Nov. 5, 2016 (v1.1) : -3 Stone Quarry, +1 Inspiring Vantage, +2 Needle Spires (my store was sold-out on these cards for FNM, but I managed to grab them before Sunday's PPTQ).
Nov. 18, 2016 (reverting to v1.4) : +1 Thraben Inspector, -1 Hanweir Militia Captain (I don't like Captain, and sided it out almost every game ; the deck doesn't go wide enough to make it good, and a good curve + card advantage at instant speed is way better).
Nov. 20, 2016 (v1.6) : -2 Pia Nalaar, +1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar, +1 Chandra, Torch or Defiance (Pia never was a game changer, but Thalia definitely is and Chandra will help better against UW Flash and Delirium) ; -1 Aether Hub, +1 Stone Quarry (Hub is fine as a late top deck, but Quarry is far better in starting hand). Changes to the SB : -1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, -1 Flame Lash, +2 Blessed Alliance (Chandra was moved to the main deck ; Lash because I over sided too often, warping the main strategy and increasing too much the mana curve ; Alliance is needed vs RG Energy).
Nov. 25, 2016 (v1.7) : -1 Selfless Spirit, +1 Always Watching, and I swapped Gideon for Chandra from SB to main deck.
Introduction
This deck was designed to win in the current metagame of GB Delirium, UW Flash and WR Dwarf Vehicles. It has more main deck removals than these usually have (to control the board if needed), and our removals can all burn the dome to finish the opponent in the late game (or exile vs GB Delirium with Incendiary Flow, or 2-for-1 with Collective Defiance, or surprise everyone with Flame Lash). This is compounded with the Human theme and intense synergy they all have together, card filtering of the Smuggler's Copter, support from Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and induced indestructibility with Selfless Spirit and Archangel Avacyn.
Boros Human Burn : the making-of
I was having bad results with my 4c Ally Evolution deck, and quite burned out after Game Day. I read Mark Nestico's article The Standard Cards That Matter, and let that sink in for a full week before touching my cards.
Smuggler's Copter, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Thraben Inspector and Archangel Avacyn are indeed among the most powerful cards in Standard. But no way I would copy a UW Flash if I want to beat them. I felt Burn was the best way to complement these white cards in the current metagame, to support aggression by removing blockers (and Spell Quellers) and/or targeting the dome (when otherwise removals would be dead cards). There are good burn spells out there that can exile creatures (Incendiary Flow), 2-for-1 (Collective Defiance) and surprise (Flame Lash). That was a start.
Boros was a strong incentive to play Dwarves and Vehicles. But for the same reasons I didn't want to play UW Flash, I didn't want to copy WR Vehicles : I wanted to beat them! Also, there is no room for burn spells in a Vehicle deck that has a reasonnable Creatures to Vehicles ratio.
Out of true inspiration, I just sorted my Standard collection by price (current power level of the card). I identified Selfless Spirit in the top values, as well as some Humans being above average (Thalia's Lieutenant, Hanweir Garrison, Pia Nalaar, Thalia, Heretic Cathar). Mmmm... Humans that could stand on their own, synergize well with others and complement the burn spells and high value cards (Gideon, Avacyn, Selfless Spirit, Copter)? The rest is history and fine tuning the numbers.
Thermo-Alchemist and Weaver of Lightning are both Humans, and good synergy with burn spells. But they can't win the game on their own, and force more spells and less creatures in the deck (not good with Copters that need a crew, Angels/Spirits that want a lot of indestructible creatures, and Gideon's emblem that thrives on numbers).
Tireless Tracker, Voltaic Brawler, sideboard's Heron's Grace Champion and Ulvenwald Mysteries (amazing against Control) are very strong incentives to splash G. But the deck is already very tight (with little to no room for changes), and adding more creatures would only cut room for the burn spells (not an option in a metagame that needs removals). Also, a third color is near impossible with the RR or WW needs of Defiance, Gideon or Avacyn.
