Boros is the weakest two color combination. However, the last couple of years some of the weak areas have definitely been strengthened. Overall I think it is only a question of the raw power level of commanders that relegate Boros to the sidelines, and that a commander does not necessarily need to alleviate the weaknesses but can also play to the colors’ strengths.
Boros has no commanders close to the power of Muldrotha, Tymna, Azami, Edgar Markov, Derevi, Vannifar and probably dozens more across color combinations.
If Adriana had been a 1/1 for three mana with haste instead, it would have given Boros a commander on par with Edgar Markov for aggro.
A voltron commander with four power, haste and evasion for three mana could make for a viable voltron commander.
Firesong and Sunspeaker could have been 2-3 mana instead with few changes.
Gisela could have also been five mana. Tiana could have been 3.
Overall a lot of the Boros commanders would have been much more suitable for commander if their mana cost had been lower. Boros does suffer in that from standard balancing, as most of these commanders would then be too strong for standard. However this does not apply to commanders printed in supplemental sets/commander, where Boros generals are similarly over costed.
I fully agree that Boros has few interesting options as generals. However, if they print interesting commanders with a 6cmc as with Firesong, this does not actually help at all. EDH scaled power level at low mana cost is the key.
Thanks for posting. Since I first started playing the deck the mana requirements have become a bit lighter too, so I think there’s probably room for an additional basic or two, which would also enable Land Tax.
The issue with wheels in this deck (and why I also don’t play Wheel of Fortune), is that you’re actually drawing a lot of cards through Tymna. Wheels in my experience help the opponents more than they do you. Teferi’s Puzzle Box has the same issue. Scroll rack fits the deck in any case as an artifact and a multitude of shuffle effects, perhaps I should cut one of the recruiters for it.
Really like this list, nice innovations here.
How punishing has it been to have Monastery Mentor removed after you play Blood Funnel. I understand the potential but it seems that if Mentor is removed it becomes very difficult for you to resolve spells (given you have few creatures in the list). Defense Grid / Grand Abolisher could help out with this, in any case on your combo turn.
You also play quite a number of basic lands, so both Blood Moon and Land Tax seem like good inclusions. I would also recommend taking out a land for Tithe.
What are your thoughts on the new Ravnica Allegiance cards: Captive Audience - we have the capability to power this out turns 2/3, at which point it is unlikely the opponent can answer it quickly. Spawn of Mayhem - this seems better than some of the other demons that are only beatsticks, as this can come down for 3 mana and does 7 damage per turn (in 4 player multiplayer). It's also a strong enabler for spectacle / Rakdos, Lord of Riots. Rix Maadi Reveler - it can function as a cheap discard outlet on turn 2 to enable early reanimation or refill your hand later on. It seems solid in this type of deck. Bedevil - As instant speed versatile removal goes this is the best Rakdos has access too, and the mana cost should be no issue given the heavy leaning towards black in the manabase.
Otherwise I'm wondering if you've considered/tried the other fast mana options out: Grim Monolith, Chrome Mox, Lion's Eye Diamond. In my experience, all of these have been quite good. Depending on your meta, Treasure Nabber could also generate a lot of mana.
I play Tymna/Akiri artifacts and I think it is a really fun and dynamic deck. In Mardu you can create a lot of synergy through Marionette Master + Pia’s Revolution / Athreos + sac outlets. Tymna is also the far better general and has a lot of synergy with Akiri coming down on turn 2 to attack on turn 3.
As an artifact matters color blue offers more power but the black cards offer the better synergy.
First thing that comes to mind I see is...where's Daretti 1.0?
I've tried Daretti before but found it to be underwhelming here. With Tymna you have enough card draw that looting itself is not that interesting. Daretti's -2 is strong but this list does not maximize its potential given the low number of high profile targets (given also the many cheap targets). Daretti also does not pressure the opponent which this list does try to do. I've found Daretti 2.0 / Karn 2.0 and Chandra Torch to be better here as they are more versatile, combining pressure/tokens with card advantage/removal.
