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Tis the season for indecision...

I'm completely with you on the guildgates - when received at the right time, they can be really useful.  Otherwise, they're a dead land drop turn.  I might change them for Evolving Wilds as I think about it more, given that the wilds serve an extra purpose in thinning out the deck, increasing the odds of getting the other items I'm looking for.  I'd obviously prefer to change those over to Dragonskull Summits or Blood Crypts - but sadly that ends up costing like $100 for seven cards (not something most of us are looking to do).

For the Tormented Soul vs. Diregraf Ghoul pairing, I can definitely see where you're coming from, a 2/2 that can be used to chump certainly looks more appealing, until you factor in Curse of Stalked Prey - which lets those souls grow every turn - also giving me another guaranteed hit per turn to ensure I can play Rakdos, Lord of Riots on turn four.

You're saying to make the curve lower?  If I have even two lands here I'm likely able to play my entire hand.  The problem I ran into before was that I would get land flooded and then by the time I'd draw something of consequence nothing I had was even remotely big enough to make a difference.  This is why I've aimed a BIT more mid-range, but still on the fast side.  This way I can actually answer a Loxodon Smiter or Restoration Angel or Thragtusk.  If you're going pure aggro, Thragtusk and Centaur Healer absolutely DESTROY that strategy.  Despite how much everyone is saying the format is aggro-heavy at the moment, it's certainly not a problem to stop given all the options out there. 

I'm definitely interested in a Dreadbore or two and could easily see trading my Rakdos's Return for one.  I'd drop a Tragic Slip and that would give me the space for 2x.  The question is just coming up with them (I've opened more than a box and haven't gotten a single one - had a full playset of Abrupt Decay and two Vraskas, but no Dreadbores.  But is that really the only thing keeping this from being really competitive though?  I can say at my LGS, outside of two people, I really didn't see much in the way of PWs hitting the field.  That might be a fluke though as a lot of people weren't playing decks that had really adjusted for RTR - a few G/B zombies, but I ended up playing someone who was still trying to run U/W delver.

Vexing Devil could be nice, but I'm just not seeing it given that the life gain is washed out by the afore mentioned Thragtusk/Centaur Healer.  I'd much rather have those spots with Annihilating Fire or something to that effect that I can choose to either remove a threat or ding their life total.

I hear you about the need for consistency to have an effective aggro strategy, which again is a reason why I think I'm moving more toward mid-range, as I like the versatility that affords.

What about the sideboard?  Do I need to make a shift there?

After looking at it and thinking for a while, why do you even need to have green there?  Sure Trostani is a nice addition, but you're already able to populate your tokens with Rootborn Defenses.  However, I'm not seeing how any deck with white and tokens is complete without Intangible Virtue.

Thus, I'd suggest:

-4x Arbor Elf - why ramp?  Your curve really ends at three.
-1x Trostani, Selesnya's Voice - she's nice, but doesn't warrant adding the third color here
-4x Druid's Deliverance - if green is going...

+3x Oblivion Ring - you knew you needed it before you even started
+3x Intangible Virtue - this also helps pump your guys (to help against bonfires and mizz mortars) and the vigilance part is always overlooked, but totally wins games
+3x Detention Sphere - you were worried about their spheres on you, but why not give them some of their own medicine?

Pillar of Flame is still in standard (it's from Avacyn).  It doesn't surprise me that the most recent incarnation of Incinerate is increasing in value now that Gut Shot, Incinerate, and Arc Trail are gone.

So looking at this, I'm a bit torn as I can see where you're headed, but don't quite think you're getting there.  You have a wealth of populate going on, but not a whole lot of tokens to populate.

Your token sources are limited to the following:
a) Thragtusk either dying or flickering with Cloudshift
b) Call of the Conclave

That's a problem, as you can't exactly populate if you don't have any tokens.  Relying on only seven cards in the deck to produce tokens simply won't manage - especially when one of those sources requires five mana to play and then another play to even provide one token.

