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.
Not sure that Whip of Erebos and Underworld Connections are worth their spots in your deck. While they both serve a very specific purpose, neither is really a play that advances your deck and quite possibly can even be seen as slowing it down. Perhaps you can put your Boros Reckoners back in by taking those out. Keep in mind, the majority of the Minotaur decks are running 24-25 creatures, so your 22 is a bit on the low side.
I was just kind of spitballing. Of all the cards in the set, that one seems really weird to me. Kind of out of nowhere, so I figured it was a place to start. And I didn't even think of that Mongolian theme synergy. That's a great point ha.
I would say that one of the key cards we should look at for hints at Huey is Prowler's Helm. In the current format, a creature equipped with Helm is completely unblockable in the majority of situations. Part of that is because there is only one Theros wall, Mnemonic Wall. While we already know that M15 is going to have Wall of Fire, the Helm still emphasizes that Walls should, in some form, be relevant to the coming set.
might be obvious but to me the best synergy we have with felhide petrifieris with rageblood shaman. I've heard death touch and trample together are good
i'm not entirely sold on the 1 drop...i play this deck more as a midrange than an aggro deck, usually turn 1/2 are used for thoughtesieze/removal...
haven't tested yet with chandra but i plan to: she seems sweet. i just don't know if i want to cut fanatic of mogis or mogis, god of slaughter for her
You're definitely right about the synergy between Felhide Petrifierwith Rageblood Shaman. It's an insanely powerful combination. The problem is that any copy of Petrifier after the first is redundant unlike the other lords.
Gnarled Scarhide is actually better than I think you realize. Not only do we get a creature early, it acts as a form of pseudo-removal, making it so that our opponent's creature can't block. Or it can buff one of our own creatures. On a side note, I am currently asking as many rules people as I can, but it seems Ragemonger does not affect Gnarled Scarhide's Bestow cost. If it does, though, that is something I will inform everyone about.
As for Chandra, I like the addition, although there haven't been too many matches were I felt she would have added an immense amount. Please playtest and let me know just how wrong I am. I'm used to running out of cards.
With that said, here are the two deck lists that I'm working with.
The DEGA build is still incredibly rough. I'm trying to figure out the mana while having cards that say mountain on them so we have as many targets for Chained to the Rocks as possible.
Also, as you can probably see in the DEGA build, Iroas, God of Victory is sideboard. I chose to over-saturate the 3 drops because I personally like the card advantage that comes with Athreos, God of Passage. This also makes Immortal Servitude in the sideboard a stronger card.
One of my immediate thoughts looking at the deck was trying to figure out where Felhide Petrifier would go. In particular, I'm looking at replacing our two Mogis, God of Slaughter with him. He doesn't offer the same boost that the other minotaur lords do, but he adds a good amount of versatility. Since we want to only see him about once a game, and generally late at that, 2 might be the right amount for him.
Obviously Gnarled Scarhide goes in the deck. I personally removed my Magma Jet for him. The scry was nice, the one drop is likely better.
Also, I saw Iroas, God of Victory was already mentioned. What are everyone's thoughts on a DEGA variant of the deck? I've already started mocking up a few of the impact cards that could be involved, and we're looking at:
I almost forgot about this one. It's just hard to decide which card to trade off to put this in.
I can guarantee there isn't a card you would take out for it. I haven't even played it, and it seems pretty clear that what I discard will be something I would rather have in hand. Removal and creatures seems to be all that we want. We will need to find alternate ways to gain card advantage. That, I believe, is one of the main reasons we run Magma Jet even though it isn't strong removal. It allows us to fix our draws, at the very least.
Ultimately, the set has offered us a great card for card advantage, albeit not in the form of draw. That being said, we aren't supposed to talk about cards from the new set just yet.
For the current deck, there are no cards that are efficient enough to warrant a spot in the deck for card draw. We've tried a few different options and always felt that having removal or creatures were just all-around better cards for us. Post the new set dropping, though, there will be experimentation with a variety of cards.
If you really want to try something, I've been considering hazarding Wild Guess, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. It's definitely a more aggressive draw, but it's also cheaper. If anyone wants to try it out and let people know, feel free.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but not all flavor text characters get cards. There is Solon, Acolyte of Pharika, Olexa of the Twelve, Perisophia the Philosopher, Callaphe the Mariner...Rastos is just one of those random flavortext characters. No reason to think that he shall get a card.
While that's definitely a possibility, minotaurs were fairly pushed this set. They really wanted to make them a viable deck, and giving them their own legendary would be something to do that. Plus, there are spots both in Red and Multicolored for the number crunch, so it's still seriously possible. It could be that last mythic, but I'm more guessing that it will be a rare like Anthoussa, Setessan Hero.
