Good question. There are some turbo aggro decks (the deck formerly known as ramunap red for example, or some vampaire decks out there) that have a sketchy game 1. But this is not because of lack of removal (we have 4 sweepers, 2 of which you can rebuy with gearhulk, and you can also tutor for a fumigate turn 4, and cast the fumigate turn 5). Its mainly because we are light on lifegain and we have some slow cards (like gateway and acquisition). Against less turbo aggro decks (merfolk) you ar epretty even game 1. Games 2 and 3 become closer because of the board. Against a red deck with hazoret and chandra, i sideboard more or less as follows: -3 disallow, -1 fumigate, -2 mastemrind's acquisition, -1 consign, +3 moment of craving, +1 negate, +2 contempt +1 dusk rose.
The reason for the first change is that secrets was meant to be a way to smooth our draws in the early game, while earning a bit of card advantage and without being bad in the long game. But tapping out turn 3 was frequently more dangerous than desires, so i wanted an instant speed way to smooth draws. I still like secrets very much in the late game, so I kept 1, but i am playing around with opt and supreme will. None of them are too amazing, but they do the job they are meant to do quite well. The reason to take out lily is that i faced decking quite a couple of times. And also accidentally milling your last mastermind's acquisition is a real danger (in general, if decking is an issue, i go grab an approach, but if you mill your last acquisition...) I love the pw and I love the incidental synergies (makes tokens for ascend, can recur hulk, azon, and elanda, can even be a wrath), so until i figure a way to reliably not mill myself, I'm letting her go. On the other hand, i faced more GY decks than expected, and never//return is flexible enough card.
Edit: in the board, I added a Lost Legacy replacing the singleton forsake the worldly. Forsake was there in fear of blood sun decks, but i haven't faced any yet, but did face a bunch of approach decks, and stripping them of their approaches is gg)
I think Azor's Gateway is going to be a lot of fun to play with. I'm still rebuilding my Esper Hailfire list (see the previous page) but I'm thinking two copies each of Gateway, Search for Azcanta, and Treasure Map; that way you have reliable access to some kind of filtering and mana acceleration (both critical if you're going the Torment route) but you don't wind up with dead copies of the legendaries.
Yeah, Azor's Gateway is one that I'm interested in as well. It seems like it could go in my list as well, seeing as I've always been wary about my Searches with only 20 spells in the list.
two updates:
1)the esper mastermind lists i posted above are super fun to play... at FNM. In more competitive settings they are a bit clunnky and slow.
2) Grixis seems to be the real deal. Here is the list i piloted to a 4-1 record in a league. Its awesome vs midrange and decent vs aggro. Did not play vs control though so i wouldn't know. It is inspired by Shota's winning list from a couple pro tours before: lots of uber cheap removal to trade 1-1, and a card draw engine that has me nearly milling myself every game. Enjoy!
Looks like a cool deck to play! I'm wondering, if you are playing Grixis, why not make room for 1-2 Cut//Ribbons? This gives you a good option to win the game with the Aftermath once you flip the Azor's Gateway. Also still a fan of The Scarab God and I think a singleton Tetzimoc, Primal Death would be good over a Gearhulk.
two updates:
1)the esper mastermind lists i posted above are super fun to play... at FNM. In more competitive settings they are a bit clunnky and slow.
2) Grixis seems to be the real deal. Here is the list i piloted to a 4-1 record in a league. Its awesome vs midrange and decent vs aggro. Did not play vs control though so i wouldn't know. It is inspired by Shota's winning list from a couple pro tours before: lots of uber cheap removal to trade 1-1, and a card draw engine that has me nearly milling myself every game. Enjoy!
Might be a stupid question, but do you think this deck is viable without The Scarab God? I still have all those UR Control staples and those 4 Torrential Gearhulks are sad I can't find them a new home. Seems that UB is the only viable place for them now. But honestly there's no way I'm bying pushed God mythics to only play standard for maybe a few months.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard: UR Like grixis midrange but worse
Modern: UR Bloo
Might be a stupid question, but do you think this deck is viable without The Scarab God? I still have all those UR Control staples and those 4 Torrential Gearhulks are sad I can't find them a new home. Seems that UB is the only viable place for them now. But honestly there's no way I'm bying pushed God mythics to only play standard for maybe a few months.