Results of the deck
Official : 16-7-2 (with one of the draws being intentional to guarantee a Top 8 position).
Official + Casual : 28-7-2 (casual being non-official games on X-Mage or with friends).
Last update : Dec. 8, 2016
I was piloting v1.0 of the deck, and didn't have the full playsets of Needle Spires and Inspiring Vantage (my store was sold-out and 3 Stone Quarry replaced the missing cards)
2-0 vs Izzet Spells
2-0 vs GB Delirium
2-1 vs UW Flash : Spell Queller is bad against this deck. Killing it with a burn and getting our spell back is sweet!
With v1.1 of the deck (no Thalia, Heretic Cathar in the deck at that time), I did an amazing 4-1-1 at PPTQ (the draw was intentional), and I made the Top 8 (4th out of 35 players).
2-1 vs UW Flash : Classic of 2 for 1 on Spell Queller. Fragmentize is good against Copter and Stasis Snare.
0-2 vs GB Delirium : Against Grand Prix Providence's Maxim Belanger. Lost game 2 with 3 dead Gideons in my hand and a few misplays (T3 Collective Defiance on Grim Flayer, while I should have exiled it with Declaration in Stone to prevent opponent from getting it back ; I would have then been able to cast an escalated Collected Defiance on Kalitas ; and Incendiary Flow don't kill delirious Grim Flayer).
2-1 vs GB Delirium : I was 1-1, but paired up against a 2-0 opponent. Did 33 damage on Game 1, but opponent gained 39 life. Game 2, I just rolled over him with 3 Hanweir Garrison. Game 3, a crowd has gathered and we were the featured match. I played Garrison on curve, then burned a blocker and played Lieutenant T4 (attack for 5 with Garrison, pumping Lieutenant to 3/3). Turn 5, I attacked for 12 with Garrison (3/4), Lieutenant (5/5) and 4 tokens (1/1). My lands were still untapped, opponent is down to 3 life, and quite angry. He asks if I can burn him. "Which one do you want?", I reply, and revealed from my hand Incendiary Flow, Collective Defiance and Flame Lash on the table. The crowd erupted in laughter.
2-1 vs Bant Midrange : I won Game 1, but made a mistake on Game 2 (I should have won it, really). Game 3 was in my favor.
2-1 vs GB Delirium : By this time my deck had built some reputation. It was inventive, new and impressive. But I'm obviously paired against good opponents... I stole game 1 with Thraben Inspector and 3 Thalia's Lieutenant, unhindered and for exactly 20 damage total on T4. I flooded at 11 lands on Game 2. I don't recall Game 3, but I won it.
0-0 vs RG Energy: Intentional Draw to qualify for Top 8 (so I'm not considering this matchup in the deck's results).
Rank 4th in the final standings, and made the cut to Top 8!!!
0-2 vs GB Delirium : In the end, I lost the first round of Top 8 against GB Delirium. I had reasonable starting hands, was on the play each time, but top deck screwed me and I flooded with 9 lands on 18 cards both games (deck is resilient enough to delay defeat until turn 12). Game 2, I kept a hand with Copter, Lieutenant, Incendiary Flow, Declaration in Stone and 3 lands. But I haven't realized that all my lands were Needle Spires (ETB tapped). I could only cast Copter on T3. Then opponent casted Pick the Brain, and I reveal my starting hand and a second Copter. He choose Lieutenant. I took 3-4 more turns for me to draw a creature to crew one of the two Copters. But Ishkanah was already there, and resistance was futile. The deck shined in the event, but straight standard probabilities were not there in the last two games to honor the deck's design...
What an amazing deck (piloting v1.4)! I made pretty dumb @$$ mistakes in the first matchup, and should have end the night at 3-0. But being stupid is part of the game, I guess! (confidence : I have an Attention Disorder, and even with my pills, I have long come to the conclusion that I'm a far better deck pilot during day time than late at night after a day's work).
