# Pioneer sultai rona sideboard guide

Sideboard Guide

### Against Rakdos Mid

Out:

1 Retraction Helix

In:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

Retraction Helix is your worst combo card, and bad in multiples. I recommend trimming one for a generically “good” card in Glissa Sunslayer, as this matchup is grindy and games can go rather long. I found that this deck has very few exploitable weaknesses, which means we don’t have a great sideboard plan. All of our sideboard cards are explicitly to help in some difficult matchups, and their utility is just as important as their cost. Rakdos tends to be weaker to decks playing more expensive cards, because each of those has a higher chance to have a big impact on the game. Our deck is just a bunch of cheap threats and interaction backed up by Treasure Cruise.

Our gameplan doesn’t really change after sideboard, so I don’t recommend bringing much in other than Glissa. I don’t think this is a particularly good matchup, but I’ve beaten it a few times. The draws you lose will be the ones where they kill every creature for 2-4 turns, make you discard Treasure Cruise, and putting heavy pressure on your life total. You are the control deck, looking for a spot to combo. Hold Tyvar when you can, as you’ll likely need to win at instant speed.

### Against Azorius Control

Out:

4 Fatal Push

1 Mox Amber

1 Retraction Helix

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

1 Disdainful Stroke

1 Glissa Sunslayer

Longer games mean we don’t need to max on combo pieces. If we’re in a full on attrition battle, drawing two Mox Amber or Retraction Helix can be a death sentence. I like many of our sideboard cards for this matchup, including Disdainful Stroke, but it is important to remember that their deck operates mostly at instant speed, and they can punish you for being too reactive. I don’t want both because we honestly don’t have enough to cut. I like the Sheoldred’s Edict here, as it gives us a way to handle Teferi, Hero of Dominaria without much trouble.

We don’t attack, so the only time Shark Typhoon is problematic is when they’re attacking us to death. Be wary of your life total, use your discard spells aggressively to strip them of their pressure and interaction, depending on your draw. I like playing against this deck because I think the matchup is okay, but you can certainly lose. Be smart, and pick your spots to hit them with discard wisely. Hold up mana to play around Make Disappear when you can. Jam on the second turn when you feel it puts them in a bad spot if your threat resolves. Glissa Sunslayer should help tremendously after sideboard, as their removal is likely tied up hitting your two-drops.

### Against Mono-Green Devotion

Out:

4 Consider

2 Treasure Cruise

1 Mox Amber

In:

1 Aether Gust

2 Disdainful Stroke

1 Duress

1 Glissa Sunslayer

2 Cankerbloom

Some of your disruption is good here, but we need to make sure we balance it with threats and combo pieces. Glissa Sunslayer goes untouched in this matchup, killing Planeswalkers or getting chump blocked forever. It stalls their attacks, making it so they can only really kill you with Karn or going apeshit with Storm the Festival.

Card draw like Consider and Treasure Cruise are weakened when you’re forced to interact on the first few turns. We are essentially bottlenecked by Llanowar Elves. If we don’t kill it on the first turn, or steal their Kiora/threat with discard, we’re probably going to fall too far behind when we’re on the draw. Consider is not a viable play in that scenario most of the time. Because we’re cutting Consider, Treasure Cruise is much worse, so I’m down to trim a few. This happened a lot back in Standard when you’d play against a deck that refused to interact. When they aren’t killing your creatures, making you discard, or generally being interactive, your Delve spells are significantly weaker.

### Against Abzan Greasefang

Out:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

2 Fatal Push

1 Treasure Cruise

In:

4 Ray of Enfeeblement

This is another matchup, similar to Mono-Green Devotion, where our opponent is not very interactive. They will have some sparse removal and Thoughtseize, but Treasure Cruise can rot in your hand as your opponent combo kills you with Parhelion II. Fatal Push is weak here, only hitting a few two-drops that have already replaced themselves. I like keeping a few, as you can turn on revolt in a few weird spots with Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy. Actually killing those two-drops is sometimes important as well.

Ray of Enfeeblement is great, stalling their combo for a full turn for just one mana. It doesn’t work well against Esika’s Chariot, but if you can stop Greasefang from “doing the thing” for a few turns, we can get the combo together. Their interaction probably won’t be enough to stop your combo, so we’re likely in the control role until we find our combo. They’re a bit faster and more consistent in assembling their combo than we are, so keep that in mind when deciding your pathing.

### Against Lotus Field Combo

Out:

4 Fatal Push

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Sheoldred’s Edict

1 Treasure Cruise

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

2 Disdainful Stroke

1 Aether Gust

Trimming a Cruise helps alleviate some of the pressure put on us to interact. If we can grind their hand down with discard and counterspells early, a Treasure Cruise is welcome. However, our opponent doesn’t interact with us much, which makes getting to the required Delve number a little more difficult.

