In my opinion if you dont run stifles in your build, is more optimal to play 19 lands rather than 18
wcm8 - I like that analysis. Some quibbles on the core:
- Is the third Pierce really a lock? I've seen plenty of people play 2 and Snare serves a similar role
- The only lists I've seen that have fewer than 4 Goyf have some number of Green Sun Zenith. Has the GSZ package ever taken off?
- Honestly not sure on this one, is it ever ok to cut a Ponder for a Scour?
Languages and dates for every set. For all you true pimps.
You can get away with just 18 lands in a non-Stifle build (again, Alexander's GP Strausburg list is an example of this), however I think the 19th land is just a solid choice in general. Less mulligans, ever so slightly more resiliency to opposing Wasteland decks, and some number of lands can always be sideboarded out if they're not pulling their weight (e.g. siding out some number of Wastelands against High Tide). The 19th land can be another dual, another fetch, or even a basic Island if you are particularly worried about Wasteland every round.
Rules of thumb aren't set in stone. I could see a list cutting a Spell Pierce, or possibly even cutting them entirely and putting them in the sideboard. But I think the vast majority of RUG decks that are performing well in tournaments bigger than 30-man locals are playing around 2-3 Pierces in the main.
GSZ was the hot tech for awhile, but kinda fell off after a period of time. I think it'd be decent if you wanted to make a build that incorporates Scavenging Ooze as a one of, and then have 1-2 GSZ to find the creature you need for the given board state and matchup. It's also kinda nice that it flips Delver, whereas a creature wouldn't. It is problematic that it's a Spell Pierce target though, particularly in the mirror. Having to pay 3 to get a Goyf is going to cost you games at some point. That's why I wouldn't want to run it -in place- of creatures, but as a way to further increase your threat density. I've seen some sideboards run it as a 1-of to do just that.
Ponder is just so good, I'm not sure I'd want to drop below the full playset. Some people have substituted Preordain for it, but I think Ponder is just better, especially in this deck. Thought Scour is definitely good, but I wouldn't normally consider cutting a Ponder for it.
wcm8, as you know I have been playing the deck awhile and we have discussed sideboarding a good deal before. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this in a similar fashion to the BUG sideboarding guide that you posted above. I typically know how I like to sideboard versus most other decks. Sometimes I also board specifically against players, as in local settings you can get an idea of how your opponents are going to try to come at you in post sideboarded games. I think it always does us some good to get another person's opinions on boarding.Originally Posted by wcm8
Legacy
Grixis Delver
Vintage
Mono Mentor
Team Leovold
I would definitely be interested in a guide, as this is the hardest part for me.
The Complete RUG Sideboard Guide
Rather than divide the cards by functionality, I decided to just divvy it up by color. There are a number of cards that will be seen frequently in almost every RUG sideboard (e.g. REB, Submerge, and Ancient Grudge), whereas others will only see fringe play to combat a specific strategy. I tried to be all-inclusive; obviously some of these are very low on the likelihood of playability. Please let me know if I’ve missed anything. I’ll also update this as new cards are released or older cards are considered.
There is no ‘perfect’ sideboard. How strong the cards are largely depends on which decks you get paired against. Even then, your one-of Cursed Totem might be stranded somewhere near the bottom of your library when you face off against your Elves opponent. The idea is to further enhance RUG’s existing strategic strengths, and also try to patch up some of its glaring weaknesses. Decide which matchups you want to beat and construct your 75 accordingly.
Red Cards
Red Elemental Blast , Pyroblast – these are awesome. Legacy largely revolves around the color Blue, and there is no more efficient way of dealing with Blue cards on both the stack or in play than these 1-mana instants. 2-3 should likely be the minimum, and going up to 4 or even more is a reasonable choice in the right metagame. I’d say that these cards are a large part of the reason that RUG is the ‘Best Deck in Legacy’.
