How to sideboard against all the Elves variants in Legacy
The Elves package in Legacy covers three very different decks. Green Elves wins through efficient mana and a wide creature board; Elves of the Underworld pairs ramp with graveyard engines; Splinterstorm, often called Elfstorm, uses a similar shell to assemble a fast combo. Treating them as one matchup wastes sideboard space. Minor hybrids shift individual card choices, but these game plans cover the decisive differences.
A useful Legacy sideboard handles shared problems without assuming every Elf card has the same job. Disrupting a combo spell may be useless against Steel Leaf Champion, while a combat answer can lose time against Faldorn. In Australian testing, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane players often plan around Thursday locals and Friday-night drafts, so a sideboard should be easy to adjust between sessions.
Separate the main Elves archetypes
Green Elves usually applies pressure through Steel Leaf Champion and small creatures. Elves of the Underworld signals itself with Faldorn, Bearscape and ramp spells. Splinterstorm tends to show mana acceleration, rituals such as GEM, and cards that assemble threats quickly.
| Matchup | Early signs | Main threat | Best sideboard plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Elves | Steel Leaf Champion, many 1/1s | A wide creature attack | State Decathlon, discard, cheap burn |
| Elves of the Underworld | Faldorn, Bearscape, ramp | Graveyard value and huge attackers | Stifle, Torpor Orb, discard, Surgical Extraction |
| Splinterstorm | Mana acceleration, GEM, Against the Weak | Fast assembled combo | Duress, Surgical Extraction, counterspells, Borne Upon a Wind |
Read the signs by turn two and choose a game plan, not merely a deck name. If opponents cast mana rituals and threaten a fast kill, preserve interaction; if they deploy Steel Leaf and race, prepare removal. A simple planning framework transfers well: name the threat, reserve answers for it, and cut cards that do not earn a slot.
Disrupt the creature-heavy Green Elves deck
Against Green Elves, remove the first threat before mana advantage becomes lethal. Duress can expose Steel Leaf Champion before it is cast, while Galvanic Blast or Flame Slash can handle early creatures. Once an Elf is on the battlefield, State Decathlon exiles every Elf, making it one of the strongest sweeps for a monocolour tribal list. Choose answers you can deploy against a normal Elf board, not only in response to one threatening card.
Mix that sweep with cheap interaction and a way to win the race. State Decathlon does not hit changelings or non-Elf creatures, and three answers that remove only 1/1s leave Steel Leaf untouched. Against a token-heavy build, keep one card that can win combat outright rather than relying entirely on removal.
Shut down Elves of the Underworld
Elves of the Underworld is a graveyard-value deck built around Faldorn, Bearscape and Steel Leaf Champion. Do not assume generic graveyard hate solves it: when Faldorn is cast from hand, its battlefield activation is not an ability of a card in a graveyard, so Leyline of the Void and Rest in Peace cannot stop it. Ramp already on the battlefield will also keep finding threats.
Use a mix of answers. Duress or Thoughtseize can take Faldorn and Bearscape before they are cast; Stifle or Bitter Triumph can counter Faldorn’s activated ability; Torpor Orb can prevent that activation while it remains in play. Surgical Extraction can exile a nonland engine that reaches the graveyard, and Chalice can shut down activated pieces for a turn, but timing matters. Removal that kills Steel Leaf after casting is another route, though it gives the engine time to assemble.
Defend against Splinterstorm
Splinterstorm uses green mana acceleration to assemble lethal before a control deck can stabilise. Its key pieces are spells and cheap permanents, so hand disruption and battlefield removal matter more than generic graveyard hate. Force of Will can counter a spell that would complete the combo, while Borne Upon a Wind can return a deployed threat. Leyline of the Void and Rest in Peace are situational because they do not stop Grasp of Fate’s trigger.
Duress or Thoughtseize can take GEM, Against the Weak or Grasp of Fate before resolution. Surgical Extraction can exile Grasp of Fate while it is a battlefield permanent and remove nonland combo cards that reach the graveyard. Chalice can shut down nonartifact activated pieces for a turn, although it will not answer every sorcery-speed ritual. Keep one answer for a spell on the stack and one for the resulting permanent; solving only the former can be too late.
Build a flexible Legacy sideboard
Build a fifteen-card sideboard around dedicated and flexible slots. Dedicated cards should cover the expected matchup: Stifle or Torpor Orb for Underworld, State Decathlon for Green Elves, discard for Steel Leaf or combo pieces, and counters for Elfstorm. Flex slots can carry less certain answers such as Borne Upon a Wind, extra removal or a card-draw spell your deck can cast. Do not count a card the deck cannot cast, and keep a small plan for a black- or white-heavy shell.
Although written for casino play, the budgeting logic in this casino bankroll strategy guide offers a rough analogy: protect core answers and vary only the flexible cards. Local card shops in Melbourne and Sydney price stock differently from imported sellers, so compare Australian-dollar prices after GST and international freight before buying several copies of a temporary answer.
Carry the plan into your next event
Test each game plan against the most common hostile shell rather than only your own best deck. Keep a sideboard map, record which cards came in, and change one variable at a time across ten or fifteen games. Weekly store sessions and online practice on the Legacy Pit Twitch channel make this practical between Australian holiday periods and tournament weekends. Recheck after every sideboard swap rather than memorising a generic list.
For Australian event organisers, clear entry and prize terms matter under the Australian Consumer Law; NSW and Victoria also set different rules for prize competitions and gaming in licensed venues, so check local requirements before advertising a raffle. Players can use the Legacy Pit library of more than fifty prebuilt decklists, follow live streams, enter a tournament, listen to podcasts and join the community channels for final checks. Lock the sideboard, bring the notes, and play the matchup—not the archetype name.