Delver of Secrets has made quite the splash in Standard as of late, and it has proven itself to be quite powerful. It has seen success in a wide variety of decks containing almost every color. However, the mono-Blue version of the deck is the most budget-friendly, so that's the list I've been working with. Here's the deck I put together:

"Mono-Blue Delver"

• Creatures (18)
• 2 Stitched Drake
• 4 Delver of Secrets
• 4 Lord of the Unreal
• 4 Phantasmal Bear
• 4 Phantasmal Image

• Spells (21)
• 2 Dismember
• 3 Gut Shot
• 4 Mana Leak
• 4 Vapor Snag
• 4 Gitaxian Probe
• 4 Ponder

• Lands (21)
• 19 Island
• 2 Ghost Quarter

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Stitched Drake
• 1 Dismember
• 1 Gut Shot
• 4 Flashfreeze
• 2 Dissipate
• 2 Mental Misstep
• 3 Steel Sabotage

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The Creatures

Delver of Secrets is the centerpiece of the deck. A 3/2 with Flying is a very powerful threat, and with over one third of the deck being spells, it shouldn't be too difficult to make that happen. When you're swinging for 3 on your second turn, your opponent is going to have a very hard time keeping up.

Lord of the Unreal is the main piece of the Illusions package. 2/2 is a fairly reasonable body for 2 mana, and the fact that he not only pumps all your Illusions, but also gives them Hexproof, means that this little guy can be quite troublesome for your opponent.

Phantasmal Bear boasts the power and toughness that every aggressive deck wants in its 1-drops. Somewhat reminiscent of the incredibly powerful Goblin Guide, this speedy creature gets even worse when you follow it up with Lord of the Unreal.

Phantasmal Image can copy Lord of the Unreal to create a lord that grants itself the same +1/+1 and Hexproof that it gives to all your other Illusions. It can also be used to copy any major threat your opponent may have—tipping the scales in your favor.

Stitched Drake has some incredible stats for a 3-mana flyer, and its drawback will usually be easy to satisfy. It has enough toughness to survive Incinerate, Volt Charge, and almost any other burn spell in the format—it also takes down opposing Insectile Aberrations.

The Spells

Ponder not only fixes your draws, but ensures that you'll be able to transform Delver of Secrets on your next turn. Later in the game, it's exceptionally useful for finding that last Vapor Snag or Stitched Drake you need to pull out the win.

Gitaxian Probe is another spell to transform Delver of Secrets, but it does much more than that. It helps you know exactly which turns you need to leave up mana for Mana Leak, and it thins your deck slightly as well. The ability to cast it without paying a single mana is even better.

Mana Leak is the definitive counterspell in the format, and in an aggressive deck like this, your opponent will likely be dead before he has enough mana to pay the extra cost.

Vapor Snag is a valuable tempo card to make sure you stay ahead of your opponent, and the life loss is often relevant in this type of deck. It can also be used in combination with Mana Leak to permanently deal with any dangerous creatures that might have slipped past you.

Gut Shot has proven to be surprisingly powerful in this environment. Here, it helps to disrupt a fast start from another aggressive deck, as well as deal with Inkmoth Nexus. It's also quite good in the mirror match.

Dismember hasn't been seeing quite as much play as of late, but it's still a great removal spell and is invaluable for dealing with midsized threats like Blade Splicer and Stormblood Berserker.

The Sideboard

The extra copies of Stitched Drake, Gut Shot, and Dismember come in against the decks that require a more heavy-handed solution. Stitched Drake is great against decks like RDW that play a lot of removal spells, and Gut Shot and Dismember let you up the ante a bit on your own removal suite.

Flashfreeze is the ever-present Mana Leak replacement against decks like Wolf Run Ramp that may be able to pay the extra 3 mana for their spells. Although putting it in against mono-Red may be tempting, I would stick with Mana Leaks due to the importance of countering Shrine of Burning Rage.