I think you can do fine without The Scarab God, especially now that standard is wide open. If graveyard decks become the thing to beat, the amount of hate goes up so cards like The Scarab God lose out in control decks. If creature decks remain super strong, a deck with the card will be better.. If you don't have them I think I would wait to see how the meta settles before even considering buying them.
Might be a stupid question, but do you think this deck is viable without The Scarab God? I still have all those UR Control staples and those 4 Torrential Gearhulks are sad I can't find them a new home. Seems that UB is the only viable place for them now. But honestly there's no way I'm bying pushed God mythics to only play standard for maybe a few months.
I don't think it's needed. I didn't include it for three reasons.
1) W/out the scarab god, you have access to 3 great cards that hose it, without compromising your own strategy: the spyglasses and the silent gravestone. For some time I had 1x spyglass in the main (instead of the 3d scatter) to further improve your G1 points. A 5/5 for 5 is not so good vs our 5/6s. Also, spyglass is never truly dead, so its not terrible to include in the main.
2) Also, everyone is starting to load up on vraska's contempts for scabby. VC is great vs scabby but reeeeeealy lackluster vs Hulk.
3) Almost all the deck plays instant speed. I like that
Having said that, old Scabby Doo is a fantastic card, so i doubt it's bad to play 1 or 2 (but i wouldn't play more than that)
Looks like a cool deck to play! I'm wondering, if you are playing Grixis, why not make room for 1-2 Cut//Ribbons? This gives you a good option to win the game with the Aftermath once you flip the Azor's Gateway. Also still a fan of The Scarab God and I think a singleton Tetzimoc, Primal Death would be good over a Gearhulk.
Totally. I did not include tetzimoc or cutt//ribbons for 2 reasons. 1) i don't own them and I didnot want to go buy them 2) gateway is slow to flip and there is plenty artifact removal going around (abrade, naturalize, the naturalize dino, cast out, ixalan's binding, etc). This deck wants to play assuming that you never flip the gateway, and instead be happy with getting as many loots in before they kill it. With this in mind, adding cards that are medium on their own, and get amazing with a flipped gateway, could lead to some dead cards in hand.
Talking about cards i don't own, and scarab gods, I would love to get a Jace's defeat in th board instead of the 3rd negate. Vs UBx control/midrange decks you board it instead of the 3rd scatter. It fulfills the same role (counter hulk and scabby) but if needed can help fight a counterbattle.
I'm not seeing the hype on Tetzimoc, Primal Death in control decks. IMO, it would only be good as a late game top deck where you can put counters on whatever you need dead, then cast immediately. How is this good against anything remotely aggressive? Any creature that is on the field getting a counter, but not being dealt with, is getting me that much closer to dying. In what scenario(s) is it better than Torrential Gearhulk or The Scarab God?
As much as I love my Torment of Hailfire variant, I agree it's wise not to count on flipping Azor's Gateway. Five turns on the field adds up to a lot of chances to get blown up, especially in the current meta. Despite the downside, I think it wins out over Treasure Map--we don't need the card draw from Treasure Cove and the ramp payoff from Gateway is obviously superior, if you get there.
I think I'm going to try out a copy of Tetzimoc as a pseudo-sweeper in my version, as there does appear to be some risk of getting overwhelmed by larger creatures if you miss a counterspell. Hoping to bring some version of the deck to a PPTQ in a couple weeks.
As much as I love my Torment of Hailfire variant, I agree it's wise not to count on flipping Azor's Gateway. Five turns on the field adds up to a lot of chances to get blown up, especially in the current meta. Despite the downside, I think it wins out over Treasure Map--we don't need the card draw from Treasure Cove and the ramp payoff from Gateway is obviously superior, if you get there.
I think I'm going to try out a copy of Tetzimoc as a pseudo-sweeper in my version, as there does appear to be some risk of getting overwhelmed by larger creatures if you miss a counterspell. Hoping to bring some version of the deck to a PPTQ in a couple weeks.
I agree that suns in double red is an issue. But don't underestimate the power of cycling. Also, I think that 3 damage is better than -2/-2 in the current meta. I think whirler virtuoso and hostage taker are a real thing (and fish decks can grow their dudes beyond x/2, but they have more trouble going above x/3).