Then throw in an effect to help with the weaknesses of the minotaur tribal deck, such as their need to overextend
Going along with the theme of overextending and pairing that with the idea of suicidal rushes, perhaps something to the effect of "When a minotaur you control dies, destroy target creature an opponent controls" or "When a minotaur you control dies, target opponent is dealt 2 damage." Because while they're very overextended, the mentality is that reckless abandon does so much more damage.
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.
Have you looked at Magma Spray? It's more targeted exile and is far cheaper.
You're definitely right about the synergy between Felhide Petrifierwith Rageblood Shaman. It's an insanely powerful combination. The problem is that any copy of Petrifier after the first is redundant unlike the other lords.
Gnarled Scarhide is actually better than I think you realize. Not only do we get a creature early, it acts as a form of pseudo-removal, making it so that our opponent's creature can't block. Or it can buff one of our own creatures. On a side note, I am currently asking as many rules people as I can, but it seems Ragemonger does not affect Gnarled Scarhide's Bestow cost. If it does, though, that is something I will inform everyone about.
As for Chandra, I like the addition, although there haven't been too many matches were I felt she would have added an immense amount. Please playtest and let me know just how wrong I am. I'm used to running out of cards.
With that said, here are the two deck lists that I'm working with.
RB Midrange
3x Dreadbore
3x Duress
Instant (6)
3x Doom Blade
3x Lightning Strike
Creature (25)
4x Boros Reckoner
3x Deathbellow Raider
4x Gnarled Scarhide
4x Kragma Warcaller
2x Felhide Petrifier
4x Rageblood Shaman
4x Ragemonger
4x Blood Crypt
10x Mountain
5x Swamp
4x Temple of Malice
3x Dark Betrayal
1x Immortal Servitude
2x Mizzium Mortars
2x Rakdos's Return
3x Skullcrack
2x Slaughter Games
2x Underworld Cerberus
WRB Midrange
3x Dreadbore
3x Duress
Instant (3)
3x Boros Charm
Enchantment (3)
3x Chained to the Rocks
Creature (25)
2x Athreos, God of Passage
4x Boros Reckoner
2x Felhide Petrifier
4x Gnarled Scarhide
1x Iroas, God of Victory
4x Kragma Warcaller
4x Rageblood Shaman
4x Ragemonger
4x Blood Crypt
3x Godless Shrine
4x Mana Confluence
3x Mountain
3x Sacred Foundry
2x Swamp
4x Temple of Malice
3x Dark Betrayal
2x Immortal Servitude
2x Mizzium Mortars
1x Iroas, God of Victory
3x Skullcrack
2x Slaughter Games
2x Lightning Strike
The DEGA build is still incredibly rough. I'm trying to figure out the mana while having cards that say mountain on them so we have as many targets for Chained to the Rocks as possible.
Also, as you can probably see in the DEGA build, Iroas, God of Victory is sideboard. I chose to over-saturate the 3 drops because I personally like the card advantage that comes with Athreos, God of Passage. This also makes Immortal Servitude in the sideboard a stronger card.
Obviously Gnarled Scarhide goes in the deck. I personally removed my Magma Jet for him. The scry was nice, the one drop is likely better.
Also, I saw Iroas, God of Victory was already mentioned. What are everyone's thoughts on a DEGA variant of the deck? I've already started mocking up a few of the impact cards that could be involved, and we're looking at:
Erase doesn't have the potential to reveal your opponent's entire hand and deck, though. This could be scary good in the right situation.
I can guarantee there isn't a card you would take out for it. I haven't even played it, and it seems pretty clear that what I discard will be something I would rather have in hand. Removal and creatures seems to be all that we want. We will need to find alternate ways to gain card advantage. That, I believe, is one of the main reasons we run Magma Jet even though it isn't strong removal. It allows us to fix our draws, at the very least.
For the current deck, there are no cards that are efficient enough to warrant a spot in the deck for card draw. We've tried a few different options and always felt that having removal or creatures were just all-around better cards for us. Post the new set dropping, though, there will be experimentation with a variety of cards.
If you really want to try something, I've been considering hazarding Wild Guess, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. It's definitely a more aggressive draw, but it's also cheaper. If anyone wants to try it out and let people know, feel free.
While that's definitely a possibility, minotaurs were fairly pushed this set. They really wanted to make them a viable deck, and giving them their own legendary would be something to do that. Plus, there are spots both in Red and Multicolored for the number crunch, so it's still seriously possible. It could be that last mythic, but I'm more guessing that it will be a rare like Anthoussa, Setessan Hero.
Going along with the theme of overextending and pairing that with the idea of suicidal rushes, perhaps something to the effect of "When a minotaur you control dies, destroy target creature an opponent controls" or "When a minotaur you control dies, target opponent is dealt 2 damage." Because while they're very overextended, the mentality is that reckless abandon does so much more damage.