0-2 vs RG Energy: What a cruel defeat. First game, I had the win on the table, and just didn't saw it (activate Needle Spires, attack with everything). I lost two turns later. Then, I was too frustrated to mulligan a hand that I shouldn't have kept (3 Burn, Copter, lands ; how the f*** was I supposed to crew the Copter?).
2-0 vs Mardu Control : Not much to say. See black in a Control or Midrange deck? Always side in more Flame Lash and Chandra to deal with Kalitas. With 9 ways to kill him, opponent doesn't have much hope of ever recovering, and the Beatdown shall win.
2-0 vs UB Control : Same as above. Control players seem to think that they have a favorable match against us, if they can just get to 6+ lands. I think this deck is on the contrary favored against Control. By the time they think they can stabilize, they're in lethal range of a top deck Burn spell, or an hasted creature (through Hanweir Battlements) or a manland activation... and that's it.
Mono-U Reservoir : Win 2-0. Foundry Inspector was quickly removed before it could do its job. With no other creatures to remove, Burn Spells could hit the dome.
Grixis Fevered Vision : Win 2-0. Actually a Control deck that plays Fevered Vision to burn player and planeswalker. Drawing cards is however better for the player that can burn. SB, out : Fame Lash (costs too much, and I want to empty my hand) and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (auto-burned by Visions). In : Fragmentize to deal with Visions.
Gruul Haste : 2-0 (Could have been bad, as he hits hard and fast, but burn spells did their job)
RW Vehicle : 2-0 (Opponent dropped out quickly Game 2)
Simic Clue : 2-1 (I got milled out first game, but Hanweir Battlements won me game 2 with meld, and double Fragmentize did the job on Game 3)
Mardu Tokens : 2-1 (Thalia is good)
Mono blue control : 2-0 (Long, but in my favor)
Rakdos Aggro : 2-0 (Galvanic Bombardment is super good)
Mardu Control : 2-0 (Slow and steady vs Radiant Flames ; Of course it's impressive when they Refurbish a Gearhulk on turn 4, put in the graveyard with Cathartic Reunion, but Spririts and Angels fly above it, and Humans go around accepting the casualty)
Esper Control : 2-1 (Burn the Planeswalkers! Flame Lash is the best for that)
Izzet Thing/Tower : 2-0 (see details in this post, I ran a different version of the deck.)
3rd place, out of around 20 players. I made the cut to Top 4 after 5 rounds (3-1-1), but I immediately conceded to my opponent (again that Rakdos Aggro deck) because I had to go. I went there expecting 4 rounds of Swiss, not 5 + Top 4. I cashed in my prize anyway, and I'll never know if I could have find the way to beat that matchup. I will not count this concession as a loss in the results.
Here are the few ideas I have to get the deck better :
Thalia, Heretic Cathar : Agaisnt GB Delirium, she'll either force opponent to delay Kalitas or Ishkanah a full turn to deal with her first, or they'll ETB tapped. In all cases, she'll buy us time to push more damage throught before opponent can stabilize and/or gain life. Same is true for Mindwrack Demon and Emrakul. Plus, she'll screw UW Flash if they want to surprise block us, and prevent Dwarves from crewing Vehicles as they enter the battlefield. She deserves a place in the main deck in the current metagame.
Not Forgotten : Maybe as a SB option against GB Delirium. Exiling a card to prevent Delirium or delay Emrakul is nice, as well as preventing them from getting a certain creature back (yes, I'm looking at you Kalitas). Also, Kalitas gets no bonus dealing with a token. This card is under consideration, and may need more playtesting.
Also, I have to learn how to best play Gideon against GB Delirium. Get a token first, then +1 to beat with a 5/5 indestructible that will deal with Ishkanah and Mindwrack Demon, and can't be killed by Murder or Grasp of Darkness. I used to side him out against this matchup, figuring I wanted to avoid the long game anyway. That was probably a mistake, even if I fared well in the matchup.
I updated the deck list with some changes, and added the "Making-of" section to explain the deck's fundamentals. Enjoy!
