I think twin flame is the most important thing you can get in a mino deck. Cloned boros + fanatics = win.
Still not a fan of any 2 drop minos, so pyrewild has been in to help with early and late game.
My sideboard does need some loving, for sure. I would like to have the black removal spells replace the peak erruptions. I also don't have the money for high price cards like Thoughtsieze and Boros Reckoner. Instead I replace them with Duress and Kragma Butcher. I like Kragma Butcher because it puts a lot of pressure on my opponent to do something once I have landed a hit. Plus it turns into a 4/3 that bumps up into a 7/4 with Deathtouch, Trample, and Haste potentially.
I will attest to Whip of Erebos however. As far as survival goes it was my sort of counter to W/G Voltron decks before the amazingness of Silence the Believers. The one game I remember, I had a critical mass of Minotaurs, but the guy had a 20/20 with lifelink. The game hinged on me drawing a removal spell. Alas, I got mana flooded. But the match lasted about 4 turns back and forth because we both had lifelink and were gaining 20 solid life each, then loosing 20 solid life. I ended up loosing because of the mana flood, but Whip of Erebos kept my lifetotal from hitting zero.
Also, I think I will be swithcing out Deathbellow Raider with Felhide Brawler. I don't like the fact that if I am at a disadvantage I still have to attack into their stuff. If I don't have a lord on the field I essentially give them a free hit. At least with Felhide Brawler I am allowed to make that strategic choice to hold back and chain off my lords instead of running into a 3/4.
I think twin flame is the most important thing you can get in a mino deck. Cloned boros + fanatics = win.
Still not a fan of any 2 drop minos, so pyrewild has been in to help with early and late game.
^ the Legion Loyalists might be OK, been considering those or Rakdos Cackler to fill up the very important but very dry 1cc spot - the rest need to become cowbells though
Adding a Legion Loyalist or Rakdos Cackler are the usual choice for one-drops that some aggro players would like to use, although yes they are not Minotaurs.
Personally I'll stick with the tribal theme fully utilize the Minotaur lords' abilities. There is Duress and/or Thoughtseize for the 1-cmc spot to occupy in case you won't stick with either Legion Loyalist or Rakdos Cackler.
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Along with what Xanthic said, I would recommend playing Boros Reckoner (if you already have copies). At the end of the day, it's the all-around strongest minotaur that we have and is good in most matchups.
Another suggestion that I have is to include some more "hard" removal mainboard. You have a single Drown in Sorrow which will deal with an aggro deck. Once. But it may be better to have some Dreadbore, Doom Blade or Ultimate Price. Remember, we're in a Voltron kind of play-atmosphere. So, while there are plenty of small guys who will eventually get pumped you can remove, once they're big, a Lightning Strike just isn't going to cut it. It's a matter of valuing your cards and whether you'd rather have the ability to have your removal burn your opponent or deal with big creatures easily.
To kind of clarify this, Minotaurs is a swingy deck. We like tapping our guys and going all in. I would much rather my two spells for sure removing two blockers as opposed to damaging them, but I potentially lose my cow.
Yes, Bolt of Keranos is there for the scry. 3dmg + scrying for 3cmc is very valuable in a deck with no draw spells. About Rakdos Return, i dislike it because i believe the burn side is more important than the discard side, so i prefer 3 dmg and scry, than 1 dmg and discard for the same 3 cmc.
On Ragemonger subject, by my playtesting, 1 out is enough to do the job once the average cmc of the deck is 3. So drawing multiples Ragemongers is not something desirable, and that's why i run 3.
Thoughtseize is indeed a better option over Duress.
Played 2 Esper Control, 1 Jund Monsters, 1 Mono Black Aggro, 1 Mono Blue. Only loss was to the Mono Black aggro in 3.
Notes:
Chandra, Pyromaster was a house.
Whip of Erebos was a house against aggro.
Doom Blade wants to be Dark Betrayal.
Felhide Brawler came out every game. Will probably become a Chandra and more removal.
Gnarled Scarhide came out unless I was on the play.
