Considering the TEPS sideboard.

(NOTE: If anyone can tell me why there's a stupid-big gap at the end of this post, please twitter me on twitter.com/wrongwaygoback)

I'm currently playing a version of TEPS that makes winning the first game as consistent as possible, using Mind's Desire for as a consistent forth-turn play to set up a fifth turn win each and every time. That (hopefully) leaves the real battle for games two and three, when they bring in their anti-TEPS tech of choice.

So what answers TEPS? And what hurts the answers?

This analysis at the end of this post rates Echoing Truth, Volcanic Fallout, Gigadrowse and Shattering Spree very highly, followed by Pact of Negation, with Brainfreeze, Gaea's Blessing and Akroma having a lesser impact.

However Echoing Truth, Volcanic Fallout and Shattering Spree all overlap relatively heavily on the answers they are trying to hurt - Gaddok Teeg and Ethersworn Cannonist, with some splash damage for Fae/Wizards.

Meanwhile, Gigadrowse and Pact seem to serve exactly the same purpose and one can probably go.

Ad Nauseum is a truly narrow sideboard card good against one deck (Loam), and Akroma seems narrow against Fae.

With that analysis in hand, how would I view a sideboard now?

Probably as:

4 x Echoing Truth
3 x Gigadrowse
2 x Volcanic Fallout
2 x Shattering Spree
2 x Brainfreeze
1 x Gaea's Blessing
1 x Ad Nauseum

This provides:

9 sideboard cards vs ELVES
9 sideboard cards vs Bant
9 sideboard cards vs TRON
8 sideboard cards vs ZOO
8 sideboard cards vs Affinity
7 sideboard cards vs Fae
6 sideboard cards for the TEPS mirror
5 sideboard cards vs Tezzeret
1 sideboard cards vs Loam

The only card I have hestitation about cutting is the Pact of Negation. I simply don't see the advantage in running Akroma yet - it's a high cost spell that seems like it's never going to be cast. Of course, I'm probably wrong about that.

Running a single Ad Nauseum might simply seem not worth it, but as I'm running two Gifts Ungiven in the deck I may be able to access it regardless.

I'm unconvinced about the two Brainfreeze, and I'm tempted to drop down to a singleton.

I still want to slip a singleton Progenitus in there. Just for shits and giggles.

	Echoing Truth	Volcanic Fallout	Gigadrowse	Ad Nauseum	Pact of Negation	Brainfreeze	Gaea's Blessing	Akroma, Angel of Fury	Shattering Spree
ELVES! (Combo/Teeg)	♦	♦				♦	♦
ZOO (Teeg/Cannonist/Jitte)	♦	♦							♦
Affinity (Cannonist)	♦	♦							♦
TRON (Chalice)	♦		♦						♦
Tezzeret (Chalice/Spell Snare)	♦								♦
Loam (Raven's Crime)				♦
BANT (Teeg/Counterspells/Jitte)	♦		♦		♦				♦
FAE/Wiz (Chalice/Counterspells)		♦	♦		♦			♦	♦
TEPS (Brainfreeze/Counterspells)			♦		♦	♦	♦