I apologize for the ambiguity, I was referring to Leyline of Sanctity. Your point is very well made though as far as the rest of your analysis and I greatly appreciate the input.
Hey all, I'm new to the deck and a bit confused about something. I see that most players (including most of the very prominent Storm pros) playing Aria of Flame in the sideboard. If I'm honest, I'm really just not sure what it's for. It doesn't get around Leyline, it doesn't kill without our normal engine being online (that is, our ability to string spells together) and generally seems like a wasted slot for a win-more card with some cool overkill damage if you want to flex. Can anyone shed light on why and/or when to side it in?
Thanks for the input! I hear you on the swamp, but I would rather have cities than Gemstone Mine just because I loathe losing to control in longer matchups. As far as the Boseiju, I try to run a more resilient build when I'm at bigger tourneys to avoid getting blown out by the wide open meta. I think putting the fourth unlife in the main is solid and I like your notes on the sideboard. Thanks for your input!
Hey guys, I'm gearing up for an SCG open and would love some thoughts on my sideboard. Near as I can figure, our worst matchups are Tron (which is always bad and I'm not stressed over) Humans, and Hollow One -- or as some might call it, more or less the current state of modern. I've gone up to a third sweeper in light of this, and in addition I've perceived a downtick in white-based hate cards out of the board (aside from UWx control which we can beat anyways) so I've removed Patrician's Scorn.
2 Pact of Negation (The other two are in the main obviously)
2 Ethereal Haze (For Burn, Humans, Hollow One, Infect, and random Zoo lists)
1 Path to Exile (For big creature decks, think Titanshift, Tron, Eldrazi, and also comes in as the second Slaughter Pact against hatebear decks)
1 Inquisition of Kozilek (Will become a second Thoughtseize ASAP if at all possible)
1 Thoughtseize (For control and combo, shifts the mirror into a winnable matchup)
2 Echoing Truth (Solve target problem)
1 Phyrexian Unlife (For aggro matchups as well as control and lantern, where density is key--not in the main bc it gets Abrupt Decayed a little too often)
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning (For aggro and big bois. This card is the real deal, best sideboard pickup in a while.)
1 Wear // Tear (For anti-sideboarding. Came in over Patrician's Scorn because of extra versatility against Needle, Revoker, and Witchbane Orb)
1 Leyline of Sanctity (The other three are in the main, you already know what this is for.)
1 Supreme Verdict (The newest add. I'm dying to creatures too often for my taste.)
Please let me know if you have any insights! I'd like to play a Godhead of Awe but 1. idk if I have room for her and 2. She's garbage against Humans and Fish
Reporting back from SCG Cincinnati:
Finished the day 5-3-1, picked up my last loss in round 9 so I was in contention for day 2 for all nine rounds. Really disappointing, truth be told, but I did fairly well considering this was my first major tournament.
Round 1: Jeskai 2-1
He let me resolve a Mystical Teachings game 1 to go get a Pact of Negation, knew I had it from there. Game 2 he got me with a critical mass of counterspells and resolved a Sphinx's Rev for 6 and I scooped. Game 3 I made him counter a Spoils of the Vault, a Peer Through Depths, and two Mystical Teachings. I figured I had it at that point with the combo + 1 Pact in hand.
Round 2: Slivers 2-1
This man unironically brought Slivers to an Open. Nothing to see here except that Bontu's Last Reckoning is an MVP and I would've died if it was a Damnation a turn later.
Round 3: 8 Rack 2-0
He could never really get a critical mass of discard spells and I wiped him up post-board with a Leyline, nothing crazy.
Round 4: 8 Rack 2-1
Pretty open-and-shut games 1 and 2, but game three I'm facing lethal rack triggers so I launch off an Ad Nauseam barebacked and rip a Spoils, a Grace, a Lotus and 13 lands. I had Lab Man in my hand prior to this, so I coast through the rack triggers unscathed and Spoils of the Vault naming Ass Whuppin'. That man's face will be forever etched into my mind.
Round 5: Jund 1-2
I got Junded. Died to Spoils game one, comboed out successfully game two, and died to 2 Goblin Rabblemasters + Abrupt Decay on a Phyrexian Unlife. Bad beats.
Round 6: Mirror Match ID
This is the true story of the day. My opponent starts game 1 with a Leyline, it takes us both about 2 seconds to realize what's happened, and things looked pretty bad. He Pact + Graced my combo and was poised to win, and the second I realized I was going to lose I offered to draw so we wouldn't have to play sideboarded games. He considered carefully and agreed, and I got out of there like a shot before he could realize what a terrible mistake he'd made. I walked past him getting yelled at by his teammates over it a few minutes later and almost bust out laughing.
Round 7: UR Gifts Storm 1-2
This is the one that really hurts because I screwed up and would've won. I went City of Brass -> Serum Visions -> go, and set my hand face-down on the table to do so. Doing this caused me to forget that I had a Lotus Bloom in hand that I needed to suspend. I dies with combo in hand and that Lotus on 1. Idiot. I won game two pretty easily and he comboed me out game 3 through an Angel's Grace.
Round 8: Counters Company 2-0
My opponent was the only one left at this point who looked younger than me (18.) I think he felt dejected at X-2-1 and it made him play sloppily. At one point he could've easily scryed to a Duskwatch Recruiter with the Anafenza combo and just... didn't. He whiffed on about half of his CoCos and I mopped him up.
Round 9: UR Gifts Storm 1-2
Nothing eventful games one or two (I got the first, he the second) and game three I have the combo turn four, but turn three he goes into a 32-step combo that involves Remanding his own Echoing Truth 3 times to draw 6 cards and discard 3 (with the combined effects of Remand and Baral, Chief of Compliance) while digging for his Grapeshot. He found it. I died.