Might be a stupid question, but do you think this deck is viable without The Scarab God? I still have all those UR Control staples and those 4 Torrential Gearhulks are sad I can't find them a new home. Seems that UB is the only viable place for them now. But honestly there's no way I'm bying pushed God mythics to only play standard for maybe a few months.
Talking about straight up UR, here is a fun list I put together yesterday. Not competitive beyond FNM probably, but who knows
G1 your wincon is literally just the tower, which is weak to abrade. On the plus side, once the compass flips, there are very few things you actually need to counter, so you can just save your counters to protect your towers.
We had a UB Control list make top 8 of the SCG at the weekend. Notables - full set of Chupacabras, and a switch to Moment of Craving over Essence Extraction.
IMO there's no point on using Essence Extraction over Moment of Craving, especially now that cubs, hydras and ferocidons (all basically 3-toughness creatures) are all gone.
Craving is WAY easier on the manabase, much faster and kills 90% of all aggressive 1 to 3 drops on the current meta. The ones that it doesn't kill, you can always fatal push anyway.
In straight UB you shouldn't have any trouble casting Essence Extraction but I agree that Moment of Craving does basically the same job but faster, and it's far superior in any 3-color build. It does make me wonder if Battle at the Bridge is worth playing anymore; might depend on how Hazorets are still running around.
I think that Craving is certainly a better choice, even in a straight UB build... It's going to be a lot easier to focus on getting UU turn 3 for Disallow, rather than trying to get UU AND BB on T3 to have the options. That's also the reason that I'm thinking of switching to Dire Fleet Poisoner over Aetherborns.
Without knowing your exact main deck, I couldn't comment on your SB. However, my initial reaction is that you've not got a lot to bring in against them, so I'm hoping your main deck is stacked against aggro. If not, then it's not a surprise that you're struggling, as you have very few answers there.
For my list on the previous page, I typically board out larger, slower threats, so Lili and Tetz (in the original list it was a third Scarab God that came out), plus any durdle type cards (Search) and Negates. Boarding in would be life gain (Aetherborn, Contempt, Extraction), and the Essence Scatters. Basically, you're trying to not save as much life as possible until they run out of gas, at which point you can turn the corner with your recursion and card draw, burying them in threats and card advantage.
I agree with @JoinInWherever that SB plans depend on MB. However, I'd never side out searches. I once remember Cuneo saying that he never boards out card draw in any match, because that is the essence of a control deck.
What I do for SB is the following: 1) the MD has answers that are inefficient, but general. By "inefficient" I mean that (depending on the matchup) you can find a less mana intensive card that can fulfill the same role. 2) make a list of decks you are gunning for (in this meta I'd say red aggro, merfolk aggro, GBx midrange, UBx control, approach, vehicles, God Pharaoh gift). For each of those decks, plan on boarding out any answer that can be replaced by something cheaper that does the same thing, and board in the efficient answer. 3) You'd probably end up with more than 15 cards, so then try to ask if you can find a card that plays the role of 2 or more others. That is, find a midway pointy between the Main Deck inefficient answer, and the ideal SB super-efficient answer, so as to get a card that might not be the most efficient, but is still more efficient than your main deck card. Word of caution: when doing these steps, keep in mind your opponent's most likely post board configuration. Example: vs fish, I bing in negates and jace's defeat. Their main deck is mostly creatures, but post board they bring in spell pierce and negates, so i take out some disallows for negates//defeats: negate and defeat play the same role (win conunter wars) but cost 1 less. Defeat is also better because Kumena is actually blue, so jace's defeat can actually counter him too.
Example time. In my grixis deck, vs mono red, there are 5 to 7 inefficient answers: 4 disallow, 1 Vcontempt, 1 Vona's hunger 1 Consign. Disallow is inefficient because what am I countering? Creatures? Then I can simply have scatter, or removal. Consign is inefficient because it is card disadvantage unless you plan to use the back side (which you rarely do vs red), and contempt is 4 mana. Yes, it does answer hazoret, but you could counter that with essence scatter or make them sacrifice it with vona's hunger (assuming you can keep the field clean). Hunger is inefficient if you use it without the city's blessing, but it is good vs hozoret, so it is kind of iffy. Step 2: Since most aggro dudes have toughness <=2, and few of them have relevant ETB effects, the most efficient answer to creatures is 1 mana 2 damage removal. Out of the two options (shock or magma spray), spray hits more decks than shock does (the xile is great vs scrounger or god Pharaoh gift decks) so I play magma spray. So I replace my 4 disallow with my 4 sprays. What about contempt and consign? Again, those are geared towards answering creatures. So I replace both of those with 2 mana removal (harnessed lightning in my deck, but I've since moved to moment of craving).
