Deck and Sideboard Guide 8/4/2024

It’s August… and Nadu is somehow still here for about another month. Didn’t think we’d be here, but I guess we roll with it. Hammer should absolutely still be playing Nadu in it, and honestly most matchups in the format feel good with my current configuration (aside from Jeskai, as well as Bant Nadu being slightly unfavored). 

Against Nadu, you really want to play a game where you stick a needle or 2, have a fast Hammer hand, or both. The matchup feels like something halfway between Yawg and Titan, so keeping in mind that a bit of disruption paired with a fast combo yourself is often the best recipe. Your mediocre hands really won’t cut it here.

Jeskai has easily felt like the worst matchup in the format for us, due largely in part to the combination of Wrath of the Skies and The One Ring. Both are backbreaking for us, and put us into a real squeeze. As such, I’ve made some deckbuilding concessions to the matchup and will discuss it further below. With that said, my best advice especially game 1, is to do the following (preferably both):

• Pretend that Wrath doesn’t exist, and go as fast as you can. OR

• Set up the ability to follow up the wrath by deploying a Nadu and Shuko in an attempt to rebuild. 

***Note: Do not slow down, since if they stick the Ring, they will still bury you.

Repeating my advice from last month since it bears repeating: 

**If your express goal is to win events, you are giving up equity by not playing Nadu Combo. Just look at the results of Pro Tour MH3. The best players in the world tried everything they could think of and still couldn’t find a good deck against Nadu. As such, until at least something from that deck is banned, my genuine recommendation is to play that deck. I always try to be as honest as possible with y’all, so I felt not acknowledging that reality would be disingenuous and a bit scummy. That being said, I do still think Hammer is competitive, it just isn’t the current Hogaak/Eldrazi Winter/UrzaOko**

**We can all theorize about what will get banned from Nadu Combo, but until WotC actually makes a Ban announcement (please WotC, make an emergency ban), I will not worry about it. I will continue to provide you with the best possible Hammer list I can come up with! Once something changes, I will adjust accordingly.**

**You may also notice that the SB guide has fewer matches than it used to. 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**

With that out of the way, let’s talk Hammer since it’s still sick (even if it definitely plays Nadu now).

Decklist

Sideboard Guide

Notes on current configuration:

-Nadu Package, 0 Sentinel, and 4 Giver - I would take a look at last month’s update for more in-depth analysis, but considering all of it still holds true, I’d rather save the space. 

-3 Drum, 1 Mantle, 0 Steelshaper’s Gift  - While I have liked 5 ramp pieces plus the gift, we simply had to make room somewhere. 1 Drum and the gift were the easiest cuts and the options that I felt would have the least impact on the deck as a whole. 

-Haywire Mite - There are relevant targets in basically every deck for this lil guy, so I’m very happy to have access to him. You could definitely swap him out for somethin in the SB, but I like having him as both a body since the floor is a bit higher. As a quick hit list, here are some of the most common targets in the newer decks:
-Nadu - Saga, Shuko

-Jeskai - Ring

-Eldrazi/Tron - Disruptor Flute, Map, Trinisphere, Ring

-Boros Energy - Static Prison

-Ruby Storm - Ruby Medallion, Static Prison

-Necro - Necrodominance, Ring

-Kaldra Compleat - While Kaldra still has its biggest downsides (being dead if the Stoneforge doesn’t stick around), there is a lot less exile-based removal in the format than there has been in the past. Additionally, I have found Cryptic Coat to be a bit too low impact against Jeskai-style decks where it historically shined. The fact that Wrath also clears Coat is a big knock against it. Kaldra is also notably stronger when you have 4 Giver in your deck.

-1 Needle - As I got to focus test more matchups, I found that having access to a single Needle in the main offers enough impact to warrant playing it over another card.

-Manabase - Not much has changed since last month. I did experiment with 8 Fetches + 2 of each Shockland, and got punished multiple times, so I’m back to the 9 Fetches, 1 Garden, 2 Fountain and am quite happy with it. One thing to note is that if you are unsure what color to fetch game 1, you should almost always fetch Temple Garden since you can’t accidentally draw a second copy to keep you off of casting Nadu.

Sideboard

-3 Surge of Salvation - I was very happy to see this card’s value improve, as the more I got to experiment with matchups, the more value I found it had against Nadu, Necro, Living End, and Goryo’s. My perspective on the Nadu matchup shifted much more into a similar play pattern of Yawgmoth. Protecting your Needles is hugely important. Note that Surge is not coming in for some matchups you might historically expect is (Jeskai), but that’s primarily due to the power of Consign to Memory.

-2 Spell Pierce - This card is fantastic supplemental interaction, especially when paired with Consign/Surge. While it isn’t the best, the card serves an important wide

-3 Consign to Memory - Consign 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.

-0 Sanctifier - With Storm all but disappearing, Sanctifier lost its biggest reason to be in the sideboard. Unless the meta shifts drastically, Sanctifier can live back in the binder where it belongs.

-3 Pithing Needle - That’s right, the full 4 Needles in the 75. In most matchups, you’ll be happy to have the one in the maindeck and leave the others in the side, but against Nadu specifically, a pile of needles plus a fast hand is your best plan for success.

-3 Gaddock Teeg, 0 Suncleanser - Old man Teeg is simply put, very good right now. Here is a quick list of the cards he stops:
- The One Ring

-Wrath of the Skies/Supreme Verdict

-Prismatic Ending

-Leyline Binding

-Kozilek’s Command

-Karn, the Great Creator

-All is Dust

-Chalice of the Void

-Soul Spike

-March of Wretched Sorrows

-Through the Breach

Frankly, he is one of your best tools against Jeskai, Eldrazi variants, and Necro. Note that while he also stops Chord of Calling, I would avoid bringing him in against those matchups. It’s his wide application that makes me happy to have 2-3 copies in my SB. Suncleanser is cut primarily because I feel that Teeg is on the whole, better against Jeskai, and our Boros/Mardu energy matchups feel quite favored even without the Cleanser. Against Jeskai, Suncleanser’s trigger can get tagged by Consign, and doesn’t stop them from jamming The One Ring and burying us anyway. While Teeg can get tagged by Galvanic and Phlage, I believe that the match plays out in a way to more heavily favor Teeg as the tool we want. You can also run a split, or cut a Teeg for a 4th Consign.

-1 Vexing Bauble - This card was something I was most excited about pre-MH3, and it has started to overperform again. It 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.

-0 Thassa’s Oracle - No amulet is around, and against most decks with the Ring (Jeskai/Necro/Eldrazi), Nadu generating a pile of cards is more than enough. Happy that we can cut the card now. 

-0 Cryptic Coat - As I mentioned in the Kaldra commentary, the Coat is sadly too low-impact against the fair decks, and really has no business against the unfair decks. I still like the card, but it doesn’t quite carry the weight it needs to if it wants to make the cut.

***Note: I will also be exploring new decks alongside Hammer. I will keep the Hammer list and sideboard plans updated as promised for the foreseeable future, but I hope you will all come on this adventure with me! I’ll likely be doing both written and video content to supplement the exploration of the format!