Originally Posted by
TheBoozeCube
I would probably run this list:
Main Deck (61)
Creatures (4)
2 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Spells (28)
2 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Exploration
3 Pithing Needle
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Candelabra of Tawnos
4 Crop Rotation
4 Expedition Map
2 All Is Dust
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Lands (29)
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Karakas
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Thespian's Stage
3 Maze of Ith
4 Cloudpost
4 Glimmerpost
4 Vesuva
8 Forest
Sideboard (14)
2 Surgical Extraction
4 Sphere of Resistance
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Trinisphere
3 Krosan Grip
3 Mindbreak Trap
I've been running a 61/14 configuration for a long time, but I changed it to 61/15 for the past few months, just straight-up adding a Trinisphere to combat the OmniTell menace (tech I got from your Lille list, btw). With DTT banned, I think it's probably safe to go back to 14 in the board, cutting an anti-combo card. The question I'm still struggling with, however, is what to cut?
I've decided to cut one Trap from my board for a couple of reasons:
(a) The only matchups where all 4x Traps come in for are Omni, Storm, High Tide, Belcher, and Oops. Trinisphere is still very good in those matchups, and it is more proactive against Storm's discard. But Trinisphere is also very good in Pyromancer and Mentor matchups, as it slows down their ability to cantrip into tokens, where Trap is not.
(b) I can't justify cutting Sphere of Resistance. That card has just been too consistently good. In addition to spell-based combo, it does a lot to slow down Elves and Affinity. Most importantly, it comes down consistently on T2, unlike Trinisphere. 2x Trap still comes in vs Elves, but it is only really effective on a Glimpse combo turn, where Sphere interferes with Glimpse and also slows down their ability to develop their board normally.
As far as Sneak & Show goes, I've always found the matchup to be fairly even to slightly favorable. The most important thing is usually to get down a Pithing Needle naming Sneak Attack. Between Karakas and Maze of Ith, Griselbrand is reasonably easy to answer. What really beats us is an Emrakul with haste. Once they see that you're playing Cloudposts, most Sneak & Show players will be very cautious about playing a blind Show & Tell, so Sneak Attack becomes their primary line of attack. Unless you Needle their Sneak Attack (or they Probe you first), a smart opponent will wait until they have Sneak + at least one open red source before playing Show & Tell. I've seen them also bring in Through the Breach for this reason. If they only have one extra red source, Karakas will still stop Emrakul from annihilating your board. If they have multiple red sources, Candelabras + Karakas will still give you some breathing space.
The Krosan Grips are also very important in this matchup. While they won't save you from Sneak Attack with Emrakul, they are still fine to kill the enchantment if they put in Griselbrand. More often, however, you need them because they frequently bring in cards like Blood Moon, Null Rod, and/or Pithing Needles (naming Karakas, Maze, or Expedition Map). Obviously, Oblivion Stone comes in too.
Since I added Ugin after Sneak was mostly replaced by OmniTell, I haven't played the matchup enough to know if he's worth keeping in. On one hand, he kills Blood Moon and a bare Sneak Attack. His +2 ability might actually be very relevant, because they often use Griselbrand to draw down to a low life total, while your Maze or Karakas prevents them from connecting with lifelink. On the other hand, you can't put Ugin in off of their Show & Tell, and he can't come down and immediately kill either Griselbrand or Emrakul (note: killing Griselbrand is actually one of the reasons I have a split between All Is Dust and Ugin).
So for sideboarding, I'd probably end up going down to 60 with:
+3 Krosan Grip, +1 Oblivion Stone
-1 Glacial Chasm, -1 Tabernacle, -1 Bojuka Bog, -2 Ugin
Good luck, by the way!