Some updates with the newest cards:
+ Loyal Apprentice - This card provides two bodies of which one a thopter, with haste. If it manages to stay on the field it is essentially Bitterblossom for thopters, which in this deck is very good.
- Ethersworn Canonist - Artifact and at the same cmc, but I've found the effect to also regularly hinder me, so cutting it for that reason.
+ Treasure Nabber - As mana ramp this is already very powerful, with Arcbound Ravager or Goblin Welder out, the value of this is even better.
- Jhoira's Familiar - too low impact and too slow to merit a slot.
+ Lightning Greaves
- Sword of Fire and Ice - I've found that neither the draw nor the removal is too needed here, while I have often wished for haste and additional protection for key creatures is more than welcome.
+ Hammer of Purphoros - although the mana cost is not that easy, it is an artifact, gives all creatures haste, and creates artifact creature tokens at the cost of land. Overall it seems worth the try given the power of haste in this deck.
- Ad Nauseam - Although at times it was really good, other games I had lost too much life and it was useless.
+ Chandra, Torch of Defiance - currently trying her out given she provides mana ramp, card draw, reach and removal, which this deck wants.
- Moltensteel Dragon - I found Moltensteel Dragon too low-impact without haste.
The deck is oriented as an aggro-combo deck for a meta without infinite combo's. Tymna provides card advantage to go along with all of the creatures in the deck, while Akiri can generate some heavy beats as well as being a two drop creature for Tymna to draw off of on turn 3.
Game-plan
Early-game:
Play out early ramp and depending on your hand and your opponent's board decide if you want to aim for a turn 3 Tymna with preferably two draws on the turn you play her. If not, continue setting up your board for the mid-game.
Mid-game:
Main goal is to get one of the engines going:
- Tymna, as mentioned can be a great engine if your creatures can get through earlier and you're not as fearful for board wipes
- Recursion + Sac Outlet + Pay-off
Other Synergies Athreos, God of Passage + Pia's Revolution : for artifact creatures this essentially means a target opponent needs to pay six to stop you from recurring artifact creatures (life totals dwindle quickly with this deck, so this becomes effective rapidly). Scrap Trawler : the deck has a lot of good trawler sequences. Useful for this is also Scrapheap Scrounger which can recur itself. Phyrexian Scriptures : given most of the (valuable) creatures are artifacts in this deck, this is quite close to a one-sided board wipe. In addition you can use this to make Marionette Master an artifact (allowing you to also move counters through Arcbound Ravager). Hex Parasite can allow you to do this turn after turn. Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle + Restoration Specialist + self-sacrifing artifact / artifact + sac outlet - you can loop these (as artifact will trigger Teshar, returning the specialist to the battlefield, which you can then sac to return the artifact to your hand. This goes infinite with Lotus Petal, and with other creatures for as long as you have mana. Marionette Master + boosters : Cranial Plating works best for this, but Sword of Fire and Ice or even Skullclamp / Angel of Invention can help out here.
Short list of cards that I have considered, but are not (yet) in the list:
• Daretti, Scrap Savant
• Cabal Paladin
• Greater Gargadon
• Extruder
• Flayer Husk
• Krark-Clan Ironworks
• Ichor Wellspring
• Magus of the Moon
• Nihil Spellbomb
• Reprocess
• Restoration Gearsmith
• Fortuitous Find
• Sword of War and Peace
• Gamble
• Pia and Kiran Nalaar
• Springleaf Drum
• Cut // Ribbons
• Vindicate
• Swords to Plowshares
• Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
I think it could have been a strong walker if not for the +2. Many of the games where you will need the life you will not have a high toughness creature to activate. And then gaining life in general is not that great.
Also think the dinosaur tokens would have been much better with haste than with trample.
Overall a nice card but they could have pushed it without making it busted.
I think that the color combination is hindered much more by its lack of powerful generals than its inherent weaknesses. It's generals do not 1) support it's strength in stax/hate and 2) are not very good in multiplayer combat either.
