Sideboard Tech to Neutralize Attune with Aether

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Attune with Aether card art from Kaladesh

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Sideboard Strategies for Attune with Aether

Attune with Aether is a one-mana green sorcery from Kaladesh that does something deceptively simple: search your library for a basic land, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. You also walk away with two energy counters. On its face, that’s efficient ramp—land fetch plus a little energy to fuel the party of automata and injectors that Kaladesh loves. But in the right matchup, that tiny spell can become a thorn in your side. The typical green tempo or energy-based shell can lean into Attune’s own strengths, turning your plan into a chain of accelerated threats. So how do you flip the script with a clean sideboard plan? The short answer: you disrupt, you bounce, you saturate with hand disruption, and you force the game to hinge on things Attune can’t smooth out. 🧙‍♂️🔥💎

Let’s unpack the card’s layout. Attune costs G and requires you to cast it on a turn when you can spare a single green mana and a moment to hunt for a land. The payoff is twofold: you get a land into hand and you accumulate two energy counters. In Kaladesh and its themed ecosystems, energy counters open doors for artifact-centric plays and expensive spells. The easy counterplay is obvious in many metagames: deny the tempo by stopping the spell or by stealing the moment before it lands. But the subtler tracks—bounce, hand disruption, and post-board threats—are where sideboards truly shine. 🧭🎲

Five practical lines of defense

  • Counterspells and disruption engines — Against a lot of green-led ramp, counterspells and disruption are your first line of defense. Deadly-simple but effective: counter a crucial Attune with a blue-based approach, or employ discard to remove it from the hand before it hits the stack. Think Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek in the right shell, plus assorted counterspells such as Negate or Dovin’s Veto in more blue-inclusive builds. The aim is to deny the initial land fetch and the two-energy engine before it can set in motion a bigger artifact turn. 🧙‍♂️
  • Bounce or exile Attune on resolution — If Attune resolves, bounce or exile it to prevent the library manipulation from sticking around. Spells like Into the Roil or Cyclonic Rift-style options, or even situational cards that bounce a spell back to hand, can punish the timing of a green opponent expecting a quick second spell or energy spike. It’s not just about removing the spell; it’s about re-timing their engine so you’re never behind. ⚔️
  • Spot and nonbasic land hate — Attune fetches basic lands, so you can lean into formats where nonbasic land hate is a meaningful addition. Cards that punish basic land toggles or reduce the effectiveness of basic fetch strategies can blunt the advantage, especially in grindy matchups. It’s less about destroying their lands and more about forcing a slower, more fragile tempo so Attune stops being a reliable backdoor into bigger plays. 🌿
  • Energy denial through artifact disruption — Since Attune rewards the controller with two energy counters, disrupting the artifact ecosystem that thrives on those counters can dilute the payoff of later turns. Target artifacts that harness energy, or deploy broad artifact hate to blunt the synergy that often follows a successful Attune. It’s a way to tilt the board toward a position where Attune becomes a minor tempo piece rather than the engine. 🔧
  • Pressure your opponent’s game plan — In many matchups, you can win by simply applying continuous pressure. If your deck scales faster than your opponent’s commitment via Attune, you’ll force them to use energy to defend rather than to advance a controlling plan. Faster threats or recurring value engines push a game into a space Attune can’t fix on its own. The takeaway: acceleration wins games—except when you accelerate toward a path your opponent can answer cleanly. 🧙‍♂️🔥

Beyond raw disruption, it’s worth thinking about a broader Kaladesh angle: Energy Reserve is a related piece in the ecosystem that can influence how you value Attune’s payoff. While not a direct answer, the synergy between energy counters and artifact-driven plays creates a dynamic that your sideboard can target with both control and tempo tools. If your metagame leans toward big artifact threats, having a plan that neutralizes Attune’s energy ramp while keeping your own energy engines in check becomes a delicate balance of tempo and aggression. ⚡💎

As you craft these sideboard lines, remember that the key is adaptability. Attune with Aether is a lean, low-mana spell that can snowball into powerful turns when paired with the right sequence of plays. Your sideboard should be tuned to disrupt that sequence rather than simply trading one-for-one. Embrace counterplay, embrace bounce, and embrace pressure—then let the dust settle on the Kaladesh battlefield. 🧙‍♂️🎨

For those who like to connect the dots beyond the table, the kit of ideas around Attune with Aether shows how a single-card effect can ripple through a meta. Whether you’re racing for a big artifact payoff or forcing your opponent to navigate a maze of interruptions, a well-tuned sideboard can swing the outcome in your favor. And if you’re curious about real-world gear to complement your reading sessions between matches, a trusty phone grip kickstand (yep, the product you’ll find below) keeps your notes steady as you map out your next round. 🔥🎲

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Attune with Aether

Attune with Aether

{G}
Sorcery

Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. You get {E}{E} (two energy counters).

"I've never seen a world where aether weaves through every aspect of nature."

ID: 32b0707d-241e-4ced-9251-b16af4fef2cb

Oracle ID: b337c241-f2c4-48e3-a303-371b172fcd18

Multiverse IDs: 417718

TCGPlayer ID: 122917

Cardmarket ID: 292726

Colors: G

Color Identity: G

Keywords:

Rarity: Common

Released: 2016-09-30

Artist: Wesley Burt

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 8881

Penny Rank: 1988

Set: Kaladesh (kld)

Collector #: 145

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — legal
  • Timeless — legal
  • Gladiator — legal
  • Pioneer — legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

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  • USD_FOIL: 1.70
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Last updated: 2025-11-15