First off, most mono red decks go a little bigger after board, bringing in at least one Chandra, and perhaps 1 Vance's blasting cannons. So post board I'l like to have at least one answer for these cards. In UB your best shot with enchantment removal is a counterspell, so I'd like to get at least one negate in there to deal with both the walker and the enchantment. The rest of the deck is creatures, so I'd like at least one cheap sweeper (I have a love/hate relationship with Bontu's last reckoning... if mono red is the deck in your mind, I'd like Golden demise more). Also, most of the creatures have toughness <=2 (kari zev being the exception) and have "cant block" clauses (khenra, ahn crop crasher, pia nalaar, etc). So (i) I do like moment of craving as a way to trade at slightly better rate than 1-1, and (ii) I dislike trying to block.
With that said, you might want to board out 3 chupacabras, 3 disallows, 1 consign and 1 contempt. Chupacabra is a 4 mana 1-for-1 trade unless you can make it block (which mono red can prevent it, also mono red can fly over it), but it does combo nicely with scabby, so keeping 1 might be fine. Disallow is similarly bad, but keeping 1 around for ther big threats is ok. Consign and contempt are just not efficient enough: you'll rarely activate the back side of consign and contempt is nice as a life gain spell so maybe it can stay, but 4 mana is too much.
I'd bring in 5x 2 mana removal spells that can remove small creatures, 2 sweepers and 1 negate. Given that you have 2 moment of craving in your mainboard, an anti red SB could include 2x moment of craving, 3x dire fleet poisoner (unfortunately, no other 2 mana removals exists in UB, except walk the plank or die young, but those kind of stink), 2 golden demise (or a 1-1 split with bontu's LR), 1 negate. I don't think this leaves you too far away from your current SB.
I think I'd actually keep in the Disallows. They are likely bringing in Chandras and/or GBs, so you're going to need a way to answer them (especially with only 2 Contempt in the 75). Going down 3 hard counters and only putting in one doesn't seem right. The trick here is to change focus on what gets Disallowed - don't waste them on creatures that can be killed easily with the added Cravings.
Using the exact SCG list that Manu said they are playing, I'd say 2 Craving, possibly 1 Vizier (to copy either Glorybringers or your own Gearhulks), a couple of Negates, and Bontu's as a panic button. Take out 2 Chupas, 1 Consign, and probably 1 Disallow and 2 Censor. I'd keep in some number of Chupas as they are unconditional removal, and often useful to take out a landed Glorybringer. Censor is almost certainly the first card I'd cut, as it very rarely is an efficient counter spell with the low cost spells in Red.
As I mentioned before, Manu's sideboard on the previous page is very light on answers to aggro (i.e. virtually non-existent), which is likely why it struggles. Traditionally control doesn't do well game 1, but is much improved post board.
Oh, and Draw_gone - my logic on boarding out Searches is that it's only really a card draw once it's flipped, and it generally tends to be too slow against red aggro. Rarely, if ever, do you want to take T2 off to cast something that doesn't affect the board that turn, especially on the draw. If they curve out, you could very well be almost in single digits by that point. I'm pretty sure I read that in a sideboard guide somewhere, but for the life of me I can't remember where.
Based on this, I'd put in the two Essence Scatter, 4 Moments, and 1 Contempt. Bontu's is there more for the really go wide decks. Take out 1 Tetz, 2 Search, 2 Lili, 1 Chupa, 1 Disallow.
For Manu, yes, I think Aetherborn is a better choice than Poisoner. Maybe go 3 Aetherborn, 2 Siphoner, if aggro is that much of a problem. If generic creature based decks come back, then Poisoner may be better. Not sure yet. Sweepers aren't efficient right now, so I wouldn't worry about that (Bontu's means you tap out, and potentially can't answer a later threat), and the deck is now more focussed on countering by killing, so let the threat land (unless you can't kill it), then destroy with Chupa, Craving, etc.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Edit: in the board, I added a Lost Legacy replacing the singleton forsake the worldly. Forsake was there in fear of blood sun decks, but i haven't faced any yet, but did face a bunch of approach decks, and stripping them of their approaches is gg)
two updates:
1)the esper mastermind lists i posted above are super fun to play... at FNM. In more competitive settings they are a bit clunnky and slow.