Forked Bolt, Chain Lightning – more burn is a reasonable choice to supplement the 4 Lightning Bolts in the main deck. Forked Bolt is particularly good against the various creature strategies in Legacy.
Goblin Guide, Kird Ape – dropping the aggro/control angle for a more aggressive Zoo-esque approach is an idea with some merit. I think you’d be much more likely to see these in the maindeck of a hybrid deck, but I suppose a transformative sideboard could be an option against control.
Price of Progress – it might seem suicidal, but this card could be the coup de grace against an opponent caught off guard. However, most players will fetch their basic lands if possible against RUG due to the threat of Wasteland. This might be a cool choice if you have a 43-Lands player in your local meta.
Sulfuric Vortex – This card is an awesome supplement to your burn and creatures as a way to finish off your control and midrange opponents. Think of it as an evasive ‘creature’. The clause that prevents lifegain is especially useful against Batterskull, Jitte, and even shuts off Grove of the Burnwillows/Punishing Fire. You can also use it to kill Planeswalkers by redirecting the damage. I’d consider 2-3 of these if you are opting for maindeck Chain Lightnings and really want to punish UW Miracles and Esper Blade.
Sulfur Elemental – a fantastic answer to Mother of Runes, Thalia, Flickerwisp, Elspeth soldier tokens, Timely Reinforcements and Lingering Souls. It’s also a nice threat to have against UW and other control decks thanks to its flash and uncounterability. It’s an aggressive body that isn’t affected by Rest in Peace or other grave-hate. You can also consider bringing it in against various Combo decks since you often don’t want to tap out against these decks. Definitely consider 2-3 if you expect Wx weenies.
Grim Lavamancer – Lavaman is great at dealing with tribal decks, particularly Merfolk. He’s a bit awkard with Nimble Mongoose, but you can feed both creatures with Thought Scour and other cantrips. A turn 1 Grim Lavamancer can be a huge problem if unanswered for any deck that relies on smaller creatures.
Rough // Tumble (Pyroclasm) – So many creature decks fold to this card. It’s essentially a 2-mana Wrath of God against anything that wins by turning dudes sideways. Rough is also nice in that it won’t kill your threshed mongeese, flipped Delvers, and Tarmogoyf – making the effect essentially one-sided.
Gut Shot – free method of killing problematic one-drops such as Mother of Runes or Goblin Lackey. It’d be under much higher consideration if it dealt 2 damage, as then it could be an answer to the dreaded Deathrite Shaman.
Electrickery – This is a lot like Rough // Tumble, but at instant speed and has the advantage of killing a turn 1 Goblin Lackey or Mother of Runes. It might also be better against a deck like Elves. Unfortunately, dealing only one damage is frequently relevant.
Ancient Grudge, Smelt, Shattering Spree, Meltdown, Ingot Chewer – Red does a great job of destroying artifacts. You’ll want some number of these to deal with Batterskull and other equipment, and Affinity frequently shows up in large tournaments. I think 1 Ancient Grudge is the minimum amount you’d want to play. Grudge is probably the best option here, but an argument could be made for the others in specific circumstances.
Blue Cards
Force of Will – some RUG lists only run 3 FoW in the main and still want the 4th for when they’re paired against combo.
Spell Pierce – the most elegant counterspell in the format. This card serves the important function of preventing game-winning cards from resolving, as well as protecting your threats from removal. I personally think this card should be played in the maindeck, but if not definitely add some in to the sideboard.
Flusterstorm – better than Spell Pierce against instants and sorceries (i.e. the majority of Combo decks), unfortunately it does not answer planeswalkers, enchantments, or artifacts. A fantastic counterspell that is finally being adopted into mainstream Legacy usage.
Envelop – deals with UW Miracles and Show and Tell, tier 1 strategies at the time of this writing. These decks will often be able to play around your taxing counters, so having a 1-mana definitive answer to their bombs is great.
Dispel – like Envelop, but for Instants. Pretty good at dealing with all forms of removal.
