Thoughtseize Placement in Goryo Reanimator

Thoughtseize in Goryo Reanimator: Mainboard vs Sideboard Analysis

Based on 133 Goryo Reanimator entries from the last 60 days:

Usage Patterns:

• Sideboard dominance: 71.4% of decks play Thoughtseize in sideboard vs 51.9% in mainboard
• Average copies: Mainboard builds run ~2.1 copies, sideboard builds run ~1.9 copies
• Split builds: Many mainboard Thoughtseize decks also include sideboard copies (0.62 avg)

Performance Comparison:

Mainboard Thoughtseize (69 entries):

• Winrate: 50.72% (141-137 record)
• Configuration: 2.1 main + 0.62 side copies on average

Sideboard Only (59 entries):

• Winrate: 51.38% (112-106 record)
• Configuration: 2.32 sideboard copies on average

No Thoughtseize (5 entries):

• Winrate: 52.0% (13-12 record) - small sample size

Key Insights:

• Similar performance: No meaningful winrate difference between configurations (~0.7% spread)
• Sideboard preference: More pilots favor sideboard-only approach, likely for flexibility against combo/control
• Meta positioning: Sideboard placement suggests it's viewed more as targeted disruption than core engine piece

The data suggests both approaches are viable, with sideboard placement being slightly more popular in current lists.

Sources: Data from 71 tournaments: 88.7% MTGO, 11.3% Melee

• Modern Challenge 32 (Sept 21)
• Modern Challenge 64 (Sept 20)
• Modern Challenge 32 (Sept 20)