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{{see_also|Sideboard (magazine)}}
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Each ''[[Magic]]'' [[player]] is allowed to have a '''sideboard''', which is a group of additional [[card]]s [[Outside the game]] that the player may use to modify their [[deck]] between [[game]]s of a [[match]]. A sideboard helps a player address the weaknesses of their deck against their [[opponent]].<ref>{{DailyRef|level-one/sideboard-plans-2015-03-09|Sideboard Plans|[[Reid Duke]]|March 9, 2015}}</ref> For example, if a player consistently loses games against anyone who is playing red "[[burn]]" spells like <c>Ghitu Fire</c> and <c>Urza's Rage</c>, then the player may want to put four <c>Chill</c> (so as to "hose" red by increasing the spells' playing cost) or maybe four <c>Ivory Mask</c> (to prevent a player from being targeted) in their sideboard.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/sideboarding-strategies-and-tactics-part-1-2013-08-29|Sideboarding Strategies and Tactics, Part 1|[[Mike Flores]]|August 29, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/one-two-three-times-murder-sideboarding-strategies-and-tactics-part-2|One, Two, Three Times the Murder: Sideboarding Strategies and Tactics, Part 2|[[Mike Flores]]|September 05, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|beyond-basics/going-overboard-2016-12-08|Going Overboard|[[Gavin Verhey]]|December 8, 2016}}</ref>

==Description==
In conventional games, each player is allowed to bring at most 7 cards for best-of-one and 15 cards for best-of-three matches (in addition to a player's main deck) to a game of ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]''.<ref>{{DailyRef|lo/sideboard-2014-10-20|The Sideboard|[[Reid Duke]]|October 20, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|level-one/sideboarding-limited-2015-01-12|Sideboarding in Limited|[[Reid Duke]]|January 12, 2015}}</ref> These cards are referred to as the sideboard.<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-academy/introducing-sideboards-2007-01-13|Introducing Sideboards|[[Jeff Cunningham]]|January 13, 2007}}</ref>
  
In limited games, all unused cards are treated as a sideboard.<ref>{{DailyRef|beyond-basics/drafting-your-sideboard-2017-07-13|Drafting Your Sideboard|[[Gavin Verhey]]|July 13, 2017}}</ref> 

A sideboard counts as part of the player's deck, therefore any limits to the number of copies of a card that may be included in a deck take the copies in the sideboard into account. This also means that restricted cards are limited to one including the sideboard. (For example, the card <c>Black Lotus</c> is restricted in [[DCI]]-sanctioned Vintage Magic tournaments. This means that only one <c>Black Lotus</c> is allowed per deck, including sideboard, in the Vintage format.) Players are not required to have a sideboard. If a library consists of more than the minimum amount of required cards, players are still allowed to sideboard, even if their sideboard consists of no cards.

The first game of a best-of-three match is usually played without cards from the sideboard and is therefore called pre-sideboard game. After the first match the players are allowed to swap/add/remove cards in their deck for cards in their sideboard (aka "sideboarding"), as long as the sideboard and the main deck remain legal after the sideboarding.

Starting with the ''[[Shadows over Innistrad]]'' [[Pro Tour]], the first two games of a best-of-five Sunday playoff match are considered pre-sideboard games.<ref>{{DailyRef|news/changes-pro-tour-sunday-playoff-sideboarding-2016-03-01|Changes to the Pro Tour Sunday Playoff Sideboarding|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|March 1, 2016}}</ref>

[[Wish]]es and [[Companion]]s are methods to get access to your sideboard during a game. [[Learn]] is also a mechanic that has the choice to access the sideboard, by fetching instants and sorceries that have the [[lesson]] subtype. 

The [[Commander (format)|Commander]] format normally has no sideboard. However, a [[companion]] is the only card that can exist there, if both the cards in the library and the commander card meet the companion criteria. 

