So I've seen people talking about this Boros "Equipment" deck as a thing with the printings of cards like Koll, the Forgemaster, Reyav, Master Smith, and Bruenor Battlehammer, but I have no experience with it. Is it any good? Is it fun? Since I have a larger cube (720), I always try to give each color-combination at least two ways to build. My Boros section is pretty boring. One way to build is the go-wide/tokens thing, and I guess the other would be just a generic aggro build.
What are the key cards here? Sign-posts, role-players, cross-synergies, etc..? How much equipment is needed? I know that some of these cards also care about auras, so maybe they can fill in the gap.
Here's a list of potential cards to consider that I've gathered:
White: Kitesail Apprentice (horrible if not equipped) Kor Duelist (horrible if not equipped) Danitha Capashen, Paragon (good cross-over with auras/Enchantress, which is a thing in Selesnya colors for me) Warchanter Skald (horrible if not equipped or enchanted)
White generally has plenty of First Strikers, Flyers, and Lifelinkers that are good with equipment.
My first thought with this archetype is any equipment that comes with a potential creature already equipped. I count 3 each in white and red, and there's also some Living Weapon artifacts for colorless.
Any double striker works really well with equipment and they're not as narrow as the Kor soldiers from Zendikar as they are better on their own already and they work just as well with auras/anthems/+1/+1 counters or pump spells. In white there is Kor Blademaster/Fencing Ace (one is usually enough and Blademaster has a minor upside over Ace), in red there is Scrapper Champion.
I also run Guardian of the Guildpact, which naturally is great in combination with colorless equipment. On the other hand it doesn't work well with all the other cards mentioned above and some may think it can be unfun.
Since equipment is a bit like a soft version of Voltron it's also always good to have creatures that don't die easily such as Adanto Vanguard or Seasoned Hallowblade for example.
There are generally a lot of creatures that are good on their own already and that work well in combination with equipment, so this doesn't have to be a parasitic archetype. I would say that the only cards I run that I would only very rarely play outside of a dedicated equipment deck are Danitha Capashen, Paragon and Kor Blademaster in white, Reyav, Master Smith in Boros and maybe Scrapper Champion in red (though she's pretty good on her own).
Any double striker works really well with equipment and they're not as narrow as the Kor soldiers from Zendikar as they are better on their own already and they work just as well with auras/anthems/+1/+1 counters or pump spells. In white there is Kor Blademaster/Fencing Ace (one is usually enough and Blademaster has a minor upside over Ace),
Oh... I forgot another VERY PLAYABLE equipment - Skullclamp - though I personally don't play it because of power level. It could potentially create an infinite value loop with Koll, the Forgemaster and a 1-toughness creature like Fireblade Charger. You take two damage; I draw two cards. Replay, reattach, rinse, and repeat.
We are starting to get more and more cards for this archetype, but I still don't think there's enough, especially for larger cubes - there just wouldn't be enough density to build around in any but the smallest cubes. I don't think we're there yet, but at the current rate, we may be soon.
A few cards that haven't been mentioned: Swiftfoot Boots - I run this even without running the archetype. Haste is valuable, and hexproof is really good. Zephyr Boots - I also run this one. Evasion and looting. Cross-synergies with the skies/flying archetype or a way to answer said archetype. Can set up reanimation targets. Armory of Iroas - Cross synergy with the +1/+1 counter archetype. Generally a bit too much mana, but it has utility outside of Boros equipment with some of the newer cards like Herd Baloth and even Scurry Oak. Infiltration Lens - Drawing two cards is actually pretty good. So is getting through unblocked. Tormentor's Helm - Guaranteed damage plus a (small) pump for pretty minimal mana. Ardenn, Intrepid Archeologist - Cheating Equip costs. Hilarious with Colossus Hammer, but I'd rather run efficient equipment with low costs that don't depend on this.
Given how few cards there are, what are people's feelings on tutors like Open the Armory/Axgard Armory? I could see them as a big incentive to draft the archetype, but they are dead picks if you aren't going that way. Too parasitic?
