I play this card as a 2-of in my Bant Run list and it has been solid in every tournament i've played it in. There are very few decks that can answer it outside of a counterspell or board wipe (which she can force a 1-for-1 trade with)
You're playing Grixis, if you're worried, run some essence scatter in your sideboard. The best way to deal with this card is really just to keep it from getting into play altogether.
in my mind Boros Reckoner is a GOOD card people play good cards and people who don't like him are either people who cannot afford him or don't play because he is to mainstream (didn't think it was legit and probably isn't but I've seen more than one person say it although they probably just can't afford/trade for them) but basically he is too mainstream for those who don't play good cards?
I've seen the same thing with Thragtusk and Sphinx's Revelation. Scrubs are gonna be scrubs, though.
Sublime Archangel with Battalion mechanic is the most anti-synergistic thing possible.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Check out the R/x Aggro thread under the established competitive section. Those guys have been testing and developing variants of boros since before Gatecrash came out.
Yeah 4 farseek and 1 Sacred Foundry + 1 Stomping Ground/Steam Vents are really necessary for this deck. I would also make Breeding Pool a 4x and only run 2-3 Temple Garden and drop cavern. Unless you see control/tempo all the time, you shouldnt really need cavern.
If this card was instant speed and was able to target players, then it might be worth it. Currently I would say there are much better alternatives for killing creatures.
Finally, a dedicated thread for this deck. i have been playing this deck for a while and won last FNM going 6-0 (no top 8) with a 36 person turnout. I haven't ever placed below 3rd with this deck in FNM play. There are so many aggro decks in standard right now and this deck really only struggles against RDW on a nut draw and Esper or decks featuring Obzedat, Ghost Council game 1, before we can sideboard in selesnya charm. Also, that new Boros Reckoner combo deck can be a toss up. they can win or combo so fast that you just lose sometimes. After sideboard that match-up also gets a lot better, though.
I know it isn't necessarily midrange, but the concept is the same. Get into the mid-late game and get one threat out, and you can win pretty easily if you play defensively. I don't run 4 sphinx's rev and honestly I don't ever wish I had more, except against Jund, maybe. If i want more I leave them in the sideboard and they come in for certain match-ups.
Here's the deck list I've been testing since gatecrash came out.
It has been a while since I last posted in this section (UWx Control). I played bant control when ravnica first came out but hadnt played it since (gatecrash) breeding pool came out. We had a great turnout of 36 people for FNM last night and this deck performed very well and I went 6-0 (no top 8), winning the tournament. If you havent tried kessig wolf run in this deck, it is amazing.
This match-up went well. No Tristoni/Rhox Faithmender shenanigans. Just G/W goodstuff. Game 1 - I go first, no mulligan. Start off with farseek and he assumes I'm playing bant enchant for some reason, so he starts racing me. T4 I supreme Verdict and kill his 4 creatures and from that point he had no chance of recovering. I dropped Sigarda and just swung in for the win.
Game 2 - I did not sideboard for this match. Neither did he (for whatever reason). this time he didn't over-extend but with 3 lands, farseek, azorius charm and 2 supreme verdicts in my hand I was confident I could hold him off. He goes first, I farseek my T2 while he is stuck with no pilgrim and casts Smiter during his turn. the next turn i hit 4 land and pass, while he draws and looks disgusted with it, which I took to mean he missed a land he needed. When he swang with smiter i azorius charmed and he lost so much momentum that I was able to cast thrag followed by resto angel the next turn hitting a kessig wolf run on the next draw with the appropriate mana in play. It was over in short order after that.
Round 2 vs. Bant Enchant (2-0)
This was a strange version of Bant Enchant, running 3-4 Angel of Flight Alibaster to constantly recur GoST to their hand. seemed somewhat slower than the possible T4 kill version I had played before.
Game 1 - He had to mulligan to 5 while I had 2 land, farseek, supreme verdict, 2 azorius charm and a resto angel. he played stalker followed by geist and I played supreme verdict. He had no other plays in his hand and I won pretty easily with thragtusk.
Game 2 - This was a crazy game. I sideboard +2 ray of revelation, -1 Elixir/-1 Azorius Charm. He sided in 2 cards. He didnt over-extend this game, and dropped only 1 threat at a time. he made me board-wipe a single stalker with double spectral flight (although thats still a 3-for-1 in my favor, so i guess that's just fine) and he kept drawing threats, but no enchantments. I kept killing his geists with restoration angels and he kept casting d-sphere's and oblivion rings on all my thragtusks and restoration angels (2 thrags on d-sphere and 2 restoration angels under 1 o-ring each. He whittled me down to 4 before I board wiped and was eventually able to land tamiyo and tap down his only Hallowed Fountain (blue source), until i got the ultimate off. I drew a card with azorius charm (ray of revelation) at the end of his turn, then blew up the d-sphere and gained 10, then blew up both o-rings and gained 10 more and got 2 beasts. I won the next turn.
