There are no hyper aggro decks in my meta, and I have a good game 2 against control with Skullcrack, Slaughter Games, and Thoughtseize coming into the mainboard. I have eight spells that help me evade Verdict and four that save me from things like DSphere, Banishing Light, and Silence the Believers. Only thing I really worry about is counterspells.
Lowering my curve creature wise gives me very few options. Pack Rat, Paladin, and Nyx-Fleece Ram are the only ones I can think of running, and Ram is the only one I'd consider running.
Guys, this isn't full agro. I actually think of this as Midrange with a really good early game.
I'm probably going to add in 1-2 more lands, and more Rakdos'y things in the midrange area.
Probably going to drop Ash Zealot and Downfall for lands, 1-2 more Exava, and maybe Stormbreath. Oh, and one more Mogis.
All in all, I want to go more the midrange route that takes advantage of Rakdos's killer early game, then follows up with monsters like Mogis, Havoc Festival, Exava, and Stormbreath.
EDIT: And on Magma Jet, I actually happen to love that card. The scry is stupid helpful at times, and that extra 2 damage just might be the 2 damage I need to win the game. I'm keeping it @4, definitely.
Havoc Festival: I really enjoy this card, as it creates an interesting dynamic, especially against Mono Black. Playing this after my initial rush peters out is a great way to put the pressure back on, and it forces D-Sphere removal from Esper/Azorius, and it puts Mono Black and Blue in a very uncomfortable position.
Master of Cruelties: While I'm aware that our Master doesn't play nice with Havoc Festival, he is also insanely good at putting on pressure in the right situations. Decks like Mono Green and GR Monsters become afraid to attack with creatures that have no evasion, and Esper and Azorius are put on the clock, big time. Mono Black doesn't care toomuch about him, but he's sided out in that matchup anyway.
Hero's Downfall: I know I'm already running 4 Dreadbore, but I like having the instant-speed removal at times.
Rakdos Keyrune: This guy. I run this for the same reason I run Selesnya Keyrune in Naya Control. It puts on stupid pressure if left alone, and players that don't understand it WILL leave it alone. Its probably the best keyrune of the bunch, except for maybe Dimir, and it works amazingly as a surprise 3/1 First Strike blocker, or to put in that last bit of damage.
I'd also ditch Breeding Pool for Temple of Mystery. Unless you get it early, I don't see why you'd need to shock it as you aren't maining blue, and the scry could be really useful.
Uhh....those are pretty important Boros Reckoner is also a great help.
And vs control, play around their boardwipes. Keep 2-3 creatures on the board to pressure, and keep the rest back. Force the Verdict/Anger/Whatever, then refill the board with little guys and keep attacking. Hammer of Purphoros is also tremendously helpful vs Control.
Uhm.....I hope I misunderstood you. It looks like you just suggested Shock and Ratchet Bomb for the mainboard....over Angers and Chained.
No. Just....no. Anger is great as a 2-of in the MB for control, and Chained should be a 4-of. Ratchet Bomb is strictly sideboard, and Shock is just plain old bad.
There's more to card advantage than draw. Boros has practically 0 draw cards, but it does have an absolute crapload of removal. Boros's CA comes from keeping the opponents field clear, punishing overextension, and then riding in on the back of a Stormbreath Dragon once the opponent is all out of steam.
Of course, vs something like Esper or Azorius control, Boros is going to have issues. They don't have access to any of the anti-control cards like Ruric Thar, Slaughter Games, Mistcutter Hydra, or Rakdos's Return. They have Pithing Needle and Skullcrack. Hell, they don't even get Boon Satyr.
Game 1 vs Naya Slivers
Won 2-0. Kept his board clear and mine full. Nothing much to say.
Game 2 vs Golgari Midrange
Lost 1-2. Game 1 I got mana screwed, game 2 I got 2 Assemble, and game 3 was super close but he eventually managed to outplay me and win.
Game 3 vs Golgari Midrange
Won 2-0. He mulled to 6 both times, and I overwhelmed with Assemble and Stormbreath.
Game 4 vs Mono Black Devotion.
Lost 1-2. Game 1 was lost due to Mono Black being a ***** to play against, and game 2 I drew the perfect balance of removal and threats. Game 3 I got mana screwed.
Game 5 vs Dimir Mill.
Won 2-1. Game one I stomped with 2 Assemble, game 2 he countered everything and milled me out with Jace MA. Game 3 I won with Mistcutter Hydra and Ruric Thar.
Again, more mana inconsistency issues showed up, and I changed the land count to 24 land. Still trying to find ways to deal with Mono Black pre-board, and getting the rest of the shocks I need to polish up my mana base.
Running this tonight, with a 23 landbase. I'm playing this more as a midrange deck than control, and it worked out SUPER well in testing. With all the dig I have from Scrylands, Magma Jets, and so on I find it pretty hard to get mana screwed or flooded. Also will be testing an Archangel of Thune out, see if it helps stabilization.
4 Ornithopter
4 Quickling
4 Scuttling Doom Engine
4 Phyrexian Revoker
Spells: 18
4 Ensoul Artifact
4 Dissipate
4 Peel From Reality
4 Shrapnel Blast
2 Lightning Strike
2 Polymorphist's Jest
2 Jace, the Living Guildpact
Lands:
4 Shivan Reef
4 Temple of Epiphany
6 Island
2 Mountain
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Desecration Demon
2 Sire of Insanity
1 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
4 Boros Charm
2 Orzhov Charm
Sorcery: 8
4 Dreadbore
2 Read the Bones
2 Obzedat's Aid
2 Banishing Light
Artifacts: 1
1 Whip of Erebos
Planeswalkers: 2
2 Liliana Vess
25 Land
Went for a more aggressive build with BB, Demon, and Sire as finishers.