Oh... I forgot another VERY PLAYABLE equipment - Skullclamp - though I personally don't play it because of power level. It could potentially create an infinite value loop with Koll, the Forgemaster and a 1-toughness creature like Fireblade Charger. You take two damage; I draw two cards. Replay, reattach, rinse, and repeat.
While an interesting and efficient value machine, I'd hardly call it an "infinite value loop" when it requires an input of two mana each time. Infinite loops are generally self-sustaining.
But yes, Skullclamp is very playable. I think anyone running this archetype would have to look at Loxodon Warhammer and Skullclamp. I know a lot of people don't run them for power reasons, but I've enjoyed both. As the floor comes up on all our other cards, especially removal, the power disparity will be mitigated, and these will stick out less and less.
Doesn't Fervent Champion kind of fit as well for those considering this?
Peasant is a format that can only run cards that have been printed at common or uncommon. Fervent Champion has only been printed at rare, so it isn't legal. Though I do run it in one of my other cubes, and is a good choice for the equipment archetype there.
IMO Boros equipment isn't quite "there", especially if you run unrestricted removal. People love to hype up cards like Loxodon Warhammer but trading 6 mana and a creature for my opponents doom blade isn't something I'm excited to do.
That said, the archetype is closer than it's ever been. If you're willing to run cards that are garbage if-not-equipped, bloodshot trainee is a classic.
Also aura/equipment benefit a lot from having a coalition honor gaurd spellskite-ing removal away from the voltron.
IMO Boros equipment isn't quite "there", especially if you run unrestricted removal. People love to hype up cards like Loxodon Warhammer but trading 6 mana and a creature for my opponents doom blade isn't something I'm excited to do.
That said, the archetype is closer than it's ever been. If you're willing to run cards that are garbage if-not-equipped, bloodshot trainee is a classic.
Also aura/equipment benefit a lot from having a coalition honor gaurd spellskite-ing removal away from the voltron.
The equipment archetype doesn't work exactly like Voltron, that's why removal doesn't matter as much and that's why you don't need boring hexproof creatures, even though resilient creatures like Adanto Vanguard certainly don't hurt. You can easily run 10-14 creatures in your deck and token makers are also a good idea (both white and red have plenty of these) so you don't run out of creatures you can equip. It's not like (constructed) Voltron where you only have a really low amount of creatures. Obviously a cube with an excessive amount of removal would kill this archetype, but it would kill any other aggressive archetype as well. Removal quality is no problem if the rest of the cube is up to par.
As for Loxodon Warhammer, the problem is that it can completely wreck aggressive decks. Yes, it costs mana and you can delay it for a turn with removal, but ultimately a single successful attack will buy you enough time to win the game 95% of the time against aggressive decks. It's like a Pelakka Wurm that comes down every turn. It's just boring and annoying if you bring someone down to 5 life with your aggro deck and then Loxodon Warhammer comes around and it's 100% game over unless you have artifact removal ready or a Doom Blade and a board state that allows you to win the next turn.
I had Loxodon Warhammer in my cube twice and both times it was removed quickly after it saw play. And I don't have any depowered removal. It's not hyped up, it's just a card that has the typical 'rock, paper, scissors' gameplay of vintage cubes, and I don't want that.
What does everyone think? Has the archetype reached critical mass yet? Is it still short?
And importantly, how many slots would we need to dedicate to make it a viable draft archetype in each cube size? 360? 450? 540? 720+?
I see a problem with good colorless equipment getting picked up by random players while dedicated Boros cards may be considered dead for anyone not drafting the archetype.
I'm running Mirran banesplitter which you're missing, but I've never seriously considered this archetype.
Too parasitic. I could run some black sac outlet in a deck without a reassembling skeleton analog, but Kemba Kha Regent absolutely needs 2 or more specific cards in the deck to have a chance at working.
Also anything that cares about modified creatures should be on your list
I'm running Mirran banesplitter which you're missing, but I've never seriously considered this archetype.
Too parasitic. I could run some black sac outlet in a deck without a reassembling skeleton analog, but Kemba Kha Regent absolutely needs 2 or more specific cards in the deck to have a chance at working.