2) Grixis seems to be the real deal. Here is the list i piloted to a 4-1 record in a league. Its awesome vs midrange and decent vs aggro. Did not play vs control though so i wouldn't know. It is inspired by Shota's winning list from a couple pro tours before: lots of uber cheap removal to trade 1-1, and a card draw engine that has me nearly milling myself every game. Enjoy!
4 aether hub
1 Arch of Orazca
3 canyon slough
1 dragonskull summit
4 drowned catacomb
1 fetid pools
6 island
3 mountain
4 spirebluff canal
Instants
4 fatal push
3 essence scatter
1 negate
2 abrade
2 harnessed lightning
4 disallow
1 vona's hunger
4 glimmer of genius
1 vraska's contempt
1 consign
4 Torrential Gearhulk
Artifacts
2 azor's gateway
Enchantments
2 search for azcanta
Sorceries
1 sweltering suns
4 magma spray
1 silent gravestone
3 negate
2 harnessed lightning
2 sorcerous spyglass
1 lost legacy
1 Nezahal, primal tide
1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
That deck looks really fun. I love Grixis control. Too bad I don't have budget to get some of the more pricey cards hehe...
I love you're using two Sorcerous Spyglass. I really like that card, but have had a hard time justifying putting it in decks I normally run.
Modern: UR Bloo
I think you can do fine without The Scarab God, especially now that standard is wide open. If graveyard decks become the thing to beat, the amount of hate goes up so cards like The Scarab God lose out in control decks. If creature decks remain super strong, a deck with the card will be better.. If you don't have them I think I would wait to see how the meta settles before even considering buying them.
I've been looking at Tetzimoc, Primal Death as a nice addition to Torrential Gearhulk. During the small amount of matches I played it really took opponents of their game plan as they were not keen to play their good creatures into a Tetzimoc, Primal Death. Using Gifted Aetherborn or Dire Fleet Poisoner to hold down the fort while building for the late game.
I don't think it's needed. I didn't include it for three reasons.
1) W/out the scarab god, you have access to 3 great cards that hose it, without compromising your own strategy: the spyglasses and the silent gravestone. For some time I had 1x spyglass in the main (instead of the 3d scatter) to further improve your G1 points. A 5/5 for 5 is not so good vs our 5/6s. Also, spyglass is never truly dead, so its not terrible to include in the main.
2) Also, everyone is starting to load up on vraska's contempts for scabby. VC is great vs scabby but reeeeeealy lackluster vs Hulk.
3) Almost all the deck plays instant speed. I like that
Having said that, old Scabby Doo is a fantastic card, so i doubt it's bad to play 1 or 2 (but i wouldn't play more than that)
Totally. I did not include tetzimoc or cutt//ribbons for 2 reasons. 1) i don't own them and I didnot want to go buy them 2) gateway is slow to flip and there is plenty artifact removal going around (abrade, naturalize, the naturalize dino, cast out, ixalan's binding, etc). This deck wants to play assuming that you never flip the gateway, and instead be happy with getting as many loots in before they kill it. With this in mind, adding cards that are medium on their own, and get amazing with a flipped gateway, could lead to some dead cards in hand.
Talking about cards i don't own, and scarab gods, I would love to get a Jace's defeat in th board instead of the 3rd negate. Vs UBx control/midrange decks you board it instead of the 3rd scatter. It fulfills the same role (counter hulk and scabby) but if needed can help fight a counterbattle.
As much as I love my Torment of Hailfire variant, I agree it's wise not to count on flipping Azor's Gateway. Five turns on the field adds up to a lot of chances to get blown up, especially in the current meta. Despite the downside, I think it wins out over Treasure Map--we don't need the card draw from Treasure Cove and the ramp payoff from Gateway is obviously superior, if you get there.
