Postby Volafortis » 29 Jun 2014, 20:19
For the most part, yes. Delver beats are your main damage source, but Young Pyromancer, Snapcaster, and Grim Lavamancer all work too, so don't underestimate them.
I play UWR, and I've been able to close out quite a few games from a burst of 8 damage in the form of Bolt, Snapcast Bolt, swing with Snapcaster.
You'll want to use your Bolts smartly. You'll be bolting the dome pretty frequently, but don't do that turn 1, ever (unless your hand has 4 bolts)
Your priorities should be:
1. Stick an unanswered threat.
2. Keep the path clear for that threat to hit in for as much damage as possible.
3. Once your opponent is at 10 or lower, throw down the burn to seal the deal.
My personal advice:
1. Use the right removal for the job. If your opponent sticks something low toughness, use your burn. If your opponent sticks something stonger, use your bounce/Chandra ping.
2. Play to your outs. Keep note of what spells you've used. You'll want to know what your path to victory is at all stages of the game. When you look at your opening hand, you'll want to see a feasible way to bring your opponent from 20 to 0. Obviously your opponent will do what they can to stop you, but that's when you improvise. If you're improvising from the start, you're not going to have a good time.
3. Don't hold Snapcaster too long. A lot of players make this mistake. If you aren't applying any pressure to the opponent, feel free to use Snapcaster to apply some. If you know you aren't going to have relevant Snapcaster action for a while, don't be afraid to flash him in just to have a threat.
4. Likewise, if you've been digging and haven't seen anything good, don't be afraid to Snapcast your cantrips. Snapcasting a Gitaxian Probe or Serum Visions might feel like you aren't playing it to good effect, but if the timing is right, these plays can be critical.
5. Don't blow your cantrips when you don't need them. If your hand is good, and you already know what your opponent has, don't feel bad holding on to cards like Serum Visions or Gitaxian Probe. Later in the game, you may find yourself needing a specific card, and that's when you'll really want to have these cards.
5a. With regards to cantrips, don't hold them too long. Once your hand is out of gas, use them to reload. Snapcaster them to reload.
If you feel like the deck is ever doing poorly, watch your own play patterns. You'll often find that it isn't because of the deck, it's often because you didn't mulligan properly, or misappropriated a Snapcaster Mage/cantrip.