Alright guys, I'm calling it. This deck can take you places, you just need more luck than me. I went 2-2 tonight, and it was a heck of a final fight trying to get that third round win. Before I discuss what changes I will be making and considering (and boy that will be a fun read), I'll give a little breakdown of my night and where I think things went wrong.
Disclaimer; The only thing I had in my sideboard for this event was 4 Abrade's. Other than that, I was card for card in the previous list.
Round 1: R/B Artifacts, 2-1
This was fun, and the deck performed very well in this match. My only issue in the one game I lost was early Fatal Pushes and Lightning Strikes taking out my creatures early, keeping me out of the game for him to swing in with 2 Scrapheap Scrounger's. Cast Out and Seal Away are champions in this matchup, removing Chandra, Torch of Defiance before she gets annoying and the Scroungers to avoid any res effects. Valduk proved to gruesome for his deck to handle.
Round 2: Grixis Control, 0-2
Okay, so I hated this match because the first game I got two, count it, TWO lands in TWENTY TURNS. He was just as concerned and annoyed as I was, and felt that that wasn't any fun to play against, something I completely agree with. The second game was just as bad, and although I hit my lands this time, he drew literally every type of removal spell in his deck. This matchup alone instilled in me the importance of the changes I am making to this deck.
Round 3: Mono Green Stompy, 2-0
This is our best matchup. If they have no way of interacting with our creatures, there is nothing stopping us from just building up a fat Champion or 4 elementals a turn. Not much to say about this matchup, other than Seal Away vs. Llanowar Elves is hilarious.
Round 4: Mono Red Aggro, 1-2
If draws were a little bit better, I could have taken the third game, but sadly, luck was not on my side this time. It was just another game to prove that removal is this decks Achilles heel. Lightning Strikes and Magma Sprays proved too annoying early game against this deck to keep us in early, resulting in a massive rollover game 2 and the slow and painful death in game 3. However, this is the matchup you keep Cast Out in, as you have no other way of keeping Hazoret the Fervent away. Abrade could come in for extra creature removal, but overall you want to draw creatures. Sram is great here if he stays online.
So with that out of the way, I need to address the elephant in the room; removal. We DIE, and I don't mean that lightly, we get absolutely ANNIHILATED, DEMOLISHED, and other big words against removal. It is because of this that I have finally figured out a sideboard. For one, we are moving Cast Out into the sideboard, as it is expensive and only useful against planeswalker heavy decks and gods. Seal Away can deal with threats that would otherwise make Cast Out uneeded. Coming in to take the place of it we have 3 copies of Dauntless Bodyguard. Yes, this does nothing against blue, because we can't do ANYTHING against blue. However, this does give a nice protection bonus for our guys that need it. This would mean, however, that we might want to wait to play our other guys until we have the extra mana up to play her. This would give us a nice 2/1 body on turn one however if we know we'll need to play more aggressively.
4 Abrades are going into the sideboard as obvious creature removal and a way of kicking God Pharaoh's Gift to the curb, as well as taking out gearhulks. There are too many good things about this card.
To address removal even more, we're going to take a more interesting turn and move more in the direction of midrange, adding 3 copies of Shalai, Voice of Plenty. Forcing the opponent to hit her first is extremely important against targeted removal, and is an issue that I've seen too often. Yes, she is slow, but what's the point in playing the same stuff only for it to get slapped as it enters anyways? At least with the angel we can force a spell out of their hand that they otherwise would have needed for a more pressing threat, like a Valduk with 3 Short Swords on him. This will go in against Grixis and mono red, but Approach decks will have more decent uses against us, especially Settle the Wreckage and Fumigate. BEWARE APPROACH. I don't know how to stop it yet, so help there would be appreciated, if at all possible.
As a quick sidetrack, I am taking out a land and 2 Lightning Strike's for 3 copies of Fling in the mainboard. It seems like a really good addition, especially with Champion of the Flame threatening the opponent already. It also gives us a decent damage outlet against control and spot removal. The 2 Strikes are moving to the sideboard.
Finally, I am adding 3 copies of Chandra's Defeat, as Chandra and red are very prevalent in my meta right now. I will leave these 3 slots open to those of you who would like to experience with other sideboard options.
Lastly, I will say that the unsung hero of this deck goes to Danitha Capashen, Paragon. Do NOT underestimate her. If left alone, she will get out of hand, especially given she can be a very good target for your auras and equipment. She messes with a LOT of opposing decks.
Welp, I really hope someone read this thing the whole way through, as it took me about an hour to write this. If you guys have built this deck, I would love to hear what success (or failure) you guys have had with it and any suggestions! Thanks guys!
TL:DR
Sideboard:
+3 Cast Out
+2 Lightning Strike
+3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
+4 Abrade
+3 Chandra's Defeat
Mainboard:
-3 Cast Out
+3Dauntless Bodyguard
-2 Lightning Strike
-1 Mountain
+3 Fling
