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Building a Vintage Doomsday Sideboard for Eternal Weekend 2023
- Eric
- 0
- on Nov 16, 2023
Eternal Weekend is coming! Here's how I'd build a Doomsday sideboard.
I went through the top cards played in placing Doomsday sideboards from September 1st to November 13th and compared it with the recent meta.
There's a ✅ if I'd play it in my side, and ❌ if I wouldn't. I added ❓ to some when I have an argument for going against what I say. Some of these choices might be fine in the main or even a split.
Card Choices
Anti-Artifact
A Doomsday staple. is easy to cast and the bounce is also very powerful. You'll want more depending on how much Shops you expect see. Only side them in versus Shops and maybe Mono-White Initiative on the Play.
Play two to four in your Side.
Harder to cast, but can answer Saga Constructs as well as open the way to combo. Worth having for Saga decks as well as Shops.
Play one at most.
This is too expensive right now. While it can do damage to Shops boards, it won't help win the game. Focus on finishing faster.
Don't play.
AntiGraveyard
Great against Dredge, okay against CounterVine, and weaker against AggroVine, this may be the tournament to skip out on your playset of Leylines.
Play four or none in your Side.
Quite possibly the most over-sideboarded card in Magic. Look up #dontsurgicalthat on Twitter for a good laugh. Yes, you can mess with opposing piles. Sure, you get information and can stop some combos. It's not an easy card to use. Tread carefully.
Play one in the Side if you're not playing Leylines.
Too cute. Too slow.
Don't play.
We're not a Saga deck.
Don't play.
Counters
Useful in the mirror, Combo matchups, and against decks like Mono-White Initiative because, remember, Mindbreak Trap exiles spells. We just count it as a Counter because it's close enough in most cases. But it will snag those creatures cast with Cavern of Souls.
Play one, maybe two in your Side.
The Little Force of Will That Could helps against Combo and decks heavy on Artifact Mana or Lock Pieces. Knowing when to it against Black Lotus is hard, but can lock an opponent out of a greedy keep.
Play one, maybe two, in your 75.
- Daze ✅
The best Daze is the one you don't have that your opponent plays around. It's great for game one, and easily trimmed out on the Draw. Some play a third in the side to increase the odds of a quick win game one. Bonus against Wasteland decks is that it can protect your turn one Doomsday and give you a land drop if you have to pass the turn.
Play one to three in your 75.
This all-purpose Counter does lots of work against most matchups. Most is why currently we're seeing some people play as few as two. But play at least two.
Play two to four in your 75.
The speed and cheap spells in Vintage means getting a
Play one or two in your 75 if you don't run four Flusterstorms.
- Annul ❌
It hits Oath of Druids and Necropotence as well as most Artifacts! The lack of bounce that Steel Sabotage offers hurts a lot though.
Play none.
Creatures
A great blocker and beater, it can even turn around mirror matches. If it resolved, it's almost impossible to build a Pass-The-Turn pile. Don't forget that you can cast Doomsday to make it bigger if you have Instants and Sorceries in your Graveyard. Be careful about bringing it in versus decks with Swords to Plowshare or Pyroblast.
Play one or two in your Side.
Great if you're expecting lots of mirror matches. Resolving it against several matches can get quick concessions. However, it can be dangerous if your plan ends up being resolving Agent and your opponent has no fetch lands, plenty of counters, or – in the case of Doomsday – an Oracle/Consult kill. One of my favorite cards, but I'll be leaving it home.
Play none.
While Sheoldred can do lots of work, casting her is not easy. You are either spending a Dark Ritual or your Black Lotus, and then playing Protect the Queen, which the deck is not designed to do. Ultimately, Murktide is easier to cast and flows with the Doomsday plan. While Sheoldred can put non-Dredge Bazaar decks in a bad place, sometimes they have the removal or enough creatures to punch through.
Play none.
A tempting choice with all the Lurrus decks around, and hey, it can do some work against Bazaar decks! Unfortunately, in my testing it is too slow against Bazaar and can be very tricky against Lurrus decks if they resolve Lurrus. (Since you'll have to often sacrifice your Voidwalker to get real value out of it.) I'd recommend more testing if you really want to play them.
Play none.
