Hey, I am working on figuring out cards I want to include in my sideboard and was wondering when you usually rotate in the cards you have as well was what you take out. I read you reasoning for Zealous Conscripts and Knight of Glory , and was thinking you are playing Kessig Cagebreakers in case you play someone with board wiping spells. Also, Oblivion Ring is an obvious sideboard card for any deck that includes white in it. So is Pillar of Flame for when you play against zombies or anything that has undying? What decks do you usually bring in Fiend Hunter against? Do you usually take out the same cards all the time when rotating either of these cards in, or does it change based on the match-up? I am still working on my skills when it comes to selecting a sideboard and selecting what to sideboard out for the cards I have. Your feedback is much appreciated. One last thing, did you go to FNM this week? How did you do?

Yo. Well, unfortunately, i misplaced my beautifully orchestraded turn list that i documented last friday. So i'll try to wing it by memory. There were only 4 rounds (per usual at the local i go to) and i played against Selesnya Tokens, Rakdos RDW, American control, and Bant Midrange.

The selesnya token deck i managed to 2-0. The first game was pretty solid, i landed every combo in turn order and did fairly well. Started with Champion of the Parish moved into Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip , Champion of Lambholt , then dropped Lightning Mauler and Thatcher Revolt respectively and dished out some crazy damage by turn 5. However, the first game he just made a shitload of centaur tokens. Blocked a bunch, while he could. He had Collective Blessing on the field at one point, right before i could tap 7 for Bonfire of the Damned (i drew it turn 2 dammit). So i couldnt board wipe his field for the win. Instead, with his lack of removal, i was able to flip a Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip and flipped a Instigator Gang  ^Flip and all 9 of my creatures were more powerful than his 7 6/6 centaurs. I got damage through and finished him off with Bonfire of the Damned .

The second game i won on my turn 5, his turn 4. He didnt play anything to stop Champion of the Parish . I side boarded in some War Priest of Thune for his Collective Blessing and Growing Ranks but it wasn't needed.

The second round was very thrilling to me. As i am an avid aggro fan. On friday morning i posted a RDW on my profile. Thinking, all the haste is excellent with boardwipes being mainly on the miracle draw or sorcery speed ( Terminus Supreme Verdict ) The cool thing is, i played that exact deck game two. Talk about a race. I ended up losing 1-2 but the races were on full speed. Only 1 turn decided who would win each match up of swining all in every turn. He had the upper hand however... the mainboarding of Pillar of Flame was brutal against my deck. I'd play a champion... it would die. shit. Recover... play another chamption and a Lightning Mauler . swing. his turn. Pillar of Flame sonofabitch. I managed to combo him game 2 for 14 damage when he had 14 life left and it felt pretty good. Thatcher Revolt putting counters on Champion of the Parish and Champion of Lambholt is pretty sexy and he was shocked. However, in the end, the lack of removal (i sided in fiend hunter to avoid the burn spells and be able to block his weenies and the pillars of my own, but didnt see any) is what cost me the game as his deck was a little faster.

I probably would have won the 3rd game, but i also didnt draw a red source land to play my Thatcher Revolt or Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip to sustain.

Round 3 was just dumb, American control. 1-1-1. You kidding me? I hate control decks. Something about taking forever, not being able to do anything but make sure your opponent does nothing for 20 minutes somehow doesn't seem like magic to me. I'd play 3 creatures and get them miracle Terminus ed. I'd recover, drop 4 more (hand empty by now) and have them verdicted on a supreme scale. First game took a whole 6 minutes because he didnt land a Tamiyo, the Moon Sage and i stomped him with the Thatcher Revolt fun. Game two lasted a solid 40 minutes of him stopping me from doing a thing. I dropped threats every turn, and he scrambled to deal it it. He finally managed to get the Tamiyo emblem, and then i was boned.

This deck has the most trouble with board wipes. I did side in Kessig Cagebreakers however, along with War Priest of Thune to deal with Detention Sphere s and shit, and i swung in with Kessig Cagebreakers and 8 wolves. He then Think Twice d into a Terminus and i cried a little. Lucky shit.

We drew the 3rd game and i was slightly upset. Its been awhile since Ive been 1-1-1. He was 0-0-3 and laughing. (he did end up going 0-0-4 that night, so im kind of curious if that wasnt his intent.)

The 4th round was a blowout. 2-0 in 10 minutes. He tried to stop me with with Thragtusk and Azorius Charm both games, but the haste-ness of Lightning Mauler and the craftyness of Zealous Conscripts allowed me to get through without a worry. I never over commited, so when the turn 6 Terminus came down, I played a Champion of the Parish , Lightning Mauler and Thatcher Revolt and swung in for 10 to eat him alive game 2.

All in all i wasnt really suprised. The matchups went as expected. I beat the midrange decks that were a little unfocused, i struggled with the control match up, and an all out aggro deck lucked out at my mana deficiencies. I didnt play zombies, or any black deck, so Knight of Glory didnt really come in to play at all. But the Oblivion Ring against control (taking out Selesnya Charm ) and the Fiend Hunter against RDW (taking out Thalia, Guardian of Thraben ) were some of the best moves i made.

