These MTG Hidden Gems for Your Sideboard are Extremely Underrated!

Part of what makes MTG so enjoyable is the constant ebb and flow of the metagame as new cards are introduced to a variety of different formats. Since the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, for example, we’ve seen the Standard, Pioneer, and even Modern metagames shift rather drastically. In Standard, the introduction of Cavern of Souls Cavern of Souls As this land enters, choose a creature type.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and that spell can't be countered. only heightened the presence of five-color ramp within the format.

In Pioneer, the breakout of Abzan Amalia Benavides Aguirre Amalia Benavides Aguirre Ward—Pay 3 life.
Whenever you gain life, Amalia Benavides Aguirre explores. Then destroy all other creatures if its power is exactly 20. (To have this creature explore, reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.) combo forced players to be able to adjust accordingly. In Modern, Tishana’s Tidebinder Tishana’s Tidebinder Flash
When this creature enters, counter up to one target activated or triggered ability. If an ability of an artifact, creature, or planeswalker is countered this way, that permanent loses all abilities for as long as this creature remains on the battlefield. (Mana abilities can't be targeted.) helped fix some of the weaknesses with the Crashing Footfalls Crashing Footfalls Suspend 4—{G} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, pay {G} and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
Create two 4/4 green Rhino creature tokens with trample. Cascade deck, cementing its position as arguably the best deck in the format.

Now that The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has been out for quite some time now and these formats have begun to settle, it’s become increasingly important for players to adapt to these metagame shifts. In some cases, adapting can be as simple as preparing your sideboard in a way that helps handle some of the more popular matchups you might face. Today, we are going to go over some of the most underrated sideboard options in these three formats that have become increasingly more prevalent and important in recent weeks.

Jace, The Perfected Mind in Standard

First up, we have a rather interesting card that serves a very specific purpose in Standard sideboards. As mentioned, five-color ramp has become a massive portion of the metagame. As such, if you are going to play five-color ramp, you need to be prepared for the mirror more than ever. The five-color ramp mirrors are often exceptionally long and drawn-out. In some instances, the games will even come down to decking or running out of time as the match ends in a draw.

Despite the deck being filled with game-breaking bombs like Atraxa, Grand Unifier Atraxa, Grand Unifier Flying, vigilance, deathtouch, lifelink
When Atraxa enters, reveal the top ten cards of your library. For each card type, you may put a card of that type from among the revealed cards into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. (Artifact, battle, creature, enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, and sorcery are card types.) , the lack of counter magic and the presence of cards like Leyline Binding Leyline Binding Flash
Domain — This spell costs {1} less to cast for each basic land type among lands you control.
When this enchantment enters, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls until this enchantment leaves the battlefield. and Sunfall Sunfall Exile all creatures. Incubate X, where X is the number of creatures exiled this way. (Create an Incubator token with X +1/+1 counters on it and "{2}: Transform this token." It transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.) can make it hard to actually close the game. This deck has also adopted Up the Beanstalk Up the Beanstalk When this enchantment enters and whenever you cast a spell with mana value 5 or greater, draw a card. , and much like the Modern Up the Beanstalk Cascade mirrors of old, you can draw cards rather quickly.

Jace is 4 mana win the game in the mirror

— Will Thompson (@billsive) October 23, 2023

This is where Jace comes into play. Having a way to mill your opponent for a bunch of cards can be the difference between winning and losing the mirror match. Unlike in Modern, you don’t have cards like Endurance Endurance Flash
Reach
When this creature enters, up to one target player puts all the cards from their graveyard on the bottom of their library in a random order.
Evoke—Exile a green card from your hand. to shuffle your graveyard back into your library at little cost, so milling your opponent for a big chunk of cards is a great sideboard plan.

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Shadows’ Verdict in Pioneer

Next up, we have a sideboard card that appeared in the top 4 of a recent Magic Online Pioneer Super Qualifier out of Rakdos midrange. As a five-mana board wipe that is somewhat restrictive in what it can hit, this inclusion may seem a bit puzzling. However, this card fills a very important role against Abzan Amalia combo, one of Rakdos midrange’s tougher matchups.

Typically, we will see cards like Path of Peril Path of Peril Cleave {4}{W}{B} (You may cast this spell for its cleave cost. If you do, remove the words in square brackets.)
Destroy all creatures [with mana value 2 or less]. or Languish Languish All creatures get -4/-4 until end of turn. utilized in this slot. While both of these cards are a bit stronger against Boros Convoke, they each have a glaring weakness against Abzan Amalia combo: they are weak to Return to the Ranks Return to the Ranks Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Return X target creature cards with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. . Not only does Shadows’ Verdict exile all Creatures with mana value three or less from the battlefield, but it also exiles Creatures from the graveyard.

This is also useful against Extraction Specialist Extraction Specialist Lifelink
When this creature enters, return target creature card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. That creature can't attack or block for as long as you control this creature. , which is a naturally strong card against Rakdos. Given that this effect hits nearly every Creature out of Abzan Amalia combo, it seems like a solid sideboard consideration.

