MTG Salvation

I brewed up a new deck the other day. It was inspired by a deck I built on DotP 2015. That deck uses Satyr Hoplite and cheap efficient Auras to turn out a huge creature by T2. My new deck uses the Satyr along with Akroan Crusader to bring some big pain on my opponent.

Here's my current list:



Furor of the Bitten is a very efficient Aura since it gives a big boost and the drawback is pretty negligible. Hammerhand also does a lot for us here since it boosts, gives haste AND can stop a blocker.

Simian Spirit Guide gives us some pretty big opening turns. Being able to Crimson Wisps a T1 Satyr or Crusader then pumping with Mutagenic Growth is great. Even dropping a first turn Kiln Fiend is great.

Ground Rift is pretty awesome in the list. We can normally Storm it for at least 3 and you can target a Heroic creature when you cast it and hit any potential blockers with the storm copies. (Unfortunately the copies can't trigger Heroic)

One problem with the deck is Kiln Fiend. Kiln Fiend doesn't work as well with the Auras since they don't trigger his ability. Should I cut Kiln Fiend for a different creature like Kruin Striker, Satyr Rambler, Goblin Gaveleer or Nyxborn Rollicker? (The first 3 good because of Trample + pumps and the Rollicker good because it can trigger Heroic with Bestow.) Or should I keep Kiln Fiend and cut the Auras for more instants and sorceries like Crowd's Favor, Assault Strobe, Blades of Velis Vel and Reckless Charge?

Comments, advice and feedback are always welcome!

Madcap Skills seems like it would awesome in this deck, although maybe the mana cost is prohibitive.

I think that instead of focusing on getting a turn 1 or 2 high-damage output, you should aim for a more consistent and realistic goal, probably something like a turn 4-5 kill. Your card choices will probably change significantly from that.

Have you seen the Heroic deck that has popped up in Standard recently? Your deck has reminded of it quite a bit, even if the colours are completely different.



Although the creatures aren't commons, most of the instants, sorceries and auras are, which makes you wonder how well this idea could be ported for Pauper. Red is definitely needed here, as it gives you the turn one Heroics you want. But perhaps White or Blue would be good secondary colours to include? Heliod's Pilgrim and Lagonna-band Trailblazer also seem like worthy inclusions.

Matcap is one of the absolute best Auras in the format (and it's amazing in others) but the cost is a problem. It was considered in my original list though.

The deck can still pull off wins on turn 4 or 5, but it would be nice to make it more consistent in later turns since my opponent can stabilize against the deck after sideboarding. Having the Crusader tokens stick around gives us some good threats to play with. I'd like to add more Cantrips to the deck, but Red has a horrendously low pool of Cantrips that will fit in the deck. The only good one I found was Dragon Mantle (which is a great choice) but I'm not sure what to cut for it. I'm also not too sure on what changes to make to make it more midrangey for more consistency. Of course it'd need more lands and Madcap Skills would fit there, but what else?

I like the idea of an American Heroes deck! There are a lot of great support cards in those colors. I feel we'd need an entirely different thread for that can of worms though.

I would start by cutting the Spirit Guides and replacing them with mountains. That should already do a good job of fixing your mana base.

Ooh I forgot about Mark of Fury that someone had mentioned before. Wouldn't that be good in your deck? It fits the bill by giving haste and also repeatedly triggers heroic.

I've been toying around with a Boros build since last night, and it's actually pretty decent! It's been kicking the crap out of Delver decks, which is one of my main criteria for Pauper nowadays. Does horribly versus Stompy, and reasonably well versus Black aggro.



All the card draw and scrying really makes a big difference.

Mark of Fury is a good option! I'll have to test with it.

I really like the look of your list. All the main board protection cards definitely make the Boros option better than the Mono R. The cantrips and Scrying probably make it super consistent as well. I'll be tinkering around with my list and see what I can do to it.

I'm not surprised that you had a tough time against Stompy, that's generally a tough matchup no matter what deck you use. What was the main problem? The pumps/tricks or the swarms of creatures. If the pumps were the main problem then some Standard Bearers will hose them, but if it was creatures then maybe some Safe Passage effects will do the job.

The creatures were the main problem. The quality is higher and they run way more creatures and I would get overrun with a handful of protection spells and nowhere to go. None of their draws are dead, compared to mine.

