The Ultimate Core Set 2020 Standard Sideboard Guide

This weekend is the Arena Mythic Championship Qualifier, and that is a pretty big deal. Especially with Wizards of the Coast recently announcing the Rivals League, I’d be shocked if someone who qualifies for Mythic Championship V through this event didn’t punch their ticket for the new phase of professional Magic in 2020. I’m so excited about this announcement by WotC that today I’m dropping all my knowledge about Core Set 2020 Standard.

That’s right, I’ve got four primers for you to get ready for this weekend’s event. These are the four decks I’ve been working on the most and they all come with sideboard guides.

Hey Cedric, put that Premium break right here, because this one’s packed with top-notch content. (CEDitor’s Note: Can do, Brad!)

To make sure this article isn’t “rivaling” The Wheel of Time in the length department, we’re going to shorthand my metagame predictions.

• Orzhov Vampires is now the most targeted deck. It will be heavily played and take up a handful of qualifications, but ultimately underperform relative to expectations.
• Bant Scapeshift hate will be coming down, but ever so slightly.
• Mono-Red Aggro will be less played than it will be hated out, therefore being respected.
• Bant Ramp will be overplayed and underperform. It’s a good deck, but not as good as some are saying.
• Simic Nexus will be underplayed and underperform. I wish this deck was better than it is. (I said this last time…)
• Esper variants will be extremely popular. I’m still unsure what that means for their performance.
• Some Golos, Tireless Pilgrim deck will do well, but for the life of me I haven’t found it myself. I just can’t wait to try the best-performing version of it.

Deck #1: Bant Scapeshift

It took me a while to come around to Bant Scapeshift, but as of Monday this has been my pet deck. I’ve still played with all four of these decks, but my best results have come when working on this. I’ve also spent a lot of time talking to World Champion Javier Dominguez about this deck and this is the version I’ve settled upon thanks to his help. While Bant Scapeshift wasn’t great a few weeks back, these new “control” sideboard plans have been working much better than always being a one-dimensional ramp deck.

This build has a very specific metagame in mind. I don’t expect a lot of mirrors but I do expect a decent amount of Bant Ramp, Orzhov Vampires, Esper variants, and a little sprinkling of Mono-Red Aggro thanks to MPL Weekly influencing the metagame. After some test sessions, here’s the list I ultimately registered for Fandom Legends this week. (CEDitor’s Note: Congrats to Brad on his runner-up finish!)

The biggest question you have to ask yourself is how important is that second or third Dovin’s Veto. I’m personally saying it’s not important, as they are most effective against Nexus of Fate strategies, but that’s just me. I do think you could replace an Agent of Treachery in the sideboard with one if you want to play it safe, but I really want to hammer Esper Hero this weekend. I just have a feeling it’s going to be popular.

VS Orzhov Vampires

Out:

In:

The plan against Orzhov Vampires is simple: contain the damage so that when you Scapeshift the first time, you aren’t dead if they have Legion’s End. This isn’t actually that difficult to do when you cast an early Baffling End on their first or second creature and it becomes much easier to deal with their damage output when they don’t just have those early creatures to pressure you with. While this won’t always save you on the draw, it’s an easy way to control the game on the play.

VS Esper Hero

Out:

In:

Agent of Treachery is amazing in this matchup. Esper Hero tries to create soft-locks against you with Narset and Teferi keeping you from drawing extra cards. Sometimes there’s just nothing for you to do besides make Zombies that will get swept away on their turn. Agent breaks these locks by creating some awesome turns like stealing their Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and tucking their Narset. It also steals Bolas’s Citadel, which is fantastic! Oh, and Teferi, Time Raveler can work overtime to help you trigger its ability to draw three cards. Seriously, I’ve done it!

Sideboarding out two copies of Scapeshift might seem crazy, but they really aren’t that great in the matchup, especially when an opponent comes prepared for them. I wouldn’t be taking out the third copy if not for the two copies of Agent of Treachery in the sideboard. It’s just important to actually accelerate now that you have Teferi, Hero of Dominaria; Agent of Treachery; and, of course, Hydroid Krasis.

VS Bant Ramp

Out:

In:

This is a fairly good matchup, but crazy things happen in it. It really just comes down to doing your thing as quickly as you can before they do theirs. I’m unsure if you should have any Teferi, Hero of Dominaria in the deck, but for now I’m liking the 1-1 split of it and Aether Gust. I could see just being two Aether Gust though. That decision is up to you.

VS Bant Scapeshift

Out:

In:

I’m not well-versed in the mirror match, as I rarely play against it, but I will say that Agent of Treachery can make for some messed up games when you ramp early and steal one of their Fields of the Dead. That said, I still think we will be slightly behind in the mirror, given we don’t have the fourth copy of Deputy of Detention or any Ashioks. I don’t think it’s the right time to cannibalize ourselves in the mirror, though.