Round 3 vs. Naya Humans (2-0)
This match-up was not my favorite going in. The damage this deck deals can get out of control, fast. Luckily he over-extended into supreme verdicts both games. Not much to say as for strategy, just T3-4 board wipes followed by thrags/planeswalkers to grind out a win. Sideboarded in +2 feeling of dread for -1 elixir and -1 Jace game 2, but never needed or drew them.
Round 4 vs. U/W/R Boros Reckoner Combo (2-1)
This deck was something I prepared for because I knew several people would be playing it going in. It's one of the most ridiculous decks I've seen in standard in a while and you better not swing into a reckoner if they have 4 mana open for azorius and boros charm, Since they can go infinite life on T4.
Game 1 - This game is a prime example of why this deck is so dangerous. He dropsreckoner T4 while I have no board wipes/arorius charms/d-sphere's to deal with it. he drops me to 14, and I finally play thragtusk followed by restoration angel the next turn. During his turn he drops a second reckoner and blasphemous acts for 26 to my face.
Game 2 - Sideboarded +2 Witchbane orb -2 Jace. I drop withcbane orb T3 after a T2 Farseek and he justs looks across the table at me. After that He drops reckoner and i azorius charm the following turn. Without being able to target me, he just waits to draw into one of his 2 oblivion rings, luckily I was able to negate it. I won with a Resotration angel flashed in at the end of his turn with kessig wolf run late in the game.
Game 3 - I hit witchbane again on turn 8-9, one turn before he wanted to harvest pyre his Reckoner. He tried to go ultimate with the life on an attack by thragtusk, but I was able to negate the boros charm. He tapped out to try and combo and had no mana to give reckoner first strike, so I killed it and got a beast token, which I killed him with thanks to wolf run.
Round 5 vs. Grixis Control(ish) (2-1)
This deck wasn't as much a hard control deck as it tried to combine the best midrange cards for Grixis with it's best board control. Again, most of the board control was a dead draw against this deck, but dreadbore made me side out some things in the later games.
Game 1 - I mulligan to 6 and draw 3 land, farseek, thragtusk, and sigarda. I was almost able to outlast him, but I had no board control and he was able to land a descration demon unopposed. By the time I could deal with it with a tamiyo, he dreadbored it during his turn and I drew more land and lost the following turn.
Game 2 - Sideboarded +3 Selesnya Charm/+2 Negate, -2 Jace/-2 Tamiyo/-1 Elixir. This hand was much better. I drew 4 land, azorius charm, selesnya charm, restoration angel. he missed one land drop T3 and I had thrag out by the time he dropped desecration demon again. I selesnya chamred it and then went on to draw into Thratusk, Thragtusk, Restoration Angel and he couldn't recover. I negated a dread bore late game and he had no more answers.
Game 3 - No change in the sideboard this game. Again i controlled the board early and got 2 Nighthawks with 1 D-sphere. I dropped Garruk with a negate in hand, hoping he didnt have a dreadbore in hand (he sided out 2, i think) and luckily he didnt. I controlled the board and kept spitting out beast tokens, until he drew another Dreadbore, and by then garruk was at 6 and I negated it and got 8 worm tokens.
Round 6 vs. R/W/B Ghost Dad (2-0)
This was not a fun match to play. He was running 4x Kinght of Glory 4x Knight of Infamy and 3 Ghost Council. Game one Ghost council is almost impossible to deal with.
Game 1 - The only answer I had was to azorius charm ghost council twice. Then, he cast aurelia's fury during my upkeep and was able to swing with the ghost council. I landed thragtusk the next turn and he had no knights out. I whittled him down wit the restoration angel I had out, while he dropped 3 kinghts in one turn. I board wiped and then hit my land drop the next turn and was able to swing for exactly lethal with wolf run since I had the beast token left over. Barely won.
Game 2 - Sideboard in +2 Blind Obedience/+3 Selesnya Charm, -2 jace/-2 Tamiyo/-1 Elixir. This was a much easier game than game one. I board wiped his 2 knights the turn before he landed ghost council. I held 2 selesnya charms and exiled ghost council. After that I landed thragtusk and then hit resto angel the next turn, and then selesnya charmed his next ghost council. I won in a couple turns.
The best cards throughout the tournament were easily Kessig Wolf Run and Supreme Verdict. There is so much aggro out there right now that 4 SV is necessary. I would also recommend that everyone who expects the infinite combo with reckoner to play witchbane orb. then you only have to worry about the infinite life, which can be handled with negates or dispels.