I think I'm going to try out a copy of Tetzimoc as a pseudo-sweeper in my version, as there does appear to be some risk of getting overwhelmed by larger creatures if you miss a counterspell. Hoping to bring some version of the deck to a PPTQ in a couple weeks.
I agree that suns in double red is an issue. But don't underestimate the power of cycling. Also, I think that 3 damage is better than -2/-2 in the current meta. I think whirler virtuoso and hostage taker are a real thing (and fish decks can grow their dudes beyond x/2, but they have more trouble going above x/3).
Talking about straight up UR, here is a fun list I put together yesterday. Not competitive beyond FNM probably, but who knows
1 Arch of Orazca
2 sequestered stash
2 flied of ruin
22 other lands
Instants
3 essence scatter
2 negate
2 abrade
4 harnessed lightning
4 disallow
4 glimmer of genius
3 whir of invention
1 pull from tomorrow
2 azor's gateway
3 thaumatic compass
1 dynavolt tower
1 immortal sun
Sorcery
3 secrets of the golden city
2 magma spray
1 silent gravestone
2 negate
1 jace's defeat
1 sorcerous spyglass
2 Nocol-Bolas, God-Pharaoh
1 Locust God
1 Nezehal, primal tide
2 sweltering suns
1 commit
G1 your wincon is literally just the tower, which is weak to abrade. On the plus side, once the compass flips, there are very few things you actually need to counter, so you can just save your counters to protect your towers.
3 Torrential Gearhulk
4 Ravenous Chupacabra
2 The Scarab God
Instant (26)
4 Censor
1 Consign // Oblivion
4 Disallow
3 Essence Scatter
4 Fatal Push
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Moment of Craving
2 Vraska's Contempt
2 Search for Azcanta
Lands (25)
6 Island
6 Swamp
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Fetid Pools
2 Field of Ruin
1 Ipnu Rivulet
3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
1 Vizier of Many Faces
2 Moment of Craving
3 Negate
1 Tetzimoc, Primal Death
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
3 Duress
2 The Scarab God
3 Torrential Gearhulk
Sorcery (1)
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
Instant (26)
4 Censor
4 Disallow
2 Essence Extraction
3 Essence Scatter
4 Fatal Push
1 Glimmer of Genius
3 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Supreme Will
3 Vraska's Contempt
3 Search for Azcanta
Land (25)
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Fetid Pools
2 Field of Ruin
7 Island
6 Swamp
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
2 Essence Extraction
1 Deadeye Tracker
3 Duress
2 Gifted Aetherborn
2 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
3 Negate
Craving is WAY easier on the manabase, much faster and kills 90% of all aggressive 1 to 3 drops on the current meta. The ones that it doesn't kill, you can always fatal push anyway.
For my list on the previous page, I typically board out larger, slower threats, so Lili and Tetz (in the original list it was a third Scarab God that came out), plus any durdle type cards (Search) and Negates. Boarding in would be life gain (Aetherborn, Contempt, Extraction), and the Essence Scatters. Basically, you're trying to not save as much life as possible until they run out of gas, at which point you can turn the corner with your recursion and card draw, burying them in threats and card advantage.
What I do for SB is the following: 1) the MD has answers that are inefficient, but general. By "inefficient" I mean that (depending on the matchup) you can find a less mana intensive card that can fulfill the same role. 2) make a list of decks you are gunning for (in this meta I'd say red aggro, merfolk aggro, GBx midrange, UBx control, approach, vehicles, God Pharaoh gift). For each of those decks, plan on boarding out any answer that can be replaced by something cheaper that does the same thing, and board in the efficient answer. 3) You'd probably end up with more than 15 cards, so then try to ask if you can find a card that plays the role of 2 or more others. That is, find a midway pointy between the Main Deck inefficient answer, and the ideal SB super-efficient answer, so as to get a card that might not be the most efficient, but is still more efficient than your main deck card. Word of caution: when doing these steps, keep in mind your opponent's most likely post board configuration. Example: vs fish, I bing in negates and jace's defeat. Their main deck is mostly creatures, but post board they bring in spell pierce and negates, so i take out some disallows for negates//defeats: negate and defeat play the same role (win conunter wars) but cost 1 less. Defeat is also better because Kumena is actually blue, so jace's defeat can actually counter him too.
