Companion: 《Lurrus of the Dream-Den》

The power-level of this card is something I have rarely seen in 8 years of Legacy gameplay. It completely changes the way you approach the game as a Delver-player. You don’t have to strike a correct balance of threats, disruption and mana in your opening hand anymore, since you will always have Lurrus as a threat and value-engine at your disposal. While Lurrus can act as a classic beater, he is most devastating at enabling you to play a value-game via recurring 《Mishra’s Bauble》s and even creatures later on.

Jeskai Delver used to have the conflict of padding opponent’s life totals via 《Swords to Plowshares》, while also trying to kill them fast with aggressive 《Delver of Secrets》 draws. Thanks to Lurrus, this is no longer a problem. I have mostly found the opponent’s life total to be irrelevant, since my game-plan almost always revolved around sticking Lurrus and gaining control from there. Very rarely would I struggle to close out the game from there.

Creatures

4 《Delver of Secrets》

4

It is very possible that Delver is not even necessary in a Lurrus shell. However, alternatives such as Stoneforge Mystic lose Batterskull and therefore a lot of their potency, due to Lurrus’ Companion requirement. Early Delver starts are still very powerful, and can put your mirror or Snowko opponents into awkward spots, where they have to decide whether to use their removal on Delver and fear to drown in Lurrus later on. Still, I have found my previous play patterns from outdated Delver decks to have changed. Where before you would almost always lead with 《Delver of Secrets》 on turn 1 to put on pressure instead of casting cantrips or waiting, you now often have to plan the next turns ahead with the goal of taking over with Lurrus. How this changes your decision to deploy 《Delver of Secrets》 is very matchup-dependent, but for me, it is not the same as before, especially in Jeskai colors, which are even less aggression-oriented.

4 《Dreadhorde Arcanist》

4

A beautiful fit alongside Lurrus, since they don’t hinder each other’s graveyard targets. Against fair decks, your opponent will have to get rid of Arcanist immediately, but will now have to dread an incoming Lurrus, sometimes on the following turn. Combo decks mostly won’t have ways to remove 《Dreadhorde Arcanist》, and he can help you amass enough disruption against them, although not as effectively as in Grixis, due to lack of 《Thoughtseize》s.

3 《Meddling Mage》

3

As mentioned above, I definitely see 《Meddling Mage》 as a main-deck card in our new world of Companions and 《Mishra’s Bauble》. The idea originally came to me when I lost round 7 of the Saturday Legacy Challenge against Gyruda. While Gyruda got temporarily banned shortly afterwards, 《Meddling Mage》 still became one of the most impactful cards over my following tournament success. He can be awkward in the Delver mirror, but even there you will have scenarios where your Lurrus has been cast or removed and you can put 《Meddling Mage》 on an opposing Lurrus, which is still in their Companion zone, often forcing them to spend removal on your 《Meddling Mage》. I am a little unsure if 3 or 4 《Meddling Mage》 is the correct number, but I have been happy with the impact of 3.

1 《Lavinia, Azorius Renegade》 (+1 in the Sideboard)

1

This might as well be the 4th 《Meddling Mage》, but I have been very impressed with Lavinia as a meta-call. She is most impactful against the 《Lion’s Eye Diamond》 – powered Companion decks Bomberman and Gyruda, but is also surprisingly useful in the Delver mirror. If she resolves, you don’t have to worry about opposing 《Daze》s or 《Force of Will》s anymore, which makes it much more convenient to execute your game-plan of take-over via Lurrus. Even an opposing 《Dreadhorde Arcanist》‘s ability is turned off by Lavinia! She also occasionally prevents a Miracle-triggered 《Terminus》 from your Yorion Control opponent.

