I'm wondering, is it a good idea to splash black for thougthseize for main/sideboard?>
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Just a general question, how do you guys sideboard. I run a very stock list and always am confused as what to cut and bring in. Does anybody have a "sideboarding guide" that they could type up and give me some insight?
Thanks
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Hi I'm Infecter4life and ironically I only play GBx decks.
I've been out of the loop for quite sometime now, and I noticed that most UG Infect lists topping lately have 2 [csrd]Relic of Progenitus[/card] in the sideboard. I've never used graveyard hate before, so why now? And against what match-ups will they be optimal? :/
Just a general question, how do you guys sideboard. I run a very stock list and always am confused as what to cut and bring in. Does anybody have a "sideboarding guide" that they could type up and give me some insight?
Thanks
Cuts and adds are pretty dependent on your list. Generally, you want to take out as few pump/utility spells as possible. You can really screw up your game if you oversideboard.
Cuts first: My first cuts are usually 2x Probe, 1x SV. I used to remove all Probes but I moved away from that because the info vs. midrange decks is more valuable, but it's probably wise vs. aggro decks.
My second cuts are usually pump spells. -1x of each pump plus the utility above gives you 7x adds. Cutting Become Immense is good if you see a G1 Remand. Groundswell is marginally better vs. decks with Bolt/Helix. Might is a better keep against certain decks.
Adds: Against most decks, I add 2x Dispel, 2x Pierce, 1x Spellskite. Dispel is bad vs Tron but good vs. most other decks. Neither stops Abrupt Decay. I almost always board in 1x Nature's Claim against Jund for Night of Soul's Betrayal. The one time I forgot, I got crushed.
Infect isn't resiliant enough to play a mid-long control game. You want to board in just enough answers to keep you alive. I never want less than 4x Groundswell/Might combined, 2x Mute, 1x Become Immense after boarding.
Match by match is tough because it heavily depends on style of play, but here are some suggestions:
Bad matchups: Burn
Even matchups: Merfolks, Affinity, Twin, Jund/Junk (they have path and bolts)
Good Matchups: Tron, Aggro decks, Amulet (if does not combo turn 2)
Most of the time we are good against any deck that takes more than 3 turns to either, control or win the game and dont have lots of answers to our threats, we are a really fast combo deck, most of the time you win by turn 3 unaswered!
Hey guys, this week on my local store FNM i ended 2-2, matchups below:
GW Hexproof 2-0
First match, attacked with elf second turn, he blocked, pumped MG +2/+2 and elf survived leaving him without blockers, next turn i attacked 5/5 with MooK and he tried to path, apostle blessing saved the day, next turn he has blockers so i swing with inkmoth for lethal with groundswell.
Second match i go a bit slower, and ended the match with become imense on blighted agent without answers.
Jund/Junk 1-2
First match he has Goyf turn 2 and swarmed faster than i could infect him
Second match go a bit slower, but i manage to give him 8 infect counters with blighted agent, until he can combo with bolt + path and kill it, next turn i swing with two inkmoths, GG
Third match he got spellskite turn 2, never draw an answer, still managed to give him 6 infect counters but got crushed and stalled with pumps
Goblins 2-0
I am faster both matches, and he only has bolts to kill my creatures, not enough
Naya Burn 0-2
First match as usual i am burned to death before i can setup a combo kill, eidolon + grim lavamancer are monsters, wizards please ban!!
Second match a sided in almost everything, since i dont have spellskites i gone with 3 Monastery Siege + 2 wild defiance + 3 dispells + 2 spell pierce + 3 naturalize, managed to stall him a lot, but once again grim lavamancer crushed my creatures, i think i should have piracy charm on the side.
Rancor is excellent against decks that are relying on creatures as blockers to keep us from winning. Snapcaster Mages and Vendilion Cliques being flashed in and Lingering Souls tokens are notable examples of cards that can be problematic for us without Rancor.
For the longest time I felt like Distortion Strike would be more useful than Rancor. Because it's just straight up unblockable which is great. If they have a big blocker, your creature will probably die unless you are pumping for the kill that turn. With Distortion Strike, if you don't have the mana for an all out kill this turn, you could pump once, then pump again next turn.
