. Whichever you see it as,
it's a transform effect that works; it's creepy,
atmospheric, and portrays exactly what it sets
out to. It's like the perfect Innistrad card.
I have to give fair warning readers this card
is one of my favorites and I have won many games
beating down with this creature dealing twenty
damage in no time. In standard in a deck with
enough spells it is a turn 1 Wild Nacatl type
creature capable of ending the game in short
order with no assistance. This card is amazing
as one of the few creatures in a deck like U/R
vengeance as opponents side out removal as you
side this in. It is also just a powerful
beater and one of the most aggressive available.
In extended and modern this card serves the same
purpose intense beatdowns for little mana it
will see play as well. In legacy this card is
insane combined with beaters such as Nimble
Mongoose and Grim Lavamancer this deck has seen
a sudden explosion in popularity and runs
upwards of 40 spells and is amazingly powerful.
In vintage this could see small play as an early
beatdown machine but not as much play as in
legacy. In casual this is once again good early
beats that lose its effectiveness the longer
games go on. In multiplayer this card is bad
there is no way to kill 3+ people and it is soon
outclassed by angels and dragons and other
flying powerhouses. In limited it’s a solid pick
if you can get enough spells to support it and
flying creatures are truly powerful. Overall one
of the most powerful cards in the set and can
end games in the blink of an eye this card is
the real deal believe the hype.
Today's card of the day is Delver of Secrets
which is a one mana 1/1 that transforms into a
3/2 Flying when you reveal an instant or sorcery
from the top of your library at the beginning of
your upkeep. The potential for a 3/2 with
evasion attacking on the second turn makes this
one of the most aggressive first turn plays
available and it will see competitive play as a
result. It may not always trigger, but
Blue's penchant for running instants makes it
likely enough and library manipulation can
increase the chances on later turns.
For Limited if your pool includes playable
instant and sorcery spells this is a fantastic
common that should be played in Sealed whenever
Blue mana is used. A one mana 1/1 is
useful enough, so the chance of turning it into
a serious threat for no real cost can't be
ignored. Booster drafts can make getting
spells to trigger the effect a bit more reliable
and Delver can be drafted fairly aggressively in
the expectation of picking support later.