A General that functions as a solid hate bear / stax element would bring Boros a lot closer to being able to compete. Out of the two color combinations (together with WG perhaps) it has the strongest array of cheap interaction for key permanent types as well as the greatest range of hate/MLD effects. Without a solid General to either break parity, act as another hate/lock piece, or be an effective win condition Boros is severely hindered.
And this brings me to my second point that for the color combination that is supposedly the best in combat, it does not have any generals that are actually very good at it in a multiplayer setting. Boros lacks good general options at low cmc for both supporting the team and for voltron more than most other two color combinations. The ones that scale in multiplayer have a high cmc and aside from Aurelia lack haste which really hinders their effectiveness in a color combination with only artifact ramp to depend upon. A General with Derevi's ability and good combo stats or a 4/3 flying lifelink haste for WWR would go a long way to making the color combination more competitive for a variety of deck types.
Your decklist/idea has inspired me to also build a similar list so thank you for that!
Some thoughts when seeing your list:
- Have you thought about Topplegeist . It's only one mana and has evasion while not being useless in the late game.
- How have you felt the unblockable effects are? You have some creatures with evasion already, for which you don't need the effects which would seem to decrease the usefulness of them. I could see cutting them and including more evasive threats, or cutting the evasive creatures for more hate bears / utility creatures. How have you found the middle ground to be?
- With regards to the mass removal effects you're playing, have you thought about options such as Fire Covenant or additional targeted remova as alternatives?
Thanks again for posting the list and your additional comments/responses!
This is the kind of card whose value depends entirely on the metagame you play in. If you play in a more competitive metagame decks will have a curve of mostly 1-4 cmc and Burning Hart taking up two whole turns in the early game making it a useless card (or losing you the game in the meantime). In a slower meta where everybody is ramping to 6/7 cmc threats it's a card that helps non-green decks catch up, although I still find it weak.
The only places I can think of where it doesn't fit are (obviously) Hermit Druid and possibly a green ramp deck which has so many variants on two-for-one ramp that this gets lost in the cracks.
On the contrary, I think it offers few reasons to be played anywhere (even in slow metagames). 6 mana for a 2 for 1 is a really bad deal; in pretty much every combination outside of mono white you have an abundance of 2 for 1's that are cheaper/better than this (and in mono white you have the best land ramp after green so you're not that desperate for this). Even in decks where it has synergies (Meren/Alesha for example) there are much better cards that you could be recurring. In Meren you'd be much better off returning Wood Elves or Yavimaya Elder, in Alesha there's no reason to recur Burning Hart over Knight of the White Orchid/Kor Cartographer or any of the tutor creatures (Recruiter of the Guard, etc.).
No updates yet, but I'll try to go through some of the cards I've been eyeing.
First off, I can imagine taking out the goblin package only all too well. It takes up a lot of slots and Matron can be a dead card later on. I've kept it in so far as repeatable tutoring is very strong and Kiki-Jiki is key in the deck. I think with the printing of Recruiter of the Guard it's not necessary anymore to play the Matron. Suffice it to say that Recruiter of the Guard is probably the most influential card printed for the list in the last couple of years.