Please post your comments on this deck. I have a very good and strong feeling for this deck (considering the results), and unless the metagame adapts to this obscure deck, it will probably perform for quite some time... Have fun with it!
Seems like a VERY strong deck, I am unfortunately not in a position to buy into it (despite its low budget) but I think that 24 lands seems VERY high, maybe 23 or even 22 (I would go 23 because of the 4-drops) seems as though flooding was quite a problem and I'm not surprised.
Seems like a VERY strong deck, I am unfortunately not in a position to buy into it (despite its low budget) but I think that 24 lands seems VERY high, maybe 23 or even 22 (I would go 23 because of the 4-drops) seems as though flooding was quite a problem and I'm not surprised.
Thanks for the comment. The deck plays 40% lands, so I consider that I'm flooding whenever I draw considerably more than that. In the top 8’s first round of PPTQ, I flooded with 50% lands (9 on 18 cards). Normal ratio would have been 7 lands on 18 cards. But flooding is something that is normal to happen once in a while (as is being short on mana). It is sheer bad luck if it happens twice in a row.
I wouldn't play less than 24 lands. On the play, odds of having 4 or more lands by turn 4 are only 63% (and 46% of 5+ on turn 5). With 10 spells costing 4 or 5, these are barely acceptable odds. Add Needle Spires as mana sinks (need 5 lands to activate and attack with it), and also Hanweir Battlements (cost 2 to give Haste), and there is normally plenty to do with extra mana in the late game if we're close to that 40% ratio. It is generally better to flood out and be able to cast everything you draw (or filter lands with Copter or Collective Defiance, or dump them in mana sinks), than be mana short and have dead cards in your hand.
Sometimes, bad things happen at the bad time. PPTQ final game was an example... it is not however a testimony of bad design.
I once read an interview with a pro player (don't remember who), and he said something along these lines : "When I find a good list and want to make it better for an event, most of the time cutting a spell to add a land is just enough. People never play enough lands." That quote hurt me at that time, as I was the first to cut lands for more spells whenever possible. I look more at numbers and statistics since then (hey, Bant CoCo played 25-26 lands in a deck mostly filled with three-drops!!!).
PS : Have a look at this hypergeometric calculator. If we agree that "reliable" is odds at 75%+, then casting Avacyn with a 24 lands deck should happen on turn 8 (14 cards, on the play). That's already late IMHO, and I don't want to reduce the odds, particularly in a deck that needs RR or WW on some spells.
First off new to the forums, bit of a novice deck builder and love the deck man I was running a Jeskai Humans deck pre-kaladesh and have been looking for a great way to keep on the theme of humans mainly integrating Hanweir Garrison.
Anyways to the point, curious as to why you dont use Harnessed Lightning as part of your burn utility.
First off new to the forums, bit of a novice deck builder and love the deck man I was running a Jeskai Humans deck pre-kaladesh and have been looking for a great way to keep on the theme of humans mainly integrating Hanweir Garrison.
Anyways to the point, curious as to why you dont use Harnessed Lightning as part of your burn utility.
Because Harnessed Lightning is a removal spell, and not a burn.
I wanted the burn spells to have both modes of targeting creatures or players.
First off new to the forums, bit of a novice deck builder and love the deck man I was running a Jeskai Humans deck pre-kaladesh and have been looking for a great way to keep on the theme of humans mainly integrating Hanweir Garrison.
Anyways to the point, curious as to why you dont use Harnessed Lightning as part of your burn utility.
Because Harnessed Lightning is a removal spell, and not a burn.
I wanted the burn spells to have both modes of targeting creatures or players.
Gotcha, i definitely see that now and possible thoughts of adding at least 1 Westvale Abbey?
So it is a choice between a) Hanweir Battlements, b) Westvale Abbey, c) none of them (and add colored sources to better fix our needs) or d) swap spells for extra lands.
I don't think we should play less spells for more lands (when the case has been already that we may be running too many lands).
And I think we should be playing 2 copies of one of the two cards as a mana sink option for the late game.