Dissipate and Mental Misstep help you tune your counterspell suite against different types of decks. Mental Misstep serves as an extra counter against decks that play a lot of 1-drops, while Dissipate helps out against deck with a higher curve.

Steel Sabotage is an amazing card against any Tempered Steel decks you may come across. It functions as a Mana Leak and a Vapor Snag, giving you a ton of extra versatility and the surprise factor of countering a spell with only 1 mana open.

Play-Testing

GW Tokens – Game 1

I won the roll, and my opponent took a mulligan. I kept a hand of Island, two Delver of Secrets, two Gitaxian Probe, Phantasmal Image, and Gut Shot. I played the Island, cast Delver of Secrets, and passed the turn. My opponent played Razorverge Thicket and cast Avacyn's Pilgrim. I killed it with Gut Shot at the end of his turn. At the beginning of my upkeep, I revealed another Gitaxian Probe to transform Delver of Secrets. I attacked for 3 with my Insectile Aberration, then cast another Delver of Secrets. I paid 2 life to cast Gitaxian Probe, revealing Razorverge Thicket, Forest, Geist-Honored Monk, Hero of Bladehold, and Elspeth Tirel. I drew an Island, played it, and cast a second Probe, drawing Lord of the Unreal. I passed the turn. My opponent played Razorverge Thicket and passed the turn. I drew a Phantasmal Bear, and attacked with my Delver of Secrets and Insectile Aberration, dropping my opponent to 13. I then cast Gitaxian Probe, revealing that my opponent had drawn another Hero of Bladehold, and drawing another Delver of Secrets. I cast Phantasmal Bear and passed the turn. My opponent played a Forest and passed the turn. I drew another Phantasmal Bear and cast Lord of the Unreal. I then attacked with Delver of Secrets, Insectile Aberration, and the now–3/3 Phantasmal Bear. My opponent dropped to 6, and I ended my turn. My opponent played a Forest and cast Hero of Bladehold before passing the turn. I revealed a Mana Leak during my upkeep, flipping the other Delver of Secrets. I attacked for 6 in the air to win the game.

Sideboarding:

−2 Gitaxian Probe

+1 Gut Shot

+1 Dismember

GW Tokens – Game 2

My opponent took a mulligan, and I kept a hand of three Islands, two Delver of Secrets, Gut Shot, and Phantasmal Image. My opponent opened with a Razorverge Thicket and Avacyn's Pilgrim, which I killed with Gut Shot at the end of his turn. I drew another Island, played it, and cast Delver of Secrets. I passed the turn. My opponent played Gavony Township and cast Mortarpod. He sacrificed the Germ token to kill my Delver and passed the turn. I drew Dismember and played my Island. I then cast the second Delver of Secrets and passed the turn. My opponent passed the turn with no play. I revealed a Gut Shot at the beginning of my upkeep, transforming Delver of Secrets. I attacked my opponent for 3, then cast Phantasmal Image, making a copy of Insectile Aberration. My opponent cast Birds of Paradise and passed the turn. I killed the Birds with Gut Shot during his end step. I drew another Gut Shot, played my Island, and attacked for 6. I passed the turn. My opponent played a tapped Sunpetal Grove and passed the turn. I drew Ponder and cast it. I drew Gitaxian Probe, leaving Mana Leak and Ghost Quarter on top. I then cast the Probe, drawing the Mana Leak and revealing Timely Reinforcements, Mirran Crusader, Garruk Relentless, and Geist-Honored Monk. I dropped my opponent to 5 and passed the turn. My opponent played a Forest and cast Garruk Relentless. I countered it with Mana Leak, and he conceded.

As you can see from those games, Delver of Secrets is a very good way to finish off your opponent before he can even get started, and Gut Shot can turn your opponent's good draw into a very bad one. The fact that the Insectile Aberration has Flying is just another nail in the coffin, making the common defensive strategy of playing a larger creature to block with almost completely useless. If you enjoy beating down your opponent while disrupting his every play, this deck is a great choice.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @Twinblaze2, or simply leave a comment below.