VS Mono-Red Aggro

Out:

In:

This is another matchup where you can justify taking out one or even two copies of Scapeshift. It’s vital to contain their early-game, and sometimes that’s enough to go over the top with natural Zombies and Hydroid Krasis. The early removal goes a long way and creating Zombies isn’t that difficult; the issue is when you draw too many copies of Scapeshift and ramp spells as they can race your slower ramp starts.

VS Boros Feather

Out:

In:

This one is sometimes contextual to how well they draw, but the plan is simple. Contain their early aggression and try not to die to Gods Willing either stopping your removal or getting past your Zombie horde. I’ve been doing very well in this matchup, but it’s tough to say much more than that.

VS Simic Nexus

Out:

In:

This is the matchup where more Dovin’s Vetos would be great, but honestly I’ve won this matchup more than I felt I should have. I’m not saying it’s a good matchup, but after sideboard you interact with them a lot. Sometimes you just get Teferi, Time Raveler onto the battlefield and end of turn Scapeshift them. All you have to do is slow them down long enough and you have a lot of cards to do that.

Deck #2: Orzhov Vampires

I don’t know how to feel about Orzhov Vampires right now. It’s obviously a good deck, but I’m not sure how good it is now that it’s the most targeted strategy. That doesn’t really matter when it draws the top end of its draws, but the deck was still counting on some percentage of wins when it wasn’t doing that. In the end it’s too early to say, so I still have this deck as my second-best choice for this weekend.

My list is only a couple of cards off stock lists but for good reason. I know there are some players out there who question the number of Champion of Dusk, but I’m not cutting any copies until everyone else does. I’m not going to be a revolutionary when it comes to the best one-two punch I’ve seen in Standard since Saheeli Combo.

VS Orzhov Vampires

Out:

In:

Sideboarding in the mirror is rather difficult and I’m still unsure what’s correct. I do believe you should trim some numbers of early creatures, so you don’t set yourself up for Legion’s End blowouts, but does that mean you don’t need to leave bring in all four anymore? I assume you still do but these are the questions constantly rattling around in my brain.

VS Esper Hero

Out:

In:

This matchup is good, but sometimes losing looks horrible. That’s just the name of the game against Esper Hero. All of our sideboard cards for the matchup might be amazing or absolutely heinous because sometimes they Thought Erasure you, completely destroying your gameplan. I still believe Orzhov Vampires is favored in this matchup, but some of my losses seriously make me want to question that.

VS Bant Ramp

Out:

In:

I don’t have a lot of experience in this matchup from the Orzhov Vampire side, but as a Bant Ramp player I’ve struggled with the matchup. I do think it’s a close matchup, but it’s tough to really talk in detail about it, as games are usually landslides one way or another.

It might be time to put those Plague Mares back into the sideboard if you expect this deck to be extremely popular. I had to write this before the Fandom Legends results due to the editing process, but I would highly suggest checking on those results. If Bant Ramp crushes the event I’d slap two black Horses in the sideboard!

VS Bant Scapeshift

Out:

In:

I’ve heard some players actually sideboard out Sanctum Seeker and/or a couple of copies of Champion of Dusk in this matchup, but I for one have not practiced that. This is how I’ve done things but could see trimming one of them for another Noxious Grasp.

VS Mono-Red Aggro

Out:

In:

VS Boros Feather

Out:

In:

VS Simic Nexus

Out:

In:

Deck #3: Esper Hero

Esper Hero was my jam last season, but I’ve recently fallen out of love. I say this only to express how much I wanted this deck to be my #1 choice for the entire format. It’s just my style of Magic and I love Teferi, Hero of Dominaria just a little too much. I still think this is a very good deck for the weekend and this is the last version I was playing with.

In all honesty my last session with this deck went poorly, but my Scapeshift session was great. They were both small sample sizes (ten matches), and if they flopped I would have had Esper Hero as my #1 deck. While I love pretending to be completely objective, sometimes emotions do play a role.

One more thing – Bolas’s Citadel is a messed-up Magic card and wildly fun to play. Without it, this deck would have no business being playable in this format. Do not go into battle without two in your maindeck.

VS Orzhov Vampires

Out:

In:

God-Eternal Kefnet might look out of place but it’s really nice having another sizeable body against Mono-Red Aggro and Orzhov Vampires to pressure Sorin or block Champion of Dusk. Outside of that, there’s not much more to say besides Ethereal Absolution was just too slow for the matchup. It usually rotted in my hands for turns and usually my opponents had the option to take it with Duress. Oddly enough, they usually just ignored it or played around it.

VS Esper Hero

Out:

In:

The mirror is still pretty similar to last season, so if you played Esper Hero last season you’ll still know what to do. Noxious Grasp is a nice inclusion for the mirror, but sometimes it will come down to who has more haymakers like The Elderspell and Command the Dreadhorde, but since those cards aren’t great outside of the Esper mirrors, I’m not focusing on them since I really want to make sure I have all the tools I need for this fairly wide-open metagame.