Lurrus-Support

4 《Mishra’s Bauble》

4

Any time I have had a 《Mishra’s Bauble》 in my opening hand I have felt much more favored than without one. While the deck is very capable of playing a slower Lurrus game, the runaway ones with turn 3 Lurrus most often involve 《Mishra’s Bauble》. As mentioned before, Bauble also provides additional utility for 《Meddling Mage》 naming. It also helps improve your chances of flipping 《Delver of Secrets》 (explained concisely by maxtortion on Twitter). Still, the most common use I have found was to pop it immediately, to have the additional card on my opponent’s turn. Rarely will you be in such a comfortable position to not fear any plays your opponent could make, so an additional counter or removal spell will often make a difference.

You will most often target your opponent with Bauble, although you should target yourself if you have a fetch-land on board and want to dig for something specific or try to avoid certain draws. However, be careful of targeting yourself on turn 1 of game 1 against an unknown opponent and fetching on their upkeep to shuffle away the seen card, since you don’t play any basic lands and might get hit by annoying 《Wasteland》s. Undisrupted mana development is very important and a common way to lose the mirror, although most Delver lists have cut down to 3 《Wasteland》.

Removal-Suite

4 《Lightning Bolt》

4

Opponent’s life totals, 《Karn, the Great Creator》, Lurrus, Delver, Arcanist – Bolt gets them all. In the new Delver mirrors, whoever draws the most 《Lightning Bolt》s often wins, since untargetable or unkillable threats such as 《True-Name Nemesis》, 《Hooting Mandrills》 or 《Gurmag Angler》 are not playable alongside Lurrus.

2 《Swords to Plowshares》 (+2 in the Sideboard)

2

As mentioned before, STP is no longer awkward in Delver, but actually completes the removal-suite very nicely. It not only gives you more outs to creatures in the mirror, but also disables any 《Reanimate》 / 《Unearth》 plays your opponent might make to get their 《Lightning Bolt》ed Lurrus back. Furthermore, Swords provide additional disruption against Gyruda and Bomberman (most importantly 《Auriok Salvagers》).

Counter-Magic

4 《Force of Will》, 2 《Force of Negation》

4

2

These are your safety valves and help mitigating the risk of tapping out on turn 3 for Lurrus + Bauble takeovers. The Companion-reveal makes it easier to evaluate Force-heavy opening hands, although you should be aware that an opposing Lurrus in the Companion zone might not only mean you are playing the Delver mirror, but also, although less likely, a Storm variant or Steel Stompy. The card disadvantage from using Forces is less relevant than before, since Lurrus’ ability and the Companion mechanic itself provide card advantage.

4 《Daze》

4

Setting yourself back a turn to use an early 《Daze》 is more painful in the new Lurrus Delver deck, but your curve is still low enough that 《Daze》 is a good fit. It is also great at stopping an opposing Lurrus, and easy to set up since you can anticipate it more easily due to them always “having it”. It is one of my favorite cards in the mirror, even on the draw.

Cantrips

4 《Brainstorm》, 4 《Ponder》, 1 《Preordain》

4

4

1

These are the classic Legacy cantrips and either need their own article or not much explaining at all. With the playset of 《Dreadhorde Arcanist》s it would be nice to increase the number of 《Preordain》s, but you simply don’t have space with 《Mishra’s Bauble》, which supports your more important plan of Lurrus takeover.

Manabase

3

3

1

4

4

1

3

The manabase is a direct port of the “stock” Grixis Lurrus manabase. Similarly to 《Daze》 setting you back a turn, you rarely want to 《Wasteland》 your opponent early on, unless you are on the play or can gain significant tempo with it otherwise.

《Karakas》 is in a great spot at the moment and can both protect your own Lurrus as well as disrupting opposing Companions, maybe most importantly Gyruda. In Jeskai it provides even more utility than in Grixis, since it can not only cast Lurrus, but also your other white cards. It might be correct to make room for a second copy somewhere in the 75, but I would leave it at 1 for now.