Boros Reckoner did work, but was sometimes awkward to play.
I want to put 2 Mutavaults in here but I don't want to up the count on Mana Confluence.
Having W grants us access to help power-up our cows. For some reason, I didn't include Mogis, but rather his brother Iroas instead. The white spells help answer against threats we normally can't, such as enchantments. Boros Charm and Chained to the Rocks helps a lot too. About Godless Shrine, I find it too painful already if I run 3 shock lands.
Let me know how it goes. If you want, we can build some decks to test it against, and I can face you on Cockatrice.
Managed to play test it against two decks last weekend on our LGS. It managed to win against Gruul Monsters but lost to white winnies. It has a chance on white winnies if sideboarding is considered though.
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I've been getting first at my local card shop with a mainly creature based minotaur aggressive strategy. With enough creatures smashing face I can easily cast my Rakdos, Lord of Riots. From there he gives Mogis 4 devotion, or combos with Ragemonger for free minotaurs. Ragemonger is also good with Gnarled Scarhide if you didn't get him out early game. I have a load of removal in the sideboard, I usually remove Rakdos and some of my two drop minotaurs as my opponent sideboards against my aggressiveness. Deathbellow Raider is almost always better than Felhide Brawler because Fanatic of Mogis likes friends.
If you're going to play B/R, play an Unleash deck that curves out at 4 mana. Play some light removal and some fun bulky enchantments. Proceed make them eat dirt. It's brute strength and zero thought at its finest.
The whole Minotaur thing just seems to be a wash in this block. With their high mana costs, lack of a lord during crucial early turns, and having to lean heavily on other creatures for things like trample and haste, it seems to me that these guys were never intended for Standard play but rather to be jammed into Jund commander decks.
If you're going to play B/R, play an Unleash deck that curves out at 4 mana. Play some light removal and some fun bulky enchantments. Proceed make them eat dirt. It's brute strength and zero thought at its finest.
The whole Minotaur thing just seems to be a wash in this block. With their high mana costs, lack of a lord during crucial early turns, and having to lean heavily on other creatures for things like trample and haste, it seems to me that these guys were never intended for Standard play but rather to be jammed into Jund commander decks.
that is pretty obvious, but this thread is not about playing a BR deck, is about playing minotaurs. we are all well aware of the fact that there are more competitive options, but that's not what we are interested in. we are interested in cows.
not everyone plays magic the same way. some play the best deck they can, some play what they like.
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
If you're going to play B/R, play an Unleash deck that curves out at 4 mana. Play some light removal and some fun bulky enchantments. Proceed make them eat dirt. It's brute strength and zero thought at its finest.
The whole Minotaur thing just seems to be a wash in this block. With their high mana costs, lack of a lord during crucial early turns, and having to lean heavily on other creatures for things like trample and haste, it seems to me that these guys were never intended for Standard play but rather to be jammed into Jund commander decks.
that is pretty obvious, but this thread is not about playing a BR deck, is about playing minotaurs. we are all well aware of the fact that there are more competitive options, but that's not what we are interested in. we are interested in cows.
not everyone plays magic the same way. some play the best deck they can, some play what they like.
lol i find it funny that people can open a thread and post a comment without reading the thread title.
back to topic, do you guys find it hard to sometimes cast reckoner? i got stucked with it in my hand until turn 6/7 quite a few times
yeah sometimes he is hard to cast, the deck would probably be smoother without him...but he's so good...
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
So I just remembered that I was supposed to post my old Minotaur list in this thread, like, months ago. I don't have that list anymore, but I do have the one I'm currently running. I hit second place at FNM with it last night, losing first to a weird BUG list that just kept landing more huge threats than I could remove, while I kept not drawing removal. Unfortunately I don't get to go to FNM often, so that's the only results I have with the current iteration (Past iterations also did well, but they may or may not be better or worse than this statistically).