Thus far it has been solid. It handles most aggro decks with no problem (with the exception of R/B getting an amazing hand) and against control you dodge almost all board wipes with Ghost Council. Also, Unburial Rites has been absolutely ridiculous. It makes sure that selesnya charm and D-Sphere/Oblivion Ring are almost the only cards that can keep Obzedat off the board for the rest of the game. I've also been enjoying playing Abrupt Decay in the sideboard and depending on what shows up to a tournament I may run 2 maindeck.
You're playing Grixis, if you're worried, run some essence scatter in your sideboard. The best way to deal with this card is really just to keep it from getting into play altogether.
Play Esper if you want to either win by milling or just because it has a more versatile selection of control cards.
They're both really good.
Check out the R/x Aggro thread under the established competitive section. Those guys have been testing and developing variants of boros since before Gatecrash came out.
I know it isn't necessarily midrange, but the concept is the same. Get into the mid-late game and get one threat out, and you can win pretty easily if you play defensively. I don't run 4 sphinx's rev and honestly I don't ever wish I had more, except against Jund, maybe. If i want more I leave them in the sideboard and they come in for certain match-ups.
Here's the deck list I've been testing since gatecrash came out.
3x Thragtusk
3x Restoration Angel
2x Augur of Bolas
2x Sigarda, Host of Herons
Planeswalkers:
2x Jace, Architect of Thought
2x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
2x Garruk, Primal Hunter
Instants/Sorceries:
4x Farseek
4x Supreme Verdict
4x Azorius Charm
2x Terminus
2x Sphinx's Revelation
Other:
3x Detention Sphere
1x Elixir of Immortality
Land:
4x Breeding Pool
4x Hallowed Fountain
3x Temple Garden
3x Glacial Fortress
2x Sunpetal Grove
1x Stomping Ground
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Forest
2x Kessig Wolf Run
2x Blind Obedience
2x Witchbane Orb
2x Ray of Revelation
2x Feeling of Dread
2x Rest in Peace
2x Negate
3x Thragtusk
3x Restoration Angel
2x Augur of Bolas
2x Sigarda, Host of Herons
Planeswalkers:
2x Jace, Architect of Thought
2x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
2x Garruk, Primal Hunter
Instants/Sorceries:
4x Farseek
4x Supreme Verdict
4x Azorius Charm
2x Terminus
2x Sphinx's Revelation
Other:
3x Detention Sphere
1x Elixir of Immortality
Land:
4x Breeding Pool
4x Hallowed Fountain
3x Temple Garden
3x Glacial Fortress
2x Sunpetal Grove
1x Steam Vents
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Forest
2x Kessig Wolf Run
2x Blind Obedience
2x Witchbane Orb
2x Ray of Revelation
2x Feeling of Dread
2x Rest in Peace
2x Negate
Round 1 vs. G/W Midrange (2-0)
This match-up went well. No Tristoni/Rhox Faithmender shenanigans. Just G/W goodstuff. Game 1 - I go first, no mulligan. Start off with farseek and he assumes I'm playing bant enchant for some reason, so he starts racing me. T4 I supreme Verdict and kill his 4 creatures and from that point he had no chance of recovering. I dropped Sigarda and just swung in for the win.
Game 2 - I did not sideboard for this match. Neither did he (for whatever reason). this time he didn't over-extend but with 3 lands, farseek, azorius charm and 2 supreme verdicts in my hand I was confident I could hold him off. He goes first, I farseek my T2 while he is stuck with no pilgrim and casts Smiter during his turn. the next turn i hit 4 land and pass, while he draws and looks disgusted with it, which I took to mean he missed a land he needed. When he swang with smiter i azorius charmed and he lost so much momentum that I was able to cast thrag followed by resto angel the next turn hitting a kessig wolf run on the next draw with the appropriate mana in play. It was over in short order after that.
Round 2 vs. Bant Enchant (2-0)
This was a strange version of Bant Enchant, running 3-4 Angel of Flight Alibaster to constantly recur GoST to their hand. seemed somewhat slower than the possible T4 kill version I had played before.
Game 1 - He had to mulligan to 5 while I had 2 land, farseek, supreme verdict, 2 azorius charm and a resto angel. he played stalker followed by geist and I played supreme verdict. He had no other plays in his hand and I won pretty easily with thragtusk.
Game 2 - This was a crazy game. I sideboard +2 ray of revelation, -1 Elixir/-1 Azorius Charm. He sided in 2 cards. He didnt over-extend this game, and dropped only 1 threat at a time. he made me board-wipe a single stalker with double spectral flight (although thats still a 3-for-1 in my favor, so i guess that's just fine) and he kept drawing threats, but no enchantments. I kept killing his geists with restoration angels and he kept casting d-sphere's and oblivion rings on all my thragtusks and restoration angels (2 thrags on d-sphere and 2 restoration angels under 1 o-ring each. He whittled me down to 4 before I board wiped and was eventually able to land tamiyo and tap down his only Hallowed Fountain (blue source), until i got the ultimate off. I drew a card with azorius charm (ray of revelation) at the end of his turn, then blew up the d-sphere and gained 10, then blew up both o-rings and gained 10 more and got 2 beasts. I won the next turn.