Counterspell – an oldie but a goody. This is a bit less narrow than the previous two options, and will give you some late-game staying power.
Negate – Not as good as Counterspell in my opinion. You’ll likely have two duals out when it comes time to play this.
Disrupt – an old fringe card that was useful against Storm decks in the days of yore.
Spell Snare – This answers so much in Legacy that it’s definitely a worthwhile inclusion to RUG. Older Canadian Thresh lists ran 4 in the maindeck. I think now you definitely should consider at least 1-2 in the main, with perhaps more in the side.
Divert, Misdirection – a brutal answer to Hymn to Tourach and other discard, as well as removal, including Abrupt Decay. I’ll never forget the time that I was playing BUG Cascade and my RUG opponent Misdirected my Ancestral Vision to him, and also flung my Abrupt Decay back at my own Liliana. These cards can also be used to win counter wars. Either one is a reasonable choice and have their own advantages/disadvantages.
Stifle – if you’re playing this card, it’s likely in the main. But I could see it being relegated to sideboard duty to bring in against the matchups where it’s actually relevant.
Snapcaster Mage -- a nice option for games that might go longer. Be aware that many decks are going to bring in grave hate against you, making Snapcaster a slightly risky choice.
Mindbreak Trap – Flusterstorm is probably just better, but if you see a ton of Belcher decks I could see this being under consideration.
Blue Elemental Blast , Hydroblast – Like the red blasts, these are the most efficient answer to red cards in Legacy. However, with all the other counterspells available to use, these may be too narrow for a large tournament. Consider adding a few if you see a lot of Burn or Dragon Stompy decks.
Vendilion Clique – excellent against both Control and Combo. Instant speed disruption that doubles as a clock, and frequentlly functions as a Jace assassin.
Submerge – RUG has a tough time dealing with big creatures, but Submerge helps out. Not only is it *free*, it can also function as a ‘Time Walk’ by forcing your opponent to draw the creature again. Submerge also can truly ‘destroy’ a problem creature if you play it in response to a fetchland or other shuffle effect, e.g. Knight of the Reliquary’s ability. Alternatively, you can Thought Scour the creature into the graveyard after Submerging it. Tempo at its finest. Most RUG sideboards start with 3-4 of these.
Gilded Drake – for awhile, this was a popular choice against the Sneak and Show deck. At two mana, it can be easily hard-cast unlike other similar options like Sower of Temptation. It has use elsewhere, e.g. trading a Drake for a Knight of the Reliquary is often favorable.
Mind Harness – here’s a card that can really swing the game. Stealing a Tarmogoyf in the mirror is often a winning play. Consider 1-2 if you expect a lot of mirrors.
Threads of Disloyalty – pretty expensive, but more permanently steals creatures and isn’t limited to only Red and Green.
Plaxmanta – A cool option that both counters removal and serves as a small clock. I’ve not playtested it, but I think it could be nice to have against a UW and Abrupt Decay-heavy metagame.
Hibernation – Here’s an excellent “wrath” against Maverick and Elves. This might be the only out to Progenitus RUG has aside from actually countering the Natural Order.
Energy Flux – If you see a lot of Affinity, MUD, or Stax decks in your local metagame, consider this card.
Chill – Burn loses pretty hard to this. If you can counter the aether vial, Goblins will also have fits. Finally, it’s surprisingly good against Jund. The big problem with it though is that the effect is universal, so making your Bolts cost 3 is going to be a hard sell. I think you’d be better off just playing BEB or Hydroblast in this deck.
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner – Lovely option to deal with decks that run a ton of removal. Hasn’t seen much play in RUG, but could be a cool ‘secret tech’ that would be relatively unexpected.
Echoing Truth, Rushing River, Chain of Vapor, Wipe Away – Blue bounce can temporarily answer just about anything, and time is often all we need to close the game out. Each option presents a slight advantage over the others. Something to consider if you really don’t know what you’ll face.
