Help me learn to sideboard
Deck Help forum
Posted on Jan. 24, 2014, 11:13 a.m. by ElderDragon907
I know what a sideboard is and how they work, but I've never actually made one. I'm playing in a casual tournament soon, and have no idea what I am up against or what to put in my sideboard. The deck I am playing is based around Polymorph . Any advice on how to build an effective sideboard or general improvements to my deck would be greatly appreciated.
Link to my deck: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/polymorph-22-01-14-2/
ElderDragon907 says... #3
There aren't any banned cards, but it isn't super competitive either, just some friends at college. I know there is going to be a jund midrange deck, merfolk tribal, and maybe goblins, but most people are using super secret decks. Cancel will probably go out for Dispel because I'm worried about spot removal destroying my tokens before I can Polymorph them. Fog is a concession against aggro if I can't get Oath of Druids out early. I guess my question is what general strategies (midrange, aggro, control, etc.) work really well against my combo deck, and what should I have in my sideboard to work against them? Also, what is an easy way to give my opponents creatures to activate Oath of Druids ?
January 24, 2014 11:36 a.m.
SharuumNyan says... #4
Jund, Merkfolk, and Goblins will trample all over your deck before you get a chance to do anything. From experience, I know Merfolk and Goblins can win on turn three.
I don't think sideboarding will even help that much. There's a big problem with casual tournaments. If you have a few people with competitive decks enter, you also need to have a competitive deck to even stand a chance.
I'm not a fan of constructed casual play for that very reason - too many people who wanted to play for fun end up getting trounced and leave disappointed. Limited is always best for casual play.
January 24, 2014 12:05 p.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #5
an Oath of Druids
deck is a very powerful deck to be running. if you use cards like Forbidden Orchard
you can not only fix your mana, but give your opponent guys to activate oath. You have the ability to get a big dude on turn 3. If you run into other control decks, you'll have a harder time to get your combo off since you'll have to wade through counter magic. If your combo is slow, you have a hard match up against an aggro deck.
Now comes the fun part, developing a sideboard. Since you don't know the specific decks you'll be against, you can instead create a sideboard based on a general meta. this "general meta" is typically a control deck, an aggro deck, a mid range deck, and a graveyard based deck. Having a sideboard for each of these will hopefully cover all of the bases.
The control deck. You have the dispels already which is really good control magic fights but what about Swan Song
? This can turn your Oath of Druids
on or if you Swan Song
your own spell you can than polymorph it into a big dude. The 1 mana counter spells are big especially if you stumble on lands.
The aggro deck! Fog
is only a temporary patch to the problem that is aggro. You can instead cast Sleep
and give yourself 2 turns to combo out. Sleep
can also be used for a midrange deck. Honestly you should be fine with a midrange deck since you have a lot of counterspells.
The graveyard based deck! My favorite. You can use cards like Tormod's Crypt
and Relic of Progenitus
to empty their graveyard in one fell swoop. Tormod's Crypt
doesn't cost anything while relic will hit all graveyards so your choice.
I hope this helped you craft your sideboard!
January 24, 2014 12:19 p.m.
ElderDragon907 says... #6
Thanks for the awesome ideas! Swan Song
has crazy synergy in this deck, so I will definitely pick up a playset. My only worry with Sleep
is if aggro kills me turn 3 it will be hard to make creatures sleepy turn 4, but I will do some playtesting. I didn't even think about graveyard hate, so it looks like I'll throw a couple Relic of Progenitus
in the sideboard.
January 24, 2014 1:11 p.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #7
I would be surprised if you are killed turn 3 by an aggro deck, 4 to 5 is more realistic but it does take play testing as well as knowing your meta. One thing you can do, bring about 25-30 cards you would want to play for a sideboard and before your tournament talk to people and see what they are playing. Then make your 15 card sideboard before games start.
January 24, 2014 1:22 p.m.
ElderDragon907 says... #8
Great idea. I've made a few changes to the main deck. -3 Awakening Zone for +3 Preordain , -4 Rune Snag for +4 Swan Song , and -2 Cancel for +2 Ponder . The scry will help me find combo pieces or counter magic, and Swan Song is another way to get Polymorph or Oath of Druids activated for a lot cheaper than Awakening Zone (and it is at instant speed). My only concerns now are having enough counter spells in the main board, and if Dispel should be in the main board.
January 24, 2014 1:34 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #9
Smith_and_Tonic - I'm pretty sure a sideboard needs to be complete before registration starts, or it could lead to disqualification.
January 24, 2014 1:40 p.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #10
I'm assuming, since this is a casual tournament, that the decks won't be registered. Obviously if there is registration it should be made beforehand but in terms of FNM level events as long as your sideboard is made before your game starts, you're fine.
January 24, 2014 1:42 p.m.
ElderDragon907 says... #11
The tournament is super casual and just between friends, so I probably won't get a DQ. If it was an official tournament I would definitely have the sideboard finalized before game day.
January 24, 2014 1:44 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #12
It depends on where you play and how your judge feels about it. Walking around the room, scooping out the competition, and putting together a last minute sideboard is generally frowned upon.
SharuumNyan says... #2
Are there any restrictions for this casual tournament, such as banned cards or sets?
If not, using the Locus lands (Cloudpost and Glimmerpost ) might be more effective to get those Eldrazi creatures out fast. And there's always a better card than Cancel .
It's impossible to say what should be in a sideboard for a casual tournament. I would sideboard with the top tier legacy decks in mind, because those are some the best decks that anyone could play in a tournament without any restrictions.
January 24, 2014 11:24 a.m.