[card]
Aether Revolt:[/card] Restoration Specialist : I like the idea of Restoration Specialist as a 2/1 which can recur both enchantments and artifacts. I think it will get a spot in the list as it's versatility and possibility to generate a 2 for 1 put it way above alternatives. Felidar Guardian - it combos with both Animate Dead and Kiki-Jiki, putting it above Sun Titan I think. It also has niche uses with untapping lands such as Phyrexian Tower in a pinch. Hidden Stockpile - you can make a token every turn if you have a creature/token to start the loop. The scry is a nice touch, but sadly it does require one mana limiting its combo potential. I think this a card you need to play with to judge but it has some potential. Commander 2016 Ravos, Soultender seems to slow and costly (mana wise), but it does have the magical two power so I think it can work well in slower/grindier metas. Tymna the Weaver - I really like her here. She can often draw you 3 cards a turn in a normal game with the number of creatures we play, costs only 3 mana to play and has lifelink (Archangel of Thune synergy). Not sure where to fit it in but it seems strong. Eldritch Moon Selfless Spirit is a strong card against board wipes, so I think it can be a very effective protection creature in the deck. Thalia's Lancers - I think it's too slow in the deck and looking through the decklist it doesn't find to many things that a creature tutor wouldn't. Kaladesh Angel of Invention - this is a bomb in the deck. Being able to produce two tokens on ETB and pumping the entire team is strong and highly unexpected on a 2/1 creature with lifelink on top. I'm not sure if it's better than Drana who has less immediate impact when recurred by Alesha but a cheaper mana cost. But perhaps it's time to just play both. In any case it's a great addition to the deck.
Kambal, Consul of Allocation is another playable hate bear in the deck, but I think it loses out to other options (against storm primarily Ethersworn Canonist).
Aetherworks Marvel - at four mana and no immediate impact it may not be the best card. In a grindier Alesha I think it's a great card though as getting six permanents to be put in the graveyard is not difficult and the ability is very powerful. Conspiracy Sanctum Prelate is a great hate bear for the deck, especially as you can sacrifice it, recur it and reset the number as required.
Both Kaya, Ghost Assassin and Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast are playable in the deck, but perhaps not the best option. Queen Marchesa is also playable as we can make good use of both the tokens and generally defend the monarch quite well. It has little synergy with comboing though and is relatively slow and risky.
What cards from the last couple of sets have you been playing? Would be great to hear your experiences.
I also really like Plunge into Darkness here as both modes are live in this deck. Some other cards I've been playing with: Lion's Eye Diamond - with the number of draw spells/tutors in the deck this has been really strong. I've also liked Infernal Tutor to go with it.
Cathartic Reunion has been great for me, I think it's much better than cards like Night's Whisper or Read the Bones in this deck. I have been playing with Painful Truths as well. The consistency of hitting three colors (requiring something like Mox Diamond or a rainbow land) leaves something to be desired but drawing 3 for 3 makes up for it. If I don't have the mana it's easy to pitch to one of the looting spells.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance may not be completely in line theme-wise with the deck but I think her abilities are really good here. The mana is very useful, we often like to play out our hands/win via combat damage so the draw ability is good here too and her ultimate wins the game in short order.
Rakdos Augermage is one of my favorite cards, but I've found it to be pretty decent in this deck. Thoughtseizing your opponents repeatedly is quite effective and this deck is better than many at playing hellbent. It also plays very well with dropping a beater by providing some pseudo-protection. And it hits lands!
With the heavy black/swamp commitment wouldn't both Bubbling Buck as another ramp spell (or replacing Rain of Filth) and Nythkos, Shrine to Nyx be good here?
Lastly Squee, Goblin Nabob has been quite good for me through its synergy with loot/wheel effects. It also plays nicely with Victimize.
Boros has no commanders close to the power of Muldrotha, Tymna, Azami, Edgar Markov, Derevi, Vannifar and probably dozens more across color combinations.
If Adriana had been a 1/1 for three mana with haste instead, it would have given Boros a commander on par with Edgar Markov for aggro.
A voltron commander with four power, haste and evasion for three mana could make for a viable voltron commander.
Firesong and Sunspeaker could have been 2-3 mana instead with few changes.
Gisela could have also been five mana. Tiana could have been 3.
Overall a lot of the Boros commanders would have been much more suitable for commander if their mana cost had been lower. Boros does suffer in that from standard balancing, as most of these commanders would then be too strong for standard. However this does not apply to commanders printed in supplemental sets/commander, where Boros generals are similarly over costed.
I fully agree that Boros has few interesting options as generals. However, if they print interesting commanders with a 6cmc as with Firesong, this does not actually help at all. EDH scaled power level at low mana cost is the key.
