What you’re writing fits well with my impression. I feel that Monkey Grow is better at assuming the beatdown role and staying ahead, and is more reliant on succeeding with that, while the strength of Grixis is that it can shift between roles and is better at getting back from behind, acting as a small control deck if needed until it can find a window to resume the beatdown role.

I’m a big fan of Monkey Grow, obviously, and prefer it right now, but mapping the shortcomings as well as the strengths of ones own deck compared to the alternatives is always a useful excercise. People should do that more. Thanks for replying.

I value the ability to play from behind very highly- which is something that Grixis Delver does very well that many don’t give it credit for. Temur Delver is a deck that largely needs to get ahead early- it just doesn’t have the same tools that Grixis provides, such as Terminate to axe opposing large creatures. A primary different in running Terminate and Vapor Snag, is that if your opponent is killing all of your creatures you can Terminate their stuff and at least keep both players on nothing, whereas Vapor Snag is very poor when your opponent has a clock and removal. The deck has other strengths to be sure, though its strengths don’t line up with my play style and general Magic philosophy.

(I know I might be putting you in a tough spot when I’m asking you to evaluate the favorite deck of a fellow nexite, but it would truly be valuable to hear your thoughts.)

Delver vs. Tron is a real crap shoot. Sometimes you just kill them on turn four with a fast Delver hand, and sometimes they just Tron you. The single most effective card in the sideboard are two Spell Pierce because they can tag Expedition Map and Sylvan Scrying to prevent them from getting off the ground. Fulminator Mage is fine, though it can be kind of a crap shoot itself over whether something that comes down on turn three matters. I try not to pay Tron excessive mind with my sideboard because it’s a deck that can collapse on itself and a matchup that you can win pre-sideboard, though I am most strongly attached to the Spell Pierces.

As far as Delver and Tron hate… would you consider Fulminator Mage to be sufficient? If not, what else would you reach for? I’ve heard lots of opinions regarding the Delver v. Tron matchup and what to bring in for it, and I’d like to hear your take.