Legacy Sideboard Guide for Beating Show and Tell

Show and Tell remains one of Legacy’s clearest tests of preparation. The deck can spend three mana to place a giant threat or a game-ending enchantment onto the battlefield, turning an apparently stable position into a loss in a single exchange. A good sideboard plan therefore starts before the match, with a clear idea of which cards matter and which answers are too slow.

This Legacy sideboard guide vs. Show and Tell is designed for Australian players moving between local store events, webcam leagues and larger weekend tournaments. Whether the opponent is on classic Sneak and Show, Omniscience, or a more creature-heavy build, the central task is the same: protect your disruption, identify their payoff, and avoid trading useful cards for impressive but irrelevant answers.

Understand The Show And Tell Package

The opposing deck usually combines Show and Tell with permission, cantrips and a small number of devastating threats. Griselbrand draws a new hand, Emrakul ends games quickly, and Atraxa, Grand Unifier rebuilds the opponent’s position immediately. Some lists also use Sneak Attack, giving them a second way to deploy a creature without relying on the namesake sorcery.

Omniscience changes the texture of the matchup. A spell such as Thoughtseize can reveal the opponent’s plan, but taking Show and Tell may not be enough if Omniscience is already available through a cantrip-heavy hand. Pay attention to the entire combination: enabler, payoff and protection. Treating every hand as if it contains only one threat often leads to poor sequencing.

Build A Focused Preboard Plan

Before sideboarding, your strongest cards are usually cheap countermagic, discard and flexible permanent answers. Force of Will is valuable because it can stop Show and Tell on the draw, while Daze is strongest when the opponent must respect your early pressure. Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm and Force of Negation can also matter, depending on your deck and the opponent’s version.

Karakas is excellent against legendary creatures such as Griselbrand, Emrakul and Atraxa, though it does not answer Omniscience. The land is at its best when supported by pressure or additional interaction, since repeatedly bouncing a threat is less useful if the opponent can simply cast another copy. Red decks should consider Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast, particularly against blue-heavy lists.

A useful way to organise your opening seven is similar to the structured thinking in this veteran trials setup guide: identify the immediate threat, the resource that answers it, and the turn on which you must act. That simple framework prevents speculative hands from looking better than they are.

Choose Sideboard Cards That Trade Efficiently

Discard is often at its best on turn one. Thoughtseize and Grief can remove Show and Tell, Sneak Attack or a key creature while revealing the opponent’s remaining resources. Duress is narrower, but still useful against spell-focused builds. Remember that discard loses value after the opponent has already placed Omniscience or a creature onto the battlefield.

Containment Priest can punish Show and Tell by preventing creatures from entering play, though it must be on the battlefield before the spell resolves. Surgical Extraction can remove a crucial combo piece after discard or a countered spell, but it is not a complete plan by itself. Deafening Silence and similar effects can slow a cantrip-and-counterspell turn, yet they rarely replace direct interaction.

Cards that only answer graveyards, small creatures or ordinary battlefield permanents should usually be trimmed. Grafdigger’s Cage, for example, does not stop Show and Tell placing a creature from hand onto the battlefield. Likewise, a slow planeswalker may be powerful in fair matchups but too clumsy when the opponent can present a lethal threat on turn two.

Sequence Around Their Protection

The key post-board mistake is firing interaction at the first spell that looks dangerous. If the opponent casts Brainstorm with a protected Show and Tell in hand, countering it may accomplish little. Force them to commit when possible, then use your cleanest answer on the actual enabler or payoff.

On the draw, keep hands with a genuine turn-one answer or a fast clock backed by disruption. On the play, you can afford a little more flexibility because discard, Wasteland or a threat may force the opponent to spend mana before attempting the combo. Be cautious with Daze once the game reaches later turns; experienced Show and Tell pilots will often play around it.

The same principle applies to sideboard planning across different decks: count how many cards truly stop the opposing strategy rather than counting every card that appears useful. A short probability-focused read such as this soft-hand blackjack strategy is a useful reminder that decisions should follow the available information, not the emotional value of a strong-looking option.

Adjust For Local Tournament Conditions

Australian Legacy events often involve longer travel than players expect. A Sydney player heading to Canberra, a Melbourne regular travelling to Adelaide, or a Brisbane competitor joining a Gold Coast event may arrive with limited testing time. Prepare a compact sideboard map before the weekend so fatigue does not turn a familiar matchup into guesswork.

Time zones also matter for online testing and Twitch coverage. Perth players can find east-coast leagues scheduled at awkward hours, while players in Sydney or Melbourne may be coordinating with overseas opponents late in the evening. Use local Discord groups, store communities and webcam sessions to practise the exact post-board games you expect to play.

Budget and availability shape the Australian market as well. Importing specialised sideboard cards can mean waiting for postage, paying in Australian dollars at an unfavourable exchange rate, or settling for a substitute before Saturday’s event. Confirm your list early, check local game stores, and avoid building a plan around a card you cannot actually sleeve.

Practical Plans And Matchup Reference

Your final plan should reflect the deck you are piloting. A blue control deck wants to preserve countermagic and card selection, while a black midrange deck may rely on discard, pressure and a small number of hard answers. A Death and Taxes player may lean on Karakas, Thalia, Spirit of the Labyrinth and Containment Priest, but must still respect Omniscience and Sneak Attack.

Use these recommendations when tuning your 15-card sideboard and preparing for a tournament:

• Prioritise cheap answers to Show and Tell, Sneak Attack and Omniscience.
• Keep a fast clock so the opponent cannot sculpt a perfect protected hand.
• Do not bring in graveyard hate unless the opposing list has a meaningful graveyard plan.
• Protect Karakas and other utility lands from Wasteland where possible.
• Mulligan hands that lack interaction, pressure or a clear plan for the first three turns.
• Practise both play and draw games, since the matchup changes sharply between them.

Your Approach	Cards To Prioritise	Cards To Trim	Main Concern
Blue Control	Force of Will, Force of Negation, Flusterstorm, Pyroblast	Creature-only removal, slow sweepers	Losing a counter war over Show and Tell
Black Midrange	Thoughtseize, Grief, Surgical Extraction, fast threats	Narrow battlefield removal	Discarding the wrong piece
Death And Taxes	Karakas, Containment Priest, Thalia, Wasteland	Low-impact creature removal	Omniscience bypassing creature answers
Delver	Daze, Spell Pierce, Force of Will, pressure	Expensive cards, weak spot removal	Giving the combo player too much time

Bring this matchup plan to your next Legacy event, then refine it after every round by recording which card actually mattered. With a tested sideboard, a disciplined mulligan policy and a clear line for the first three turns, Show and Tell becomes a demanding matchup rather than a coin flip. Follow The Legacy Pit’s tournament coverage, decklists and community discussions to keep sharpening your preparation.