I'm pretty sure I need to go down one Mana Confluence, as I lost or almost lost several games to drawing too many of them. In my local meta, I probably want all the Thoughtseizes in the main, and the Drown in Sorrows in the side. Felhide Spiritbinder didn't seem to ever do much, honestly, so he's probably out to either put back in some Fanatic of Mogis or the other two Kragma Warcaller. More downfalls for the SB is also probably an investment I need to make, but they're probably still a jillion dollars and **** that, I'd rather get some Doom Blades or something.
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I find spiritbinder can be amazing, at least in my meta, because it allows you to copy your warmonger, or rageblood, I understand removing it now, but keep it in mind post rotation
Yeah, when I no longer have Reckoner to clog the board his four toughness will be a lot more relevant.
I also want to mention that mainboard Drown was way better a few months ago when more people were playing small aggro decks in my meta. If they are in yours, run the hell out of it. It only hits a few minotaurs, and only a few of those are anything you want to run.
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Having W grants us access to help power-up our cows. For some reason, I didn't include Mogis, but rather his brother Iroas instead. The white spells help answer against threats we normally can't, such as enchantments. Boros Charm and Chained to the Rocks helps a lot too. About Godless Shrine, I find it too painful already if I run 3 shock lands.
After a series of test, the deck seem not to work the way I expect it to. Folds much to control and gets outraced by Aggro. Due to that I shifted it to Rakdos BR aggro setup. Here is the new list:
Sideboard will continue to change from time to time depending on our LGS meta. Anyway on with my analysis:
The Cows Gnarled Scarhide - the 1-drop cow of the deck. Being 2/1 for B on the 1st turn applies early pressure. Better bestowed if drawn later so that we can still have creatures when a board wipe hits. Can also be used to push for final horde damage by bestowing it on an enemy creature. It's free to cast if Ragemonger is around. Sadly, the bestow cost can't be reduced by Ragemonger.
Deathbellow Raider - the 2-drop cow. Having a 2/3 body for 1R is decent despite having the drawback of attacking each turn (hence killing itself sometimes). It is capable of surviving kill spells or even board wipes (so long it allows regeneration). It's a reliable bull that will keep gorging on the battlefield.
Felhide Brawler - the other 2-drop of the deck. Honestly, I'm not a fan of this guy, which makes it similar to Grizzly Bears. But since we are in aggro build, the absence of Deathbellow Raider on turn 2 will suffice enough. It would deal the same damage as Deathbellow Raider although it can't regenerate and can't even block if there are no other Minotaurs around (but blocking is really not the thing of the cows here). But then if curved nicely and you have a turn 3 Rageblood Shaman, it can attack as a 3/3 with Trample along with a 3/2 Gnarled Scarhide, dealing 6 damage. Rageblood Shaman - one of the powerful minotaur lord in the deck that grants +1/+1 (although it can't grant itself with +1/+1 unless you have 2 of these) and Trample to your entire horde. It is important to drop it on turn 3 (if you have it) most especially if you have Gnarled Scarhide, Deathbellow Raider or Felhide Brawler on the board. At that time, you would've dealt a total of 8 damage worth of swing. The game would potentially end next turn if done this way without disruptions. It also grants us 2 red devotion.
Ragemonger - the cost reducer of the deck, much like an Edgewalker. Unlike Edgewalker however, this bull could be considered a minotaur lord since it lets you play your cows faster. Two of these on the field will make most of your cows only one to cast. Good to cast on turn 3 if you didn't draw some Rageblood Shamans. Casting a Boros Reckoner for one is not a joke for your opponent.
Boros Reckoner - the best minotaur in the deck. While it does cost RRR in this deck, it's still manageable to cast it most especially with Ragemongers around. It has a potential of being a 6/4 First Strike, Trample and Haste when one of each minotaur lords are present.
Kragma Warcaller - the other powerful minotaur lord of the deck that acts also as a finisher. It was not that playable before BNG arrived, but when Ragemonger came, it was made earlier to cast at 3. Not only it grants haste to your entire horde, but it also gives +2/+0 on all attacking minotaurs including itself making it actually a 4/3 haste cow. Two of these guys are really scary on the board but you really won't reach that point often because either you've won already or you just lost.
