Sideboarding with Gifts

[Chamelet]

Yeah, I know there are several threads with this name, I just couldn't come up with a better one.
This thread is solely to discuss sideboarding with this particular version:
Maindeck:

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring

Artifact Creatures
1 Darksteel Colossus

Instants
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
1 Chain Of Vapor
4 Force Of Will
4 Gifts Ungiven
1 Lava Dart
4 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Rebuild
1 Repeal
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Vampiric Tutor

Sorceries
1 Burning Wish
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Merchant Scroll
1 Recoup
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Basic Lands
3 Island

Basic Snow Lands
1 Snow-covered Island

Lands
3 Flooded Strand
1 Library Of Alexandria
2 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island

Legendary Lands
1 Tolarian Academy

Sideboard:
4 Chalice Of The Void
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pyroblast
2 Rack And Ruin
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Rushing River
1 Deep Analysis
1 Pyroclasm
1 Tendrils Of Agony

My questions are:
- Are the 4 CotV that importante? When do you side them in?
- No Pithing Needles.... how to cover Fishes matchups, since this is already running only 1 Pyroclasm
- Is DA that great? I never got to use it to its greatest extent. Meaning I would never Wish for it.
- Which leads to: Nate played a version with no Burning Wish, but a Tendrils MD. I can't even think of taking the Wish out, but is the Tendrils in a good idea?
- Is Sundering Titan a good SB choice for the mirror or vc Slaver?
- Does anyone still play 1 Duress SB? DO you find it useful?

That comes to an important question: is it any good playing utility Burning Wishable card in the SB? Meaning that if you Wish you're giving up you secondary (or primary?) win condition (Tendrils). Isn't a Wish utility SB only useful if you're playing Tendrils MD?

(sorry if this isn't the place of this discussion. I can barely see the diference between the Open and the Improvement forum in this case)

[FlamingCloud]

If chalices are in your board you side them in against any deck that runs full moxen when your on the play.  Always against combo on draw or play.  Always against decks that you can put it at a cripling number without hurting yourself.

Against fish you probably bring in 1 pyroblast, 2 reb, 1 pyroclasm, and depending on the version maybe 1 rack and ruin.  Maybe chalices aswell if it looks like most of the creatures are the same converted mana cost, I am not sure if you bring in the tendril's MD since your best wish target for the matchup is maindeck now.  I suppose it matters how much hate they have against the DSC plan, and whether you intend on playing the control route or not.

You don't need to leave your burning wish -> tendril's kill intact every matchup, don't be so afraid to wish for something if it is really useful.  I don't think wishing for a duress would be very wise unless you were going to get significant benefit somehow.  Duress in the board is good and helps in both your combo and control matchups, however when you play 4 chalice, 3 reb, 2 crpyt, and some wish targets you dont really have the room.

I am more experienced with the meandeck gifts version with the more stable, less utility build so maybe since you already have more answers to things like active welders you can be alittle more wasteful with burning wish.  I am not sure why the deck plays lava dart over fire/ice.  It seems to be with 3 merchant scrolls only 2 volcanics, and the ability to pitch to FoW that fire/ice would be better.

Your sideboard is way too tight already to add sundering titan, which is less useful overall then running a reb/duress/crypt in the mirror/cs match anyways.  Gifts doesn't use tinker until it knows it can win wtih it so there isn't much point.  Can't comment on deep analysis, as I have never run it in a wish board.  Tendril's MD seems like a bad idea due to the fact unless you do a massive rebuild you will never get enough storm to kill someone without yawg, and a ministorm isn't useful because you don't have other sources of damage to half kill someone first.

[EotGiftsGG?]

hmm... ive seen this list somewhere =P
You probably shouldnt be comparing anything to my day one list..


to be honest the chalice is strictly for Grim long, because if you ask a good gifts player, a good grim long player owns you. A chalice at one or zero is pretty much GG. I played Ray in a small tourny last weekend and he was playing TPS' Grim long.
he was on the play game three and he duressed my hand. - Tendrils, Lotus, Ruby, Mis-d, Sea, Chalice, brainstorm. He Obv took the chalice, and i ripped tinker, tinkered for chalice, and i won the game.

Bringing in Chalice Against full powered decks isnt really a good play = (. the deck should already beat control decks, so why would you board out good cards for mana denial?

Chalice also pwns ICBM oath for sundering titans = P

Deep analysis is the shitay. I cut wish day two, after noticing how big of a scrub i am, and i still did awesome!. The wish just slows you down. If you're in position to "combo" off with Tinker 2x time walk, then you should have already won. Me (being a person whose played Gifts forever) personally have times where if the tendrils was main over Bwish, id be a peice of power or two richer = {   . I cut Bwish, and i still have Deep in the board. its one of the best card advantage cards in the game, and no-one ever counters it.