Example time. In my grixis deck, vs mono red, there are 5 to 7 inefficient answers: 4 disallow, 1 Vcontempt, 1 Vona's hunger 1 Consign. Disallow is inefficient because what am I countering? Creatures? Then I can simply have scatter, or removal. Consign is inefficient because it is card disadvantage unless you plan to use the back side (which you rarely do vs red), and contempt is 4 mana. Yes, it does answer hazoret, but you could counter that with essence scatter or make them sacrifice it with vona's hunger (assuming you can keep the field clean). Hunger is inefficient if you use it without the city's blessing, but it is good vs hozoret, so it is kind of iffy. Step 2: Since most aggro dudes have toughness <=2, and few of them have relevant ETB effects, the most efficient answer to creatures is 1 mana 2 damage removal. Out of the two options (shock or magma spray), spray hits more decks than shock does (the xile is great vs scrounger or god Pharaoh gift decks) so I play magma spray. So I replace my 4 disallow with my 4 sprays. What about contempt and consign? Again, those are geared towards answering creatures. So I replace both of those with 2 mana removal (harnessed lightning in my deck, but I've since moved to moment of craving).
With that said, you might want to board out 3 chupacabras, 3 disallows, 1 consign and 1 contempt. Chupacabra is a 4 mana 1-for-1 trade unless you can make it block (which mono red can prevent it, also mono red can fly over it), but it does combo nicely with scabby, so keeping 1 might be fine. Disallow is similarly bad, but keeping 1 around for ther big threats is ok. Consign and contempt are just not efficient enough: you'll rarely activate the back side of consign and contempt is nice as a life gain spell so maybe it can stay, but 4 mana is too much.
I'd bring in 5x 2 mana removal spells that can remove small creatures, 2 sweepers and 1 negate. Given that you have 2 moment of craving in your mainboard, an anti red SB could include 2x moment of craving, 3x dire fleet poisoner (unfortunately, no other 2 mana removals exists in UB, except walk the plank or die young, but those kind of stink), 2 golden demise (or a 1-1 split with bontu's LR), 1 negate. I don't think this leaves you too far away from your current SB.
Using the exact SCG list that Manu said they are playing, I'd say 2 Craving, possibly 1 Vizier (to copy either Glorybringers or your own Gearhulks), a couple of Negates, and Bontu's as a panic button. Take out 2 Chupas, 1 Consign, and probably 1 Disallow and 2 Censor. I'd keep in some number of Chupas as they are unconditional removal, and often useful to take out a landed Glorybringer. Censor is almost certainly the first card I'd cut, as it very rarely is an efficient counter spell with the low cost spells in Red.
As I mentioned before, Manu's sideboard on the previous page is very light on answers to aggro (i.e. virtually non-existent), which is likely why it struggles. Traditionally control doesn't do well game 1, but is much improved post board.
Oh, and Draw_gone - my logic on boarding out Searches is that it's only really a card draw once it's flipped, and it generally tends to be too slow against red aggro. Rarely, if ever, do you want to take T2 off to cast something that doesn't affect the board that turn, especially on the draw. If they curve out, you could very well be almost in single digits by that point. I'm pretty sure I read that in a sideboard guide somewhere, but for the life of me I can't remember where.
4 Gifted Aetherborn
3 Ravenous Chupacabra
2 The Scarab God
1 Tetzimoc, Primal Death
3 Torrential Gearhulk
Planeswalkers (2)
2 Liliana, Death's Majesty
Spells (18)
4 Fatal Push
2 Negate
3 Disallow
2 Supreme Will
4 Glimmer of Genius
3 Vraska's Contempt
2 Search for Azcanta
Lands (25)
4 Aether Hub
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fetid Pools
2 Field of Ruin
5 Island
6 Swamp
3 Duress
2 Essence Scatter
4 Moment of Craving
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
3 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
1 Vraska's Contempt
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
For Manu, yes, I think Aetherborn is a better choice than Poisoner. Maybe go 3 Aetherborn, 2 Siphoner, if aggro is that much of a problem. If generic creature based decks come back, then Poisoner may be better. Not sure yet. Sweepers aren't efficient right now, so I wouldn't worry about that (Bontu's means you tap out, and potentially can't answer a later threat), and the deck is now more focussed on countering by killing, so let the threat land (unless you can't kill it), then destroy with Chupa, Craving, etc.