The issue with wheels in this deck (and why I also don’t play Wheel of Fortune), is that you’re actually drawing a lot of cards through Tymna. Wheels in my experience help the opponents more than they do you. Teferi’s Puzzle Box has the same issue.
Scroll rack fits the deck in any case as an artifact and a multitude of shuffle effects, perhaps I should cut one of the recruiters for it.
+ Smothering Tithe - Curse of Opulence
Smothering Tithe is already very good as a ramp piece but the artifact synergies here make it amazing.
+ Judith, the Scourge Diva - Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Chandra was never bad but Judith seems like a better fit for the deck, with both abilities very strong here.
+ Reanimate - Heap Doll
How punishing has it been to have Monastery Mentor removed after you play Blood Funnel. I understand the potential but it seems that if Mentor is removed it becomes very difficult for you to resolve spells (given you have few creatures in the list). Defense Grid / Grand Abolisher could help out with this, in any case on your combo turn.
Do you find Wheel of Fate to be worth it if you don't have Electrodominance. It seems really weak if you're suspending it. Perhaps play Cathartic Reunion instead?
Lion's Eye Diamond also seems like a natural fit, as does Goblin Welder given the artifact theme.
You also play quite a number of basic lands, so both Blood Moon and Land Tax seem like good inclusions. I would also recommend taking out a land for Tithe.
Captive Audience - we have the capability to power this out turns 2/3, at which point it is unlikely the opponent can answer it quickly.
Spawn of Mayhem - this seems better than some of the other demons that are only beatsticks, as this can come down for 3 mana and does 7 damage per turn (in 4 player multiplayer). It's also a strong enabler for spectacle / Rakdos, Lord of Riots.
Rix Maadi Reveler - it can function as a cheap discard outlet on turn 2 to enable early reanimation or refill your hand later on. It seems solid in this type of deck.
Bedevil - As instant speed versatile removal goes this is the best Rakdos has access too, and the mana cost should be no issue given the heavy leaning towards black in the manabase.
Otherwise I'm wondering if you've considered/tried the other fast mana options out: Grim Monolith, Chrome Mox, Lion's Eye Diamond. In my experience, all of these have been quite good. Depending on your meta, Treasure Nabber could also generate a lot of mana.
As an artifact matters color blue offers more power but the black cards offer the better synergy.
I've tried Daretti before but found it to be underwhelming here. With Tymna you have enough card draw that looting itself is not that interesting. Daretti's -2 is strong but this list does not maximize its potential given the low number of high profile targets (given also the many cheap targets). Daretti also does not pressure the opponent which this list does try to do. I've found Daretti 2.0 / Karn 2.0 and Chandra Torch to be better here as they are more versatile, combining pressure/tokens with card advantage/removal.
I really like your Marchesa list and have enjoyed playing her previously too. Marionette Master + Arcbound Ravager + Recursion (whether Marchesa or as in this list Athreos / Pia's Revolution) is just too much fun.
+ Loyal Apprentice - This card provides two bodies of which one a thopter, with haste. If it manages to stay on the field it is essentially Bitterblossom for thopters, which in this deck is very good.
- Ethersworn Canonist - Artifact and at the same cmc, but I've found the effect to also regularly hinder me, so cutting it for that reason.
+ Treasure Nabber - As mana ramp this is already very powerful, with Arcbound Ravager or Goblin Welder out, the value of this is even better.
- Jhoira's Familiar - too low impact and too slow to merit a slot.
+ Lightning Greaves
- Sword of Fire and Ice - I've found that neither the draw nor the removal is too needed here, while I have often wished for haste and additional protection for key creatures is more than welcome.
+ Hammer of Purphoros - although the mana cost is not that easy, it is an artifact, gives all creatures haste, and creates artifact creature tokens at the cost of land. Overall it seems worth the try given the power of haste in this deck.
- Ad Nauseam - Although at times it was really good, other games I had lost too much life and it was useless.
+ Chandra, Torch of Defiance - currently trying her out given she provides mana ramp, card draw, reach and removal, which this deck wants.