Also anything that cares about modified creatures should be on your list
I can definitely see the too parasitic aspect. There are certainly equipment that are worth running on their own, but most of the signpost creatures that care about equipment don't really do a lot without equipment.
I had totally forgotten about modified (only ever played one card with it), but after looking at the options for peasant, I can't really see any worth playing. Maybe I could stretch for Ambitious Assault?
I am going to try the new Akiri, Fearless Voyager, because the payoff is pretty good. But I think it might be too parasitic. However, it protecting equipped creatures if you play it as a 4-drop is nifty. Kind of awkward with Grafted Wargear in that respect, though.
Most of my coloured equipments are in Boros, so that helps the archtype slightly. But it rarely happens that 'the equipment deck' comes together, mostly it is aggro with 1 or 2 equipments. I used to run Plate Armor as well, but that turned out to not be strong enough.
What are the key cards here? Sign-posts, role-players, cross-synergies, etc..? How much equipment is needed? I know that some of these cards also care about auras, so maybe they can fill in the gap.
Here's a list of potential cards to consider that I've gathered:
Boros:
Koll, the Forgemaster
Reyav, Master Smith
Weapons Trainer
Bruenor Battlehammer
Tiana, Ship's Caretaker (expensive)
White:
Kitesail Apprentice (horrible if not equipped)
Kor Duelist (horrible if not equipped)
Danitha Capashen, Paragon (good cross-over with auras/Enchantress, which is a thing in Selesnya colors for me)
Warchanter Skald (horrible if not equipped or enchanted)
White generally has plenty of First Strikers, Flyers, and Lifelinkers that are good with equipment.
Red:
Fireblade Charger
Champion of the Flame (horrible if not equipped or enchanted)
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame
Dueling Rapier (equipment) (meh)
Boots of Speed (equipment) (meh)
Equipment:
Bonesplitter
Trusty Machete
Sylvok Lifestaff (meh, life-gain cross-over?)
Vulshok Morningstar (meh)
Grafted Wargear
Loxodon Warhammer
Heirloom Blade (tribal?)
Thoughts? I'm sure I missed some stuff that could play well here.
White: Ancestral Blade, Barbed Spike and Valkyrie's Sword.
Red: Dwarven Hammer, Goblin Morningstar, and Mask of Immolation.
Colorless: Batterbone, Flayer Husk, and Mortarpod, plus a lot of more expensive to cast and equip Living Weapons.
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-- Updated with Fallout Commander
The PioneWer Peasant CUbe
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pionewer
-- Updated with Murders at Karlov Manor
I also run Guardian of the Guildpact, which naturally is great in combination with colorless equipment. On the other hand it doesn't work well with all the other cards mentioned above and some may think it can be unfun.
Since equipment is a bit like a soft version of Voltron it's also always good to have creatures that don't die easily such as Adanto Vanguard or Seasoned Hallowblade for example.
Unblockable creatures like creatures with shadow (Soltari Trooper, Soltari Champion) are also good.
Equipment I run that wasn't mentioned yet is Mask of Memory and Specter's Shroud.
There are generally a lot of creatures that are good on their own already and that work well in combination with equipment, so this doesn't have to be a parasitic archetype. I would say that the only cards I run that I would only very rarely play outside of a dedicated equipment deck are Danitha Capashen, Paragon and Kor Blademaster in white, Reyav, Master Smith in Boros and maybe Scrapper Champion in red (though she's pretty good on her own).
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Twinblade Geist too!
A few cards that haven't been mentioned:
Swiftfoot Boots - I run this even without running the archetype. Haste is valuable, and hexproof is really good.
Zephyr Boots - I also run this one. Evasion and looting. Cross-synergies with the skies/flying archetype or a way to answer said archetype. Can set up reanimation targets.
Armory of Iroas - Cross synergy with the +1/+1 counter archetype. Generally a bit too much mana, but it has utility outside of Boros equipment with some of the newer cards like Herd Baloth and even Scurry Oak.
Infiltration Lens - Drawing two cards is actually pretty good. So is getting through unblocked.