Hanweir Battlements
Pro : Melded, it adds 5/1 Trample and 4/2 vanilla to the battlefield by replacing the Garrison and its tokens (unless any of them had +1/+1 counters).
Pro : It can also give Haste to a creature (there are nice shenanigans with this, such as combining Lieutenant and Garrison with one of two casted with Haste on turn 4 or 5).
Pro : If the new melded creature is bounced in our hand (Reflector Mage), we get back the two cards (no loss).
Pro : Meld can be activated to "save" Hanweir Garrison from a removal spell (a trick that I just thought of, and that could have been useful during PPTQ).
Con : Melding the two requires 6 lands (3RR + tap itself) and the Garrison's presence and sacrifice, not an easy feat.
Con : Synergy with Thalia's Lieutenant is lost after Meld.
Con : Meld can be interrupted by opponent if Garrison is removed from play after the mana has been paid. In a world of instant speed removals, that's bad.
Con : The melded creature is not indestructible, and we are at risk of being 2 for 1'ed.
Con : Haste costs 2 mana (R + tap itself), so it has no use before turn 4 or 5.
From my experience with the deck so far (23 official games), I have NEVER activated the Meld ability (I could once, but had better things to do with my mana, and could win anyway). I did used the Haste ability a few times, probably once every 4-5 games (not a game changer, but surprise extra damage akin to burn, and easier or quicker victory).
Westvale Abbey
Pro : It can stand alone, and create a 1/1 token at instant speed (being independent of other specific cards is good).
Pro : The created tokens are Humans (synergy with Thalia's Lieutenant).
Pro : Transformation cannot be interrupted by opponent.
Pro : Ormendahl is indestructible (so there are less chance the sacrifices will be for nothing).
Pro : Ormendahl adds a variable value to the battlefied, depending on the sacrifices. Lifelink is a clear addition, as is probably Flying.
Con : Creating a token requires 6 lands (5 + tap Abbey), and costs 1 life.
Con : Transforming the Abbey requires 6 lands (5 + tap itself) and the presence/sacrifice of 5 creatures, not an easy feat.
Con : If Ormendahl is bounced or exiled, we are being effectively 5/6-for-1'ed by the opponent. In a world of UW Flash, this is pretty (very) bad (and worse than bounced Hanweir duo, as the two can just be played again next turn, while Abbey will lack all the needed sacrifices).
During the PPTQ, there have been a few times where I had a crowded board that could feed Ormendahl's appetite (if Abbey would have been in play at the same time). But in those occasions, I was already overwhelming the opponent, and winning. Westvale Abbey in this situation feels like win more. However, against GB Delirium that can't manage Ormendahl other than block it with spiders (and give me 9 life in the process), it is probably better than Hanweir Battlements.
TLDR : Just considering the two cards' Transformation/Meld, Westvale Abbey is considerably worse than Hanweir Battlements against UW Flash's bounce or exile effects (but this matchup is already in our favor). The contrary is true agaisnt GB Delirium, where their removals can't deal with indestructible Ormendahl (and too fat for Grasp of Darkness). But the same removals will make it harder for us to ever getting to 5 creatures. In both cases, "ultimate" is either a near impossible task, just win-more or plain questionable (risks vs rewards).
It is the other abilities then that matter the most (Haste or token). Haste's surprise effect is more useful to the deck than a single token, but is more conditional (we need a creature in hand *and* a board state where attacking with it is reasonable). Getting the token is less conditional, but slower.
We are the beatdown in most matchups. Haste it is then, IMHO (until I change it!).
Harnessed lightning has the bonus side effect of allowing your aether hubs to tap for mana. As it stands it looks like you get 1 shot out of each before they become wastes.lnd. I ended up taking them out of my r/w tokens list because they just felt bad if you got bad mana draws.
Congratulations on the PPTQ top8! I'll link here from the main humans thread. I was surprised to see Flame Lash and not Fiery Temper.