What about [[Embolden]]? It protects your creatures, can help prevent damage, can trigger up to 4 Heroic creatures and can do so twice.

[[Anoint]] is much slower, but can fend off a lightning bolt earlier.

Quote from YavimayaWurm »

I like your list, with the mono red build you need to focus on speed in my opinion. Otherwise you get controlled too easily. I'd cut kiln fiend in favor of immolating souleater, which is great with ne non-block spells after you already got some dmg through. Bravado is too situational unfortunately, a 4th hammerhand will do fine.

Yeah, Bravados been ok so far, but I can definitely go with an extra Hammerhand (or Dragon's Mantle since I'm testing it currently). Souleater is worth testing as well. I'll take it for a spin.

Quote from Broco1337 »

What about [[Embolden]]? It protects your creatures, can help prevent damage, can trigger up to 4 Heroic creatures and can do so twice.

[[Anoint]] is much slower, but can fend off a lightning bolt earlier.

Embolden would pretty awesome in the Boros build. The hard cost isn't that good, but the Flashback is awesome!

Maybe this is a place where Carom can shine. I love that card.

Have you been testing with the changes in the red build yet?

I've tested it with more lands over Spirit Guides and with a few changes and I feel like the original is a bit better. My first iteration can be really explosive early but it can still hold its own over time. I've been testing Dragon Mantle, but haven't got around to using Mark of Fury yet. Dragon Mantle is good mainly for the card draw and I rarely get to use the firebreathing since I have little mana in play and use it for other tricks.

Ooh, I just thought about Teetering Peaks. That could be a good way to add extra lands to your deck while still getting a decent effect and a heroic trigger out of it.

Quote from Wildfire393 »

You might consider Reckless Charge. It's another +3 effect for a single red mana, plus grants haste, and it has a reasonable flashback effect to give you another set of triggers to boot.

Reckless Charge is a great card, but the 3 mana for Flashback is a lot. I still prefer Crimson Wisps since it draws me a new card and Mark of Fury is great since it's a repeatable haste/heroic trigger for 1 mana. I have tested Reckless Charge and it is a better option for a build that's more mid-range.

Quote from Obermeir »

Ooh, I just thought about Teetering Peaks. That could be a good way to add extra lands to your deck while still getting a decent effect and a heroic trigger out of it.

Teetering Peaks is good but it enters tapped (which doesn't help our mana base) and unfortunately it doesn't trigger Heroic. Heroic is only triggered from spells targeting the creature, not abilities.

I just noticed I didn't post the second list that is the "consistent" list. It's been good during testing, but I think I prefer my original list still.

Wow I'm a derp and I need to learn to read... Sorry!

Really don't like Rambler... Seems really bad. Other than that, you have 7 lightning bolts haha

How is Crimson Wisps? Wouldn't Mark of Fury just be better in most cases?

Didn't catch the Bolts. I edited my old list on TappedOut then copied it over and didn't notice it.

Yeah, Rambler hasn't been too good, but I'm not sure what other creatures would fit well here and I really don't want to drop the creature count.

I like Wisps over Mark since Wisps Cantrips. I know Mark of Fury technically replaces itself (with itself) but I'd rather see new cards in most cases then having the same one. I also feel like it has more chances to be lost to interaction with permanent removal and other tricks than Wisps. I like both and I'll probably mess with my numbers to fit in at least another Mark.

Assault Strobe triggers heroic and goes very nicely with anything else that pumps power.

If you're looking to go into white:
Defiant Strike is a cantrip pump for 1.
Gods Willing and Shelter give you protection from removal and blockers.
Bandage can save your dudes from the same stuff as Carom for only one mana. So can Heal, but it slowtrips.
Umbras are nice. Squee's Embrace not so much, but it does kinda save your creature from removal.
Ethereal Armor's good with other Auras.
Seething Anger could be good in longer games, if you do ever reach 4 mana.
Taste for Mayhem gives more power than Furor of the Bitten, assuming you can empty your hand and don't care about the toughness.
Mask of Law and Grace and Shield of Duty and Reason could be considered for the sideboard. Unfortunately, the Mask stops your own pumps, but either one can make your dude unanswerable against a monocoloured deck.