It is a very recent phenomenon that anyone would play core set limited for any reason other than grinding out tickets on Magic Online. Oh, how the times have changed. Now it is going to make an appearance on the Pro Tour, be used for Nationals, and even have a few Grand Prixes.

Luckily, the inherently boring and broken core set limited of years before has been replaced by a far more vibrant format. We don't get the same game changing feel that we do when a new expansion comes out, but that isn't a bad thing. Core set limited feels like classic Magic.

Good limited decks, rather than just choosing a force-fed mechanic and running with it, have to build their own synergies. You can't just choose the best card each pack and have a cohesive deck. You have to work hard on finding a balance between a good curve, and good cards. Between power and consistency. Between what your deck wants to do, and what is more powerful in a vacuum.

Because you don't have the ability to build a deck that has an unbeatable linear strategy, you need to work on getting as much mileage out of every card as possible. That means that cards that are good in one deck, are going to be bad in another. You can't use a mechanic to tell you what your deck should be doing, you're going to have to figure that much out for yourself. It means there will be a lot of hard picks between cards of similar power levels in general, but of varying power in your deck.

In a set like this, it also that means taking advantage of the oft-unused limited resource of your sideboard. The fact is that most expansions don't have very good hoser cards. Wizards realized a while ago that making a mechanic and immediately having cards that simply beat that mechanic is unfun. Instead, m11 is full of cards that hose colors or general strategies.

A lot of people are used to ranking sideboard cards very low on the scale of limited picks, but that isn't the case with Magic 2011. Because they usually don't do enough. Not true in M11. In this set we get the uncommon cycle of Deathmark, Flashfreeze, Combust, Autumn's Veil, and Celestial Purge. Notice that of these, three are removal spells that kill just about anything in two colors. The other two are great at protecting your own creatures and spells. None of them are totally useless.

A lot of people think that you shouldn't sideboard against a single card, because it doesn't come up often. If that single card is something on the power level of Fireball, Mind Control, a Planeswalker or Royal Assassin, then there might be some merit to it. Ask yourself this question: if my opponent draws card X, can I win? If the answer is No, then you should feel fine with sacrificing some of your own game to stop your opponents. The power level of the bombs in M11, and the lack of a linear strategy that can easily overpower them, makes them hard to overcome without some kind of answer.

This means that you should be thinking about what your opponents decks will contain, and what the are going to do, and taking cards to combat them. If you pass an Overwhelming Stampede or a Fireball, then you might consider taking that Safe Passage a bit higher than normal. If you passed two Whispersilk Cloaks for better cards, you should probably have a gameplan for beating them later. Don't first pick anything, but if the choice is between a card that may or may not even make your main deck, or a sideboard card that will come in a lot, take the sideboard card.

Below is a list of a few of the cards that you should consider taking in that 5-8 pick range that is often so unexciting. You can generally get enough hill giants or similar cards to fill out your 23. When you're dealing with the last few cards in your deck, generally there are six to seven cards of very similar power level that you're going to cut down to three. You might as well take some picks that might have been wasted in pack one or two with cards you probably won't play anway, and put them to use.

Plummet – I can't remember a set that was more full of flyers than m11. This is just about main deck-able, but certainly a card that I'd want to access to in multiples all day long.

Roc Egg – The biggest downside of the Egg is that it is competing with a lot at the 3 drop spot. You don't want to play it turn 3 against an empty board. But that's fine – it does a great job later in the game of preventing one swing with a Spined Wurm and swinging back for 3. If you can play him on three against an aggressive deck, he has the advantage of not being as easy to deal with as a normal wall. Your opponent can't bolt him out of the way, or deal with it with a giant growth. He is going to stop a lot of 2/xs.

Sacred Wolf – Sacred Wolf can be very hard for blue decks to deal with. They don't have a lot of creatures that can survive a trade with him, they tend not to run creatures that cost less than him that they would want to trade with him. God forbid you can put something like Armored Ascension or Shiv's Embrace on him. At that point, he becomes a real threat for almost any deck.

Maritime Guard – As poor as a vanilla 1/3 for 2 may seem, it is exactly the card blue often needs as a two drop. Blue's biggest weakness is its poor ground game. Ruling the skies is great and all, but if you can't stop a quick red or green deck, you are going to be in trouble. Maritime Guard isn't going to hold a lot of creatures off, but he will at least bounce with most 2 and 3 drops, letting you gain a virtual six or more life when you are racing in the skies.

Pyroclasm – This kills just about everything that can be cast before turn 4. It also deals with the Assault and Wild Griffins, and 80% of the aggressive R/G or B/R deck.