Counterbalance – combined with SDT, this provides RUG a source of card advantage and can steal games against combo decks or just protect your creatures from all of the 1-mana removal. In the mirror, it pretty much wins the game on the spot. Unfortunately, this approach will eat a ton of deck real estate and requires setup and plenty of mana. It has been successful in the past, so don’t write it off too quickly.
Ancestral Vision, Mulldrifter – RUG has very little in the way of raw card advantage, so providing yourself some card draw to get ahead in the control or midrange matchups can be useful. I think it’d be possible to build a transformative sideboard and make RUG into more of a midrange control deck, in which case a Jace, the Mind Sculptor might be another option.
Green Cards
Sylvan Library – super awesome against control and midrange, and can even be nice against combo decks where you can afford to be aggressive with the card draw. Strong enough to be considered in the main deck, and certainly a valid sideboard slot.
Life from the Loam – this will help protect you from Wasteland, as well as recur your own. It can provide card advantage by fueling Brainstorm, as well as function in feeding Mongoose towards threshold via Dredge. A great card that could also work in the maindeck if you expect a lot of Wasteland and dual-heavy manabases.
Krosan Grip – Answers stuff like Counterbalance, Batterskull, and problematic cards like Humility. A lot of decks that run these cards run counters of their own, so the split second is very relevant.
Seal of Primordium, Naturalize – cheaper versions of Krosan Grip. Seal has a subtle advantage of growing Tarmogoyf as well as being able to be deployed pre-emptively. It can also be dropped to an opposing Show and Tell, which might win you a game if they went with Sneak Attack or Omniscience and don’t have the follow-up card for those enablers.
Scavenging Ooze – Goyf #5. This guy went out of vogue for awhile, but I could see him making a comeback at some point. This is grave hate on legs, and can be great in multiple matchups.
Skylasher - a hoser creature card that is ironically geared towards killing Delver. Sideboard space is going to be tight, but if you expect to run into a fair number of Delver decks, playing 1 or 2 of these guys might be good. Obviously useful against Merfolk as well (well, minus the whole islandwalk thing...)
Hidden Gibbons – more pseudo-Tarmogoyfs against any instant-heavy deck, such as the mirror.
Compost – this would be a pretty tech card against Dredge and mono-black strategies like Pox.
Green Sun’s Zen -- increases your threat density, and allows you to pick the right creature for the board state. Against aggro you may want Goyf, control might warrant Mongoose, and against anything drawing power from the graveyard you can find your Scavenging Ooze.
Terravore – a huge beater that could win the mirror if it resolves. Unfortunately, it’s a Submerge target waiting to happen.
Thrun, the Last Troll – I’ve used Thrun to great success against UWx control matchups where you want a big threat that shrugs off their removal. 4-mana is probably way too much for RUG, but these games tend to go long.
Back to Nature, Reverent Silence – useful against Counterbalance and Enchantress. However, I think Engineered Explosives is probably just better if you want that effect.
Ground Seal – outdated grave hate. At least it cantrips.
Multi-Colored and Off-Color Cards
Fire // Ice – more burn that can be pitched to FoW, kill two X/1 creatures, or simply tap down a problematic permanent. I’ve won games against 43-Lands by tapping down their Maze of Ith, and also used it in the mirror to punch through a Tarmgoyf wall.
Firespout – a bigger version of Rough//Tumble that can selectively hit ground or flying creatures. If you can resolve it against Merfolk it might be better since they often have lords pumping their guys to X/3. Probably just too much mana to be under serious consideration.
Dismember – 1 mana answer to Tarmogoyf and other big creatures. 1 or 2 in the main is a good choice if you’re expecting Goyf wars.
Surgical Extraction – Graveyard hate that can also be useful against combo and control.
Izzet Charm – has a lot of utility, so it might occasionally show up as a singleton in the main deck. Its versatility makes it an okay choice for the sideboard as well.