Fanatic of Mogis - while devotion is really not the theme of this tribal deck, this cow can help deal damage (sometimes lethal) even before your horde attacks. A single Boros Reckoner and a Rageblood Shaman alone is worth 5 damage plus 1 (from the fanatic itself). Being a 4/2 that can turn into a 7/3 trample, haste bull is no joke either.
Other Spells Magma Jet - the deck doesn't have any draw spell (sorry Read the Bones) but it can at least setup topdecks. Can also be used to kill small pesky creatures or burn to the face.
Ultimate Price - spot removal. Kill things Magma Jet can't. Used this over Doom Blade so that the deck can kill mono-black creatures when facing black decks.
Thoughtseize - our hand disruption spell. Since the 1-drop slot is not that clogged, this one can have a good go. But then, it's not always good to fire this off on turn 1 if you have Gnarled Scarhide. It's best used when you are about to launch a final attack to check if the coast is clear. Proper timing is a must.
Lands Mountain and Swamp - combos with everything on our deck.
Strategies and ideal curve
Ideally, you want to curve out this way: (assuming no disruptions) Turn 1:Gnarled Scarhide - pass; Turn 2: Attack with Gnarled Scarhide. Then cast either Deathbellow Raider or Felhide Brawler: Total Damage is 2 - pass; Turn 3: Cast Rageblood Shaman. Attack with Gnarled Scarhide (now a 3/2) and Deathbellow Raider (now a 3/4) or Felhide Brawler (now a 3/3): Total damage is 8 - pass; Turn 4: Cast Thoughtseize. This turn is critical. If you are playing against control (and if you are the first turn player) this is a make or break situation for them. By this time they have 3 mana (you have 4). They will think of either countering Thoughtseize or not. If they counter, they will tap out and you could land the next Rageblood Shaman or Kragma Warcaller (only if you have Ragemonger) and then swing. If they don't counter, you would either take away a counter spell or most likely a board wipe. And they will die the next turn.
If fighting against aggro, be not afraid to swing since our cows will be having bigger butts most of the time and will most likely have trample. Just be careful when facing white and/or blue decks. Against bigger monsters, we can either spot remove or Thoughtseize it away. Since we can't do anything about enchantments, it's better to ripped it off through Thoughtseize while we can.
Hope you enjoy your cow decks the way I do!
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So I've been playing casually with friends for a few months, but I want to start getting into standard tournaments. I've been doing a bit of researching and tweaking and have come up with the following:
Any suggestions for cards that should/shouldn't be in. Other than being legal for standard play, I have no requirements on this deck. I've already dropped a bit of money on singles for this deck, so super expensive cards are probably out of the question (but feel free to suggest them anyway.) Also, any advice for a first timer/newbie would be appreciated.
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Still not a fan of any 2 drop minos, so pyrewild has been in to help with early and late game.
2 legion loyalist
4 gnarled scarhide
3 pyrewild shaman
1 prophetic flamespeaker
4 boros reckoner
4 rageblood shaman
3 ragemonger
4 fanatic of mogis
2 kragma warcaller
1 purphuros, god of the forge
1 mogis, god of slaughter
3 dreadbore
2 rakdos's return
2 twin flame
2 magma jet
Lands (22)
4 temple of malice
4 blood crypt
1 mana confluence
5 swamp
8 mountain
3 skullcrack
3 doom blade
3 dark betrayal
2 duress
2 slaughter games
1 whip of erebos
1 immortal servitude
Sorceries
3x Dreadbore
3x Duress
Instants
3x Magma Jet
3x Lightning Strike
Creatures
4x Kragma Butcher
3x Deathbellow Raider
2x Felhide Petrifier
4x Gnarled Scarhide
4x Kragma Warcaller
4x Rageblood Shaman
4x Ragemonger
4x Blood Crypt
1x Mana Confluence
9x Mountain
4x Swamp
4x Temple of Malice
1x Rakdos Guildgate
1x Skullcrack
1x Fall of the Hammer
1x Slaughter Games
1x Mizzium Mortars
2x Whip of Erebos
1x Anger of the Gods
3x Bile Blight
2x Peak Eruption
2x Mugging
1x Mogis, God of Slaughter
My sideboard does need some loving, for sure. I would like to have the black removal spells replace the peak erruptions. I also don't have the money for high price cards like Thoughtsieze and Boros Reckoner. Instead I replace them with Duress and Kragma Butcher. I like Kragma Butcher because it puts a lot of pressure on my opponent to do something once I have landed a hit. Plus it turns into a 4/3 that bumps up into a 7/4 with Deathtouch, Trample, and Haste potentially.