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Quakebringer in Pioneer

Another card that is quite solid against Abzan Amalia combo is Quakebringer. Stopping your opponents from being able to gain life completely disrupts the combo and makes Amalia and much less concerning individually. While you can play this card turn four via Foretell, the card is still a five-drop, meaning it is immune to Skyclave Apparition Skyclave Apparition When this creature enters, exile up to one target nonland, nontoken permanent you don't control with mana value 4 or less.
When this creature leaves the battlefield, the exiled card's owner creates an X/X blue Illusion creature token, where X is the mana value of the exiled card. .

As such, many Abzan Amalia combo lists have no answer for the card once it hits the board. It’s also quite effective against Angels decks as a result. More aggressive decks may still prefer Rampaging Ferocidon Rampaging Ferocidon Menace
Players can't gain life.
Whenever another creature enters, this creature deals 1 damage to that creature's controller. and black-based decks can maximize Knight of Dusk’s Shadow Knight of Dusk’s Shadow Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)
Your opponents can't gain life.
{1}{B}: This creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. more effectively given its efficiency. Nonetheless, Quakebringer is an underrated sideboard card in decks with a slightly higher curve, such as Gruul Scapeshift Scapeshift Sacrifice any number of lands. Search your library for up to that many land cards, put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. combo or even Gruul midrange.

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Cursed Totem in Modern

Moving on to Modern, we have a colorless hate-piece that is extremely effective in a couple different matchups. Given the fact that it doesn’t have a color restriction and provides a very specific effect, many decks can utilize it as a sideboard card. Where it shines the most is against Yawgmoth, Thran Physician Yawgmoth, Thran Physician Protection from Humans
Pay 1 life, Sacrifice another creature: Put a -1/-1 counter on up to one target creature and draw a card.
{B}{B}, Discard a card: Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) combo and Hardened Scales Hardened Scales If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead. decks.

Against Yawgmoth combo, shutting off Yawgmoth is essential. However, Cursed Totem does more than that. It also shuts off the mana dorks in the deck, such as Delighted Halfling Delighted Halfling {T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a legendary spell, and that spell can't be countered. or Wall of Roots Wall of Roots Defender
Put a -0/-1 counter on this creature: Add {G}. Activate only once each turn. . The addition of Agatha’s Soul Cauldron Agatha’s Soul Cauldron You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate abilities of creatures you control.
Creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them have all activated abilities of all creature cards exiled with Agatha's Soul Cauldron.
{T}: Exile target card from a graveyard. When a creature card is exiled this way, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. from Wilds of Eldraine has made it difficult to simply play a Pithing Needle Pithing Needle As this artifact enters, choose a card name.
Activated abilities of sources with the chosen name can't be activated unless they're mana abilities. , name Yawgmoth and call it a day. Fortunately, Cursed Totem shuts down Yawgmoth’s ability on any creature that may have it.

Versus Hardened Scales, you completely blank a lot of the deck’s scariest cards. From Walking Ballista Walking Ballista This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
{4}: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Remove a +1/+1 counter from this creature: It deals 1 damage to any target. being unable to kill your threats to Hangarback Walker Hangarback Walker This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
When this creature dies, create a 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature token with flying for each +1/+1 counter on this creature.
{1}, {T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. not being able to grow, many cards in the deck get a lot worse. Perhaps the biggest effect Cursed Totem has in this matchup, though, is shutting off Arcbound Ravager Arcbound Ravager Sacrifice an artifact: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Modular 1 (This creature enters with a +1/+1 counter on it. When it dies, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.) . The deck is a lot less scary when it’s full of mediocre Creatures without activated abilities.

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Bonecrusher Giant in Modern

Finally, we have Bonecrusher Giant. Bonecrusher Giant is an excellent card in Pioneer but isn’t quite efficient enough for most decks to want to utilize it in Modern. That being said, it fills a unique role for decks like Prowess. Obviously, Bonecrusher can be strong in matchups like the mirror, acting as removal and a threat in one card.

What makes Bonecrusher more versatile than one might expect, though, is with its ability to help you cross the finish line against The One Ring The One Ring Indestructible
When The One Ring enters, if you cast it, you gain protection from everything until your next turn.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each burden counter on The One Ring.
{T}: Put a burden counter on The One Ring, then draw a card for each burden counter on The One Ring. . Thanks to the “damage can’t be prevented” clause, once your opponent taps out to cast The One Ring, you can cast “Stomp” targeting yourself, swing with your team, and close the game like normal. This is mostly important for decks like Prowess that can build a decent board of Creatures in short order, but for those decks, Bonecrusher can be a sneaky card against mono-green Tron or mono-black control.

It’s always important to think outside the box when it comes to sideboard cards, as the ebb and flow of the metagame in each format can dictate when certain cards get stronger or weaker. Cards like Quakebringer seeing play showcase that hidden gems can serve a particular purpose. This is certainly one of the joys of deckbuilding in Constructed, and using these cards to your advantage can help give you an important edge in a variety of matchups.

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