I was excited with Flame Lash the moment it was spoiled. It is obviously less powerful than Stoke the Flames, because there is no way to pay less than 4 mana to cast it. But Stoke the Flames was often cast for full mana cost of 2RR, and games won on that extra burn to the dome.
Fiery Temper can't deal with any of these staple cards of the current Standard format. But it has many advantages, I admit. If anything, it should take the place of Incendiary Flow in the main deck (but not of Flame Lash). The only draw to Incendiary Flow is that it can exil creatures, a good thing in a meta dominated by GB Delirium. But it's too weak against most of their cards, and probably only good vs 2/2 Grim Flayer in the very early game (or the rare Filigree Familiar or Pilgrim's Eye that sometimes go in the list).
Harnessed lightning has the bonus side effect of allowing your aether hubs to tap for mana. As it stands it looks like you get 1 shot out of each before they become wastes.lnd. I ended up taking them out of my r/w tokens list because they just felt bad if you got bad mana draws.
I felt the same way when deciding or not to play Aether Hub. But I feel it is required to fix our color needs. The problem of running out of energy is mitigated by just playing two copies of Aether Hub instead of the full play set. Harnessed Lightning would help fix it, however. But I will be looking for other solutions to fix the manabase before adding Harnessed Lightning in the deck. Not burning the dome is a huge drawback...
So it is a choice between a) Hanweir Battlements, b) Westvale Abbey, c) none of them (and add colored sources to better fix our needs) or d) swap spells for extra lands.
I don't think we should play less spells for more lands (when the case has been already that we may be running too many lands).
And I think we should be playing 2 copies of one of the two cards as a mana sink option for the late game.
Hanweir Battlements
Pro : Melded, it adds 5/1 Trample and 4/2 vanilla to the battlefield by replacing the Garrison and its tokens (unless any of them had +1/+1 counters).
Pro : It can also give Haste to a creature (there are nice shenanigans with this, such as combining Lieutenant and Garrison with one of two casted with Haste on turn 4 or 5).
Pro : If the new melded creature is bounced in our hand (Reflector Mage), we get back the two cards (no loss).
Pro : Meld can be activated to "save" Hanweir Garrison from a removal spell (a trick that I just thought of, and that could have been useful during PPTQ).
Con : Melding the two requires 6 lands (3RR + tap itself) and the Garrison's presence and sacrifice, not an easy feat.
Con : Synergy with Thalia's Lieutenant is lost after Meld.
Con : Meld can be interrupted by opponent if Garrison is removed from play after the mana has been paid. In a world of instant speed removals, that's bad.
Con : The melded creature is not indestructible, and we are at risk of being 2 for 1'ed.
Con : Haste costs 2 mana (R + tap itself), so it has no use before turn 4 or 5.
From my experience with the deck so far (23 official games), I have NEVER activated the Meld ability (I could once, but had better things to do with my mana, and could win anyway). I did used the Haste ability a few times, probably once every 4-5 games (not a game changer, but surprise extra damage akin to burn, and easier or quicker victory).
Westvale Abbey
Pro : It can stand alone, and create a 1/1 token at instant speed (being independent of other specific cards is good).
Pro : The created tokens are Humans (synergy with Thalia's Lieutenant).
Pro : Transformation cannot be interrupted by opponent.
Pro : Ormendahl is indestructible (so there are less chance the sacrifices will be for nothing).
Pro : Ormendahl adds a variable value to the battlefied, depending on the sacrifices. Lifelink is a clear addition, as is probably Flying.
Con : Creating a token requires 6 lands (5 + tap Abbey), and costs 1 life.
Con : Transforming the Abbey requires 6 lands (5 + tap itself) and the presence/sacrifice of 5 creatures, not an easy feat.
Con : If Ormendahl is bounced or exiled, we are being effectively 5/6-for-1'ed by the opponent. In a world of UW Flash, this is pretty (very) bad (and worse than bounced Hanweir duo, as the two can just be played again next turn, while Abbey will lack all the needed sacrifices).