I will attest to Whip of Erebos however. As far as survival goes it was my sort of counter to W/G Voltron decks before the amazingness of Silence the Believers. The one game I remember, I had a critical mass of Minotaurs, but the guy had a 20/20 with lifelink. The game hinged on me drawing a removal spell. Alas, I got mana flooded. But the match lasted about 4 turns back and forth because we both had lifelink and were gaining 20 solid life each, then loosing 20 solid life. I ended up loosing because of the mana flood, but Whip of Erebos kept my lifetotal from hitting zero.
Also, I think I will be swithcing out Deathbellow Raider with Felhide Brawler. I don't like the fact that if I am at a disadvantage I still have to attack into their stuff. If I don't have a lord on the field I essentially give them a free hit. At least with Felhide Brawler I am allowed to make that strategic choice to hold back and chain off my lords instead of running into a 3/4.
EDIT:
Get rid of those Goblins dude, this is Tribal. As nice as the Red staples are, they don't synergize with the lords at all.
Personally I'll stick with the tribal theme fully utilize the Minotaur lords' abilities. There is Duress and/or Thoughtseize for the 1-cmc spot to occupy in case you won't stick with either Legion Loyalist or Rakdos Cackler.
04 Gnarled Scarhide
04 Kragma Warcaller
04 Rageblood Shaman
03 Ragemonger
03 Felhide Petrifier
02 Felhide Spiritbinder
01 Mogis, God of Slaughter
//SUPPORT (17)
04 Duress
04 Magma Spray
04 Magma Jet
04 Lightning Strike
01 Drown in Sorrow
07 Swamp
06 Mountain
04 Temple of Malice
04 Blood Crypt
01 Mana Confluence
04 Hero's Downfall
04 Bolt of Keranos
04 Thoughtseize
03 Drown in Sorrow
I'm still unsure over Fellhide Spiritbinder
I suggest running 4x of Rangemonger since it's the one reducing the all of the cows' cmc. Also, why Bolt of Keranos? For the scry? You have Magma Jet for that. Why not include in the side perhaps Rakdos's Return and/or Slaughter Games? Also, put Thoughtseize in main and Duress on the side.
Along with what Xanthic said, I would recommend playing Boros Reckoner (if you already have copies). At the end of the day, it's the all-around strongest minotaur that we have and is good in most matchups.
Another suggestion that I have is to include some more "hard" removal mainboard. You have a single Drown in Sorrow which will deal with an aggro deck. Once. But it may be better to have some Dreadbore, Doom Blade or Ultimate Price. Remember, we're in a Voltron kind of play-atmosphere. So, while there are plenty of small guys who will eventually get pumped you can remove, once they're big, a Lightning Strike just isn't going to cut it. It's a matter of valuing your cards and whether you'd rather have the ability to have your removal burn your opponent or deal with big creatures easily.
To kind of clarify this, Minotaurs is a swingy deck. We like tapping our guys and going all in. I would much rather my two spells for sure removing two blockers as opposed to damaging them, but I potentially lose my cow.