Round 3 vs. Naya Humans (2-0)
This match-up was not my favorite going in. The damage this deck deals can get out of control, fast. Luckily he over-extended into supreme verdicts both games. Not much to say as for strategy, just T3-4 board wipes followed by thrags/planeswalkers to grind out a win. Sideboarded in +2 feeling of dread for -1 elixir and -1 Jace game 2, but never needed or drew them.
Round 4 vs. U/W/R Boros Reckoner Combo (2-1)
This deck was something I prepared for because I knew several people would be playing it going in. It's one of the most ridiculous decks I've seen in standard in a while and you better not swing into a reckoner if they have 4 mana open for azorius and boros charm, Since they can go infinite life on T4.
Game 1 - This game is a prime example of why this deck is so dangerous. He dropsreckoner T4 while I have no board wipes/arorius charms/d-sphere's to deal with it. he drops me to 14, and I finally play thragtusk followed by restoration angel the next turn. During his turn he drops a second reckoner and blasphemous acts for 26 to my face.
Game 2 - Sideboarded +2 Witchbane orb -2 Jace. I drop withcbane orb T3 after a T2 Farseek and he justs looks across the table at me. After that He drops reckoner and i azorius charm the following turn. Without being able to target me, he just waits to draw into one of his 2 oblivion rings, luckily I was able to negate it. I won with a Resotration angel flashed in at the end of his turn with kessig wolf run late in the game.
Game 3 - I hit witchbane again on turn 8-9, one turn before he wanted to harvest pyre his Reckoner. He tried to go ultimate with the life on an attack by thragtusk, but I was able to negate the boros charm. He tapped out to try and combo and had no mana to give reckoner first strike, so I killed it and got a beast token, which I killed him with thanks to wolf run.
Round 5 vs. Grixis Control(ish) (2-1)
This deck wasn't as much a hard control deck as it tried to combine the best midrange cards for Grixis with it's best board control. Again, most of the board control was a dead draw against this deck, but dreadbore made me side out some things in the later games.
Game 1 - I mulligan to 6 and draw 3 land, farseek, thragtusk, and sigarda. I was almost able to outlast him, but I had no board control and he was able to land a descration demon unopposed. By the time I could deal with it with a tamiyo, he dreadbored it during his turn and I drew more land and lost the following turn.
Game 2 - Sideboarded +3 Selesnya Charm/+2 Negate, -2 Jace/-2 Tamiyo/-1 Elixir. This hand was much better. I drew 4 land, azorius charm, selesnya charm, restoration angel. he missed one land drop T3 and I had thrag out by the time he dropped desecration demon again. I selesnya chamred it and then went on to draw into Thratusk, Thragtusk, Restoration Angel and he couldn't recover. I negated a dread bore late game and he had no more answers.
Game 3 - No change in the sideboard this game. Again i controlled the board early and got 2 Nighthawks with 1 D-sphere. I dropped Garruk with a negate in hand, hoping he didnt have a dreadbore in hand (he sided out 2, i think) and luckily he didnt. I controlled the board and kept spitting out beast tokens, until he drew another Dreadbore, and by then garruk was at 6 and I negated it and got 8 worm tokens.
Round 6 vs. R/W/B Ghost Dad (2-0)
This was not a fun match to play. He was running 4x Kinght of Glory 4x Knight of Infamy and 3 Ghost Council. Game one Ghost council is almost impossible to deal with.
Game 1 - The only answer I had was to azorius charm ghost council twice. Then, he cast aurelia's fury during my upkeep and was able to swing with the ghost council. I landed thragtusk the next turn and he had no knights out. I whittled him down wit the restoration angel I had out, while he dropped 3 kinghts in one turn. I board wiped and then hit my land drop the next turn and was able to swing for exactly lethal with wolf run since I had the beast token left over. Barely won.
Game 2 - Sideboard in +2 Blind Obedience/+3 Selesnya Charm, -2 jace/-2 Tamiyo/-1 Elixir. This was a much easier game than game one. I board wiped his 2 knights the turn before he landed ghost council. I held 2 selesnya charms and exiled ghost council. After that I landed thragtusk and then hit resto angel the next turn, and then selesnya charmed his next ghost council. I won in a couple turns.
The best cards throughout the tournament were easily Kessig Wolf Run and Supreme Verdict. There is so much aggro out there right now that 4 SV is necessary. I would also recommend that everyone who expects the infinite combo with reckoner to play witchbane orb. then you only have to worry about the infinite life, which can be handled with negates or dispels.