This is an optimal build of this list in my opinion. A few things could be tweaked. I'd like to add an additional Magma Spray in the main and I really don't think the
Sphinx of the Final Word
are totally 100% necessary. The latter does help the deck against U/R control, but I rarely bring it in. I am libel to cut one Whirler Virtuoso and/or maybe one
Woodweaver's Puzzleknot
for the Magma Spray, but I am not sure. That being said, this 75 is really solid and it runs smoothly. The sideboard is fully optimized to help us shore up our bad matchups.
Rogue Refiner
and Glimmer of Genius are by far the best cards in the deck. I think
Woodweaver's Puzzleknot
and Whirler Virtuoso are the weakest cards in the main list, but that isn't a bad thing to have. I still think
Rogue Refiner
and Whirler Virtuoso are the best uncommon creatures in standard right now. Rogue Refiner replaces itself instantly, and you can just win games off the back of Whirler Virtuoso. The thing that sets Virtuoso back is it's matchups against the mirror and zombies. Both matchups are pretty terrible for it and Tireless Tracker is just a better fit in that slot. This is the only reason I am tempted to cut one more. The original list had four Virtuosos for the longest time. Through testing, I just wanted a Censor, Magma Spray, or a Torrential Gearhulk in that slot instead.
Now onto the thing you are hear for.... sideboarding and mulligans. There are two distinct ways we sideboard into beatdown, or control. The latter is usually what we are shifting into, but it solely depends on the meta of course. Lets dive into cuts and additions.
ZOMBIES::This is a super popular aggro-centric deck. Game 2 and 3, they are the aggro deck and we shift into the control deck for sure. These are my cuts
-3 Whirler Virtuoso-1 Ulamog-1 Aetherworks Marvel-1 Attune with Aether-2 Glimmer of Genius
Some of these cuts are pretty obvious, while others aren't I will explain my thought process. As stated before, I feel that Whirler Virtuoso is really bad in this matchup. We aren't the aggressor, so we aren't going to be proactively making thopters to attack. They will be blockers, and eventually we will run out of energy and get overwhelmed. The other cuts are singling out one ofs for better options and utility against the aggro matchup. We shave two Glimmer of Genius because it is often too slow even if you are casting it on turn four.
These are my adds
+3 Tireless Tracker+3 Sweltering Suns+1 Chandra, Flamecaller+1 Magma Spray
Tireless Tracker is amazing in this matchup. Often times he becomes a beefy blocker against zombies. Also, a ton of their removal comes out. The zombie player is libel to just leave in their
Dark Salvation
, four removal spells only. Their Fatal Push doesn't hit anything of ours unless they are trading, and they don't want to trade. The Sweltering Suns and Chandra, Flamecaller additions are self-explanitory. We want more ways to clear the board.
Mirror-Match-1 Attune with Aether-3 Whirler Virtuoso-1 Glimmer of Genius-1 Magma Spray-2 Woodweaver's Puzzleknot+1 Dispel+3 Negate+3 Tireless Tracker+1 Manglehorn
Write up coming soon
U/R Control-3 Virtuoso-4 Woodweaver's Puzzleknot-1 Magma Spray-1 Harnessed Lightning+3 Tireless Tracker+2 Sphinx of the Final Word+3 Negate+1 Dispel
Write up coming soon
