Modern: Esper Goryo’s Sideboard Guide
The next stop on the RIW 1K series is on August 17 and the format is Modern.
Nadu is likely to be banned on August 26 so we do have a final weekend with the pesky bird remaining. I’ve been favoring Esper Goryo’s Vengeance because it can hang with Nadu while being one of the strongest proactive strategies in the format.
Psychic Frog is one of my favorite 2-drops printed in some time. Fair Dimir-based decks suffer against one of the top decks, Boros Energy, but Esper Goryo’s can go over the top of the numerous cat tokens.
Today I’m going to share my latest list, a sideboard guide, and the cards to play around in each matchup. In preparation for this article I played an RCQ and managed to split the finals so I feel very confident with the list.
I wrote an Esper Goryo’s primer a few weeks ago which can be found here:
I’m leaning hard on Teferi and Psychic Frog which differ from the traditional build. Esper Goryo’s is on the downswing so I want to play the deck differently to compensate.
Psychic Frog continues to impress; especially after sideboarding to transition to a more fair game plan.
Surgical Extraction is now a popular sideboard card, but it’s only impressive against Esper Goryo’s. The reemergence of Storm will force players to pick up more general graveyard hate once again. This is good news for Esper Goryo’s as you can interact with permanent-based graveyard hate and reanimate a big monster in response.
There are many Modern decks you may face; I prefer Fallaji Archeologist against creature decks as the card advantage is cemented as it enters the battlefield when balancing sweepers. Frog is best after sideboarding against interactive decks when removal is less prevalent.
A final upside of Psychic Frog in post board games is the ability to keep big monsters in hand until it’s time to reanimate. Some graveyard hate leaves big monsters vulnerable when passing the turn such as Soul-Guide Lantern.
Teferi, Time Raveler plays very well in Esper Goryo’s. There are many occasions where you reanimate Atraxa in hopes of finding Ephemerate, but miss. In those cases I want to put powerful cards in my hand and the planeswalker type was missing.
Fallaji can add Teferi to hand and stay around to protect. It’s also powerful to bounce Fallaji with Teferi’s -3 ability. Being able to consistently play Thoughtseize inside of a draw step is also very strong. In the past I boarded a couple Teferi, but I have strongly preferred him to the staple third Solitude and Prismatic Ending.
The combination of four Psychic Frog and three Teferi after board against interactive decks allows you to easily play around potential Surgical Extractions. This curve out is able to pick apart opponents forced to take a defensive role in the matchup.
Toxic Deluge and Supreme Verdict out of the sideboard have been effective at taking creature decks off balance. The stock version of Esper Goryo’s only plays Wrath of the Skies which works in a consolidated metagame, but I want to be able to kill more expensive creatures, too. Nadu is even playing Titania, Protector of Argoth to diversify threats against Wrath of the Skies.
The manabase Matt Sperling played to a 10-0 finish at Pro Tour: Modern Horizons 3 has served me well and I wouldn’t change it.
I tried hard to make Leyline Binding work, but the color requirements force you to choose between Triomes and surveil lands in the early game. This is not a choice I want to make as my early draws were noticeably more awkward by prioritizing triomes. I also tried to ignore the extra color requirements to see if finding the Mountain and Forest early was a distraction, but I was left with a bad Void Rend in my deck.
I considered Fatal Push and Toxic Deluge as additional maindeck removal. Deluge as an additional sorcery when Boros Energy was popular was appealing as the fail case is pitching to Grief. A three mana spell enables more pure draw twos from Tainted Indulgence which was sometimes good, but sometimes left me without a discard outlet.
I tried Surgical Extraction in the sideboard, but it was too narrow. Nihil Spellbomb as an additional card type for Atraxa has been relevant a few times. I want to shore up the Storm matchup without playing Drannith Magistrate.
Subtlety in the sideboard sounded good in theory against Nadu to stop Endurance, but taking a defensive role against Nadu and only delaying the inevitable was not effective. The 3/3 flier was also fairly irrelevant as the game ends by reanimating a giant monster or Nadu comboing.
Esper Goryo’s is a combo deck and opponents may have unexpected amounts of interaction. This is a sideboard guide and not sideboard rules.
+2 Celestial Purge +1 Fatal Push +1 Toxic Deluge +1 Force of Negation +1 Supreme Verdict +2 Wrath of the Skies
-3 Psychic Frog -2 Priest of Fell Rites -1 Griselbrand -2 Grief
Maindeck cards to play around:
Jegantha was once a popular companion, but Boros-based energy decks are one of the few that can still support the deck restriction. Tron decks can no longer play Jegantha thanks to Kozilek’s Command and Devourer of Destiny. Some Ruby Storm decks play Jegantha, but others opt for Shatterskull Smashing and other cards in the sideboard.
