The Transformative Sideboard

One seldom used fact in Magic is that if you have the manabase right, it only takes 15 cards to transform a mostly-aggro deck into a mostly-control deck. 15 cards, conveniently, is the same amount of cards in a sideboard. So today we're going to talk about the Transformative Sideboard.

The example I will be using is the transformative sideboard I've invented for GSS Jund. I will most likely be playing GSS Jund at least until Zendikar, so expect to hear a lot about it. I'm convinced as to the power and consistency of the deck.

A brief aside: I was able to get 95% of a Jund list today: enough to play it. The sideboard was messy, and I was missing 2 Lightning Bolts, but other than that it was great. I went 3-1, losing to a Goblin deck that I probably would have beaten if I'd practiced rationing my sweepers.

The List:

I'm using the following list:

4 Savage Lands

4 Twilight Mire

3 Vivid Marsh

3 Vivid Grove

4 Reflecting Pool

3 Graven Cairns

1 Swamp

1 Forest

1 Mountain

1 Fire-Lit Thicket

Creatures (19)

4 Bloodbraid Elf

4 Great Sable Stag

4 Boggart Ram-Gang

3 Putrid Leech

4 Anathemancer

Spells (16)

2 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Sign in Blood

4 Bituminous Blast

3 Jund Charm

After testing Jund Charm, I've determined that it is, in fact, nothing short of absolutely amazing. Throughout the day it's been an excellent combat trick, letting me run my Ram-Gangs and Bloodbraid Elves into Kitchen Finks all day, and a great sweeper as well. I wish I could play 4 maindeck but I can't justify cutting a Pulse or Bolt even for an amazing card like this. It's better than Fallout, and I can sideboard in Fallout against Faeries or Merfolk if need be.

The Sideboard:

Here's the sideboard I cooked up:

2 Maelstrom Pulse

3 Volcanic Fallout

2 Broodmate Dragon

2 Cruel Ultimatum

4 Mulldrifter

1 Doom Blade

1 Jund Charm

Sideboard Plans:

Here's my sideboard plan:

Vs. Elf Combo

-4 Great Sable Stag, -4 Anathemancer, -4 Boggart Ram-Gang, +1 Jund Charm, +4 Mulldrifter, +3 Volcanic Fallout, +2 Cruel Ultimatum, +2 Broodmate Dragon.

Maelstrom Pulse is rarely a use here: they can replace the Pulsed cards with one Ranger even in the unlikely event you hit two. Your plan here is to use your 7 sweepers to stop your opponent going off (using Mulldrifters to draw them) and then play a Broodmate Dragon or Cruel Ultimatum and win off that.

Vs. Kithkin

-4 Anathemancer, -2 Boggart Ram-Gang, -4 Great Sable Stag +1 Jund Charm, +3 Volcanic Fallout, +2 Maelstrom Pulse, +2 Broodmate Dragon, +2 Cruel Ultimatum

Keep the Ram-Gangs and Leeches in: they're good blockers and survive your sweepers. You want to save your Pulses for Honor of the Pure here, so you can kill all their guys with sweepers. Otherwise, same plan as against Elf Combo, except you don't want to tap out when they have armies-in-a-can, so no Mulldrifters. BMD's and Cruels are worth tapping out for.

Vs. B/R Burn

-4 Boggart Ram-Gang, -4 Putrid Leech, -4 Anathemancer, +1 Jund Charm, +2 Maelstrom Pulse, +1 Doom Blade, +4 Mulldrifter, +2 Broodmate Dragon, +2 Cruel Ultimatum

Putrid Leeches are bad here since you have to burn life to keep them alive, so they kill you quicker. Mulldrifters are good for refilling your hand and blocking / killing some of their creatures, whereas Broodmate and Cruel generally seal the game for you. In Broodmate's case it may not, but they'll need to use so much burn they won't catch up and you'll lay another finisher eventually.

Vs. Five-Color Control

-3 Jund Charm, +3 Mulldrifter

You generally want to use the Mulldrifters to draw into more aggro. Jund Charm is almost useless here.

Vs. Time Sieve Combo

-3 Jund Charm, -3 Bituminous Blast, +2 Maelstrom Pulse, +4 Volcanic Fallout

Target their Tezzerets. They only have 2. If preferable, get them with Lightning Bolts at instant speed. The main strategy for this is to avoid it. It's not too popular.

Vs. Warp World

-4 Anathemancer, +3 Volcanic Fallout, +1 Jund Charm

Grey Ogres bad. Sweepers good vs. Siege-Gang. Need I say more?

Vs. Jund

Option One: -3 Great Sable Stag, +2 Maelstrom Pulse, +1 Jund Charm

Use your Jund Charms as combat tricks, and cascade as much as possible. Pulses are dicey. Hold them back if you're ahead but if they get ahead, you can generally strategically even it out.

Option Two: -3 Putrid Leech, -4 Boggart Ram-Gang, -4 Great Sable Stag, +2 Maelstrom Pulse, +3 Volcanic Fallout, +2 Broodmate Dragon, +2 Cruel Ultimatum, +3 Mulldrifter

Option two is to transition into Five-Color Control and fight them that way, using sweepers and removal to hold them off until you play Broodmate Dragon or Cruel Ultimatum. Pick whichever choice you're more comfortable with, and be sure to playtest both.

So essentially, the idea of a transformational sideboard is not to side in CARDS that make your matchup stronger, which are of course, unreliable when not drawn, but to take on the role of aggro or control that your deck needs to take. Most decks can be beaten if you take the right role, and a transformational sideboard allows you to do so. Try it out, and see how it goes! But don't try to out-control a full Five-Color Control list. They hold the cards there.

Until next time, may you surprise your opponent by dropping a Cruel after a Bloodbraid Elf.

Lessons I've learnt today:

Broodmate Dragon is a great sideboard card.

Great Sable Stag is almost always relevant.

Sweepers are awesome. Very, very awesome.

See you tomorrow!