But then I really thought about it. The number of times there have been a Goyf or something huge between myself and the win have been very low. So ignoring that aspect, there are a number of really nice advantages that Rancor has like:
-Costs green which is easier on your manabase.
-Keeps coming back to your hand if destroyed or your creature dies.
-More impact when used on Blighted Agent vs using Distortion Strike on him. So it's slightly less of a dead card in that situation.
-Can Nature's Claim your Rancor to gain life against Burn or whatever, and you still don't lose your Rancor.
-Can stack Rancors
-Probably other things I'm not thinking of
Hopefully none of my above statements are wrong. But after thinking about it, I've decided to cut my two Distortion Strikes in favor of two Rancors. Will be playtesting at FNM to see if the card is as good in real life as it is in theory.
Edit : Just thought of another plus. You can cast Rancor on the same turn you cast your creature if you have open mana that's going unused. No need to wait until the turn you plan to attack.
Actually i have Wild Defiances, but i am not pretty sure they can be successful defending myself from being the target of burn spells, at least monastery siege can stall.
Currently working on this deck. have pretty much everything but a few lands, hierarch, and skites. Looking for some info. What are our worst match-ups and good sideboard tech against them. I assume burn is in there. What else?
Ok, so I am having a huge problem with burn. The deck just seems like it makes a joke out of Infect. When I am going to play my creature with Infect, he bolts it. When I play Skite to protect my Infecter, he double bolts my skite and bolts my creature. When I am just plain racing him, he stops, bolts my stuff, then proceeds to bolt my face until I lose. I really hate Eidolon. It sits there and you can't do anything. Yeah, I have removal, but paying 6 life against a burn deck for a Dismember is too much. I got so mad to the point that I was just going to take out a Breeding Pool and replace it with a Stomping Grounds. Then, replace the Dismember and the Twisted Image with my own Lightning Bolts.
Ok, so I am having a huge problem with burn. The deck just seems like it makes a joke out of Infect. When I am going to play my creature with Infect, he bolts it. When I play Skite to protect my Infecter, he double bolts my skite and bolts my creature. When I am just plain racing him, he stops, bolts my stuff, then proceeds to bolt my face until I lose. I really hate Eidolon. It sits there and you can't do anything. Yeah, I have removal, but paying 6 life against a burn deck for a Dismember is too much. I got so mad to the point that I was just going to take out a Breeding Pool and replace it with a Stomping Grounds. Then, replace the Dismember and the Twisted Image with my own Lightning Bolts.
Infect is usually faster than Burn. Every time Burn uses a spell on your creature rather than you, it's buying you almost a full turn. 2 spells on Spellskite, you've bought yourself a full turn and then some. Don't play a Blighted Agent on T2 against Burn unless you have a Noble and a protection spell/Pump. Aside from T1, only play your creatures when you have Apostles blessing/Vines or a pump spell to protect. Inkmoth also gets can't be burned unless activated, in which case you should have protection spells/Pumps ready. And postboard you should be bringing in Dispel + Spell pierce to slow the Burn.
This matchup is about 50/50 overall. And yes, I play both Burn and Infect.
Ok, so I am having a huge problem with burn. The deck just seems like it makes a joke out of Infect. When I am going to play my creature with Infect, he bolts it. When I play Skite to protect my Infecter, he double bolts my skite and bolts my creature. When I am just plain racing him, he stops, bolts my stuff, then proceeds to bolt my face until I lose. I really hate Eidolon. It sits there and you can't do anything. Yeah, I have removal, but paying 6 life against a burn deck for a Dismember is too much. I got so mad to the point that I was just going to take out a Breeding Pool and replace it with a Stomping Grounds. Then, replace the Dismember and the Twisted Image with my own Lightning Bolts.
that's why you board in 4 nature's claim every time vs burn. kills eidolon and you can even kill your spellskite oder nexus to gain 4 life.
Hey guys, i was thinking about removing one Breeding Pool and adding 1 Temple Garden to side in Path to Exile against jund/junk and Phyrexian Unlife against burn, what do you think? has someone splashed white for SB options?
