Keeper sideboard help vs Flaring Pain

[Dante]

At GenCon this weekend, I ran into quite a lot of Sligh decks (I was running Keeper).  One card that really gave me problems was the Flaring Pain's that most of the decks sided in.  For those of you unfamiliar with the card:

flaring pain - 1R
Instant
Damage can't be prevented this turn.
Flashback R (You may play this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then remove it from the game.)

Now the typical sideboard strategy was take the heat, get Cop:red into play while counter/destroying non-red damage and Anarchy.

This card really gave me problems, especially since if I counter it, they can just flash it back, meaning I either have to counter it again or counter all the burn spells they'll cast with it, since I'll typically be in the 6 and under life total.  Most of my sligh opponents had sided in 3 of these.

Any ideas?

Dante

PS My sideboard was 4 reb blasts, 2 blue blasts, 1 cop red, 2 cop black, 1 moat, 2 miner, 1 ensnaring bridge, 1 seal of cleansing, 1 cop blue.

[cooberp]

Aegis of Honor?

[jpmeyer]

Aegis of Honor. (but with a period not a question mark)

[Dante]

Definitely with a period, not question mark.  Good call guys, that's perfect.  Would have saved my ass this past weekend.  If Flaring Pain becomes a common sideboard card, then I think 1 Cop and 1 Aegis of Honor would be good.

Dante

[dandan]

But Aegis doesn't help you at all vs. the creatures they send at you.

I still think CoP Red is the best choice. Note that Caltrops is very strong vs Sligh creatures too and Keg/Pyroclasm might be good choices if you see a lot of weenies. Misdirection also doesn't prevent damage as such but that Jackal Pup was asking for it  

Otherwise Sligh beating Keeper        

Wait a minute!! Why is someone called Dante playing Keeper and not Sligh? Next we'll have Oscar complaining about how Keeper players wrecked his Sligh with Aegis.\n\n

[Dante]

Dandan, I wouldn't NOT side in a COP Red to deal with creatures, but I found in the sided games, it was the flaring pain/price/fireblast I couldn't deal with.

Instead of siding two COP Reds in, I would side 1 and an Aegis.

Dante

PS Dante is a perfectly fine name to play Keeper.  Just as Inferno goes to Sligh, Nine Hells goes to Abyss.  Close enough.

[Matt The Great]

Moreover, Dante just toured Hell (not to mention Purgatory and Paradise), he wasn't a resident.

[Dante]

And I did get to tour Hell - On the Sunday tournament I played 4 straight Sligh Decks out of 5 opponents (1 was a no show).

Dante

[Katzby]

I personally dislike Aegis of Honor.  Not to be rude, but I think that those who have suggested it are missing the obvious.  What about Ivory Mask?  It can do everything that Aegis of Honor can, but it also stops all of your opponent's Cursed Scrolls.  I've been sideboarding it in Keeper to supplement one or two CoP: Reds for quite some time for the latter reason alone.

I realize that the double-white in the casting cost is a bit of a tall order, especially for Keeper decks with only 3 Tundras.  But please keep in mind that you do not need to drop the Mask early, like you would have to do with CoP: Red.  Instead it's something that comes out around turn 8, as Scrolls rarely become active until then and Sligh players wouldn't have enough mana to Flaring Pain and play a lot of burn spells until then.


Katzby

[Dante]

Hhmmm...A possibility, although it means my stroke, ancestral, and time walk would be useless....but then, I would trade that for Ivory Mask.  I run 4 tundras, so it's usually not a problem against Sligh.  Good point.  However, if they are playing manaflare and price of progress, I don't know if turn 8 is soon enough.

Dante

[Nevyn]

ivory mask also does nothing about price of progress and the need for WW is rather scary against a five strip deck once they know you have the mask. The aegis seems more practical to me, you have efficient ways of dealing with their creatures.

[Matt The Great]

Quote (Dante @ Aug. 14 2002,12:54)Hhmmm...A possibility, although it means my stroke, ancestral, and time walk would be useless....but then, I would trade that for Ivory Mask.  I run 4 tundras, so it's usually not a problem against Sligh.  Good point.  However, if they are playing manaflare and price of progress, I don't know if turn 8 is soon enough.

Dante

Time Walk is still useful - it says "you."

Mana Flare?

[Dante]

I believe it was errated to read Target player

[Matt The Great]

Current Rules Text :
Take an extra turn after this one.  

...Mana Flare?