- Moltensteel Dragon - I found Moltensteel Dragon too low-impact without haste.
Keen to hear your thoughts!
1 Tymna the Weaver
2 Akiri, Line-Slinger
Mana Lands
3 Arid Mesa
4 Bloodstained Mire
5 Flooded Strand
6 Marsh Flats
7 Wooded Foothills
8 Polluted Delta
9 Verdant Catacombs
10 Windswept Heath
11 Scalding Tarn
12 Plains
13 Swamp
14 Badlands
15 Plateau
16 Scrubland
17 Blood Crypt
18 Sacred Foundry
19 Godless Shrine
20 City of Brass
21 Command Tower
22 Mana Confluence
23 Ancient Tomb
24 High Market
25 Phyrexian Tower
26 Spire of Industry
27 Mishra’s Workshop
28 Vault of Whispers
29 Ancient Den
30 Great Furnace
31 Inkmoth Nexus
Rocks and Fast Mana
32 Chrome Mox
33 Smothering Tithe
34 Grim Monolith
35 Lotus Petal
36 Mana Vault
37 Mana Crypt
38 Mox Diamond
39 Mox Amber
40 Mox Opal
41 Sneak Attack
42 Sol Ring
43 Talisman of Impulse
44 Treasure Nabber
45 Athreos, God of the Passage
46 Goblin Welder
47 Living Death
48 Marionette Master
49 Myr Retriever
50 Pia’s Revolution
51 Reckless Fireweaver
52 Restoration Specialist
53 Scrap Mastery
54 Scrap Trawler
55 Sly Requisitioner
56 Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle
Sac Outlets
57 Arcbound Ravager
58 Phyrexian Altar
59 Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer
60 Spawning Pit
61 Viscera Seer
Boosting // Protection
62 Cranial Plating
63 Hammer of Purphoros
64 Lightning Greaves
65 Mother of Runes
66 Teferi’s Protection
Tutors // Draw
67 Dark Confidant
68 Demonic Tutor
69 Enlightened Tutor
70 Imperial Recruiter
71 Karn, Scion of Urza
72 Recruiter of the Guard
73 Sensei’s Divining Top
74 Skullclamp
75 Smuggler’s Copter
76 Stoneforge Mystic
77 Tithe
78 Vampiric Tutor
79 Weatherlight
80 Hangarback Walker
81 Thraben Inspector
82 Hex Parasite
83 Reanimate
84 Hope of Ghirapur
85 Vault Skirge
86 Loyal Apprentice
87 Scrapheap Scrounger
88 Steel Overseer
89 Thopter Engineer
90 Angel of Invention
91 Wurmcoil Engine
92 Myr Battlesphere
Hate // Removal // Reach
93 Anguished Unmaking
94 Blood Moon
95 Judith, the Scourge Diva
96 Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
97 Fiery Confluence
98 Kolaghan’s Command
99 Phyrexian Scriptures
100 Price of Progress
The deck is oriented as an aggro-combo deck for a meta without infinite combo's. Tymna provides card advantage to go along with all of the creatures in the deck, while Akiri can generate some heavy beats as well as being a two drop creature for Tymna to draw off of on turn 3.
Game-plan
Early-game:
Play out early ramp and depending on your hand and your opponent's board decide if you want to aim for a turn 3 Tymna with preferably two draws on the turn you play her. If not, continue setting up your board for the mid-game.
Mid-game:
Main goal is to get one of the engines going:
- Tymna, as mentioned can be a great engine if your creatures can get through earlier and you're not as fearful for board wipes
- Recursion + Sac Outlet + Pay-off
End-game - Finish your opponent off through:
- Recursion engines + Marionette Master / Reckless Fireweaver
- Burn spells (Fiery Confluence, Price of Progress, Moltensteel Dragon)
- Beats facilitated by Akiri, Karn, Steel Overseer or Cranial Plating
- Inkmoth Nexus fueled by Cranial Plating / Arcbound Ravager
Other Synergies
Athreos, God of Passage + Pia's Revolution : for artifact creatures this essentially means a target opponent needs to pay six to stop you from recurring artifact creatures (life totals dwindle quickly with this deck, so this becomes effective rapidly).