Ok, so I am having a huge problem with burn. The deck just seems like it makes a joke out of Infect. When I am going to play my creature with Infect, he bolts it. When I play Skite to protect my Infecter, he double bolts my skite and bolts my creature. When I am just plain racing him, he stops, bolts my stuff, then proceeds to bolt my face until I lose. I really hate Eidolon. It sits there and you can't do anything. Yeah, I have removal, but paying 6 life against a burn deck for a Dismember is too much. I got so mad to the point that I was just going to take out a Breeding Pool and replace it with a Stomping Grounds. Then, replace the Dismember and the Twisted Image with my own Lightning Bolts.
that's why you board in 4 nature's claim every time vs burn. kills eidolon and you can even kill your spellskite oder nexus to gain 4 life.
That's the move
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MODERN Blue Lantern, UBx Tezzerator. OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
Got it, my meta is full of Burn (Naya and Red) at least 3 each FNM, rest is Zoo, Goblins, 4/5 Good Stuff, Affinity, GW Hexproof, Merfolks, Melira Company (1 each).
Every week i get paired with at least one burn and thats always a loss for me =(
I am trying now more dispels and spell pierces, but havent got good results yet, because first turn guide then swiftespear + lava spike, plus a fetch+shockland (blue mana), thats 10 damage second turn, and he still have at least 3 cards in hand that may be artifact destruction so even if i manage to put a spellskite in play, i am still a few turns away from death.
And by putting so much pressure, they always stall my combos because i cant put a creature in play without protection.
Turn 1 Land Elf
Turn 2 Muta Muta Groundswell Land Noble
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
Thanks
Cuts and adds are pretty dependent on your list. Generally, you want to take out as few pump/utility spells as possible. You can really screw up your game if you oversideboard.
Cuts first: My first cuts are usually 2x Probe, 1x SV. I used to remove all Probes but I moved away from that because the info vs. midrange decks is more valuable, but it's probably wise vs. aggro decks.
My second cuts are usually pump spells. -1x of each pump plus the utility above gives you 7x adds. Cutting Become Immense is good if you see a G1 Remand. Groundswell is marginally better vs. decks with Bolt/Helix. Might is a better keep against certain decks.
Adds: Against most decks, I add 2x Dispel, 2x Pierce, 1x Spellskite. Dispel is bad vs Tron but good vs. most other decks. Neither stops Abrupt Decay. I almost always board in 1x Nature's Claim against Jund for Night of Soul's Betrayal. The one time I forgot, I got crushed.
Infect isn't resiliant enough to play a mid-long control game. You want to board in just enough answers to keep you alive. I never want less than 4x Groundswell/Might combined, 2x Mute, 1x Become Immense after boarding.
Match by match is tough because it heavily depends on style of play, but here are some suggestions:
Affinity: Nature's Claim, Viridian Corrupter, Spellskite, Twisted Image, Dismember, Piracy Charm.
Burn: Dispel, Pierce, Spellskite, Nature's Claim, Piracy Charm.
BGx: Dispel, Pierce, Spellskite, Dryad Arbor, Piracy Charm, Dismember, Nature's Claim.
Tron: Pierce, Nature's Claim, Spellskite.
Merfolk: Dispel, Pierce, Nature's Claim, Spellskite, Corrupter.
Twin: Dispel, Pierce, Spellskite, Twisted Image, Nature's Claim, Dismember
Bloom: Dispel, Spellskite, Pierce, Nature's Claim.
Infect: Spellskite, Dispel, Pierce, Twisted Image, Dismember, Piracy Charm, Nature's Claim,
Even matchups: Merfolks, Affinity, Twin, Jund/Junk (they have path and bolts)
Good Matchups: Tron, Aggro decks, Amulet (if does not combo turn 2)
Most of the time we are good against any deck that takes more than 3 turns to either, control or win the game and dont have lots of answers to our threats, we are a really fast combo deck, most of the time you win by turn 3 unaswered!
Hey guys, this week on my local store FNM i ended 2-2, matchups below:
GW Hexproof 2-0
First match, attacked with elf second turn, he blocked, pumped MG +2/+2 and elf survived leaving him without blockers, next turn i attacked 5/5 with MooK and he tried to path, apostle blessing saved the day, next turn he has blockers so i swing with inkmoth for lethal with groundswell.