To that end, I would advise dropping the Dryad Militants or at least sideboarding them in exchange for a definite 4x Selesnya Charm.  As easily one of the strongest cards for the guild, you HAVE to include it - it pumps, it removes, it creates tokens, all for one low payment of twoooooo mana!  At instant speed too?  Yes please!  You can save it for their end step, drop a knight token, and then put Rancor on it during your turn for an almost instant 4/3 vigilance, trample attack - at the same cost as Loxodon Smiter.

Beyond that, you would do well with Midnight Haunting in some moderate supply - nothing is more of a pain than two spirit flyers - especially when you keep populating them to hit for four, five, six, and more per turn.  The current meta is not very heavy on flying defense, so a lot of games these little guys will do some serious damage.

I would also suggest Intangible Virtue.  It pumps and more importantly provides vigilance, letting you dole out the lumps while keeping a viable defense (especially with Rootborn Defenses in your hand.

Lastly, I highly recommend Druid's Deliverance as it provides a Fog that can protect you in a variety of situations (also letting you lead your opponent into a trap) while also populating.  I would put 3x of them in where you currently have Sundering Growth, which can then slide over to the sideboard.  After all, there aren't nearly as many artifacts to stress over in the post-RTR world and most the troublesome enchantments cost enough that you can use an Oblivion Ring on them.

I put together a populate build given what I currently have and it's pretty solid.  You can see it at http://deckbox.org/sets/239316.  It's a few cards on the high end, but if you were to drop the Seller of Songbirds, and Eyes in the Skies to bring you down to 62.  Then it's just two Moonsilver Spears from 60 and a wide variety of tokens that you can populate the crap out of - just remember that Detention Sphere/Izzet Staticaster can REALLY mess you up if you don't have different types of tokens to populate.

I'd wager you can find them online for right around the MSRP... they're not even out yet and I was able to find a few places taking pre-orders.  I know I'm definitely picking one up myself come this Friday...

As a brief aside, the Delver boat has sort of sailed with the rotation of Ponder - the one delver based deck I've seen at an FNM since the release of RTR has been underwhelming at best.

That being said, here are some thoughts:

1) So realistically the way you intend to win is via the flipped Delvers or Talrand's drakes, right?  In what way are you not totally ruined by Detention Sphere or board wipes like Supreme Verdict or Mutilate?  I know this is an obvious flaw with most decks, but here you look particularly vulnerable as nothing is bigger than a 3/2 and all of them need some time or special trick to be dangerous (2x Electrickery becomes a game ender for you here).

2) How do you handle the mid-range stompers/beaters?  I'm thinking of Thragtusk and even, to a lesser degree, Loxodon Smiter here.  Pretty much anything with a toughness higher than 3 has you hosed.  Sure Runechanter's Pike could prove useful, but with Tormod's Crypt, Deathrite Shaman, Cremate, and most notably Rest in Peace in standard, having those spells in your graveyard isn't something you should completely rely on (I say this as I'm running a graveyard based Golgari build...).

3) Augur of Bolas is solid but what are you reaching for here?  None of your instants or sorceries are really game changers that I can see.  So what're you reaching to grab?

4) Think Twice is likely a better alternative to Thought Scour for you here, as it will let you draw more than once (while still at instant speed).

So to run down your questions...

Are there any cards that should be exchanged? See #4 above.  Also, you should think about either adding some larger creatures or at least something else that gives you an offensive weapon.

What should be in my sideboard?  You're going to want a fair bit of enchantment/artifact hate as most people run things in their boards that are designed to stop Snapcaster Mage (lest we forget that Delver was the dominant build pre-rotation).  To that end, Smelt for artifacts and perhaps things like Negate to counter enchantments before they even hit the field - but keep in mind, if one Rest in Peace makes it onto the board, you might as well scoop.  I'd also suggest Annihilating Fire as a 4x of in the board - to deal with those pesky Gravecrawlers and Geralf's Messengers.

How should I use my burn spells most efficiently?  Obviously this will vary from game to game.  If someone's deck is built to ramp into a huge creature, you want to torch the ramp creatures.  If they're running a Blood Artist centric zombie deck, you want to blow up the artists.  G/W aggro, pretty much whatever you can actually kill is good.  But keep in mind the extra cost for Annihilating Fire is totally worth it when you never have to see that zombie again.