Scrap Trawler : the deck has a lot of good trawler sequences. Useful for this is also Scrapheap Scrounger which can recur itself.
Phyrexian Scriptures : given most of the (valuable) creatures are artifacts in this deck, this is quite close to a one-sided board wipe. In addition you can use this to make Marionette Master an artifact (allowing you to also move counters through Arcbound Ravager). Hex Parasite can allow you to do this turn after turn.
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle + Restoration Specialist + self-sacrifing artifact / artifact + sac outlet - you can loop these (as artifact will trigger Teshar, returning the specialist to the battlefield, which you can then sac to return the artifact to your hand. This goes infinite with Lotus Petal, and with other creatures for as long as you have mana.
Marionette Master + boosters : Cranial Plating works best for this, but Sword of Fire and Ice or even Skullclamp / Angel of Invention can help out here.
Short list of cards that I have considered, but are not (yet) in the list:
• Daretti, Scrap Savant
• Cabal Paladin
• Greater Gargadon
• Extruder
• Flayer Husk
• Krark-Clan Ironworks
• Ichor Wellspring
• Magus of the Moon
• Nihil Spellbomb
• Reprocess
• Restoration Gearsmith
• Fortuitous Find
• Sword of War and Peace
• Gamble
• Pia and Kiran Nalaar
• Springleaf Drum
• Cut // Ribbons
• Vindicate
• Swords to Plowshares
• Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
Also think the dinosaur tokens would have been much better with haste than with trample.
Overall a nice card but they could have pushed it without making it busted.
A General that functions as a solid hate bear / stax element would bring Boros a lot closer to being able to compete. Out of the two color combinations (together with WG perhaps) it has the strongest array of cheap interaction for key permanent types as well as the greatest range of hate/MLD effects. Without a solid General to either break parity, act as another hate/lock piece, or be an effective win condition Boros is severely hindered.
And this brings me to my second point that for the color combination that is supposedly the best in combat, it does not have any generals that are actually very good at it in a multiplayer setting. Boros lacks good general options at low cmc for both supporting the team and for voltron more than most other two color combinations. The ones that scale in multiplayer have a high cmc and aside from Aurelia lack haste which really hinders their effectiveness in a color combination with only artifact ramp to depend upon. A General with Derevi's ability and good combo stats or a 4/3 flying lifelink haste for WWR would go a long way to making the color combination more competitive for a variety of deck types.
Some thoughts when seeing your list:
- Have you thought about Topplegeist . It's only one mana and has evasion while not being useless in the late game.
- How have you felt the unblockable effects are? You have some creatures with evasion already, for which you don't need the effects which would seem to decrease the usefulness of them. I could see cutting them and including more evasive threats, or cutting the evasive creatures for more hate bears / utility creatures. How have you found the middle ground to be?
- With regards to the mass removal effects you're playing, have you thought about options such as Fire Covenant or additional targeted remova as alternatives?
Thanks again for posting the list and your additional comments/responses!
On the contrary, I think it offers few reasons to be played anywhere (even in slow metagames). 6 mana for a 2 for 1 is a really bad deal; in pretty much every combination outside of mono white you have an abundance of 2 for 1's that are cheaper/better than this (and in mono white you have the best land ramp after green so you're not that desperate for this). Even in decks where it has synergies (Meren/Alesha for example) there are much better cards that you could be recurring. In Meren you'd be much better off returning Wood Elves or Yavimaya Elder, in Alesha there's no reason to recur Burning Hart over Knight of the White Orchid/Kor Cartographer or any of the tutor creatures (Recruiter of the Guard, etc.).