Removal is useless. We’re in a pure racing situation, so we want all combo pieces and all good interaction. I like burning Mystical Dispute early when possible. It gets weaker when our opponent has more mana. It’s not great at stopping Hidden Strings, and can get bricked if they have already resolved a few mana generators.

Duress and Thoughtseize will be your best hitters, as they can take mana ramp or card draw depending on the situation. The other counters, Disdainful Stroke and Aether Gust, are for late-game protection when they have their engine online. I do like to burn Aether Gust on Sylvan Scrying sometimes, as it can essentially act as “Time Walk” in the right spots.

### Against Izzet Phoenix

Out:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Sheoldred’s Edict

1 Retraction Helix

1 Mox Amber

In:

2 Duress

2 Mystical Dispute

Mox Amber and Retraction Helix are much worse in multiples when your opponent is good at killing creatures. That’s the primary way Izzet Phoenix attacks us, so I want to be insulate us from that outcome by trimming slightly. Glissa dies to every one-mana removal spell they play for no value. Sheoldred’s Edict is awkward against Arclight Phoenix, so can easily get the boot.

I like Fatal Push for stopping their early Ledger Shredder, but can be an answer to sideboard threats like Thing in the Ice and/or Crackling Drake as well. Duress and Mystical Dispute add to our disruption package, which we value above our threat package in this matchup. Play your creatures. It’s ok for them to die so you can fuel Treasure Cruise.

I think this matchup could be tough. Creature decks tend to get honked on by Phoenix, but I believe Tyvar can be our X-Factor.

### Against Atraxa Neoform

Out:

4 Fatal Push

1 Glissa Sunslayer

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

1 Aether Gust

I don’t think they’ll have Leyline of the Void, but if you see it in the 2nd game and get to a 3rd, make sure you bring in Cankerbloom to stop it. Fatal Push is useless, so it’s an easy cut. I like Sheoldred’ Edict, as it can stomp on a large Delve creature or Atraxa if it already hit play. Sometimes they resolve their combo and can still lose. Their money turns will be Neoform and then play interaction afterward, which could be difficult if you’re hitting them with the same type of interaction.

The major problem for us is that their combo involves large creatures we have trouble killing. Their copies of Fatal Push are excellent. However, our deck is absurdly consistent with all the looting and such, and our disruption is quite strong in the matchup.

### Against Gruul Mid

Out:

4 Consider

In:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Aether Gust

2 Cankerbloom

Consider can be cut against virtually any Llanowar Elves deck and I wouldn’t break a sweat. It’s obviously great for fueling Treasure Cruise, but that can be said about any type of interaction we play. Glissa Sunslayer is great against every card in their deck except Skysovereign, Consul Flagship. Aether Gust and Cankerbloom help answer The Akroan War. Their primary gameplan is to attack while having light disruption to hit our creatures. I think we’ll be fine in the matchup, but an early Elf into Reckless Stormseeker can bury us if we’re on the draw without an answer.

### Against Mono-White Humans

Out:

1 Consider

4 Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler

In:

4 Ray of Enfeeblement

1 Glissa Sunslayer

The “haste” kill with Tyvar is not necessary here. We just need to stall them until we find the combo. They have very little interaction, and plenty of things we want to hit with Thoughtseize. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is a nightmare sometimes, but we have tons of removal to get to that point. Jace’s plus on the backside gives us a way to effectively invalidate an entire attacking creature, but we need the rest of our removal to get to that point.

Glissa Sunslayer is excellent in this matchup, giving us a great defensive option that threatens Ossification and other enchantments they could bring, all while bricking their entire attack on occasion. I like trimming some number of Consider to help alleviate Thalia pressure.

This, and all aggro matchups, are places where Mana Confluence can be a serious problem. As a result, I’ve been trying to slowly phase out Mana Confluence, but each cut removes a colored source from the deck. I’m down to three right now, but hopefully we’ll find a way to shrink that to one or two.

### Against Mono-Red Aggro

Out:

4 Consider

In:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Aether Gust

2 Duress

Depending on the build, Duress can be a knockout blow. Taking Chandra, Dressed to Kill or Light Up the Stage takes a lot of their late game away from them. That makes your other interaction more potent. I've lost to this style of deck once already, so I don’t think it’s a great matchup. It is also not very popular, which is good news for us! My opponent brought Eidolon of the Great Revel to the party. If that happens, pack your bags and go get lunch.

