…a look at the Side

Features

Sitromis

17 July 2009

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I’m one for change, so if you’re anything like me you’ve probably been looking forward to today; nervously racking your mind across countless websites and card databases; taking, making and editing notes; loosing innumerable hours of sleep trying to concept and ready yourself; all in hopes of finding that perfectly synergetic book of spells that that will simply, abruptly, and of course, effortlessly put an end to all your crafty opposition Like any good Wizard should be doing right?!

Well, I’m not going to bias those thoughts in any direction. The process of discovery with something new, and certainly the arrival of conclusion are among the most entertaining aspects I’ve found with Magic. Besides, you probably have a few sleepless nights left of study in front of you already. Instead, let’s take a look at the Sideboard of Constructed play!

I’m going to assume for the sake of this article that the readers are familiar with Standard Constructed Play. If not, I’d refer the reader to this section of the Wizards.com site.

Suffice to say, I enjoy deck construction and the Standard Format. I also enjoy Tournaments and the discovery of new gaming environments (i.e. meta-games) among a consistent group of players. Players tend to have unique interests which are represented through the the cards they choose and the decks they build. Those interests tend to be more consistent then they vary, as players gravitate towards their favored spells and spell colors. In such an environment, a meta-game is born.

Even if the collection of individuals that makeup the meta-game are entirely casual, Magic players tend to take the rules and their knowledge of those rules very seriously; especially when it comes to the Tournament style of play. Of equal merit is the 15 card selection of an "optional" Sideboard among Tournament decks.

Why is "optional" in quotes? Well, if you're competing in any form of Tournament, casual or otherwise, I'm here to suggest that the only option you really have is what 15 cards you're going to pick to go in it! Your Sideboard is a variable in an equation between you and your opponent that can often equate to victory. It's a necessary evil that can (and should) allow you to compensate for both the similarities and differences between your current opponent, and future opposition. By the current rules, you are allowed to alter your deck between matches. So regardless of whether the match-ups are in a sudden death style, or best two out of three wins, given your meta-game you should have some idea of what you're going to face, before you face it. This is where the Sideboard comes into play, and it should be designed to allow you to bolster your odds and mitigate those of your opponents!

There are always three things I try to consider thoroughly when building any deck and including a Sideboard to extenuate loss; Concept, Threat-Anticipation and deck Weakness. I've laid those out into three sections to help simplify and explain each aspects below:

Theme

What is the theme of your deck; what does it do?! Such things like win mechanic, card advantage (i.e. draw) decking mechanics (i.e. library removal or mill decks) direct damage, damage prevention, beat down (i.e. large and/or many and/or buffed creatures) control (i.e. board advantage) are just some of the many things wrapped up in a theme of any deck design. If your deck has extreme focus on one of those things, your Sideboard should not. If it is diversified among theme however, apply focus to your Sideboard in some capacity.

Threat-Anticipation

Simply knowing what your opponents are going to being playing, and planning on how you're going to play around that. This is a much larger aspect when you stop to consider that as of July 17th, there will be nine (9) legal sets in Standard play! That's a lot of cards to account for, so to help with that, break them down by spells by type (Enchantment, Artifact, Land, etc.) and color to help ease the variable. Consider further your own meta-game and what is favored among your player base, as well as the online trends and card frequencies. It's no easy task admittedly, but like any good scrimmage, threat anticipation can tip the scale towards your favor; so if you don't have the immediate solution, make sure your Sideboard does!

Weakness

The final aspect I'd like you to consider is knowing your own weakness. Take a long look at where or when your deck fails, and then ask why. Do some play testing if you have to, and identify its primary issues. What happens when you go up against a potent Red Burn deck? How about Black's Hand Disruption mechanic, will you be able to get your card advantage back or will you stall out? Are you being killed by fliers constantly? What happens when my opponent gets a Platinum Angel in play? Do I even have creature removal? Then what?! Figure it out, and then plan, pad and prepare your Sideboard for those situation. You only have 15 options, so try to make sure your deck doesn't have too many weaknesses. If it does, you may need to return to the drawing board.

These final two things regarding deck constructions and Sideboard consideration are quite probably the more important of the three. If you're a novice, you'll eventually be able to build a fairly successful deck around just about any concept or theme you choose; so long as it can compensate for its weaknesses and handle the threats it encounters, the theme won't hinder you much at all. The Sideboard can remain a large reason for this type of flexibility, so making that 15 card selection takes respectable due diligence on your part. Maybe even to the point where you reconsider some of the fundamental's that remain a part of the game today, more so come M10! Take the color wheel of Magic, each still with some limitations as well as typical inferences. Creature Removal comes quickly to Black, while rarely if at all to Green. Life Gain is a staple product of White, yet Blue has little aptitude for such ability. All technical variables to consider while sizing up the more social and psychological ones that each opponent will represent; uniquely so. There will only be one constant that you can truly count on, and that's that spells will happen! It'll be left to the individual, their deck and the flexibility of what their Sideboard is capable of to determine the outcome of any duel.

Plan accordingly and thanks for your time.