# neoform Atraxa sideboard guide
NOTE: siding in Hullbreaker Horror will turn off Jegantha as a companion.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5687552

### Against Rakdos Midrange

Out:

1 Fading Hope

In:

1 Abrupt Decay

Fading Hope is a weak answer to their threats. I like Abrupt Decay simply because of how cleanly it answers Graveyard Trespasser while still killing most of their threats. Since this matchup is pretty good, having a bunch of anti-Rakdos cards in the mix would weaken our position against the rest of the field. Plus, there are very few ways to exploit Rakdos without it being naturally attached to how our deck functions. We ignore Fatal Push and go way over the top of their gameplan. They must become the aggressive deck and hit us with a ton of discard while applying mediocre beatdowns. Overall, I like this matchup because of how weak their aggressive plan is, and how easy the first game feels thanks to their dead Fatal Push.

### Against Mono-Green Devotion

Out:

2 Consider

1 Atraxa, Grand Unifier

1 Founding the Third Path

1 Strategic Planning

In:

2 Aether Gust

2 Pithing Needle

1 Hullbreaker Horror

Mono-Green Devotion has a knack for naturally fighting through interaction. You want a lot of hammers against them, and ways to constrict their versatility. Pithing Needle on Karn is excellent, and requires a Boseiju to unlock. Aether Gust is okay for removing their large monsters, and Hullbreaker Horror should put them down rather easily. I like to trim some of the card selection, as you rarely have time to cast them on the draw against Elves, and need to spend your time playing removal, discard, and other disruptive elements.

This sideboard plan might make some of your opening hands look a bit worse. The games will naturally go longer, so you should rely on your interaction to keep them in check while your draw step and Otherworldly Gaze push you into your combo. There are roughly three or four more cards that could come in against Mono-Green from the sideboard, but I don’t feel like Golgari Charm, Duress, or Abrupt Decay can be effective if you cut too much of your combo.

### Against Azorius Control

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Fading Hope

1 Dragonlord Atarka

2 Consider

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

1 Golgari Charm

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Hullbreaker Horror

Azorius Control can be tricky because of Dovin’s Veto. Stubborn Denial and Mystical Dispute don’t work against it, which means you’ll be forced to find Thoughtseize or Duress before going off unless you want to straight up lose to their two-mana counterspell. At times, you will have to fire off Neoform in a spot without a discard effect in hopes that they don’t have it. At other times, you can ride your Delve creatures with a little disruption and win the game the “fair” way. Overall, this is a scary matchup because of Dovin’s Veto, but overall I don’t mind playing against them. They don’t pressure you well, but Shark Typhoon in a weird spot could be problematic, as we deal ourselves tons of damage with our lands and Thoughtseize.

### Against Rakdos Sacrifice

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Fading Hope

In:

1 Abrupt Decay

2 Pithing Needle

1 Hullbreaker Horror

This matchup should be relatively easy, though I would be careful of big “threaten” effects after sideboard. I like Pithing Needle specifically for Witch’s Oven. Builds with Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin will be harder to beat because they have a real threat at the top end. If you see it in the first game, consider keeping Fatal Push in your deck to alleviate that concern. Hullbreaker comes in as your 4th threat, but mostly because all of them are good in various spots.

I wouldn’t worry about this matchup too much. If you play it close to the vest and protect your creatures after sideboard, you should beat them up pretty bad.

### Against Mono-White Humans

Out:

3 Stubborn Denial

1 Strategic Planning

1 Founding the Third Path

In:

3 Ray of Enfeeblement

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Golgari Charm

Thoughtseize isn’t bad here, and I see too many people siding it out against aggro. Drawing two copies will almost always been too painful, but one is almost always great. I like cutting one or two in order to alleviate that concern when you can, but Stubborn Denial is just worse. Ray of Enfeeblement is mostly for Greasefang, but is excellent here. Adeline is their best threat against people who don’t interact, and having a one-mana way to handle it is so crucial to your success in the matchup. I like trimming some of the card selection in favor of interaction, as the interaction should slow the game down enough so that you have time to assemble the combo. Thalia puts a big tax on your mana, so having spells that can only dig for combo pieces means you’ll be too slow in a lot of situations.

I like Golgari Charm as a mini-sweeper or answer to Rest in Peace/Ossification.

### Against Lotus Field

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Fading Hope

1 Dragonlord Atarka

In:

2 Duress

2 Mystical Dispute

1 Hullbreaker Horror

I normally like bringing in Aether Gust in this matchup to stop Ultimatum, but this is a different style of deck that wants to sideboard a lot less than most decks. If you are ever in doubt about whether or not a card should be cut or added to your deck, I would err on the side of caution and sideboard less when you have the option. You need to maintain a certain number of dig effects, combo pieces, threats, and interaction in order to function. Aggressive decks can fall into this category as well, but the effects of your changes are harder to see in your average game. When playing Neoform or similar, drawing too many sideboard cards can actually be a pretty big detriment.