While it was cute at the beginning, Orcish Bowmasters is more of an attrition card. We want to win fast. While I could almost consider playing some if every single matchup was going to have Orcs against me, it's better to use other removal that hits other problem creatures. Or simply win. The Orcs don't stop you from drawing the cards. Be careful about your life total and don't cantrip willy-nilly when your opponent has the mana up.
Play none.
Discard
- Duress ✅
Snag problems before they become problems. Better on the Play, but it's not always bad to have one in your deck on the Draw.
Play two max. Split between Main and Side.
Lands/Mana
- Island ✅
Consider an Island in your sideboard (or a Snow-Covered Island if you are playing Island in your main) if you expect lots of Lurrus Saga decks and other Wasteland decks. Honestly, that is the meta right now, so I'll be playing one for sure right now.
Removal
The cleanest answer to an Archon of Emeria. Yes, four life is a lot. It's worth it.
Play one to three in your Side.
- Cut Down ✅
Another solid answer to Archon of Emeria, along with Opposition Agent, Hullbreacher, Lavinia, Thalia, and so on. While Fatal Push can hit many of these with Revolt, triggering it can be difficult, and you don't want to wait. Better to have your Cut Down countered than your Fatal Push against an Opposition Agent countered with you fetching on the stack.
Play one to three in your Side.
The classic Bazaar killer. Except for Ichorid. Or multiple copies of Vengevine when you're low and they get two Wallas in their hand. It can buy time, and does a great job of it. But if you're not closing out soon, you're going to die to Bazaar.
It's paper. Side the one or two you have. Or don't fear Bazaar.
- Subtlety ❌❓
While Subtlety delays the inevitable, it has some perks. Thalia does not affect it. It gets around Cavern of Souls. You can even use it on your own Thassa's Oracle in weird cases! And it pitches to Force of Will! This is either something you'll be all in on or have none of.
Side three or four, if at all.
Cheap Archon of Emeria Removal for just . Hits most of the problems out of Mono White. Can do a bit of work against Esper, probably not worth bringing in. Funny to kill Ragavan or stop a Dreadhoard Archanist from casting a spell, but not really worth the slots in those matchups.
Side one or two if you expect lots of Mono-White.
Extremely powerful with all the copies of Urza's Saga being played. It can even help against Mono-White Initiative by casting it during their endstep and then setting up a pile. You'll likely need Time Walk to win with Dress Down. Do not cast an Oracle with it in play.
Play one or two in your 75.
It can cleanly kill Constructs, and with a Fetchland, most of the annoying creatures. I personally favor Cut Down, but if you're choosing to play Fatal Push, you can probably go without Hurkyl's Recall as a Construct killer. Another option is to split Cut Down and Push to have options, but this makes rare Demonic Consultation lines a bit worse.
Split with Cut Down or play three in your Side.
It does everything. Be careful when you have Leyline of the Void or Murktide Regent in play, though. If you want something
Play one in your 75.
Between Archon, Thalia, and Wasteland, you most likely won't be resolving this.
Don't play.
If you want to make sure ever disrupting creature dies, play this. Forget Cut Down, Fatal Push, and Snuff Out. Play two copies of this and save your sideboard space for the other favorites. Just be careful of your life total.
Side two and maybe one more Removal spell.
Getting rid of an Archon of Emeria and drawing a card is sweet. I'm afraid this is a bit too expensive and slow for Doomsday right now. Decks with a full set of Moxen? Not a bad choice. Doomsday, we don't want it right now.
Don't play.
My Current Sideboard
Sideboard
(15) 3 Steel Sabotage 1 Hurkyl's Recall 1 Force of Negation 1 Mindbreak Trap 2 Cut Down 1 Snuff Out 4 Leyline of the Void 1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale 1 Island |
While the Magic Online meta is lots of Lurrus Saga at the moment, I'm expecting enough Dredge and Shops players to stick to their One True Loves. Mono-White Initiative should also see a strong uptick since Powerless builds can still be played to good results. Oath should also see a strong showing as it is a strong choice as well.
Whether or not I drop Leylines and Tabernacle to buff myself up for Shops and MWI is something I have not quite decided on yet.
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Best of luck to everyone playing this weekend!
Remember: Always Be Casting Doomsday.
And thanks! I love you.