Second match i go a bit slower, and ended the match with become imense on blighted agent without answers.
Jund/Junk 1-2
First match he has Goyf turn 2 and swarmed faster than i could infect him
Second match go a bit slower, but i manage to give him 8 infect counters with blighted agent, until he can combo with bolt + path and kill it, next turn i swing with two inkmoths, GG
Third match he got spellskite turn 2, never draw an answer, still managed to give him 6 infect counters but got crushed and stalled with pumps
Goblins 2-0
I am faster both matches, and he only has bolts to kill my creatures, not enough
Naya Burn 0-2
First match as usual i am burned to death before i can setup a combo kill, eidolon + grim lavamancer are monsters, wizards please ban!!
Second match a sided in almost everything, since i dont have spellskites i gone with 3 Monastery Siege + 2 wild defiance + 3 dispells + 2 spell pierce + 3 naturalize, managed to stall him a lot, but once again grim lavamancer crushed my creatures, i think i should have piracy charm on the side.
Thats it guys, till next week \o/
Legacy: Infect, Lands, Eldrazi, Storm
Modern: Infect, UW Eldrazi
But then I really thought about it. The number of times there have been a Goyf or something huge between myself and the win have been very low. So ignoring that aspect, there are a number of really nice advantages that Rancor has like:
-Costs green which is easier on your manabase.
-Keeps coming back to your hand if destroyed or your creature dies.
-More impact when used on Blighted Agent vs using Distortion Strike on him. So it's slightly less of a dead card in that situation.
-Can Nature's Claim your Rancor to gain life against Burn or whatever, and you still don't lose your Rancor.
-Can stack Rancors
-Probably other things I'm not thinking of
Hopefully none of my above statements are wrong. But after thinking about it, I've decided to cut my two Distortion Strikes in favor of two Rancors. Will be playtesting at FNM to see if the card is as good in real life as it is in theory.
Edit : Just thought of another plus. You can cast Rancor on the same turn you cast your creature if you have open mana that's going unused. No need to wait until the turn you plan to attack.
Infect
Affinity
Grixis Shadow
Jekai Nahiri
Naya Burn
8-Whack
4x Inkmoth Nexus
2x Pendelhaven
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
3x Forest
3x Breeding Pool
Creatures
3x Spellskite
4x Glistener Elf
4x Blighted Agent
4x Noble Hierarch
3x Apostle's Blessing
3x Become Immense
1x Dismember
4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Groundswell
3x Might of Old Krosa
2x Mutagenic Growth
1x Twisted Image
4x Vines of Vastwood
1x Dismember
3x Dispel
3x Monastery Siege
4x Nature's Claim
2x Spell Pierce
1x Twisted Image
1x Viridian Corrupter
Any question or feedback appreciated.
BRG Living End
G Elves
UB Zombie Hunt
Infect is usually faster than Burn. Every time Burn uses a spell on your creature rather than you, it's buying you almost a full turn. 2 spells on Spellskite, you've bought yourself a full turn and then some. Don't play a Blighted Agent on T2 against Burn unless you have a Noble and a protection spell/Pump. Aside from T1, only play your creatures when you have Apostles blessing/Vines or a pump spell to protect. Inkmoth also gets can't be burned unless activated, in which case you should have protection spells/Pumps ready. And postboard you should be bringing in Dispel + Spell pierce to slow the Burn.
This matchup is about 50/50 overall. And yes, I play both Burn and Infect.
RWG Burn
GW Abzan Company
that's why you board in 4 nature's claim every time vs burn. kills eidolon and you can even kill your spellskite oder nexus to gain 4 life.
OLD SCHOOL 93/94 «The Pain Train» Black Sligh, Esper «Machine Gun» Artifacts, Jund «Psycho» Ponza-Disko.
Every week i get paired with at least one burn and thats always a loss for me =(
I am trying now more dispels and spell pierces, but havent got good results yet, because first turn guide then swiftespear + lava spike, plus a fetch+shockland (blue mana), thats 10 damage second turn, and he still have at least 3 cards in hand that may be artifact destruction so even if i manage to put a spellskite in play, i am still a few turns away from death.
And by putting so much pressure, they always stall my combos because i cant put a creature in play without protection.