### Against Abzan Greasefang

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Founding the Third Path

1 Dragonlord Atarka

In:

3 Ray of Enfeeblement

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Hullbreaker Horror

While you can turn on Fatal Push for Greasefang, there are too many instances where you’ll have Fatal Push without Revolt in the face of an opposing Greasefang. Most of our ways to enable Revolt are sorcery speed, like Founding the Third Path or Neoform. That means it’s mostly worthless here. I like Ray of Enfeeblement to answer the rat, but your combo overall is difficult for them to beat. Assembling your combo also usually bricks their combo.

### Against Azorius Spirits

Out:

3 Stubborn Denial

1 Founding the Third Path

1 Strategic Planning

2 Consider

In:

3 Ray of Enfeeblement

2 Mystical Dispute

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Golgari Charm

This matchup can be very difficult, so I like taking drastic measures to help compensate for their strength. I like Ray of Enfeeblement early, but it can shrink in your hand if they get Supreme Phantom onto the battlefield. Mystical Dispute is almost always excellent, and you should use it aggressively to stifle their early board development. Abrupt Decay and Golgari Charm are more about protecting yourself against Rest in Peace or similar, but both can be good against this style of matchup.

Like many creature decks, I like trimming Stubborn Denial and some amount of card selection. Instead of cutting all of one card, like Strategic Planning, I think it’s better to trim a few of the more expensive sorcery speed ones to maintain some amount of consistency while decreasing the hit rate.

### Against Keruga Fires

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Dragonlord Atarka

2 Consider

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

1 Golgari Charm

1 Hullbreaker Horror

Fatal Push is mostly dead here, only hitting tokens. I like cutting it and Dragonlord Atarka to get some stack interaction like Mystical Dispute. They don’t have a lot of targets, but hitting Enigmatic Incarnation ruins their day. Golgari Charm similarly can kill those enchantments, including some weird sideboard stuff like Leyline of the Void.

Overall, I think this type of matchup can be scary, because they operate in a similar way to use but their removal is stronger. Thoughtseize and Duress can take some of those tools, but their deck is designed to go way over the top of discard effects. We need to hit them hard with that disruption and get Neoform off in a hurry, and lean on Stubborn Denial to hold them down. Aether Gust, like Mystical Dispute, only specifically hates on a few cards, but Mystical Dispute can be serviceable against their more expensive cards as a three-mana counterspell. Aether Gust gets bricked.

### Against Izzet Creativity

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Dragonlord Atarka

1 Strategic Planning

-optional-

1 Fading Hope

In:

2 Duress

1 Hullbreaker Horror

2 Aether Gust

-optional-

2 Mystical Dispute

I think the build helps determine which interaction is best. Mystical Dispute is great against the Torrential Gearhulk builds. Aether Gust is better against the traditional builds featuring Xenagos and Worldspine Wurm, but is weak to the Torrential Gearhulk builds. Just keep that in mind when picking what to bring in. Fading Hope is bad against the Torrential Gearhulk build, but breaks up the Wurm/Xenagos combo.

I know the in/out here seems complicated, but the payoffs and construction determine which plan you should implement. Make your best judgment. Feel free to trim some number of the more expensive dig effects if you need to make room.

Against Omnath BTL

Out:

1 Dragonlord Atarka

3 Fatal Push

1 Fading Hope

1 Founding the Third Path

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

1 Golgari Charm

2 Duress

1 Hullbreaker Horror

This matchup can be pretty easy. Their deck is built to sit on top of Rakdos Midrange, but we go way over the top of them with Neoform. Our disruption is potent, with Stubborn Denial doing serious damage. Discard effects are all great. The way you can lose is if they resolve Slaughter Games, which has happened to me a few times. However, they only play one, and if you can stop Bring to Light or combo quickly, you can make it weaker.

### Against Boros Convoke

Out:

1 Fading Hope

In:

1 Golgari Charm

I think this matchup is pretty good. I wouldn’t sideboard much, as I think spot removal is pretty bad. I like Stubborn Denial after sideboard, as it protects your large monster from whatever spell they have that can clear it. Golgari Charm is a nice mini-sweeper on occasion, and can blast a sideboard enchantment of some kind. Fading Hope is a weak piece of interaction, and usually there for late-game chains with Atraxa to bounce large creatures that don’t fall to Fatal Push.

This was one of my losses at RC Dallas when I was playing Boros. It felt like a close matchup, but I couldn’t do much once Atraxa entered the battlefield unless I drew one of four or five answers while dodging Stubborn Denial. The best type of interaction against Boros is “cheap sweeper,” but that type of effect is mediocre in our sideboard. If you wanted something like that, I might recommend Path of Peril.