What to look out for in the format?  At least at my LGS things are VERY zombie and aggro heavy at the moment.  Desecration Demon is a common item to run into that could be a major problem for you.  There are still the Azorius folks who are running 4x Restoration Angel that will pretty much ruin what you have here as well.  It really depends on your local meta; however, you should definitely be ready to see some really fast play with creatures bigger than your flipped Delvers hitting the field on turn three or four.

General tips...?  This is a personal opinion, but R/U wasn't the stronger of the Delver builds when Ponder was still available and I think the strategy has lost a LOT of steam - perhaps to the point that you try to be more creative with what you have and make an Izzet build that's more outside of the box.  Pairing Blistercoil Weird with Dual Casting for instance to give you +2 copies for every spell you cast (if not more).  That combo makes all sorts of otherwise mundane moves really nasty  (I'd happily make two copies of Talrand's Invocation or even Thatcher Revolt with a three Trumpet Blasts).  Then again, I never liked Delver to begin with, so maybe that's my prejudice against it coming out.

Will this deck be good enough for standard at all?  Perhaps this is where I was headed in the previous answer, but I'm inclined to say no, it won't make the cut.  With the amount of things that were integral to Delver working that rotated, paired with the amount of obvious Delver hate that came in RTR, I just don't think it's a viable strategy anymore.  It's worth a go and might do damage at your LGS, but my money is that you likely won't flip them as often as you like and will, more often than not, end up getting smashed by a horde of creatures that are bigger than you can manage.

Personally I didn't worry about edition and condition for my whole set as the majority of them are in nm/m condition and I could specify sets if people are looking for particular ones when trading.  It means people looking for promos/foils likely won't see what I have without asking; however, it saved me the time and trouble of entering all that added info (then again, I'm lazy ).

I've actually pulled all the pieces together for this deck and am thinking I might run it at FNM just to see what happens. Thus, I'm bumping this thread to try and get some thoughts/input before it sees play.

A few thoughts/concerns. 

First, I feel forced to choose between removal (the traditional way) and Unsummon type effects.  I'm inclined to go the Unsummon route simply to be able to then exile all those threats using Shimian Specter - BUT, then if I run into some crazy aggro, I'm likely up the creek.  How do I juggle this mess?  Or is the 9 unsummon/2 outright removal good enough?  I'm sideboarding a bunch of other removal stuff and situational fixes (i.e. Cremate).

Second, I don't like the fact that my major plays don't hit until at least turn three (if I get a Deranged Assistant) into play.  But I'm also not aware of any standard legal ramping in blue/black.  I mean I could put in Traveler's Amulet to ensure the color mix - if anything I would prefer this over Gilded Lotus - but I would need at least 2x of them to really get me anywhere.

Third, I have the draw effects to speed both my and my opponent's draws to ensure there's something for my Specters to exile - but without four specters and Evil Twins, I fear they will never see the field.  Do I need MORE drawing?  I could easily bump to 4x Sign in Blood.

Fourth, the total lack of anything at the three drop has not escaped me - although flashing back Think Twice is three and with a Deranged Assistant I could easily be casting one of my majors on turn three.  The option for Unsummons, Silent Departures, and all that other stuff is also available.  Do I need to stress about this at all?

Lastly, to give you some insight into the meta I observed at last week's FNM at my LGS - there were 10 players, three running some sort of Golgari build (myself included), my GF playing my "It's In Da Bible!" deck (with very limited success ), one R/B zombie deck premised on Blood Artist, two all out aggro decks (one G/W and the other mono Red), and I believe three Azorius builds - likely all centering on Geist of St. Traft.  The only reason I think my deck could perform well is the total absence of flyers outside of the three Azorius players.  The G/W aggro had Restoration Angel but an Unsummon in combat when they try to trick my Specter could easily resolve that issue.  Evil Twin can copy Geist and legend rule him.  Everything else is relatively easy to slow down enough that I could make my play.

Thoughts? 

I will admit I haven't sat and considered every RTR option to include here, but you'll note I've included the 1x Cyclonic Rift that I have in here (and could easily see this becoming a quick 4x of for this deck) - instant speed, remove ALL their nonland permanents and then I get my pick of the litter with the specters.