### Against UW/MonoU Spirits

Out:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

While they have targets for Ray of Enfeeblement, I have found that it does not kill enough to warrant bringing in. Glissa doesn’t block, and we can’t really win via attacking, so it’s an easy cut. I like trimming on Tyvar in matchups where they have tons of fliers, because it is not easy to protect. Mystical Dispute is great here. I’ve been considering a third for a while. If we add a third at some point, I would likely trim a Consider for it. If your meta warrants a 3rd Mystical Dispute, that’s the trim I would make. Remember, it’s always okay to trim Consider against aggro decks.

### Against Rogues

Out:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Retraction Helix

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

They are a heavily disruptive aggro deck. We don’t want to go all-in on the combo, and can win easily by just grinding them into dust. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy and a boatload of interaction can strip them down to their bare bones. Treasure Cruise can be resolved through Drown in the Loch, which is their primary protective measure in later turns. Mystical Dispute is excellent.

Overall, can be a tough matchup, but I’ve beaten them a few times. The Kinnan build is much weaker in this matchup, as they prey on opponents who aren’t interacting at all. They operate much like Faeries back in the day, beating up on decks that are goldfishing.

### Against Enigmatic Incarnation

Out:

4 Fatal Push

1 Sheoldred’s Edict

2 Treasure Cruise

1 Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler

2 Consider

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

1 Aether Gust

2 Disdainful Stroke

2 Duress

1 Glissa Sunslayer

2 Cankerbloom

Their deck doesn’t really put cards into your graveyard. They don’t have discard and their removal exiles. That means Treasure Cruise is a little awkward sometimes. Tyvar is similar in how it gets weaker against them, because one of the strengths of Tyvar is returning your creatures after they die to spot removal. Fatal Push is weak here, as all their creatures have ‘enters the battlefield’ tacked on somewhere. All your interaction is good thanks to their cards being multicolor and expensive. Glissa is an all-star if it survives.

Our goal is to stop their engines and find our combo as quickly as possible. They have some interaction, but it just doesn’t mesh well with Cruise, so I’ve been toying with the idea of cutting them all. For now, I’ll trim to make room for all our interaction. However, it is important we keep all the combo pieces. Retraction Helix acting as protection from Rest in Peace and similar is really nice.

### Against Bring to Light

Out:

4 Fatal Push

1 Treasure Cruise

2 Consider

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

1 Aether Gust

2 Disdainful Stroke

These games can go long, so I like keeping a bunch of Cruise even if they are a little slow. We have to counter a lot of their payoffs, so it is important that we can refresh afterward. Their removal exiles our creatures mostly, so it might be wise to trim Tyvar in some number, though I found most of their interaction is at sorcery speed. That means Tyvar could potentially allow for a haste kill that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

### Against Izzet Creativity

Out:

4 Fatal Push

1 Sheoldred’s Edict

In:

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Duress

1 Aether Gust

Removal is really weak in this matchup, even if you are killing Goblin token from Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. There are quite a few builds of this archetype, including Torrential Gearhulk and Atraxa. Removal is bad against all of them. Your discard is great here, and the small amount of counterspells can buy wins. Tyvar is great here, acting as redundancy in the face of spot removal. The haste ability also lets you win on weird turns when they tap out for Fable.

### Against Selesnya Angels

Out:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler

2 Consider

In:

4 Ray of Enfeeblement

I’ve seen some people bring in Disdainful Stroke for their big top-end spells. I don’t think they’re necessary. Angels doesn’t do a great job of interacting, but they do have some protective measures like Shapers’ Sanctuary. If that card comes in and sticks early, it can be problematic. However, that is only when you’re trying to win a long attrition war.

This matchup is pretty good for us. Their hate is not potent, and their threats are not dangerous in the early turns. They are a critical mass creature deck that gets bonked by combo.

### Against Mono-Black Mid

Out:

1 Retraction Helix

2 Consider

In:

1 Glissa Sunslayer

2 Disdainful Stroke

This matchup is kinda like Rakdos. They don’t have many exploitable weaknesses, but their top-end of Invoke Despair and Sheoldred are vulnerable to Disdainful Stroke. I don’t know if they’re necessary, and I don’t really dislike keeping Consider in the deck. If all you did was trim a Helix for a Glissa, I wouldn’t blame you. I just think a grindy longer game can end on the spot if they resolve Invoke Despair.

I don’t think this matchup is all that popular, but they show up in bursts when one player does well. I don’t love Fatal Push, so it’s possible you should cut those over Consider. When I play this matchup more, I’ll know how to help, but this is just my best guess.

###### tags: `Magic`