[Premium Article] RG Belcher v. Probasco Gifts, post board

[Smmenen]

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/14013.html

 In this article, I run a five game set of post board games to see if and how much the matchup changes from the pre-board set up.   Importantly, some of the more obscure interactions come to light.  Game one was particularly interesting. 

[GrandpaBelcher]

For what it's worth, I'm down to 3 Xantid Swarms in the sideboard and wouldn't side more than two of them in at a time.

Right now my sideboard looks something like this:

3x Xantid Swarm
2x Gorilla Shaman
1x Tin-Street Hooligan
2x Shattering Spree/Ancient Grudge (depending on how I feel)
2x REB/Pyro (depending on the mix I have maindecked)
1x Bazaar of Baghdad
1x Mishra's Workshop
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Taiga
1x Tolarian Academy

When I first made the switch from RBg Belcher with tutors, Rituals, etc. to the mostly red version, I originally had Swarms in place of the Duress.  They were awful.  They're so slow!  That's when I switched to the Pyroblasts/REBs.  I'm not even sure if Swarm needs to be in the board as more than a wishable one-of, since bringing in extra REBs seems better speedwise.  I just haven't had the guts to cut the bees.

If you want to cut Xantid Swarms back to one, I would run an extra Hooligan and then either a Shaman, Spree/Grudge, or REB based on metagame and preference.  You could consider having a Forest in there too as being fetchable with Landgrant and not Wasteable.  Unfortunately, Forests do not make red mana.

The lands are pretty much always the same.  They each have their uses, and only Workshop, Tomb, and Academy overlap.  Taiga comes in against things like Stax and Fish as a Wasteland precaution.

Tin Street Hooligan is pretty good, better than Uktabi Orangutan because it's more on-color and cheaper.  Gorilla Shaman is in there as a two-of because it and Welder are insanely good in the Workshop matchup.  Plus it eats Chalices and Pithing Needles without too much trouble.

Another interesting option is Skirk Prospector.  I always wanted a mana generator out of the board, and Prospector's about the best you can do as he turns extra Welders and tokens into red mana.  Basically, if you've suddenly hit a stall with tokens for some reason, you can Wish for Prospector and try out the Belcher plan instead.  It's a longshot, but it could work.

Anyway, I usually try to keep sideboarding to a minimum, 4-5 cards at most.  It's unfortunate that Gifts would bring in Needles as that means you have to plan on two different disruptions.  Your boarding looked correct, except for the Welder.  With my new board, I would have gone +1 Gorilla Shaman, +2 Sprees, +1 REB, -3 Chromatic Stars, -1 Tinder Wall.

It's funny that you mentioned the utility of Chromatic Stars in a deck that runs, essentially, one color.  I thought about that too when I was first putting the deck together, and I think they're necessary.  They're an acceptable form of draw in the deck, especially with the Welders.  In my own testing I've found that, against decks that disrupt their own plan with intent on stopping yours, they're pretty good as the game goes long.  If you can get two Stars and a Welder or one Star and two Welders, that's an extra draw per turn.  It takes some doing, but I've done it more than once in practice.  Plus, they do build storm and periodically fix mana.  It's a toss up.  Right now I only run three.

Everyone (including me) seems to rag on Seething Song.  Has anyone tried maindecking Skirk Prospectors or Desperate Rituals as an alternative?

[Smmenen]

Thanks for the post Nat.    I think that many of the questions people have about this deck should be directed to Nat, as he was the guy that prompted me to write about the deck (after our in-person testing).   

So, please direct your questions to Nat.  I'm sure he'll be happy to answer them.