When playing Mono-Red, your sideboard choices are critical for adapting to different matchups. The cards below represent the most common sideboard options found in successful Mono-Red decks over the past 7 days.
Sideboard by card:
| Card | In For | Take Out | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torch the Tower | Mirror match | Sunspine Lynx | This archetype has lots of ability to kill 2 and 3 toughness creatures. This gets boarded in against creatures you have to exile like the heartfire hero or the enduring cycle in Duskmourn. Mostly for the mirror match. |
| Case of the Crimson Pulse | Esper Pixie, Domain, Any Mid-range | Burst Lightning | Use this card against control or mid-range decks with a lot of creature destruction it will refuel you every turn. |
| Lithomantic Barrage | Dimir Mid-range, Pixie, Blue/White Control, Jeskai Occulus | Hired Claw | Solid kill against white or blue cards. It works really well against Jeskai and Pixie / Dimir. |
| Sunspine Lynx | Domain, Esper Pixie, Jeskai Control & Occulus | Hired Claw | Your high end finisher against any multi-color deck. Very strong against pixie, domain, or Jeskai. |
| Witchstalker Frenzy | Jeskai Occulus, Golgari Mid-range | Burst Lightning | Really good against the five life creatures also can be a finisher with screaming nemesis - hit your own nemesis. Board in against Jeskai, any mid-range. |
| Ghost Vacuum | Jeskai Occulus, Golgari Mid-range, Esper Pixie | Lightning Strike | Use against any deck that uses the graveyard. Pixie to avoid this town returning with stormchaser. Use with Jeskai to make sure you don't get a sneaky Occulus. Use againse Golgari to ensure Mosswood dreadknight does not come back... really anything that abuses graveyard. |
| Pyroclasm | Mirror match, Izzet | Lightning Strike | Use this against mirror match, Izzet or anything you see a go wide strategy (boros convoke) or white tokens |
| Abrade | Izzet | Sunspine Lynx | This is 100% for Izzet to get rid of Cori-Steel cutter. Lynx is too slow to win. |
| Brotherhood's End | Izzet, Token decks | Burst Lightning | Same reasons as pyroclasm and Abrade it fulfills both roles. |
| Jaya, Fiery Negotiator | Domain, Golgari Mid-range, Jeskai Control | Tersa Lightshatter | She exists for the domain, control and mid-range machups to give you lots of critters. |
Pro Tip: Study the sideboard patterns below to understand which cards are performing well in the current metagame. Cards with high usage percentages are generally effective against common threats.