[[Dungeon]]<nowiki/>s are card types introduced in [[Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms]]. They start exclusively in the sideboard, but do not count as cards towards your sideboard limit. When an ability instructs you to [[venture into the dungeon]], if you don't have a [[dungeon]] card in your [[command]] zone, you take one from the sideboard, put it there and trigger the ability of the first room. You must first complete a dungeon before being able to take another dungeon card from the sideboard.   

==Previous rulings==
Prior to the amendment of regulations in ''Magic 2014'', the sideboard restrictions in constructed formats were more strict than the current one, as below:
#If a player used a sideboard, the sideboard had to consist of ''exactly'' 15 cards. No more, no less.
#Sideboarding had to be a 1-for-1 swap, i.e. the sideboard had to contain 15 cards, and the number of cards in main deck must be the same.

If one of the two cases above was violated in tournaments, it resulted in a game loss.

Prior to [[Strixhaven: School of Mages]] set, the sideboard for constructed formats (except for [[Commander (format)|Commander]]) was limited to 15 cards for both best-of-one and best-of-three matches. With the release of this set, the best-of-one matches use a 7-card sideboard, [[companion]] included.<ref>{{DailyRef|mtg-arena/mtg-arena-state-game-strixhaven-school-mages-2021-04-07|MTG Arena: State of the Game - ''Strixhaven: School of Mages''|[[MTG Arena]]|April 7, 2021}}</ref>

==Rules==
{{CR|glossary|Sideboard}}
{{CR|100.4}}
{{rules|''[[Tournament Rules]]''|May 13, 2024—''[[Outlaws of Thunder Junction]]''|3.16 Sideboard
A sideboard is a group of additional cards the player may use to modify their deck between games of a match. The player may use these cards in their main deck during all games after the first one in a match.

Before each game begins, players must present their sideboard (if any) face down. Opponents may count the number of cards in their opponent’s sideboard at any time. Players are not required to reveal how many cards they have swapped from their main deck to their sideboard and do not have to swap one for one. Other items (token cards, double-faced card represented in the deck by a substitute card, etc.) should be kept separate from the sideboard during game play.

During a game, players may look at their own sideboard, keeping it clearly distinguishable from other cards at all times. If a player gains control of another player, they may not look at that player’s sideboard, nor may they have that player access their sideboard.

The deck and sideboard must each be returned to their original compositions before the first game of each match. Restrictions on the composition and use of a sideboard can be found in the deck construction rules for a particular format type.

If a penalty causes a player to lose the first game in a match before that game has begun, or the first game is intentionally drawn before any cards are played, neither player may use cards from their sideboard for the next game in the match. If players restart a game due to an in-game effect, the composition of their decks must remain the same for the restarted game.

Certain cards refer to “a (card or cards) from outside the game.” In tournament play, these are cards in that player’s sideboard.
}}

==Sideboard examples==
===Black===
*<c>Deathmark</c> - Destroy a green or white creature
===Blue===
*<c>Annul</c> - Counter answer to decks that rely on artifacts and/or enchantments
*<c>Chill</c> - Hoses red decks
*<c>Flashfreeze</c> - Cheap red/green counter

===Green===
*<c>Guttural Response</c> - {{R/G}} Counter target blue instant spell.
*<c>Naturalize</c> - Green's <c>Disenchant</c>
*<c>Uktabi Orangutan</c> and <c>Viridian Shaman</c> - 2/2 creatures that destroys an artifact when it comes in play

===Red===
*<c>Blood Moon</c> and <c>Magus of the Moon</c> - Hoses decks that rely on many non-basic lands by turning them into mountains
*<c>Boil</c> and <c>Boiling Seas</c> - Forces the opponent to waste countermagic, or lose it altogether.
*<c>Guttural Response</c> - {{R/G}} Counter target blue instant spell.
*<c>Red Elemental Blast</c>, <c>Pyroblast</c> and <c>Active Volcano</c> - Strong answers to blue countermagic

===White===
*<c>Disenchant</c> - Destroy an artifact or enchantment
*<c>Honorable Passage</c> - Prevent damage from a source, if its red then reverse that damage

===Land===
*<c>Wasteland</c> - Destroy a non-basic land

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Game concepts]]