4 Gnarled Scarhide
4 Felhide Brawler
4 Deathbellow Raider
4 Ragemonger
3 Rageblood Shaman
2 Felhide Petrifier
1 Boros Reckoner
2 Kragma Warcaller
Spells [13]
4 Thoughtsieze
4 Magma Jet
3 Toil//Trouble
2 Dreadbore
4 Temple of Malice
4 Blood Crypt
2 Mutavault
7 Swamp
6 Mountain
2 Hero's Downfall
3 Electrickery
8 Other Cards
CCL Winner- July '08, Aug '08 Sept '08, Oct '08
Survivor- CCS: Lost in Takenuma, CCS: Stranded In Tolaria
Yes, Bolt of Keranos is there for the scry. 3dmg + scrying for 3cmc is very valuable in a deck with no draw spells. About Rakdos Return, i dislike it because i believe the burn side is more important than the discard side, so i prefer 3 dmg and scry, than 1 dmg and discard for the same 3 cmc.
On Ragemonger subject, by my playtesting, 1 out is enough to do the job once the average cmc of the deck is 3. So drawing multiples Ragemongers is not something desirable, and that's why i run 3.
Thoughtseize is indeed a better option over Duress.
4 Gnarled Scarhide
3 Felhide Brawler
2 Felhide Petrifier
4 Rageblood Shaman
2 Ragemonger
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Kragma Warcaller
2 Dreadbore
4 Magma Jet
4 Thoughtseize
Lands:
4 Blood Crypt
4 Temple of Malice
2 Mana Confluence4 Blood Crypt
6 Mountain
7 Swamp
3 Ultimate Price
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Duress
4 Skullcrack
2 Doom Blade
1 Whip of Erebos
Played 2 Esper Control, 1 Jund Monsters, 1 Mono Black Aggro, 1 Mono Blue. Only loss was to the Mono Black aggro in 3.
Notes:
Chandra, Pyromaster was a house.
Whip of Erebos was a house against aggro.
Doom Blade wants to be Dark Betrayal.
Felhide Brawler came out every game. Will probably become a Chandra and more removal.
Gnarled Scarhide came out unless I was on the play.
Boros Reckoner did work, but was sometimes awkward to play.
I want to put 2 Mutavaults in here but I don't want to up the count on Mana Confluence.
4x Boros Reckoner main is highly recommended here.
4x Blood Crypt
2x Mana Confluence
4x Mountain
4x Sacred Foundry
3x Swamp
3x Temple of Malice
3x Temple of Triumph
Sorceries (6)
3x Dreadbore
3x Thoughtseize
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Deathbellow Raider
3x Kragma Warcaller
4x Rageblood Shaman
4x Ragemonger
Instants (9)
4x Boros Charm
2x Ultimate Price
3x Magma Jet
Enchantment (3)
3x Chained to the Rocks
2x Deicide
2x Duress
1x Immortal Servitude
1x Iroas, God of Victory
1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
1x Rakdos's Return
3x Skullcrack
2x Slaughter Games
2x Wear // Tear
Having W grants us access to help power-up our cows. For some reason, I didn't include Mogis, but rather his brother Iroas instead. The white spells help answer against threats we normally can't, such as enchantments. Boros Charm and Chained to the Rocks helps a lot too. About Godless Shrine, I find it too painful already if I run 3 shock lands.
Managed to play test it against two decks last weekend on our LGS. It managed to win against Gruul Monsters but lost to white winnies. It has a chance on white winnies if sideboarding is considered though.
The whole Minotaur thing just seems to be a wash in this block. With their high mana costs, lack of a lord during crucial early turns, and having to lean heavily on other creatures for things like trample and haste, it seems to me that these guys were never intended for Standard play but rather to be jammed into Jund commander decks.
that is pretty obvious, but this thread is not about playing a BR deck, is about playing minotaurs. we are all well aware of the fact that there are more competitive options, but that's not what we are interested in. we are interested in cows.
not everyone plays magic the same way. some play the best deck they can, some play what they like.