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Hornet Nest
2 Soul of Zendikar
Walkers:11
2 Garruk, Apex Predator
2 Liliana Vess
3 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
3 Jace, the Living Guildpact
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
4 Dissipate
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Aethrspouts
Artifacts:2
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
1 The Chain Veil
Lowering my curve creature wise gives me very few options. Pack Rat, Paladin, and Nyx-Fleece Ram are the only ones I can think of running, and Ram is the only one I'd consider running.
Deck ordered by card type.
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
1 Mogis, God of Slaughter
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
1 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
1 Deathpact Angel
2 Seraph of the Sword
4 Desecration Demon
1 Aurelia's Fury
4 Boros Charm
4 Orzhov Charm
4 Warleader's Helix
Sorcery (4)
4 Dreadbore
1 Assemble the Legion
4 Banishing Light
25 lands
I'm running one Elspeth as well, but MTG Salvation isn't showing it.
Reasonings on cards.
Orzhov Charm: Kill spells annoy me, I'd rather just replay the creature. So a self bounce is nice sometimes, andit functions as a kill spll itself.
Deathpact Angel: It's a flying fattie that can revive itself. Me gusta.
Warleader's Helix: Only sustain option I have outside of Whip, which I am considering.
So yeah, cnc?
I'm probably going to add in 1-2 more lands, and more Rakdos'y things in the midrange area.
Probably going to drop Ash Zealot and Downfall for lands, 1-2 more Exava, and maybe Stormbreath. Oh, and one more Mogis.
All in all, I want to go more the midrange route that takes advantage of Rakdos's killer early game, then follows up with monsters like Mogis, Havoc Festival, Exava, and Stormbreath.
EDIT: And on Magma Jet, I actually happen to love that card. The scry is stupid helpful at times, and that extra 2 damage just might be the 2 damage I need to win the game. I'm keeping it @4, definitely.
8 Mountain
8 Swamp
2 Rakdos Guildgate
3 Blood Crypt
Creatures (17)
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Spike Jester
3 Ash Zealot
2 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Fanatic of Mogis
1 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
1 Mogis, God of Slaughter
1 Master of Cruelties
4 Dreadbore
2 Rakdos's Return
1 Mizzium Mortars
Instants (9)
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
1 Hero's Downfall
Enchantments (4)
3 Madcap Skills
1 Havoc Festival
2 Rakdos Keyrune
1 Havoc Festival
4 Slaughter Games
1 Rakdos's Return
2 Skullcrack
1 Mizzium Mortars
2 Pithing Needle
Reasonings
Havoc Festival: I really enjoy this card, as it creates an interesting dynamic, especially against Mono Black. Playing this after my initial rush peters out is a great way to put the pressure back on, and it forces D-Sphere removal from Esper/Azorius, and it puts Mono Black and Blue in a very uncomfortable position.
Master of Cruelties: While I'm aware that our Master doesn't play nice with Havoc Festival, he is also insanely good at putting on pressure in the right situations. Decks like Mono Green and GR Monsters become afraid to attack with creatures that have no evasion, and Esper and Azorius are put on the clock, big time. Mono Black doesn't care toomuch about him, but he's sided out in that matchup anyway.
Hero's Downfall: I know I'm already running 4 Dreadbore, but I like having the instant-speed removal at times.
Rakdos Keyrune: This guy. I run this for the same reason I run Selesnya Keyrune in Naya Control. It puts on stupid pressure if left alone, and players that don't understand it WILL leave it alone. Its probably the best keyrune of the bunch, except for maybe Dimir, and it works amazingly as a surprise 3/1 First Strike blocker, or to put in that last bit of damage.
I'd also ditch Breeding Pool for Temple of Mystery. Unless you get it early, I don't see why you'd need to shock it as you aren't maining blue, and the scry could be really useful.
Uhh....those are pretty important
Boros Reckoner is also a great help.
And vs control, play around their boardwipes. Keep 2-3 creatures on the board to pressure, and keep the rest back. Force the Verdict/Anger/Whatever, then refill the board with little guys and keep attacking. Hammer of Purphoros is also tremendously helpful vs Control.
No. Just....no. Anger is great as a 2-of in the MB for control, and Chained should be a 4-of. Ratchet Bomb is strictly sideboard, and Shock is just plain old bad.
Of course, vs something like Esper or Azorius control, Boros is going to have issues. They don't have access to any of the anti-control cards like Ruric Thar, Slaughter Games, Mistcutter Hydra, or Rakdos's Return. They have Pithing Needle and Skullcrack. Hell, they don't even get Boon Satyr.
Won 2-0. Kept his board clear and mine full. Nothing much to say.
Game 2 vs Golgari Midrange
Lost 1-2. Game 1 I got mana screwed, game 2 I got 2 Assemble, and game 3 was super close but he eventually managed to outplay me and win.
Game 3 vs Golgari Midrange
Won 2-0. He mulled to 6 both times, and I overwhelmed with Assemble and Stormbreath.
Game 4 vs Mono Black Devotion.
Lost 1-2. Game 1 was lost due to Mono Black being a ***** to play against, and game 2 I drew the perfect balance of removal and threats. Game 3 I got mana screwed.
Game 5 vs Dimir Mill.
Won 2-1. Game one I stomped with 2 Assemble, game 2 he countered everything and milled me out with Jace MA. Game 3 I won with Mistcutter Hydra and Ruric Thar.
Again, more mana inconsistency issues showed up, and I changed the land count to 24 land. Still trying to find ways to deal with Mono Black pre-board, and getting the rest of the shocks I need to polish up my mana base.
I'll post my results later tonight! Wish me luck!