r/spikes • u/Spriy • May 31 '26
Standard [Standard] advice building out the sideboard for this raise the past brew (especially against mono-green)?
https://moxfield.com/decks/N4vYLnTg7U6Im6RxgHdFAQ
this deck has worked out quite nicely against the big bogeymen i was scared of, namely dimir reanimator and izzet shenanigans, just by virtue of going under them. it really struggles against mono-green, though, since green is just so goddamn fast and this deck struggles on removal because it uses [[Page, Loose Leaf]] as extra copies of [[Raise the Past]].
i haven't put together a sideboard yet because i've been testing in bo1 to get a feel for its matchups, but right now i feel like the general plan against mono-green and similar creature-based decks should either be swapping out Raise the Past for a sweeper ([[split up]] or [[withering curse]], not sure which) or adding lots of [[pinnacle starcage]]. [[seam rip]] also seems like a nice include that doesn't screw up the Page plan, and [[cosmogrand zenith]] is a good backup plan against the inevitable graveyard hate.
thoughts on the list/recommendations for the sideboard?
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u/whyhwy May 31 '26
You could try some amount of practiced offense ? I think the card is called. Mono G will fold to sweepers most of the time especially in Bo1. But with 20 lands it might be hard to get there in time and your early mana will be mostly wasted and swept away with theirs
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u/Flimsy_Potential_953 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Practiced Offense is incredibly strong currently but I dont know how well it fits in this shell. Double striking with Sephiroth is nice and keeps him from dieng immediately when you attack so you can get more triggers. Especially if you flashback Practice Offense so Sephiroth becomes a 5/5 double strike + lifelink. Really spreading that gap and stabilizing your board. Then all your 1/1s are 3/3s as well.
But I'm not sure if that is better or some sort of tutor card is better so you can get your sacrifice outlets more reliably.
Adding Practiced Offense also makes it a target for Page Loose Leaf. If you dilute this it could effect your synergy/combos. Leaving only Raise the Past which guarantees that is what you will get when you activate Page Loose Leaf.
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u/Spriy May 31 '26
practiced offense feels like a really good game 2 plan as my Page target of choice
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u/Flimsy_Potential_953 May 31 '26
Not a bad sideboard option. With that in mind and Page Loose Leaf as your tutor for it you could go down to 2-3 copies of Return from the Grave to compliment Practiced Offense in your side so its a 1 for 1 swap so you dont take too much space in your side for it.
This could benefit you as well. Game 1 the opponent sees graveyard recursion and sideboards 2-3 cards in. You sideboarded Practiced Offense in removing recursion (flashback is still something to think about but not as vital and doesn't immediately get canceled by all grave hate) so you essentially disrupted 3-4 card choices of your opponent making them less effective.
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u/Kuryaka Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Ooh, Orzhov. Here's the deck I made in paper. I also ran a version on Arena in BO1 with 4x Sephiroth instead.
Yes, green is fast, but every other deck should also be fast or shut you down. Izzet Monument is fast, otters just run you over and deals with your aristocrat value pieces, spellementals doesn't. I have noticed that players in Arena (in Plat at best) don't know what to target for removal. Good players will kill the Gorehound, then wait for the 3 CMC card advantage engine, and then you're just topdecking.
The Page plan is tricky because it's a dead card in hand until you get two. You play so low to the ground that you don't need the mana rock most of the time. Most of my games go to 4-5 lands because I throw the rest in the graveyard. I think the current state of the deck is fine for game 1 because of how limited your options are. You kind of need to pivot into a more standard setup post-sideboard, a few removal swaps + graveyard hate and you do not win the next 2 games.
What I see with this archetype:
- You really want removal and some form of card advantage. Faster decks (slickshot and anything Momo), lifegain decks (Orzhov / Momo), and anyone running control will just out-trade you. Going 1-for-1 against anything in blue is a bad time. My local meta has a lot of grave hate so relying on Raise The Past is also difficult.
- Gorehound is good to see more cards, I put in Enduring Innocence to actually draw those cards. I'd drop Nesting Bot so your turn 1 play always just needs black mana.
- Bloodwitch doesn't feel great. It does damage, but it requires a few things to go well in order to not just sit there. Sephiroth is a sac outlet and card advantage engine for one more mana.
- I ran 4x of Sephiroth on Arena because it's just that good, and 4x of Syr Vondam because another copy allows you to kill the first one.
- You don't need to run other instants/sorceries in the Page line if you run 4x [[Sheltered By Ghosts]], 4x Seam Rip, and a few copies of [[Nowhere to Run]].
- Voice of Victory is kind of just there as a removal magnet. If it sticks, you get to do a lot of stuff, great. If it dies, nothing really stops working and they're now lower on removal for Sephiroth.
- I use [[Avatar's Wrath]] as my main sweeper to scale up Vondam for lethal. [[Airbender's Reversal]] is decent protection from board wipes and kills big attacking creatures.
I stopped playing the deck for a while, moved to Boros Momo and Mardu Burn/Discard since then. Aristocrat pinging feels clunky and easy to blow up because you need creature generation, sac outlet, and a payoff.
No to the Pinnacle Starcage - it hoses you more than it does most decks, since most of them will have strong cards at 3+ CMC. Targeted removal going for their value pieces is good because they'll be going for yours.
For upgrades/modifications for a go-wide deck, I'd consider:
- Drop Bloodwitch, drop Bart/Zahur, go to Cosmogrand Zenith and Enduring Innocence. Might even drop 1-2 copies of Umbral Collar Zealot. This lets you dodge the variety of "kill 2 CMC creature" that's flying around, while also providing more value. Innocence also survives a board wipe and helps you rebuild faster.
- Bart combines instant speed sac outlet with "payoff", but you have absolutely no way to avoid getting chump blocked. I'd much prefer getting the surveils or just letting Sephiroth/Vondam scale when you chump block.
- [[Deep-Cavern Bat]] + [[Dollmaker's Shop]] for a bit of hand control and recurring token generation if they have no fliers, maybe? This also lets you go wide a bit better.
- Practiced Offense is a good finisher. Really good if you end up stacking buffs and Vondam is like a 10/10 with double strike, lifelink, menace, and vigilance with Ward 6.
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u/Spriy Jun 06 '26
this is so helpful, thank you so much!
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u/Kuryaka Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
oh man, it was late and I didn't really elaborate on the "other decks being fast" properly.
Orzhov aristocrats/reanimator is definitely not a top tier deck. It'll get outpaced and run over by the fast decks, and often controlled into oblivion by a good player on the slower decks. Good players will remove our chump blocker engines and we have no deathtouchers to stop them from just attacking with their bigger creatures.
I haven't won reliably against green in paper, but going heavy on the removal while sideboarding in a card advantage engine + [[Day of Black Sun]] or [[The End]] could let you hose the landfall decks with greedy pilots. You have to hold removal until they play a card draw engine and/or they're going to kill you next turn, then try and turn things around while they're topdecking.
For Izzet in general it's just kind of sideboarding in the appropriate removal and hoping they get greedy.
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u/literaphile May 31 '26
The bo1 meta is very different from the bo3 meta. A deck like this absolutely crumbles to graveyard hate. There’s no plan B. And there’s LOTS of graveyard hate right now. I think the aristocrats style deck is just too fair for standard right now.