Trygon Predator – slow, but could be a cool repeatable effect against Affinity, Counterbalance, and Enchantress decks.
Faerie Macabre – likely the best anti-Reanimator card since it’s virtually uncounterable. Too narrow unless you’re seeing a ton of those decks locally.
Hull Breach – a potential 2-for-1 against certain decks. I think Ancient Grudge is generally better.
Vexing Shusher – a beater that also helps you sidestep the problem presented by Counterbalance. Could be pretty good in the mirror by making your threats and removal uncounterable.
Kitchen Finks – could be useful if you run into a lot of Burn.
Wheel of Sun and Moon – here’s an answer to Painter Stone and Dredge. Extremely narrow.
Artifacts and Lands
Tormod's Crypt – the grand-daddy of graveyard hate. This is what you want in multiples if you want to beat Dredge and Reanimator. Useful elsewhere as well. The fact that it costs zero is nice, since you can more easily play around Daze or cantrip into it and cast it on the same turn. Speed is a necessity in these matchups.
Grafdigger's Cage – a fantastic choice if you’re only devoting one slot to graveyard hate. Not only does it shut down your typical Dredge and Reanimator decks, it also harms recursive strategies like Snapcaster Mage and the aggro Zombies deck. It also functions as splash hate for Green Sun’s Zenith and Natural Order, making it useful against Elves and possibly Maverick.
Relic of Progenitus – you don’t want to have to use the cantrip ability if you don’t have to, but this is pretty strong if you can land it early. An unlikely candidate for RUG, but something to consider.
Pithing Needle, Phyrexian Revoker – shuts off annoying utility cards, and is especially useful against various control strategies. Although Revoker doubles up as a threat, Needle is probably the better choice due to its lower cost and the fact that it’s not a typical removal target.
Phyrexian Dreadnought – if you’re playing Stifle, this could be a nice surprise tactic against certain aggressive decks. It’s also an ‘answer’ to Bridge from Below.
Engineered Explosives – very cool removal that could lead to a blow out against an opponent who’s over-extended. It’s also a great answer to tokens and will typically grow Tarmogoyf. You can play it for a higher cost to skirt around Counterbalance. Definitely a good card to consider, it functions similarly to a mini Pernicious Deed and will be useful against Aether Vial aggro decks, Elves, Maverick, Belcher, Counterbalance, etc.
Cursed Totem – Shuts down utility creatures and can be the death knell for Elves, Maverick, and Death and Taxes.
Null Rod – Affinity, MUD, LED/Lotus Petal Storm decks, Charbelcher, Sensei’s Divining Top, Thopter Foundry, etc.. Null Rod isn’t as narrow as you might think. An excellent artifact hoser, and its static nature makes it a good choice to supplement Ancient Grudge if you’re running into an artifact-heavy metagame.
Cursed Scroll – RUG empties its hand fairly quickly, so this could provide a bit of a late game advantage when you go into topdeck mode. Repeatable burn that doesn't get hit by Swords to Plowshares could win you games against control decks. The fact that it’s artifact damage is also relevant against cards like Mother of Runes. Something that might be cool to consider as a singleton.
Umezawa’s Jitte – unfortunately Mongoose has shroud and not Hexproof. That said, this can lead to blowouts if you’re trying to win a creature war. The lifegain is also useful against Burn. Just one connection is often enough to win the game.
Zuran Orb – this is a dedicated hate card for Burn, which often shows up in large numbers in the earlier rounds of big tournaments.
Sensei's Divining Top – See Counterbalance. RUG can’t normally afford to be spinning the top every turn, but against control decks you might have that luxury.
Winter Orb – This could supplement Wasteland and Stifle as a method of hindering your opponent’s mana development, while being relatively harmless to RUG. Team America is beginning to adopt this instead of Sinkhole, partly because Winter Orb eats less sideboard slots and also because the effect can be even more brutal against some decks.