Blood Moon is the top card to respect. Be mindful if they are splashing a third color as I will no longer respect the Moon. Esper Goryo’s plays Island, Swamp, and Plains, but there are plenty of gold cards that can be difficult to cast off a single basic. Moon can come down as soon as the second turn thanks to Amped Raptor. Force of Negation has few targets, but Moon and Fable are worth it.
Lightning Bolt, Phlage, Arena of Glory, and Guide of Souls can swing a race in ways other than simply attacking with creatures already on the battlefield. This creates another reason to fetch basic lands early.
Ajani, Nacatl Pariah is a threatening creature; watch out for a transformation using Lightning Bolt or Galvanic Discharge to kill their cat token. The flip planeswalker is red meaning it can be hit with Celestial Purge. Another red permanent on the opposing battlefield is something to consider as the damage from the 0 ability can get out of hand.
The black splash means being weary of Orcish Bowmasters. Ob Nixilis should be scary in theory, but can be used as a discard outlet.
Sideboard cards to play around:
Soul-Guide Lantern is a popular graveyard hate piece; Surgical Extraction and Unlicensed Hearse are other possibilities.
I wouldn’t expect Suncleanser to come in against Wrath of the Skies, but it’s possible. The opponent will be aware your deck is filled with sweepers so they will take a more cautious approach after board.
+2 Nihil Spellbomb +1 Teferi, Time Raveler +2 Force of Negation +1 Psychic Frog
-1 Griselbrand -2 Solitude -2 Prismatic Ending -1 Fallaji Archaeologist
Maindeck cards to play around:
There’s not a ton of meaningful maindeck interaction in the mirror so get ready for games to end early.
Grief and Thoughtseize means I want to keep more hands than average. Hand disruption will be the most meaningful form of interaction.
Solitude can break up Ephemerate lines, but isn’t a key interaction point as you can find a Grief ahead of time.
Sideboard cards to play around:
The post board games become highly disruptive making it more reasonable to close out a game with Psychic Frog or Grief.
Nihil Spellbomb is the most popular graveyard hate spell of choice. Expect at least two copies.
I’m not a fan of Leyline of Sanctity or Leyline of the Void in the sideboard, but it’s possible you may face them. Sanctity is the more popular leyline which thwarts Grief, Thoughtseize, and Nihil Spellbomb.
Most Esper Goryo’s lists play a single Teferi in the sideboard. I believe this version is favored as it’s extremely powerful after sideboard.
Some copies of Consign to Memory may come in because the stock sideboard plays more narrow interaction. It counters triggers from Grief, Solitude, Fallaji Archaeologist, and Nihil Spellbomb is a colorless spell that matters.
+1 Teferi, Time Raveler +2 Force of Negation +1 Psychic Frog
-1 Goryo’s Vengeance -1 Griselbrand -2 Fallaji Archeologist
Game one is played at a faster pace and favors Esper Goryo’s. In anticipation of a slightly longer game I would prioritize finding Underground Mortuary to cast Atraxa and exile The One Ring with Prismatic Ending ahead of it being milled by Fallaji Archaeologist.
Maindeck cards to play around:
Jeskai Control is a turbo Ring deck in the sense that it thrives in games where it slams the powerful artifact on the fourth turn. In order to survive in a high-powered format like Modern they must play plenty of pitch spells, such as Force of Negation, Subletey, and Solitude.
I would expect to face four Counterspell and at least three Force of Negation in the maindeck which means there are opportunities to play Goryo’s Vengeance at the end of their turn.
Phlage and Arena of Glory can threaten your life total quickly so be mindful of your fetching and Thoughtseizes. The white exile-based removal is better than it sounds in theory as the early turns are spent finding surveil lands to enable escape.
Sideboard cards to play around:
I would expect two Surgical Extraction to come in because Esper Goryo’s is a tricky matchup for Jeskai and they use the more targeted hate. This can sometimes be Soul-Guide Lantern as it can be found with Monumental Henge.
After Surgical Extraction and any sideboard counters I could see facing Celestial Purge as there are plenty of Wrath of the Skies and Galvanic Discharge to cut. Purge not only hits the giant monsters in response to Ephemerate, but also Psychic Frog.
Subtlety becomes important in post board games as both players hunker down in anticipation of a threatening reanimation line. If your creature is hit by a hard cast Subtety it may take the game in five turns or force you to act at an inopportune time.
The Jeskai matchup can be close after sideboard; if you expect this matchup to be popular consider a couple copies of Mystical Dispute in the sideboard as it interacts with Subtlety.