Tormentor's Helm - Guaranteed damage plus a (small) pump for pretty minimal mana.
Ardenn, Intrepid Archeologist - Cheating Equip costs. Hilarious with Colossus Hammer, but I'd rather run efficient equipment with low costs that don't depend on this.
Given how few cards there are, what are people's feelings on tutors like Open the Armory/Axgard Armory? I could see them as a big incentive to draft the archetype, but they are dead picks if you aren't going that way. Too parasitic?
While an interesting and efficient value machine, I'd hardly call it an "infinite value loop" when it requires an input of two mana each time. Infinite loops are generally self-sustaining.
But yes, Skullclamp is very playable. I think anyone running this archetype would have to look at Loxodon Warhammer and Skullclamp. I know a lot of people don't run them for power reasons, but I've enjoyed both. As the floor comes up on all our other cards, especially removal, the power disparity will be mitigated, and these will stick out less and less.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
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375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
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That said, the archetype is closer than it's ever been. If you're willing to run cards that are garbage if-not-equipped, bloodshot trainee is a classic.
Also aura/equipment benefit a lot from having a coalition honor gaurd spellskite-ing removal away from the voltron.
The equipment archetype doesn't work exactly like Voltron, that's why removal doesn't matter as much and that's why you don't need boring hexproof creatures, even though resilient creatures like Adanto Vanguard certainly don't hurt. You can easily run 10-14 creatures in your deck and token makers are also a good idea (both white and red have plenty of these) so you don't run out of creatures you can equip. It's not like (constructed) Voltron where you only have a really low amount of creatures. Obviously a cube with an excessive amount of removal would kill this archetype, but it would kill any other aggressive archetype as well. Removal quality is no problem if the rest of the cube is up to par.
As for Loxodon Warhammer, the problem is that it can completely wreck aggressive decks. Yes, it costs mana and you can delay it for a turn with removal, but ultimately a single successful attack will buy you enough time to win the game 95% of the time against aggressive decks. It's like a Pelakka Wurm that comes down every turn. It's just boring and annoying if you bring someone down to 5 life with your aggro deck and then Loxodon Warhammer comes around and it's 100% game over unless you have artifact removal ready or a Doom Blade and a board state that allows you to win the next turn.
I had Loxodon Warhammer in my cube twice and both times it was removed quickly after it saw play. And I don't have any depowered removal. It's not hyped up, it's just a card that has the typical 'rock, paper, scissors' gameplay of vintage cubes, and I don't want that.
My Old School Battlebox
My Premodern Battlebox
Akiri, Fearless Voyager
Éowyn, Lady of Rohan
Kemba, Kha Regent
Barrow-Blade
Beamtown Beatstick
Bladehold War-Whip
Citizen's Crowbar
Forebear's Blade
Greatsword of Tyr
Livewire Lash
Kor Halberd
Rabbit Battery
Simian Sling
Thran Power Suit
Any others I've missed?
What does everyone think? Has the archetype reached critical mass yet? Is it still short?
And importantly, how many slots would we need to dedicate to make it a viable draft archetype in each cube size? 360? 450? 540? 720+?
I see a problem with good colorless equipment getting picked up by random players while dedicated Boros cards may be considered dead for anyone not drafting the archetype.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
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Too parasitic. I could run some black sac outlet in a deck without a reassembling skeleton analog, but Kemba Kha Regent absolutely needs 2 or more specific cards in the deck to have a chance at working.
Also anything that cares about modified creatures should be on your list
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I had totally forgotten about modified (only ever played one card with it), but after looking at the options for peasant, I can't really see any worth playing. Maybe I could stretch for Ambitious Assault?
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
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I run Eowyn, Lady of Rohan because I think the floor is high enough, kind of like a much worse Steel Seraph.
Most of my coloured equipments are in Boros, so that helps the archtype slightly. But it rarely happens that 'the equipment deck' comes together, mostly it is aggro with 1 or 2 equipments. I used to run Plate Armor as well, but that turned out to not be strong enough.
WiJ
Peasant 540 Cube