Tsabo's Web – utility land hate that also cantrips. Something to consider if you see 43 Lands or decks that run stuff like Academy Ruins.
Karakas – narrow method of dealing with Show and Tell. If you play Vendilion Clique, this could lead to an interesting recursive interaction.
Ghost Quarter – Wasteland #5-8 if you are seeing a ton of RUG and BUG decks that play no basic lands. A risky option that could be pretty epic against the right opponent.
Cephalid Coliseum – I’ve seen this played as the 19th land in some lists. The thresh ability could be a nice way to get ahead in the midgame.
Underground Sea, Tundra – for frontier sideboarding, kind of beyond the scope of this post. I could imagine running a single Underground Sea in order to gain access to some number of Abrupt Decay to deal with Counterbalance, etc.
Updates
04/18/2013 – first version released
04/22/2013 - added Skylasher
Last edited by wcm8; 04-23-2013 at 12:15 PM.
How to Sideboard with RUG
The key to understanding how to sideboard properly is knowing what can come out, because what needs to go in is usually fairly obvious. Also, don't necessarily think that cutting a card means it has to be an all-or-nothing choice. Sometimes leaving in a couple Force of Wills is the right choice instead of cutting all of them. I'm also a big fan of leaving a single Daze in the deck, simply for the unexpected 'gotcha' factor that frequently happens when an opponent feels confident in tapping out against you.
Force of Will -- This is for countering a single key card, generally in combo and control matchups. Force is particularly weak against decks that play a lot of redundant cards, e.g. aggressive decks with plenty of creatures that are mostly replacements for each other. Against such strategies you want to avoid 2-for-1'ing yourself as much as possible. You also will usually want to cut FoW against midrange and control decks that run targeted discard like Thoughtseize -- here Spell Pierce is generally going to be a better method of protecting your hand. Force is also weak against Aether Vial decks, because a resolved Vial and Cavern of Souls negates counterspells entirely -- you don't want to draw dead if possible. In the mirror, I generally cut all 4 Force of Wills, because aside from Tarmogoyf there's not much that can't be easily answered with other options.
Daze and Stifle -- these cards are much weaker on the draw than they are on the play. You'll generally be leaving both in against combo decks regardless, but against aggressive, control, and midrange decks you might be siding them out if you're on the draw for other options. I would leave both in against the mirror regardless, because RUG gets bottlenecked on mana frequently. Winning the Wasteland fight often leads to victory. Stifle is often going to come out against decks with rock-solid mana bases, e.g. mono colored decks or those with a ton of mana dorks. As mentioned previously, I'm a proponent of leaving at least 1 Daze in regardless of the situation, because it can lead to a blowout surprise tactic.
Lightning Bolt and other Removal -- this is less useful against combo and control decks than most of your sideboard options will be. However, Bolt can still help you win the damage race, as well as be a deterrent against Jace. You'll probably want to leave at least *some* removal in, although stuff like Forked Bolt is certainly underwheling against combo. If you've opted for the build that plays 3 Chain Lightning along with the 4 Lightning Bolts, you might want to leave the Chains in and supplement it with Sulfuric Vortex against your midrange and control opponents.
Tarmogoyf -- if you have Sulfur Elemental or Vendilion Clique in the sideboard, it is completely understandable to cut some number of Tarmogoyf for these guys against your control and combo matchups. The reason being is that you don't want to tap out against a deck where you need to leave counterspell mana up, and also because Goyf is generally no bigger than a 3/4 anyways. If you are faced against UWx Miracles, cutting some Goyfs for Sulfuric Vortex also makes sense, because they will have a much tougher time dealing with the enchantment than the creature (not to mention, a Rest in Peace, Relic of Progenitus, or other creature-neutralizing artifacts and enchantments makes Goyf harmless). Even though Nimble Mongoose might be somewhat slow to reach threshold, the fact that it can be dropped on the first turn against your combo opponent means that it's a much safer play.