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lol i find it funny that people can open a thread and post a comment without reading the thread title.
back to topic, do you guys find it hard to sometimes cast reckoner? i got stucked with it in my hand until turn 6/7 quite a few times
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
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Anyway, deck:
6x Mountain
4x Godless Shrine
4x Blood Crypt
3x Mana Confluence
3x Mutavault
2x Temple of Malice
2x Temple of Silence
22 Creatures
4x Deathbellow Raider
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Gnarled Scarhide
4x Rageblood Shaman
2x Ragemonger
2x Felhide Spiritbinder
2x Kragma Warcaller
4x Dreadbore
2x Thoughtseize
2x Drown in Sorrow
4 Instant
3x Boros Charm
1x Silence the Believers
2 Enchantment
2x Whip of Erebos
15 Sideboard
4x Anger of the Gods
4x Duress
3x Slaughter Games
2x Thoughtseize
2x Hero's Downfall
I'm pretty sure I need to go down one Mana Confluence, as I lost or almost lost several games to drawing too many of them. In my local meta, I probably want all the Thoughtseizes in the main, and the Drown in Sorrows in the side. Felhide Spiritbinder didn't seem to ever do much, honestly, so he's probably out to either put back in some Fanatic of Mogis or the other two Kragma Warcaller. More downfalls for the SB is also probably an investment I need to make, but they're probably still a jillion dollars and **** that, I'd rather get some Doom Blades or something.
I also want to mention that mainboard Drown was way better a few months ago when more people were playing small aggro decks in my meta. If they are in yours, run the hell out of it. It only hits a few minotaurs, and only a few of those are anything you want to run.
After a series of test, the deck seem not to work the way I expect it to. Folds much to control and gets outraced by Aggro. Due to that I shifted it to Rakdos BR aggro setup. Here is the new list:
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Deathbellow Raider
2x Fanatic of Mogis
4x Felhide Brawler
4x Gnarled Scarhide
3x Kragma Warcaller
4x Rageblood Shaman
4x Ragemonger
3x Magma Jet
2x Ultimate Price
Sorceries (3)
3x Thoughtseize
Lands (23)
4x Blood Crypt
10x Mountain
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3x Swamp
4x Temple of Malice
2x Drown in Sorrow
2x Mizzium Mortars
1x Mogis, God of Slaughter
1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
2x Rakdos Charm
1x Rakdos's Return
3x Skullcrack
2x Slaughter Games
1x Thoughtseize
Sideboard will continue to change from time to time depending on our LGS meta. Anyway on with my analysis:
The Cows
Gnarled Scarhide - the 1-drop cow of the deck. Being 2/1 for B on the 1st turn applies early pressure. Better bestowed if drawn later so that we can still have creatures when a board wipe hits. Can also be used to push for final horde damage by bestowing it on an enemy creature. It's free to cast if Ragemonger is around. Sadly, the bestow cost can't be reduced by Ragemonger.
Deathbellow Raider - the 2-drop cow. Having a 2/3 body for 1R is decent despite having the drawback of attacking each turn (hence killing itself sometimes). It is capable of surviving kill spells or even board wipes (so long it allows regeneration). It's a reliable bull that will keep gorging on the battlefield.
Felhide Brawler - the other 2-drop of the deck. Honestly, I'm not a fan of this guy, which makes it similar to Grizzly Bears. But since we are in aggro build, the absence of Deathbellow Raider on turn 2 will suffice enough. It would deal the same damage as Deathbellow Raider although it can't regenerate and can't even block if there are no other Minotaurs around (but blocking is really not the thing of the cows here). But then if curved nicely and you have a turn 3 Rageblood Shaman, it can attack as a 3/3 with Trample along with a 3/2 Gnarled Scarhide, dealing 6 damage.
Rageblood Shaman - one of the powerful minotaur lord in the deck that grants +1/+1 (although it can't grant itself with +1/+1 unless you have 2 of these) and Trample to your entire horde. It is important to drop it on turn 3 (if you have it) most especially if you have Gnarled Scarhide, Deathbellow Raider or Felhide Brawler on the board. At that time, you would've dealt a total of 8 damage worth of swing. The game would potentially end next turn if done this way without disruptions. It also grants us 2 red devotion.
Ragemonger - the cost reducer of the deck, much like an Edgewalker. Unlike Edgewalker however, this bull could be considered a minotaur lord since it lets you play your cows faster. Two of these on the field will make most of your cows only one to cast. Good to cast on turn 3 if you didn't draw some Rageblood Shamans. Casting a Boros Reckoner for one is not a joke for your opponent.