All things considered, I got pretty lucky. I didn't have to play Tron or Shadow (or even Affinity, for that matter) and I probably would've Day 2'd if I didn't forget that lotus in round 7. I'm probably going to be pissed about that literally forever.
2 Pact of Negation (The other two are in the main obviously)
2 Ethereal Haze (For Burn, Humans, Hollow One, Infect, and random Zoo lists)
1 Path to Exile (For big creature decks, think Titanshift, Tron, Eldrazi, and also comes in as the second Slaughter Pact against hatebear decks)
1 Inquisition of Kozilek (Will become a second Thoughtseize ASAP if at all possible)
1 Thoughtseize (For control and combo, shifts the mirror into a winnable matchup)
2 Echoing Truth (Solve target problem)
1 Phyrexian Unlife (For aggro matchups as well as control and lantern, where density is key--not in the main bc it gets Abrupt Decayed a little too often)
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning (For aggro and big bois. This card is the real deal, best sideboard pickup in a while.)
1 Wear // Tear (For anti-sideboarding. Came in over Patrician's Scorn because of extra versatility against Needle, Revoker, and Witchbane Orb)
1 Leyline of Sanctity (The other three are in the main, you already know what this is for.)
1 Supreme Verdict (The newest add. I'm dying to creatures too often for my taste.)
Please let me know if you have any insights! I'd like to play a Godhead of Awe but 1. idk if I have room for her and 2. She's garbage against Humans and Fish
Finished the day 5-3-1, picked up my last loss in round 9 so I was in contention for day 2 for all nine rounds. Really disappointing, truth be told, but I did fairly well considering this was my first major tournament.
Round 1: Jeskai 2-1
He let me resolve a Mystical Teachings game 1 to go get a Pact of Negation, knew I had it from there. Game 2 he got me with a critical mass of counterspells and resolved a Sphinx's Rev for 6 and I scooped. Game 3 I made him counter a Spoils of the Vault, a Peer Through Depths, and two Mystical Teachings. I figured I had it at that point with the combo + 1 Pact in hand.
Round 2: Slivers 2-1
This man unironically brought Slivers to an Open. Nothing to see here except that Bontu's Last Reckoning is an MVP and I would've died if it was a Damnation a turn later.
Round 3: 8 Rack 2-0
He could never really get a critical mass of discard spells and I wiped him up post-board with a Leyline, nothing crazy.
Round 4: 8 Rack 2-1
Pretty open-and-shut games 1 and 2, but game three I'm facing lethal rack triggers so I launch off an Ad Nauseam barebacked and rip a Spoils, a Grace, a Lotus and 13 lands. I had Lab Man in my hand prior to this, so I coast through the rack triggers unscathed and Spoils of the Vault naming Ass Whuppin'. That man's face will be forever etched into my mind.
Round 5: Jund 1-2
I got Junded. Died to Spoils game one, comboed out successfully game two, and died to 2 Goblin Rabblemasters + Abrupt Decay on a Phyrexian Unlife. Bad beats.
Round 6: Mirror Match ID
This is the true story of the day. My opponent starts game 1 with a Leyline, it takes us both about 2 seconds to realize what's happened, and things looked pretty bad. He Pact + Graced my combo and was poised to win, and the second I realized I was going to lose I offered to draw so we wouldn't have to play sideboarded games. He considered carefully and agreed, and I got out of there like a shot before he could realize what a terrible mistake he'd made. I walked past him getting yelled at by his teammates over it a few minutes later and almost bust out laughing.
Round 7: UR Gifts Storm 1-2
This is the one that really hurts because I screwed up and would've won. I went City of Brass -> Serum Visions -> go, and set my hand face-down on the table to do so. Doing this caused me to forget that I had a Lotus Bloom in hand that I needed to suspend. I dies with combo in hand and that Lotus on 1. Idiot. I won game two pretty easily and he comboed me out game 3 through an Angel's Grace.
Round 8: Counters Company 2-0
My opponent was the only one left at this point who looked younger than me (18.) I think he felt dejected at X-2-1 and it made him play sloppily. At one point he could've easily scryed to a Duskwatch Recruiter with the Anafenza combo and just... didn't. He whiffed on about half of his CoCos and I mopped him up.
Round 9: UR Gifts Storm 1-2
Nothing eventful games one or two (I got the first, he the second) and game three I have the combo turn four, but turn three he goes into a 32-step combo that involves Remanding his own Echoing Truth 3 times to draw 6 cards and discard 3 (with the combined effects of Remand and Baral, Chief of Compliance) while digging for his Grapeshot. He found it. I died.
All things considered, I got pretty lucky. I didn't have to play Tron or Shadow (or even Affinity, for that matter) and I probably would've Day 2'd if I didn't forget that lotus in round 7. I'm probably going to be pissed about that literally forever.
4 Ad Nauseam
4 Angel's Grace
3 Phyrexian Unlife
4 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Lightning Storm
1 Laboratory Maniac
4 Serum Visions
3 Peer Through Depths
2 Sleight of Hand
2 Opt
1 Mystical Teachings
4 Lotus Bloom
4 Pentad Prism
2 Pact of Negation
1 Conjurer's Bauble
4 Temple of Deciet
4 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Seachrome Coast
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Island
1 Dreadship Reef
1 Steam Vents
-- SIDEBOARD --
1 Pact of Negation
2 Ethereal Haze
2 Path to Exile
1 Echoing Truth
1 Phyrexian Unlife
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Patrician's Scorn
Any notes are hugely appreciated!!