First off, I can imagine taking out the goblin package only all too well. It takes up a lot of slots and Matron can be a dead card later on. I've kept it in so far as repeatable tutoring is very strong and Kiki-Jiki is key in the deck. I think with the printing of Recruiter of the Guard it's not necessary anymore to play the Matron. Suffice it to say that Recruiter of the Guard is probably the most influential card printed for the list in the last couple of years.
[card]
Aether Revolt:[/card]
Restoration Specialist : I like the idea of Restoration Specialist as a 2/1 which can recur both enchantments and artifacts. I think it will get a spot in the list as it's versatility and possibility to generate a 2 for 1 put it way above alternatives.
Felidar Guardian - it combos with both Animate Dead and Kiki-Jiki, putting it above Sun Titan I think. It also has niche uses with untapping lands such as Phyrexian Tower in a pinch.
Hidden Stockpile - you can make a token every turn if you have a creature/token to start the loop. The scry is a nice touch, but sadly it does require one mana limiting its combo potential. I think this a card you need to play with to judge but it has some potential.
Commander 2016
Ravos, Soultender seems to slow and costly (mana wise), but it does have the magical two power so I think it can work well in slower/grindier metas.
Tymna the Weaver - I really like her here. She can often draw you 3 cards a turn in a normal game with the number of creatures we play, costs only 3 mana to play and has lifelink (Archangel of Thune synergy). Not sure where to fit it in but it seems strong.
Eldritch Moon
Selfless Spirit is a strong card against board wipes, so I think it can be a very effective protection creature in the deck.
Thalia's Lancers - I think it's too slow in the deck and looking through the decklist it doesn't find to many things that a creature tutor wouldn't.
Kaladesh
Angel of Invention - this is a bomb in the deck. Being able to produce two tokens on ETB and pumping the entire team is strong and highly unexpected on a 2/1 creature with lifelink on top. I'm not sure if it's better than Drana who has less immediate impact when recurred by Alesha but a cheaper mana cost. But perhaps it's time to just play both. In any case it's a great addition to the deck.
Kambal, Consul of Allocation is another playable hate bear in the deck, but I think it loses out to other options (against storm primarily Ethersworn Canonist).
Aetherworks Marvel - at four mana and no immediate impact it may not be the best card. In a grindier Alesha I think it's a great card though as getting six permanents to be put in the graveyard is not difficult and the ability is very powerful.
Conspiracy
Sanctum Prelate is a great hate bear for the deck, especially as you can sacrifice it, recur it and reset the number as required.
Both Kaya, Ghost Assassin and Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast are playable in the deck, but perhaps not the best option. Queen Marchesa is also playable as we can make good use of both the tokens and generally defend the monarch quite well. It has little synergy with comboing though and is relatively slow and risky.
What cards from the last couple of sets have you been playing? Would be great to hear your experiences.
Lion's Eye Diamond - with the number of draw spells/tutors in the deck this has been really strong. I've also liked Infernal Tutor to go with it.
Cathartic Reunion has been great for me, I think it's much better than cards like Night's Whisper or Read the Bones in this deck. I have been playing with Painful Truths as well. The consistency of hitting three colors (requiring something like Mox Diamond or a rainbow land) leaves something to be desired but drawing 3 for 3 makes up for it. If I don't have the mana it's easy to pitch to one of the looting spells.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance may not be completely in line theme-wise with the deck but I think her abilities are really good here. The mana is very useful, we often like to play out our hands/win via combat damage so the draw ability is good here too and her ultimate wins the game in short order.
Rakdos Augermage is one of my favorite cards, but I've found it to be pretty decent in this deck. Thoughtseizing your opponents repeatedly is quite effective and this deck is better than many at playing hellbent. It also plays very well with dropping a beater by providing some pseudo-protection. And it hits lands!
With the heavy black/swamp commitment wouldn't both Bubbling Buck as another ramp spell (or replacing Rain of Filth) and Nythkos, Shrine to Nyx be good here?
Lastly Squee, Goblin Nabob has been quite good for me through its synergy with loot/wheel effects. It also plays nicely with Victimize.