Hammer Deck and SB Guide 9/8/2024

Welcome to September, the first full month we will have untarnished by Nadu! Note that since I’ve put in considerable time on them, I’ll have both an update for Hammer as well as Necrodominance this month! I’ve split them into separate pieces to keep the resources easier to access. So if you’re here for the Hammer list and SB guide, you’re in the right spot! If you’re looking for Necro, check out the other update I added :) 

While we have lost access to the bird ourselves, the good news is that it looks like the format is relatively friendly to Hammer at the moment. Despite the heavy representation of The One Ring, the lack of Nadu combo means that there is also a distinct lack of Wrath of the Skies. That’s great news. While Jeskai Control remains our worst matchup, I feel comfortable against most of the rest of the meta (Boros/Mardu Energy, Eldrazi Tron/Through the Breach, Storm, Dimir Frogtide, and Domain Zoo).

**You may also notice that the SB guide has fewer matches than it used to pre-MH3. That’s because there are fewer established decks out there right now. That said, if you keep running into decks, please feel free to ask and I’ll add sb recommendations as long as that archetype becomes prevalent/unified enough to warrant space**

Decklist

Sideboard Guide

Notes on current configuration:

-4 Sentinel - Our little dude from Esper has returned! With the removal of Nadu brings 6+ slots to play with, and that means I’m happy to bring Sentinel back into the main. While the card is soft to Energy shells and Bowmasters, it performs well against Jeskai, Frog, Izzet shells, and is just a strong card to have in the main. While it does get boarded out, I’m happy to have it as a cheap artifact creature game 1. If the meta evolves in a direction to further mitigate his impact, we can look at replacing him with memnite or another body. In the meantime, I’m happy to have access to him again.

-2 Giver - She still does a solid job of both protecting our threats, presenting a reasonable body, and can help push damage proactively. Additionally, she can help tax removal and open Giver > Stoneforge Mystic Kaldra lines. Solid card, happy to have her.

-2 Pierce - While both Surge and Consign are generally higher impact, I find that Pierce is the piece of interaction least likely to be dead game 1. That said, if the meta moves in a way to change this, I would certainly revisit pierce and either replace it with more gifts or swap them out with Consigns/Surge in the sideboard.

-1 Gift - Gift is a nice way to threaten additional hammers for a fast kill while also providing redundancy and finding your utility equipment like boots and spear as-needed. Plus it is a card that is easy to board out when you don’t need the effect. It also enables fun lines with a SFM in play since the opponent will have to kill the SFM in response to gift if they don’t want to get immediately Kaldra’ed.

-3 Drum - Without Nadu, I find playing extra acceleration effects is unnecessary beyond the first 2-3. At the same time, turn 1 saga, drum, thopter is still more powerful than it has been in a long time, especially against decks not running Wrath of the Skies. 

-2 Forge Anew - Extra equippers were always nice to have access to, but now that people are running cards like wrath of the skies, the reanimation effect of Forge has quite a bit of value. This is certainly a card you could trim, but I’ve liked having access to 2 in the main.

-Kaldra - Frankly, this inclusion is entirely dependent on your expected meta. You can play Cryptic Coat in this slot, but right now I’ve been a bit more impressed with Kaldra since there has been a downtick of exile-based removal in favor of destroy effects. I also find that the Kaldra is more threatening to opponents so it forces the removal on SFMs.

-1 Needle - Having access to one of these in the maindeck with a ton of Rings running around has proven to be incredibly valuable, and I am a firm believer in the 1 copy maindeck.

Sideboard

-3 Surge of Salvation - First, note that Surge is not coming in for some matchups you might historically expect (Jeskai), but that’s primarily due to the shift in what tools we have access to, as well as the specific tools that opponents are playing. Consign is often the better option, with the key exceptions of Energy, Frogtide, Zoo, and Yawg.

-4 Consign to Memory - Consign impresses further almost every match I play with it. It is an incredibly flexible card that is kind of an overlap between Surge and Pierce and covers a wide range of threats we face. Specifically, the card is incredible against Jeskai (Subtlety, Solitude, Ring, and can even tag Phlage triggers, and Leyline Binding if they are playing it. Additionally, this card is backbreaking against the Eldrazi shells, getting us far ahead on mana despite how hard they ramp. That it also hard counters Cascade triggers against living end is also a huge upside. Additionally, the ability to replicate it means that you can actually force your spells through a chalice by countering the chalice triggers with the replicate copies.

-1 Pithing Needle - I don’t always want 2 needles, but the flexibility and efficiency is hard to overstate. I’m happy to have access to a second copy in corner cases. Note that while I don’t bring in the second copy against many decks, this is an excellent tool to have in your arsenal when note an opponent has more key activated abilities than anticipated, or you expect the first one to get tagged. 

-3 Suncleanser - This card stops energy decks from having energy and doesn’t get tagged by Phlage thanks to her big booty. Note that this will not KO energy shells by herself, but does a number on many of their cards. This means that you should prioritize your plan A of Hammer when evaluating mulligan decisions. Additionally, Suncleanser stops Wrath from killing cards higher than 0 mana value. One key thing to note in addition is that you should avoid playing Suncleanser the turn after your Opponent deploys their Ring because you won’t be able to target them. Also, one unfortunate interaction is that an opponent under the effect of Suncleanser cannot have poison counters from Inkmoth added to them.
-1 Vexing Bauble - While fairly narrow, this card does an incredible job at hosing the Necro deck, as well as doing a great job pushing back on both Goryo’s and Living End means I’m happy to have the first copy in the 75.

-2 Cursed Totem - This is the most speculative 2 slots that I am leveraging, but I am willing to bet on an uptick in Yawg, especially at the RCQ and open tournament (NRG/SCG) level metas. As Yawg can be a pretty bad matchup without some heavy-hitting tools, I’m happy to play these in the board.

-1 Soul-Guide Lantern - Especially with Goryo’s and Living End on the rise (despite the Grief ban), I am very happy to have access to a Saga target that attacks the graveyard. Lantern is the best graveyard hate against Goryo’s; if you’re looking for something against Mill or something, I would turn to Relic of Progenitus.

While I detest playing against the Ring, Hammer is still in a fine spot and it has game against most of the format. Cheers and good luck!