M19 Deck Lists: Delver of Secrets/Wizard's Lighting vs. Thalia's Lieutenant/Mantis Rider

It’s another week of Modern Magic: The Gathering here at Nights At The Game Table! We’ve got two seasoned players sponsored by the incredible staff at Pat’s Games: Berni and Kevin! Each of these players have won tournaments all over the country, and today they’ll be testing out how some new M19 cards affect two formidable decks!
As always, Aryeh Wiznitzer will be serving as our expert commentator, with our very own Kevin O’Connor returning to provide an old-school twist on the world of Magic: The Gathering!
To see how our two decks match up this week, check out the tale of the tape below!

Berni

It looks like the gates to Hogwarts have been opened, as Berni is roaring into battle with a battalion of Wizards today! His deck is centered primarily around Delver of secrets, a transforming wizard with a host of useful abilities. Although it only costs 1 mana, Delver of Secrets allows players to quickly search the top of their deck, leading to its transformation into the fearsome insectile Aberration! These massive flying bugs can cause a LOT of damage once they get going, and since Kevin does not have many creatures with Reach or similar flying-blocking abilities, Berni should be able to score some easy damage early on.
Speaking of easy damage, Berni’s large number of Wizards makes one of his spells, Wizard’s Lightning, FAR easier to cast! For just one mana, he will be able to deal 3 damage to the target of his choosing! And with four of these in his deck, he should be able to keep up the pressure on even Kevin’s strongest creatures!
Finally, Berni has bolstered his deck with an M19 card, Alpine Moon, which allows players to mess with the effects of their opponent’s non-basic lands. Given that all but 2 of Kevin’s lands are non-basic, this may serve to give Berni the edge he needs to screw up Kevin’s plans!

Berni’s full deck list included:

Sideboard (15):

• 2 Abrade
  
• 2 Alpine Moon <M19
  
• 3 Ancestral Vision
  
• 1 Ceremonious Rejection
  
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
  
• 2 Dispel
  
• 2 Izzet Staticaster
  
• 2 Relic of Progenitus

Kevin

Kevin is bringing a multicolored deck (primarily making use of white) featuring a faction that’s often overlooked in the MTG universe: humans. In a world dominated by eldritch beasts and horrifying monstrosities, the humble human race can often be overlooked. But today, the humans are coming fully equipped with a variety of tools at their disposal, and could easily become more powerful than even the fiercest beasts!
The central card of Kevin’s deck is Thalia’s Lieutenant, a 1/1 soldier card for 2 mana. While that may not seem like much, the Lieutenant also has the power to buff up other humans when it enters the field, as well as gaining a 1/1 counter whenever another human joins the battle! Since Kevin’s deck is PACKED full of humans, it’s entirely possible that the Lieutenant may be pushing 6/6 or 7/7 as the game continues!
Backing up the Lieutenant will be 4 Mantis Riders, a versatile monk with flying, vigilance, and haste! They will be essential in holding off Berni and harassing his creatures while Kevin gets Thalia’s Lieutenant up to speed. To help with this, Kevin is also bringing 3 Militia Buglers, which can be used for faster searching for the all-important Lieutenant!
So, Kevin stands to flood the field with an army of versatile Mantis Riders, all of which could buff up the Lieutenants into a nearly unstoppable fighting force! Berni will have to act fast before the Lieutenant becomes too much to handle!

Kevin’s full deck list includes:

Sideboard (15)

• 2 Auriok Champion
  
• 1 Cunning Sparkmage
  
• 2 Dismember
  
• 2 Gaddock Teeg
  
• 1 Hostage Taker
  
• 1 Izzet Staticaster
  
• 1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
  
• 1 Kataki, War’s Wage
  
• 2 Reclamation Sage
  
• 2 Sin Collector

Will the Humans be able to fight off the Wizards this week? Check out the episode below to find out!