Manic Vandal – Another Gray Ogre. The saving grace is that you have quite a few cards that are 'kill worthy'. Not Mirrodin level, but enough. Crystal Ball takes stalemates and turns them around, there are three playable artifact creatures at uncommon, plus all of the equipment in m11 is pretty absurd once it gets going. Having an answer to all of these when you need it is very important.

Palace Guard – While she was fairly good in m10, the lack of a soldier tribal and the proliferation of flyers in m11 has made her less powerful. She is still very good against the aggressive red decks and green decks, however. Considering that white has taken to the skies in this set, her ability to race the decks with more efficient creatures will come in handy.

Hornet Sting – Historically green has been very poor against Royal Assassin. You can also have problems with Prodigal Pyromancer, opposing Awakener Druids, and Stormfront Pegasus. Hornet Sting can deal with all of these creatures. It may not be as good of a combat trick as Giant Growth, but your opponent will never see it coming.

War Priest of Thune – While we don't have an Oakenform to kill, you can still hit the hard to beat Armored Ascension, and the majority of blue and white's removal is in enchantment form.

Solemn Offering – Everything that made War Priest and Manic Vandal useful, plus random life gain and the ability to sneak a blocker back into usefulness.

Volcanic Strength – A lot of people overlooked this card at the prerelease. Giant Strength was never a great card, but it also didn't give your creatures evasion. This card should come often in for a red mirror matchup.

Harbor Serpent – It is important to note that the clause is '5 or more islands on the battlefield' not on your side. I am fine with this guy being main deck, but if your deck is good enough that you don't need him, don't pass him. This guy can come in against any deck that doesn't have creatures large enough to punch through, or he is best non-rare 6 drop in the Ux mirror. Your choice.

Giant Spider – I mean this in the most sincere way possible – Giant Spider has never been better. The poor guy has always been okay, but in the past five years, the 2/4 for 4 without a great ability has been far outclassed in limited. All of a sudden, reach is a great ability, two is a great power, and four is a great toughness. Not only does Giant Spider hold down the majority of all non-green creatures that cost less than it, it also really hurts the white/x flyer deck, which is one of the best strategies. It will block and survive against every common flier, and kill all but Azure Drake and Cloud Elemental. The blue/white deck is my favoriate to play right now in limited, and this is the card I honestly fear the most.

Infantry Veteran – Speaking of flyers, Infantry Veteran is surprisingly important as a board-in card for the white/x flyer deck. If you have the aggressive side of the flying package – Storefront Pegasus, Wild Griffin and Assault Griffin – then run into a Giant Spider, Cloud Elemental or an Azure Drake, you are going to be in trouble. Infantry Veteran is great at keeping your momentum going while either letting one of your creatures trade, bounce off (thereby letting you sneak some damage through) or even making their blocks a losing proposition.

Arc Runner – When you absolutely positively have to race your opponent before their bombs can take you out, Arc Runner is a great card. He can also come in against decks that just plain don't have many do-nothing weenies in them. If you get an Arc Runner to trade with a Garruk's Pack Leader, then you should be pretty happy. 5 damage is a lot, and combined with Lava Axes, you can really race a deck that has a much better long game.

Fog – Fog isn't a good card the vast majority of the time. Sleep, however, is. So is Overwhelming Stampede. If you are playing a green deck and you have no reasonable way to win games two or three if your opponent has one of these two cards, board Fog in. In general, proactive answers are better than reactive, but you don't always get to pick and choose. Sometimes the ‘best of what's left' is good enough.

Bog Raiders – You would be surprised just how often I see people throw this card into their sideboard and forget about it. It's just a grey ogre most of the time. Except when it is an awesome unblockable grey ogre. It is very easy to pick up two or three of these as middle picks in the draft, and end up with an absurd advantage in half of your games.

There are a lot more than just these, but I hope this gives you an idea of what you should be looking for to fill out your decks in limited. After game one, take a long look through your sideboard, and think about what your deck does, what it isn't good at doing, and what your opponent's deck does. Thank about how you are going to beat your opponent, and alter your deck in the way you need to. Sometimes that does mean taking out good cards for cards that are just plain worse. But all the excellent 5 drops in the world aren't going to help you beat a hyperagressive deck on the play. Sometimes you just need an early blocker to get to your late cards. Sometimes you just need an answer - any answer - to a Platinum Angel. And sometimes your opponent's deck is just better, and you need to overload your deck with weenies to try and steal a win. Whatever the reason, don't feel bad about making drastic changes to your deck between games one and two. If it can put you in a better position to win,then you should go for it.