Nimble Mongoose -- there aren't too many scenarios where I could see cutting Mongoose as justifiable, because it is the most robust and efficient threat in the deck. However, Mongoose might be under consideration for cutting if you are running some number of Grim Lavamancer -- the two are competing for graveyard resources.
Delver of Secrets -- This is the marquee creature of the deck, and the most aggressive of the bunch. I'm not sure you would really ever want to cut it in RUG, although certainly Team America sometimes does so.
Spell Pierce -- this card usually comes out against aggressive decks that don't rely heavily on spells that can be Pierced. It'd be nice to be able to counter an Aether Vial or a Glimpse of Nature, but generally you're going to have better options to take its place and Pierce becomes useless outside of a small window of opportunity. If you're playing Flusterstorm(s) main, the same idea applies.
Brainstorm -- never cut; best card in Legacy.
Ponder -- Some people make the mistake of cutting Ponder. Don't. This card will help you draw into your sideboard hate, and generally there is something better that can be cut. I suppose you can sometimes get away with cutting 1 or 2 Ponders for more hate, but this must mean your sideboard is heavily stuffed with relevant options.
Thought Scour and other tertiary cantrips -- these however might be safe to cut for stronger options.
Utility singletons like Sylvan Library or Life from the Loam -- playing one of these can be a great decision if the metagame warrants it. However, sometimes you'll get paired against a deck where these cards are less than ideal. In such cases, cut them.
Spell Snare -- Some decks literally have no targets for this spell. Or perhaps they only have a single target for it that can be answered by other means. In such cases, cut it. A great example of this is Sneak and Show.
Wasteland -- Cutting a couple Wastelands is relevant against a deck like High Tide, which has no targets. I'm sure there are other such examples.
The 19th land -- against a deck that runs no Wastelands of their own (e.g. UW Miracles or Esper Blade), cutting the 19th land for more business can be a fine decision. I'd be very careful about this decision, since the goal of running 19 lands in the first place is to minimize mulligans and mana screw.
Last edited by wcm8; 04-18-2013 at 08:55 PM.
Example Sideboards
None of these are necessarily ideal, and are instead just examples to get you started. I would identify which decks you want to specifically beat, and go from there.
Example A (anti-mirror tech):
3 Submerge
2 Mind Harness
1 Life from the Loam
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Rough // Tumble
2 Flusterstorm
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Krosan Grib
Example B (well rounded):
3 Submerge
2 Flusterstorm
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Sulfur Elemental
2 Rough // Tumble
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Krosan Grip
1 Grafdigger's Cage
Example C (dredge and reanimator meta, UW Miracles slayer):
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
3 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Krosan Grip
1 Sylvan Library
2 Vendilion Clique
Example D (aggro-heavy meta):
2 Submerge
2 Rough // Tumble
2 Forked Bolt
1 Life from the Loam
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Sulfur Elemental
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Cursed Totem
2 Ancient Grudge
Factors to consider when building a sideboard:
1. What is your expected metagame? Are you playing in an SCG Open, a Grand Prix, or a local tournament? If you're playing in a larger tournament, you can base it on previous historical deck percentage breakdowns, but if you're playing a local tournament you might have a better gauge on the type of decks you can expect to see. This is the first and most important thing to factor in. For example, if nobody around you plays Dredge, the importance of spending some number of slots on dedicated grave hate goes way down.
2. What choices did you make in the main deck for the flex slots? You might have increased the amount of maindeck removal, meaning you might not need to devote as many slots to aggressive matchups. Or maybe you added in the Sylvan Library, meaning you won't need quite as much to deal with control. Perhaps you opted to play Spell Snare to help combat UWx Control, in which case you might not need as much hate for it in the sideboard. We are only talking about 1-5 cards here, so your sideboard should be adjusted accordingly.