VS Bant Ramp

Out:

In:

This can be a rather complex matchup and one I suggest practicing against before tomorrow. It’s just difficult to tell you how to play it in article form, as there are difficult decisions to be made with Hero of Precinct One tokens and Bolas’s Citadel spells after sideboard. That said, your main plan is to contain them from doing messed-up stuff. It’s just that being on top when the dust settles isn’t always that easy.

VS Bant Scapeshift

Out:

In:

This is one of the easier matchups if your Bant Scapeshift opponents didn’t come respecting the matchup. The games are long and Bolas’s Citadel usually takes over the game.

VS Mono-Red Aggro

Out:

In:

VS Boros Feather

Out:

In:

VS Simic Nexus

Out:

In:

Deck #4: Bant Ramp

I love Bant Ramp. I honestly think it has been my favorite deck for this season, and even last season. It’s also probably the deck I’ve played with the most if you don’t count the two weeks of testing hell I did with Esper Hero in preparation for Mythic Championship III. That said, I’m not getting the absurd win percentage others are with it. For example, the creator of this specific list, Andrea Mengucci, just got to #1 on the Mythic Ladder with the deck today. I’ve got a combined 12-8 record with his exact list in Diamond-ranked play.

I have worked a decent amount on this list, though, and ultimately my experiences don’t dictate the value of the deck. Others have done well, so it’s worth it for me to share my experiences and knowledge on this deck. Just because I don’t have this as my top deck doesn’t mean it’s not a good deck to play! Afterall, I know many people who would disagree with me on this statement.

So here are the concerns I have with this deck (even though I don’t currently have solutions for my issues). I don’t think twelve sources of blue and white are enough for the three-drops and sideboard cards. Yes, Paradise Druid helps here, and I rarely do have mana issues, but I still feel like something’s wrong. I don’t even know what I would change, though, as I want the twelve untapped sources for Llanowar Elves. I guess this is a deck that mulligans a fair amount, which is why these things don’t come up as often.

I also might want to cut the fourth Deputy of Detention, but I’m still at a loss of what I’d want to play in the maindeck over it. The metagame is very wide open right now and the matchups are polarizing, which means the “catchall” isn’t that bad.

VS Orzhov Vampires

Out:

In:

It’s wild, but sometimes the best way to approach a matchup is to just play two-drops and five-drops. I love it when this happens, as it’s very infrequent. You want to ramp or removal for the early turns until you drop haymaker after haymaker. They will answer the first couple but eventually succumb to the later ones.

VS Esper Hero

Out:

In:

Tolsimir slaps in this matchup, as it’s a great way to combat Hero of Precinct One and Hostage Taker. I don’t think many people are playing Hostage Taker at the moment, but they might come back given this deck’s rise in popularity as of late. As for the rest of the matchup, it’s a slog – you hope things line up and you topdeck well and usually that’s how things play out. You either draw one of the powerful cards on a key turn to pull way ahead or you fall further behind.

VS Bant Scapeshift

Out:

In:

This is a tough matchup. You just have to try to do your thing while also drawing Nissa, Breeding Pool, and Negate. That’s usually a winning recipe. It’s just tough to contain them while dealing with a horde of Zombies every turn. You can beat the first few but eventually fall too far behind.

VS Bant Ramp

Out (On the Play):

In (On the Play):

Out (On the Draw):

In (On the Draw):

Ramp mirrors usually come down to changing things up, but this is all theory. If you have experience in the matchup and disagree with me, please trust your instincts.

Well, unless you’re usually wrong. Then I’d go with my plans, as I’m usually Gucci. (CEDitor’s Note: Brad really just called himself Gucci…)

VS Mono-Red Aggro

Out:

In:

I hate this matchup and rarely win it; I don’t know if more needs to be said. Your goal is to overpower them with Nissa and Hydroid Krasis, as you’ll usually lose if you don’t. I mean, how can this be a good matchup – we have twelve one-toughness creatures.

VS Boros Feather

Out:

In:

VS Simic Nexus

Out:

In:

Good Luck!

Phew, I did it! I know there are a few matchups that I didn’t write about, but I didn’t really think much had to be said on those. I also didn’t get experience in those specific matchups but did work on plans with experts of the strategies. Seriously, I put a lot of work into the lists and plans and I wanted to just submit that, but Cedric told me I had to talk about them as well (I was obviously fine with that, as I’m seriously excited about this weekend’s festivities). Trust me, I’ll be paying close attention all weekend long!

If you’re still lost on what to play, I’d suggest my Bant Scapeshift list. I really like it and it’s the deck I’m most proud of out of this bunch.

Go kick butt!