+1 Fatal Push +1 Teferi, Time Raveler +1 Toxic Deluge +1 Force of Negation +2 Wrath of the Skies +1 Supreme Verdict
-3 Psychic Frog -1 Priest of Fell Rites -1 Griselbrand -2 Grief
Game one is two ships passing in the night with some minor interaction from Nadu and hand disruption plus removal out of Esper Goryo’s. Since reanimation lines don’t immediately end the game Esper will take on a defensive role.
Maindeck cards to play around:
Endurance can break up the Goryo’s Vengeance combo at instant-speed; it can be found with Chord of Calling x=3 and Summoner’s Pact. Only play around Chord for Endurance when the opponent realistically didn’t have the opportunity to go off with Nadu and Shuko on their turn.
Endurance can be fought with hand disruption or waiting to threaten a Goryo’s Vengeance when they would have to pitch a card to evoke Endurance for card disadvantage.
Volatile Stormdrake is another creature that can enter at instant-speed with Chord of Calling. This can fizzle Ephemerate as Stormdrake can exchange any creature, but will sacrifice Atraxa and Grislebrand. Stormdrake can be played around by killing it with the trigger on the stack as the creature needs to be on the battlefield on resolution of the exchange.
Suncleanser can remove counters from Psychic Frog and Fallaji Archeologist or prevent energy from being gained for Wrath of the Skies. This is a commonly maindecked card as it can be found with Chord of Calling.
Sylvan Safekeeper can be found for Chord x=1 to fizzle a removal spell.
Sideboard cards to play around:
More Endurance is the top card to consider. There are frequently two copies of Veil of Summer in the sideboard, too.
Soulless Jailer is a commonly used Chord silver bullet to break up the Goryo’s combo. Note this means you need to respect Chord for x=2 whereas in game one Endurace is a threat at x=3.
A single Vexing Bauble could come in to slow down Grief, Force of Negation, Ephemerate, and Solitude. This is a silver bullet as it’s found with Urza’s Saga.
The One Ring could be in the maindeck, but is also a valid card to bring in as the games slow after board. Titania is a haymaker to find to help in a grinder post board game, too. I start to highly respect the possibility of these cards after I clear the board with a wrath effect as a catch up mechanism is the only way to claw back into the game.
Many Nadu sideboards also play two counters, such as Spell Pierce or Swan Song.
Teferi is a very important card in the post board games as the +1 can keep the loyalty out of reach and Nadu has so many forms of solid interaction. Nadu may play some copies of Teferi in their 75.
+2 Celestial Purge +1 Fatal Push +1 Teferi, Time Raveler +2 Force of Negation +1 Psychic Frog
-1 Goryo’s Vengeance -2 Griselbrand -1 Solitude -2 Prismatic Ending -1 Tainted Indulgence
Maindeck cards to play around:
Orcish Bowmasters force you to play Tainted Indulgence at different times. Atraxa is preferred to Griselbrand and I end up discarding Bowmasters with Thoughtseize frequently.
The threat of Sheoldred in the mid game creates additional pressure on drawing cards.
Boggart Trawler creates a catch-22 where I want to cast Tainted Indulgence at times to avoid Bowmaster blowouts, but this can lead Atraxa to be exiled from the graveyard.
Grief, Inquisition of Kozilek, and Thoughtseize mean I keep more hands than average. Finding the perfect hand comes at the risk of having my hand being picked apart.
Teferi, Time Raveler is great in the matchup because it prevents Soul Spike from being cast in the end step. I can tick him down to draw a card which walks into Bowmasters or tick up and risk walking into Fell the Profane and March of Wretched Sorrow. Knowing the opponent’s hand from disruption or reading their plays is key.
Dauthi Voidwalker is scary to keep on the battlefield because it can juke an Atraxa with hand disruption or removal.
It sounds strange to play around Necrodominance, but it creates a tension of wanting to interact with it as it enters, but is too late after a turn passes. This means firing off a speculative Grief or Thoughtseize if there wasn’t an opportune turn for it to be cast. The opponent gets more value off Necro if it’s cast after dumping their hand.
Keep your life total relatively high as Bowmasters, Sheoldred, and Soul Spike can kill from typically safe life totals.
Sideboard cards to play around:
Leyline of the Void and Surgical Extraction are the common hate cards to expect.
We have a short time remaining with Nadu in the format, but Esper Goryo’s will be well positioned afterward. I believe the Frog and Teferi approach to post board games will greatly increase the deck’s resilience even when the opponent is respecting the matchup.
Good luck in your RCQs and local Modern events!