Boros Reckoner - the best minotaur in the deck. While it does cost RRR in this deck, it's still manageable to cast it most especially with Ragemongers around. It has a potential of being a 6/4 First Strike, Trample and Haste when one of each minotaur lords are present.
Kragma Warcaller - the other powerful minotaur lord of the deck that acts also as a finisher. It was not that playable before BNG arrived, but when Ragemonger came, it was made earlier to cast at 3. Not only it grants haste to your entire horde, but it also gives +2/+0 on all attacking minotaurs including itself making it actually a 4/3 haste cow. Two of these guys are really scary on the board but you really won't reach that point often because either you've won already or you just lost.
Fanatic of Mogis - while devotion is really not the theme of this tribal deck, this cow can help deal damage (sometimes lethal) even before your horde attacks. A single Boros Reckoner and a Rageblood Shaman alone is worth 5 damage plus 1 (from the fanatic itself). Being a 4/2 that can turn into a 7/3 trample, haste bull is no joke either.
Other Spells
Magma Jet - the deck doesn't have any draw spell (sorry Read the Bones) but it can at least setup topdecks. Can also be used to kill small pesky creatures or burn to the face.
Ultimate Price - spot removal. Kill things Magma Jet can't. Used this over Doom Blade so that the deck can kill mono-black creatures when facing black decks.
Thoughtseize - our hand disruption spell. Since the 1-drop slot is not that clogged, this one can have a good go. But then, it's not always good to fire this off on turn 1 if you have Gnarled Scarhide. It's best used when you are about to launch a final attack to check if the coast is clear. Proper timing is a must.
Lands
Mountain and Swamp - combos with everything on our deck.
Blood Crypt - our shock land.
Temple of Malice - our scry land.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - while not a devotion deck, this could fire off cows quickly. Best used when Boros Reckoners and Rageblood Shamans are around. This is under testing and experiment thought.
Strategies and ideal curve
Ideally, you want to curve out this way: (assuming no disruptions)
Turn 1: Gnarled Scarhide - pass;
Turn 2: Attack with Gnarled Scarhide. Then cast either Deathbellow Raider or Felhide Brawler: Total Damage is 2 - pass;
Turn 3: Cast Rageblood Shaman. Attack with Gnarled Scarhide (now a 3/2) and Deathbellow Raider (now a 3/4) or Felhide Brawler (now a 3/3): Total damage is 8 - pass;
Turn 4: Cast Thoughtseize. This turn is critical. If you are playing against control (and if you are the first turn player) this is a make or break situation for them. By this time they have 3 mana (you have 4). They will think of either countering Thoughtseize or not. If they counter, they will tap out and you could land the next Rageblood Shaman or Kragma Warcaller (only if you have Ragemonger) and then swing. If they don't counter, you would either take away a counter spell or most likely a board wipe. And they will die the next turn.
If fighting against aggro, be not afraid to swing since our cows will be having bigger butts most of the time and will most likely have trample. Just be careful when facing white and/or blue decks. Against bigger monsters, we can either spot remove or Thoughtseize it away. Since we can't do anything about enchantments, it's better to ripped it off through Thoughtseize while we can.
Hope you enjoy your cow decks the way I do!
10 Swamp
10 Mountain
Creatures
3 Pharika's Chosen
2 Ragemonger
2 Felhide Petrifier
4 Rageblood Shaman
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Fanatic of Mogis
2 Felhide Spiritbinder
4 Kragma Warcaller
2 Elixir of Immortality
1 Door of Destinies
Spells
1 Font of Ire
1 Rouse the Mob
3 Font of Return
4 Flurry of Horns
4 Dreadbore
Any suggestions for cards that should/shouldn't be in. Other than being legal for standard play, I have no requirements on this deck. I've already dropped a bit of money on singles for this deck, so super expensive cards are probably out of the question (but feel free to suggest them anyway.) Also, any advice for a first timer/newbie would be appreciated.