During the PPTQ, there have been a few times where I had a crowded board that could feed Ormendahl's appetite (if Abbey would have been in play at the same time). But in those occasions, I was already overwhelming the opponent, and winning. Westvale Abbey in this situation feels like win more. However, against GB Delirium that can't manage Ormendahl other than block it with spiders (and give me 9 life in the process), it is probably better than Hanweir Battlements.
TLDR : Just considering the two cards' Transformation/Meld, Westvale Abbey is considerably worse than Hanweir Battlements against UW Flash's bounce or exile effects (but this matchup is already in our favor). The contrary is true agaisnt GB Delirium, where their removals can't deal with indestructible Ormendahl (and too fat for Grasp of Darkness). But the same removals will make it harder for us to ever getting to 5 creatures. In both cases, "ultimate" is either a near impossible task, just win-more or plain questionable (risks vs rewards).
It is the other abilities then that matter the most (Haste or token). Haste's surprise effect is more useful to the deck than a single token, but is more conditional (we need a creature in hand *and* a board state where attacking with it is reasonable). Getting the token is less conditional, but slower.
We are the beatdown in most matchups. Haste it is then, IMHO (until I change it!).
Opinion?
Sorry it took so long to respond. I definitely appreciate the list of pros and cons to both which you have added for the battlements and the abbey. Honestly, i kind of enjoy how often a lot of players, or at least the people at my LGS, overlook the abbey being on the board. Now i am by no means a pro of any sort but in a game when all i had was 4 tokens, a thraben inspector along with my westvale abbey on the board and my opponent was coming at me with two torrential gearhulks, it was a great contingency plan when i had no other plays and it won me the game. Now i understand that chances of this even happening again but i like it there as a commonly overlooked backup plan or a most definite overkill.
Sorry it took so long to respond. I definitely appreciate the list of pros and cons to both which you have added for the battlements and the abbey. Honestly, i kind of enjoy how often a lot of players, or at least the people at my LGS, overlook the abbey being on the board. Now i am by no means a pro of any sort but in a game when all i had was 4 tokens, a thraben inspector along with my westvale abbey on the board and my opponent was coming at me with two torrential gearhulks, it was a great contingency plan when i had no other plays and it won me the game. Now i understand that chances of this even happening again but i like it there as a commonly overlooked backup plan or a most definite overkill.
That was a great play!
But I don't think this deck runs enough token generators to make Westvale Abbey works. The old WG Tokens deck that was played before rotation enjoyed the benefits of Secure the Wastes at instant speed. Boros Human Burn has nothing close to that, and Westvale Abbey is probably just a cute card that will do wonders if it works, but otherwise underpowered or a very risky business.
That's the cruel beauty of Magic deck building : cutting and trimming down all cards we love and want to play, down to the best 60 cards that are most likely to make us win in the current metagame.
What an amazing deck! I made pretty dumb @$$ mistakes in the first matchup, and should have end the night at 3-0. But being stupid is part of the game, I guess! (confidence : I have an Attention Disorder, and even with my pills, I have long come to the conclusion that I'm a far better deck pilot during day time than late at night after a day's work).
I was piloting v1.4 of the deck :
0-2 vs RG Energy: What a cruel defeat. First game, I had the win on the table, and just didn't saw it (activate Needle Spires, attack with everything). I lost two turns later. Then, I was too frustrated to mulligan a hand that I shouldn't have kept (3 Burn, Copter, lands ; how the f*** was I supposed to crew the Copter?).
2-0 vs Mardu Control : Not much to say. See black in a Control or Midrange deck? Always side in more Flame Lash and Chandra to deal with Kalitas. With 9 ways to kill him, opponent doesn't have much hope of ever recovering, and the Beatdown shall win.
2-0 vs UB Control : Same as above. Control players seem to think that they have a favorable match against us, if they can just get to 6+ lands. I think this deck is on the contrary favored against Control. By the time they think they can stabilize, they're in lethal range of a top deck Burn spell, or an hasted creature (through Hanweir Battlements) or a manland activation... and that's it.