[Katzby]

Quote Hhmmm...A possibility, although it means my stroke, ancestral, and time walk would be useless....but then, I would trade that for Ivory Mask.  I run 4 tundras, so it's usually not a problem against Sligh.  Good point.  However, if they are playing manaflare and price of progress, I don't know if turn 8 is soon enough.

I might have pointed out that my usual sideboarding scheme against sligh involves taking out both the Stroke and the Geyser in favor of CoPs.  Against sligh, the card advantage garnered by either of those spells is nothing compared to the virtual card advantage of CoP: Red.

Quote ivory mask also does nothing about price of progress and the need for WW is rather scary against a five strip deck once they know you have the mask. The aegis seems more practical to me, you have efficient ways of dealing with their creatures.

This is a good point.  However, as I mentioned before, Aegis can't do anything about their Scrolls.  And in the sligh matchup, I'm often very concerned that my opponent's turn 1 or 2 Scroll is going to be the thing that finishes me off, despite my CoP: Red and/or Aegis of Honor on the table.

I guess that it's kind of a trade-off.  Aegis is indeed superior to Mask for the purpose of deterring Flaring Pain, but the Mask is better overall in the sligh matchup.

I'd also just like to point out that my usual game against Sligh involves me playing the CoP within the first few turns, and the Mask a 6 or 7 turns after that.  I rarely have mana trouble when it's time to play the Mask, even against 5-strip sligh decks.


Katzby

[dandan]

OFFTOPIC (but you can forgive me    )

Surely 4 games against Sligh is not hell. It's all over quickly, one way or another.

Hell is playing against Oath again and again.
(actually playtesting with Academy is also pretty grim but I can't see you playing multiple Academy decks)

[Dante]

Hell is playing the same thing over and over again, especially when it's not as interesting as some other matchups.  Plus, the last 2 matches from the previous tournament were Sligh.  That's 6 in a row.    

Dante

[kirdape3]

Shouldn't you side in 2 Powder Kegs plus the CoP:Red/Aegis of Honor anyways?  Scrolls mean squat if they get swept away by the Keg.

Ivory Mask is IMHO too slow because getting to 2WW takes longer than one would think.  Aegis is very good to deal with the burn which is the more dangerous threat.

[Dante]

KirdApe,
   I rarely found that cursed scrolls or creatures beat me down afterside boarding.  It was turns like Flaring Pain, 3 pyroblasts, and 2 Price Progress that would get me (at that point I would be around 6-10 life after stabilizing).

Plus, I maindecked a Keg at GenCon.  

Dante

[BigChuck]

I'm not exactly sure how your dying(were you getting killed by creatures or burn?), but if it was mostly burn, then I think you could get away with adding more( or any) misdirections to your board. The PoP still hurts, but the misdirection would also still help against the blasts.

[Dante]

But mis-d is going to be card disadvantage, when I really need 1 card that's going to help....I think 1 Cop Red and 1 Aegis of Honor is the way to go (in addition to kegs and usual stuff).

Dante

[Rakso]

Dated July 15, 2002.

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=3336

[Dante]

I must have missed that one...I usually relied on BD postings to catch new type 1 articles on StarCity...

Dante

[Forbiddian]

I have a question for you mr dante   you say that there is a shit load of sligh at your tourney right? Why not just devote more slots to your board. You could do something like 2 COP 1 Zorb (if it's not maindecked, if it is, go to ivory tower or ivory mask) 1 aegis of honor 2 powder keg. That is six slots, and a cop+a keg= a win zorb and aegis=win cop+ivory=win etc etc etc almost any combination of two parts=a win (not to mention cop red solo or ivory or zorb or aegis are usually solo wins).

(you have enlightened md'd right)? Keeper decks vary so much it's hard to tell.

[Dante]

On the friday tournament, I wasn't as prepared for the huge amount of Sligh because the thursday tournament had some Sligh (maybe 5 people out of 45), but not nearly the same volume as on Friday (at least 10, but possibly 20 people out of 45).  The thurday tournament had a LOT more suicide/monoblack, so for the Friday tournament, I dropped my second sideboard cop red for an ensnaring bridge.  I still played 2 suicide decks on friday, but also 3 sligh/mono-red.

For the Sunday tournament, I was going to break out my Zoo deck or a stompy deck, but due to Saturday night's drinking binge, I got to the center about 15 minutes before the tournament started.  I didn't have the zoo put together, nor did I even bring the stompy cards with..   I also couldn't find a lot of my extra sideboard cards, so I just threw a second cop red and an extra keg in the side...

Dante