Delver of Secrets has a long history in competitive Magic, but it has been declining for years in almost every format: power creep made a 3/2 with Flying for one mana less relevant as the quality of interaction, or even threats, improved significantly since 2020, putting it in a space where it still appears in tournaments, but it's no longer that defining staple.
In Pauper, it's not much different. Delver remains in 70% of Mono Blue Terror lists, one of the main decks in the Metagame, but it's completely absent in other blue-based variants of the format because there are better cards today for the roles those strategies demand—but potential still exists in focusing on mana efficiency and attacking with a transformed insect starting on turn two.
The Decklist
This list focuses almost entirely on mana efficiency and Tempo. We're not trying to replicate Midrange lines like traditional Izzet Terror does, and we've swapped four-drops and maindeck sweepers for more cheap spells and a full set of Delver of Secrets to carry us from turn one. Interaction comes from eight removal spells, and the twelve-cantrip package means more ease in finding exactly what we need in most cases.
I don't believe this version is made for Challenges — it's closer to a League deck. The biggest advantage of the red splash and focusing on low costs is playing on even footing against Mono Blue Terror and Red Aggro/Burn, the most famous strategies in those environments, while also punishing more severely players testing ideas and focusing less on optimization. In a more diverse/competitive scenario like a Challenge, I believe Dimir is the best two-color variant for Tolarian Terror and maybe even better than Mono Blue with the right 75-card combination for a specific event.
Maindeck
Delver of Secrets establishes early pressure—and can carry the victory if left unanswered. Three damage each turn adds up quickly when the opponent can't remove it or put blockers on the board due to our Counterspells and removal. It's best in non-interactive games.
Tolarian Terror and Cryptic Serpent apply pressure in the mid-to-late game. With luck, we can cast Terror as early as turn three and sequence multiple copies on turn four to create an unbeatable board.
Brainstorm is the core enabler that lets us run few lands and easily fuel our strategy: it sets up Delver with the trigger on the stack, removes useless cards from our hand to be shuffled away with Lorien Revealed or discarded with Mental Note and Thought Scour, and enables four spells in the graveyard for two mana.
Ponder and Preordain complement the cantrips. One of each works for various situations, and there aren't many scenarios as one-ofs where you need one over the other.
Red removal is the reason for the splash.
Lightning Bolt deals with almost every cheap threat and speeds up the Tempo clock with Delver, while Skred grows in effectiveness as turns pass, eventually even answering Writhing Chrysalis.
Although it's not in the list, Flame Slash is worth considering depending on the Metagame. Slash doesn't have instant speed, but it compensates with a flat four damage that unconditionally deals with Overgrown Battlement, Myr Enforcer, and Avenging Hunter.
Counterspell is the best stack interaction in the format and requires little setup in our deck. The Spell Pierce slots are flexible, and any meta call or even extra threats could go there, but I like having six ways to prevent spells from resolving, and Pierce is the most versatile among the options.
Lorien Revealed effectively counts as lands 17-20 in the list, working as a "fetch" that interacts with Brainstorm and fuels Tolarian Terror while also fetching Volatile Fjord for more consistency. Seething Landscape also fetches lands, and the colorless mana can be used immediately without giving up mana fixing in later turns.
Sideboard
It's worth mentioning that one issue with this Sideboard is the lack of graveyard hate. We don't get value from Nihil Spellbomb and rely heavily on our own graveyard to play with Relic of Progenitus. This absence can compromise the matchup against Spy Combo, but it's a concession we need to be willing to make.
Running both color Blasts is another reason for the red splash. With Red Aggro and Mono Blue Terror being the most popular decks in the format today, having access to cheap stack and permanent interaction in both colors helps significantly in Games 2 and 3.
Breath Weapon is our sweeper of choice against go-wide strategies and Faeries, while Cast into the Fire generates two-for-ones against X/1 creatures and exiles artifacts against Affinity—you don't always need to cast it "blind" against a Bridge. Sometimes dealing with two Refurbished Familiar is the best play.
Beyond Affinity, Annul is a necessary answer against Bogles and can work in other matchups where the opponent relies on specific artifacts on the board.
Envelop is the targeted answer against Dread Return in the absence of graveyard hate. It also comes in against Elves to answer Lead the Stampede or specific hate pieces. We could swap it for Dispel and accept that Spy Combo might be faster and/or can play well around less interaction.
Sideboard Guide
Mono Red Rally
IN
OUT
Mono Blue Terror
IN
OUT
With Delver of Secrets:
Without Delver of Secrets:
Madness Burn
IN
OUT
Grixis Affinity
IN
OUT
Elves
IN
OUT
Mono Blue Faeries
IN
OUT
Spy Combo
IN
OUT
Golgari Gardens
IN
OUT
Wrapping Up
That's all for today!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
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