《Plateau》 might seem awkward in a Delver deck, but it never was and is crucial in post-board games where you have 4 《Lightning Bolt》 and 4 《Swords to Plowshares》 in your deck. Also, this is more a Lurrus deck than a Delver deck, and you want the option of having 《Tundra》 – 《Volcanic Island》 – 《Plateau》 as your three mana to cast Lurrus; you almost won’t be able to get mana-disrupted from that spot.

Sideboard

2 《Engineered Explosives》

2

A very versatile removal spell and sometimes board-sweep that can be returned with Lurrus. With Jeskai you don’t have the same option as Grixis to even cast it with blue, red, black and 《Karakas》 to hit permanents such as 《Karn, the Great Creator》 or 《Thought-Knot Seer》, but I have not found that to be relevant yet. Note that you can’t cast it for more than 2 with Lurrus’ ability.

2 《Seal of Cleansing》

2

This could be 《Serenity》 for higher impact instead, but Seal has been doing its job very well for me. Crucial part of your disruption suite against Bomberman and any 《Chalice of the Void》 strategy.

2 《Tormod’s Crypt》

2

Losing 《Nihil Spellbomb》 out of Grixis Delver has hurt quite a bit, since Spellbomb was a great part of the value plan against Snowko strategies. Still, 《Tormod’s Crypt》 gets the job done very well if you need graveyard disruption. As with all the other permanents in the deck and maybe not necessary to say, but you can return it with Lurrus for additional activations.

2 《Winter Orb》

2

Your most important sideboard card against control / Snowko strategies. You rarely want to just jam it as early as possible, but rather wait for a situation where your opponent has tapped multiple lands on their turn. It will often be devastating there and can help you run away with games.

2 《Red Elemental Blast》, 1 《Pyroblast》

2

1

My Challenge-winning list still had 3 《Pyroblast》, a remnant of an earlier iteration which still played 《Sprite Dragon》. It is possible that you even want the full 3 《Red Elemental Blast》 for the added opportunity of naming 《Pyroblast》 with 《Meddling Mage》, but I am unsure if it outweighs the nuanced benefits of a 2-1 split.

Grixis / Jeskai Delver

Against Grixis / Jeskai Delver

Out

In

I would not fault anyone for making space for 《Engineered Explosives》 and 《Tormod’s Crypt》, too, and I have brought them in at times. However, this is my favorite boarding plan in the mirror at the moment and I have yet to lose a mirror match.

Temur Delver

Against Temur Delver

Out

In

Bomberman

Against Bomberman (On the Play)

Out

In

Against Bomberman (On the Draw)

Out

In

Gyruda Combo

Against Gyruda Combo

Out

In

《Tormod’s Crypt》 and 《Seal of Cleansing》 are considerations, as well. Due to the temporary ban, I have not actually played against Gyruda with Jeskai yet.

Miracles (In Progress)

Against Miracles (In Progress)

Out

In

Snowko (In Progress)

Against Snowko (In Progress)

Out

In

Against both Miracles and Snowko (which overlap quite a bit) my boarding changes very dynamically and I haven’t figured out the optimal plan yet. The numbers of 《Swords to Plowshares》, 《Lightning Bolt》, 《Daze》, 《Wasteland》 and 《Tormod’s Crypt》 are heavily customizable and very dependent on play/draw. I am also unsure about 《Force of Will》 / 《Negation》, since they can get blown out by 《Veil of Summer》. They are, however, an important part of the Lurrus takeover plan.

TES

Against TES

Out

In

You want the full playset of 《Lightning Bolt》s to have a clean answer for their Lurrus. 《Seal of Cleansing》 is excellent here, since it hits 《Defense Grid》, 《Wishclaw Talisman》, and sometimes even finds a window against 《Lion’s Eye Diamond》 or other artifact mana.

Steel Stompy / Eldrazi Stompy

Against Steel Stompy / Eldrazi Stompy (On the Play)

Out

In

Against Steel Stompy / Eldrazi Stompy (On the Draw)

Out

In

BR Reanimator

Against BR Reanimator

Out

In