Storm count is never a problem. The problem is mana building. The only time i cast rebuild is to net mana. Most of the time i cycle it. NO LIE. Chain of vapor is such a better card. This version is much more aggressive, and i am much more of an aggressive player.

[Chamelet]

hmm... ive seen this list somewhere =P
You probably shouldnt be comparing anything to my day one list..

to be honest the chalice is strictly for Grim long, because if you ask a good gifts player, a good grim long player owns you. A chalice at one or zero is pretty much GG. I played Ray in a small tourny last weekend and he was playing TPS' Grim long.
he was on the play game three and he duressed my hand. - Tendrils, Lotus, Ruby, Mis-d, Sea, Chalice, brainstorm. He Obv took the chalice, and i ripped tinker, tinkered for chalice, and i won the game.

Bringing in Chalice Against full powered decks isnt really a good play = (. the deck should already beat control decks, so why would you board out good cards for mana denial?

Chalice also pwns ICBM oath for sundering titans = P

Deep analysis is the shitay. I cut wish day two, after noticing how big of a scrub i am, and i still did awesome!. The wish just slows you down. If you're in position to "combo" off with Tinker 2x time walk, then you should have already won. Me (being a person whose played Gifts forever) personally have times where if the tendrils was main over Bwish, id be a peice of power or two richer = {   . I cut Bwish, and i still have Deep in the board. its one of the best card advantage cards in the game, and no-one ever counters it.

Storm count is never a problem. The problem is mana building. The only time i cast rebuild is to net mana. Most of the time i cycle it. NO LIE. Chain of vapor is such a better card. This version is much more aggressive, and i am much more of an aggressive player.

This is obviously your list. I'm making this thread exactly over it because 4 CotV SB grabbed my attention.
That's because other Gifts list don't rely on CotV for the Long matchup. Since CotV takes 4 slots, is it worthy? Is there a better SB plan against combo thatn that?

I also believe the deck is not that strong against SS. A 2nd Pyroclasm would be crucial, and Pithing Needles too (for Wastelands). What's your plan against SS?

About Dart: I believe it's better than Fire/Ice because it can be used twice and because you can fetch it with Gifts for a IMEDIATE Welder kill. This is important.

I was thinking about taking 1 Underground Sea out for a 5th Island or a Swamp (probably the island). What do you think?

[EotGiftsGG?]

the Chalice is "pro-style" good. i mean "ripping ancestral with no cards in hand" good. It makes Grim long and random IT matchups transform from a hard matchup to a bye. It Kills (slaughters) SS with a Chalice at two, but so does an EPLague. SS isnt really that tough of a matchup. As soon as you have card advantage, you win. You eventually tinker, and win the game (preboard). They have two answers and have to first find it, and then force it through. As long as you dont rely too much on will, you win. Its pretty savage when you mis-direct a hymn to tourach.

Chalice also improves your fishy matchups. A Chalice at one/two is also GG. Chalice stops their swords, which is the only to DSC, and stops stifle, the only answer to Tendrils. an early chalice at two takes out their entire creature base and null rods.

(MMage, Rootwater, Bob, Erayo, Jotun Grunt*, Null Rod, Standstill, Hymn, shadow, EDICT, Random Dazes..)



A better Side board Plan is Duress. Its Better Than chalice. So is Pyrostatic pillar. Grim long cant win through it. In charlotte, i couldnt find Pillars. NO LIE. So Andy gave me three Chalices and i proxied a fourth. THere was a lot of wastes, so i didnt want to be fetching out black sources. Pyro pillar is GG. There really isnt any possible way to win through it unless they resolve the one chain, but why would they keep the chain in? What kind of combo deck sides in PyroPillar!?!

The Third Sea/BAsic is entirely dependent on you and your metagame.

My list really is terrible, and im pretty sure you dont want to even consider playing it. =P   It doesnt even play thirst.

And thats the reason it doesnt play needle. With the huge drop of people playing CS and DaGron, its not worth playing, and needle doesnt support the deck ESPECIALLY without Thirst for knowledge...

[Goblin Nabob]

It's off-topic, but does anyone play seasinger in the gifts sideboard?

Seasinger
1UU
Creature - Merfolk
0/1
When you control no Islands, sacrifice Seasinger.
You may choose not to untap Seasinger during your untap step.
: Gain control of target creature whose controller controls an Island as long as you control Seasinger and as long as Seasinger remains tapped.

The island on both sides of the table shouldn't be a problem. It can steal DSC and Oath's creatures. But Seasinger is easy killed by the typical */1 removal in today's metagames. Is it worth a look, for the players with 1-2 Old Man of the Sea in their sideboard?