Clash: 5 best sideboard cards

BY: NATHANIEL DALTON

With the Hunted Clash Bash starting this week it felt like a great time to pick up some of the best cards for the sideboard beyond equipment. Many of these are dependent on the meta but there is some great options! You only have 6-7 slots for the sideboard and most of the time 3 of those slots are going to Arcane Barrier equipment.

Oasis Respite

Wizards have become a staple in Clash. Iyslander has been a powerhouse but with the rise of Verdance and Blaze, Arcane Barrier has become so important. This has become a staple in a lot decks as it does allow for you to get a tremendous advantage when dealing with large arcane attacks. The bonus of gaining a life is just that, a bonus. This has been a staple since Iyslander was introduced and continue to be.

Arcane Polarity

When Rosetta released, this has come onto the scene replacing Oasis Respite in a lot decks. This works the best in Red Line decks that allows them to use this as a way to stay in the game without losing much tempo. Better yet, this is an amazing counter to Runeblades that send in Runechants one at a time since you have to take damage in order to play it! It is definitely a much riskier cards but this has found it's way into aggro decks.

Fyendal's Fighting Spirit

With the downshift to Common in Rosetta, Fyendal's Fighting Spirit (FFS) has never been easier to find! FFS is the best way to pop Phantasm attacks from Illusionist and if you are behind in life, you gain 1 life! If you ever need a popper, this is a great addition in the sideboard.

Battlefront Bastion

Following in the same vein as Fyendal's Fighting Spirit, this is used as a popper. This is also a flex spot since you can prevent the next 1 damage if you only block with this card for go wide decks. It's excellent into Ninjas and Runeblades. It serves a slightly different purpose and you may find yourself looking for Battlefront Bastion for midrange decks that thrive on blocking with 2 cards every turn.

Calming Breeze

A new addition from the Hunted that may feel innocuous at first but can fill in a similar role that Arcane Polarity does while also helping on breakpoints for go wide decks. This can be strong against wizards providing an extra point or two of arcane if they come in with multiple spells as well as stop those pesky breakpoints. It's also incredibly powerful against Runechants. Calming Breeze will definitely find a home in decks that just want a little more defense and is the best way to prevent breakpoints.

How to decide?

How do you decide on the your sideboard? It really comes down to what does your deck do and what is your local meta. Typically if I have defense reactions in my deck, I will add in Oasis Respite or Arcane Polarity because defense reactions do become harder in the wizard matchup. Even though Iyslander does typically run Wounded Bull, you want the Oasis to stop Aether Icevein. It comes down to what do you feel is a weakness to your deck and if you need to subsidize it due to what you think your local meta is.