### Against Gruul Midrange

Out:

1 Strategic Planning

1 Founding the Third Path

In:

2 Aether Gust

Aether Gust is in the sideboard specifically to help out against this matchup and take care of The Akroan War. I like trimming one each of the two-mana enablers, as they can be clunky against Elf into three-drop draws. Fatal Push and Thoughtseize are both great here for slowing them down. At some point, The Akroan War becomes the only card in their deck that matters, and having spells that can stop it is important. While Stubborn Denial isn’t all that great in this matchup, it is solid against most of their top-end, even without Ferocious.

### Against Izzet Phoenix

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Fading Hope

1 Dragonlord Atarka

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

1 Hullbreaker Horror

I found the creature removal to be relatively weak for Neoform in this matchup. Ledger Shredder can be a little problematic, but not enough to warrant overloading on removal to stop it. Thing in the Ice is a different story, and I might keep Fatal Push in favor of some card selection if you see the Horror running around.

### Against Izzet Drakes

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Fading Hope

In:

2 Aether Gust

2 Mystical Dispute

This matchup is like Phoenix but you have to be careful of a ton of maindeck Spell Pierce. You should be able to push through them at some point, either by hitting land drops or hitting them with discard. I like Aether Gust as it stalls out their biggest threats in the mid-game. Mystical Dispute is solid, and can help fight sideboard cards and Crackling Drake for just one mana. Overall, this matchup is good because their interaction is somewhat lackluster.

### Against Dimir Rogues

Out:

3 Stubborn Denial

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

1 Abrupt Decay

Stubborn Denial, and other soft counters, have a tendency to be weak against creature heavy decks that play at instant speed and have disruptive effects. Stubborn Denial can look great against Drown in the Loch sometimes, but otherwise feels pretty bad. I like Mystical Dispute to stall their creatures, and Abrupt Decay to take care of just about all of their threats. This matchup can be difficult, as they tend to prey on synergy driven strategies.

### Against Selesnya Angels

Out:

2 Consider

1 Founding the Third Path

1 Strategic Planning

In:

3 Ray of Enfeeblement

1 Abrupt Decay

I’m usually down to trim card selection for more interaction against creature-based decks. While we have more time here than other aggro matchups, we still must kill most of their early pieces so the late-game stuff doesn’t overwhelm us. I like Stubborn Denial to turn off Collected Company and Kayla’s Reconstruction, but it is otherwise weak. They might have some sideboard cards worth defending against, like Rest in Peace. If you think that’ll be the case, feel free to bring in Golgari Charm, though it has few uses outside of killing an enchantment.

### Against Grixis MMA (Metamorphic Alteration)

Out:

3 Fatal Push

1 Dragonlord Atarka

1 Strategic Planning

In:

2 Duress

1 Hullbreaker Horror

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Golgari Charm

We really only lose to their combo, so I want to have a bunch of ways to prevent it. Duress is good, but most builds are Rakdos heavy and Mystical Dispute is weak. Since their primary blue spells are cheap, like Dig Through Time and Metamorphic Alteration, there’s a chance that Mystical Dispute does nothing at all. I like swapping Dragonlord Atarka for Hullbreaker Horror. Abrupt Decay and Golgari Charm are both weak on the front, but they are ways to stop their combo, and I think a few is fine. If they had no Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, I might not bring in any disenchants, as that’s one of the worst ways to actually stop the combo.

### Against Neoform (mirror)

Out:
3 Fatal Push
1 Fading Hope
1 Dragonlord Atarka
2 Consider

In:
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Duress
2 Aether Gust
1 Hullbreaker Horror

The mirror is a place where I’m fine adding a ton of disruption, as Fatal Push is dead and much of your sideboard is potent for stopping the combo. Even Aether Gust is incredible, taking out Neoform after they’ve sacrificed a creature, but still having value in other situations. Stopping Hooting Mandrills or Atraxa when they’re already on the table is a way to get out from under the thumb of someone who has assembled the combo.

### Playing Dodgeball

When it comes to Pioneer, you would do well to be able to swap decks on occasion. Having a few up your sleeve helps ensure you always have a viable option for upcoming tournaments. I believe Neoform is an incredibly powerful deck that suffers from being a known quantity, and is often worse when more people are playing it. Think of the Pioneer metagame as a human body. Each player is a White Blood Cell, and can attack an intruder. The more a specific intruder is around, the better the body becomes at defending against it. At the moment, I think Neoform is a great choice for your next RCQ, and I made this guide to help you get across the finish line.

At some point, if Neoform gets to be too big, or too many people win with it, the format will overcorrect and start playing tons of sideboard hate. When that time comes, you’ll feel it, and wish you were playing anything else. If you’re able to maintain a small stable of decks to choose between, I recommend Neoform as the combo deck of choice. I saw this pattern a lot in the old days of Modern, where people would play Dredge like crazy, and everyone would bring 4 Leyline of the Void in their sideboard for the next event, myself included. At the end of the day, if the deck is not winning, people will start cutting their hate cards, and we’re at the peak point for the viability of Neoform, and I plan on helping you exploit that.

###### tags: `Magic`