Modern Sideboards
Modern forum
Posted on July 21, 2015, 10:18 p.m. by CharlesMandore
So as I peruse modern decks I find that some, or many, have only one copy of a particular card in the sideboard. Is this because they have multiple cards with a similar effect, or do you just want to maximize what you can put into your sideboard?
Servo_Token says... #3
There's a lot of cases where you just want access to the ability, it isn't integral to your plan. Being able to dig for things is nice as well as it makes it easier on you to be able to hit that card. Other times, you just have a lot of bases to cover and only 15 cards to do it in. Most of your sideboard cards come in in a variety of matchups, which also mitigates the downside of being a one of.
July 21, 2015 10:38 p.m.
selesvyaloverer8 says... #4
theres also the fact that in many matchups its good to attack their plan on multiple angles rather than just 3-4 of the same card. for example, against collected company decks i run grafdigger's cage, disfigure, slay, and batterskull. the grafdigger's cage stops coco, the disfigures and slays can efficiently kill creatures, and the batterskull wins the game after i stabilize. all different angles, all important ways of beating that deck
July 21, 2015 10:51 p.m.
filledelanuit says... #5
The other reason to run only a single copy of a card if you have multiple cards that cover the same or similar roles. For example a sideboard may have 1 Negate and 1 Dispel to try to split the difference where one of the cards is better than the other.
July 21, 2015 11 p.m.
filledelanuit says... #9
July 21, 2015 11:32 p.m.
selesvyaloverer8 says... #10
what agent is saying is that if you run heavy multiples like 4-4-4-3 you end up not being able to cover a lot of archetypes and as a result you have a super poor sideboard.
July 21, 2015 11:33 p.m.
selesvyaloverer8 says... #11
also that is sweet tech for any black deck lordoftheshadows. *(goes to every black deck on my profile and jams these cards). however i would go with 13x apostle and 2x griselbrand.
July 21, 2015 11:35 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #12
Sorry, it's late. I'll attempt a more thorough response in the morning.
July 22, 2015 12:15 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #13
As control players, GlistenerAgent and I are forced to prepare for every good deck. This means we can't afford to be running 4 copies of every spell, because that limits both our flexibility, and draw potential in the late game. We don't want to be drawing our 4th Mana Leak on turn 15, we want gas.
For a card such as Remand, we don't like to run 4 because it just delays the opponent a turn, and cantrips, both of which are great lines of text, but they don't cause us to win. Cryptic Command is incredibly flexible, but the mana cost makes it difficult to justify running 4.
July 22, 2015 5:25 a.m.
JexInfinite probably put it best. usually one of's are for control decks. It's quite rare to see a one-of in aggro decks, because their plan not only lacks flexibility, but usually also involves redundancy (That statement may be redundant.....). control, as mentioned above, needs options. Batterskull is probably the best example, as it has many showings as a one of in many decks. I don't think I need to explain why Batterskull is good, It's strength is in it showing up every once in a while and commanding the board. It's unnecessary in multiples, because the decks it beats are generally control decks, so they can take their time drawing into it. You're allowed the benefit of increasing your control matchups, while still having space to deal with your problematic aggro and combo matchups.
July 22, 2015 7:05 a.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #16
I'll do you one better. I'll draft an article on sideboarding in Modern, which I've been meaning to do for a while and have slacked off on.
Just you wait.
VampireArmy says... #2
I think pretty much only decks with lots of filtering or draw do that since its easier for them to find it
July 21, 2015 10:21 p.m.