JDizzle - Congrats! 2 Land Belcher is what got me back into MtG over a year ago, and I'm glad to see that it still has some life in it. I just wanted to get your thoughts on Grim Monolith vs. Chrome Mox? Both provide a total of 1 accelerated mana, however the mox can provide a reusable colored mana source. The mox is also an independent mana source, by independent I mean that it doesn't require another mana source already in play in order to play it, though it does require a colored card in hand. It also has great synergy with Elvish Spirit Guide but poor synergy with Welders (though it is a good way to ditch extra welders). Obviously you prefer the monolith, since you ran it over the mox, but I'm just interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. Thanks for your time!

I have heard mention of announcing that you are moving into your second main phase when playing with Mana Drains.  I am looking to gain a better understanding of why you would want to do this and what advantages it affords. Is it to ensure that if your opponent tries to disrupt you on your turn, and you Mana Drain their spell, that you receive the mana on your next turn when all mana sources have untapped as opposed to your second main phase? Are there any other reasons? Thanks for your time!

Thanks for the suggestions! I just have a few questions as I don't fully understand your choices. Why sideboard out the Pentavus over Triskelion? Pentavus is bigger and allows for the slave lock (even though a lock is not always neceassry to secure the win) and they don't have any little men to shoot with the trike. Secondly, why did the Echoing Truth come out? I though bounce was one of the best ways to deal with a Darksteel Colossus once he's in play if there are no artifiacts in your opponents graveyard.

Hello Everyone,

I've been working on getting familiar with Control Slaver lately and I am having trouble identifying the cards that I need to sideboard out vs. Gifts. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

The list is pretty standard. I'm running two Mindslavers with the following cards in the maindeck metagame slots:

1 Echoing Truth
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Triskelion
1 Sundering Titan
1 Fire/Ice

My sideboard is still in developement, but I have a decided on 10 out of 15 so far. With the remaining five slots I would like to shore up my match up vs. Oath and Combo.

3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Rack and Ruin
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Pyroclasm

Vs. Gifts, my sideboard strategy so far is:

+3 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Tormod's Crypt

-1 Fire/ice
-1 Triskelion

What else should I pull from the maindeck or are there just plain better sideboard options for this match up in general? I can provide my whole deck list if necessary. Thanks for your time!