3. Do you want to build a 'well-rounded' sideboard, or do you really want to hate out a particular strategy? As an example, 4 Spell Pierce is a great catch-all answer, but if you were expecting a lot of combo you might do a 2/2 split of Spell Pierce and Flusterstorm. Rough//Tumble has a lot of applications, but you might be better off running Sulfur Elemental if you want to hate out white creatures more efficiently. This also plays into the idea of 'throwing away' some matchups. If you decide to cut grave hate entirely, you're most likely to going to lose to a deck like Dredge, barring a fair amount of luck in your favor. Decide which matchups you're just going to accept as reasonable losses in order to devote slots to the more worrisome matchups.
Some decks are just going to be nearly impossible to consistently beat without dedicating a ton of sideboard real estate. I think Jund is one such example. Chill combined with Winter Orb might be an effective method of slowing them down, but do you really want to be playing Chill? It's a relatively narrow card. For me, I'd probably just pray to the Mulligan gods that I get a stronger hand and topdecks than theirs, rather than warping my sideboard to fight an uphill battle. Jund's 75 is designed to beat our 60, so our 15 isn't necessarily going to make that significantly better. Keep this idea in mind. If we were capable of constructing 'The Best Deck', we'd have found out by now. The reality of Legacy is that there are too many diverse strategies to deal with, and not enough sideboard slots to beat all of them. The 'Best Sideboard' is going to change from week to week, and even then it's not guaranteed to work if you're unlucky in your pairings.
4. Finally, a possible approach is to just say 'fuck it' and build a Nassif-style sideboard (one constructed entirely of singletons). Plenty of cards have overlapping value, and thanks to the power of Ponder/Brainstorm/Sylvan Library, it's reasonable to expect to see at least one piece of powerful hate in a given matchup. This approach sacrifices consistency for a great deal of flexibility. You'll likely have at least *something* to bring in against you opponent.
As an example:
1 Life from the Loam
1 Mind Harness
1 Spell Pierce
1 Flusterstorm
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Rough//Tumble
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Dismember
1 Krosan Grip
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sulfuric Vortex
Last edited by wcm8; 04-23-2013 at 12:12 PM.
This was incredible. Thank you so much for doing this, it was an incredible help.
We should try to get this in the OP, as it is outdated and sparse with information.
"Don't mess with me, lady. I've been drinking with skeletons."
I write articles about Legacy Death and Taxes. Check them out.
Thanks for your time and effort there wcm8! That is some great material.
Legacy
Vintage
I second that.
Could anyone give me a good non-stifle list for me to begin with? I am considering building this deck and I don't like stifle and I don't know what will take it's place.
Alexander Hayne's Top 8 list from Strasbourg is probably a good starting point.
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That said, stifle is a versatile and powerful tool and probably a large part of why this deck has remained DTB for as long as it has
"Don't mess with me, lady. I've been drinking with skeletons."
I write articles about Legacy Death and Taxes. Check them out.
I have gone back and forth between Stifle and non-Stifle builds and I have much better results with Stifle. The"Destroy target land. Its controller takes 1 damage." is a very powerful effect. Even if you can't do the previously stated line on a fetch, protecting your duals from Wasteland is a big win. It is very flexible and just blanks a lot of cards. I totally agree with the quoted statement.
Legacy
Vintage
What would I take out and bring in against Shardless BUG, which seems to be a bad match up. I'm using the "Well Rounded" sideboard from the how to sideboard guide above
Hey all,
I'm looking for some good reading material on RUG Delver. Anybody have any links to articles etc I could peruse?
"Don't mess with me, lady. I've been drinking with skeletons."
I write articles about Legacy Death and Taxes. Check them out.
I think it probably is a horrendous match up. I would board in the Grudge, the Pyroblasts and the submerges. I would cut the forces and like a daze.
Try this: http://manadeprived.com/canadian-threshold-a-primer/
Or this: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/l...er_Primer.html
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