Thanks for the feedback. I know that our two shops will not be the same, but it helps to hear what some people are playing. Sounds like I need to be ready for spot removal with Supreme Verdict and Terminus . That sucks because those cards can really ruin this deck. I may have to hold back a little bit like you did so I do not over play my hand just in case one of those cards are played. If those two cards are played a lot at my local shop then Thatcher Revolt would be a nice card to play due the extra token and haste. I was curious how you used Fiend Hunter against RDW? Sorry, still a little new to magic so not sure how that deck typically plays out. Also, since enchantments could be a problem as well do you think War Priest of Thune or Sundering Growth would be the better play against them? I guess I am unsure of what artifacts being played right now that would be a problem. If there are no serious artifacts being played I would think War Priest of Thune since it will help boost both the Champions. I plan on going to a tournament tomorrow night, and will let you know how I did if I am able to get the cards I need to finish the deck. I am hoping someone will lend/trade me the Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip s and I can buy/trade for the remaining Selesnya Charm s I need.

Well good luck to you!!

My reasoning for Fiend Hunter against a red deck are a few little things. They have proved effective while play testing against friends, but have yet to prove it in a tourney.

Fiend Hunter is a 1/3 human cleric. He buffs both my champions, and has a solid toughness to fight most of the rakdos aggro cards. Ash Zealot , Rakdos Cackler , Rakdos Shred-Freak . Also against most burn spells that ive seen RDW run. Electrickery and Pillar of Flame . I dont see many aggro decks run Mizzium Mortars (which would be a good answer for Fiend Hunter ) so i feel save playing him.

He steals a creature, and blocks the rest, Not a bad deal. However... it becomes a little bit more difficult to manage when the enemy drops a Stonewright . Alone it doenst seem too grand, the firebreathing ability never really was. But thats when you had to play something to make it possible. Stonewright comes in and gives it to himself and another creature without any set up and hes a one drop. And putting it on Ash Zealot ... not even fair. Thats the only fear i'd have with a Fiend Hunter is trying to block someone who would gladly use the mana to save a spell and take out my guy to get theirs back. Granted, there are better removal spells for 3 mana (Oblivion Ring ) that they wont get rid of, but against that deck, im more interested in the race, and even 1 point of power will help me get there.

So I want to make sure I correctly understand your logic behind playing Fiend Hunter . You use them mostly against decks that utilize the speed that red provides by exiling the more powerful creatures of your opponent and preventing their smaller ones from attacking since it is a 1/3 creatures, correct? I would originally sideboard Oblivion Ring , but like you said about getting the extra boost from the creature helps out a lot. This deck is made more for killing your opponent fast before they even have a chance to get anything big set up. So technically playing Oblivion Ring would slow me down because I would not be boosting either of my Champions.

I didn't read through the comments, but I would say Selesnya Charm should be up to 4. You need Rancor s for permanent, continuous pumps to your creatures. Drop a Champion of Lambholt because she's going to either be removed or you're going to end up with more than 1 of her in your starting hand. Which is bad, due to the 1 and two green cost. Mizzium Mortars and Pillar of Flame are great removal, since the Mortars beat most instances of the Entreat the Angels and smacks Geist of Saint Traft right in the face. Populate decks can get hit hard as well from the Mortars, and the Pillar wipes out both Zombies and weak chump blockers. Sideboard Oblivion Ring and mainboard Fiend Hunter . If you're facing heavy destruction, it might be worth considering card:Angel of Glory's Rise since she can be fielded then locked down with your Fiend Hunter. Gather the Townsfolk over Thatcher's Revolt since you can take advantage of the tokens for chump blocks, they get pumped from the Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip , and for enchantment/artifact removal you can use Sundering Growth and get +1/+1 counter triggers on both Champions. Nevermore is your answer to Terminus , Detention Sphere , and Sever the Bloodline . I would downscale your Lightning Mauler count, since your big hitters need to be on the field for a bit to get pumped. Zealous Conscripts in the mainboard, nothing like snatching a Tamiyo before she ults. Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip should be at 3, you need more Silverblade Paladin and your sideboard should definitely contain Knight of Glory . I'm personally a fan of Elite Inquisitor in the mainboard due to how strong it can be just with a Rancor hitting for 4 and deterring attacks from it's First Strike. If your meta has plenty of Supreme Verdict you should consider Rootborn Defenses in the sideboard at least. Finally, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben should be 2 mainboard, 1 sideboard against control decks. I don't have Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip so I don't know how much good or bad he could do, but you can't honestly go wrong with him. I would leave him at 2 or 3 at the most. And consider another card:Avacyn's Pilgrim, because people love picking off your mana dorks.

My Naya Humans deck is on my profile, or can be found with this neat little link.Champions of Naya