Primer's description has been updated with the new results.
Sideboarding with Boros Human Burn :
VS CONTROL
Side in :
2 Flame Lash (instant burn 4 to the dome when they're tapped out ; kills Planeswalkers, Kalitas and Thing in the Ice)
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (Classic is 2/2 token, then +1 to attack with 5/5 ; kills and survive blocking Thing in the Ice and Torrential Gearhulk ; beware Stasis Snare)
2 Flame Lash (instant burn 4 to the dome ; kills Liliana, Kalitas and fat Grim Flayer)
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (Classic is 2/2 token, then +1 to attack with 5/5 ; kills and survive from blocking Ishkanah and Mindwrack Demon)
2 Declaration in Stone (exile effect is good, Clue is not ; try to save it for Ishkanah's spider tokens, but don't miss an opportunity to remove an annoying creature that you don't want to see coming back from the graveyard)
Side out :
1 Smuggler's Copter (you're likely to run out of crew against Control, and you really want to avoid drawing duplicates)
4 Thalia's Lieutenant (itself or other Humans are unlikely to stay on the battlefield long enough to benefit from this ability)
Neat deck. I play an extremely budget version of this deck with no gideons or copters. It is probably a lot worse but I've been doing quite well in the 2 mans on mtgo. The list goes wider than yours does and is more focussed on the tribal aspect.
If you're interested I can post the list later when I have some time. Still having some issues with manabase etc that need to be fixed though
Of course!
This is not my thread, exclusively. Actually, I hope the deck can get some recognition and perform well at a premium event (and be promoted to Established, if not Proven). I'm an average deck pilot, and make mistakes a bit too often. But this deck is powerful enough that it pardons more than half these mistakes, and I win anyway. I would be delighted to see my deck list be piloted by a more skilled player than I, and see how far it could rise.
So please, post your deck here, and I'll help you with it.
Edit : BTW, I fully and sincerely understand the urge to focus on the tribe. I've done that successfully with M14-M15 Slivers, but that was because there were many solutions within the tribe. I failed lately with Allies, and Werewolves. Humans have the same problem in the current Standard, and playing not enough cards to interact with opponent's deck spells doom agaisnt UW Flash and GB Delirium (from my experience).
On the land debate Westvale Abbey (flip) vs Hanweir Garrison, I think another card has to be brought into the debate. Collective Defiance. That's your only [mana]RR[/card] card requiring you to have such a high Red mana count. I'm not saying Defiance isn't a good card. It is. I just started testing it in a deck I'm playing and I'm impressed by initial results. The question becomes is Defiance plus Abbey OR Garrison better than another burn plus Abbey AND Garrison. I think it would take some testing to be sure which is better, and it might take slightly more token generation in the test with Abbey, and it's very likely that your current build might be more optimal, but I think it's worth looking in to.
(I didn't take into account your 2 Castigators in the side. I don't know how often you bring them in or if you can live without them.)
On the land debate Westvale Abbey (flip) vs Hanweir Garrison, I think another card has to be brought into the debate. Collective Defiance. That's your only [mana]RR[/card] card requiring you to have such a high Red mana count. I'm not saying Defiance isn't a good card. It is. I just started testing it in a deck I'm playing and I'm impressed by initial results. The question becomes is Defiance plus Abbey OR Garrison better than another burn plus Abbey AND Garrison. I think it would take some testing to be sure which is better, and it might take slightly more token generation in the test with Abbey, and it's very likely that your current build might be more optimal, but I think it's worth looking in to.
(I didn't take into account your 2 Castigators in the side. I don't know how often you bring them in or if you can live without them.)
Chandra, Torch of Defiance also costs RR. I don't think it would be reasonable to reduce the number of red mana sources in favor of Westvale Abbey, only to substitute Collective Defiance for a less powerful spell. Dealing 4 damage is quite important in the current metagame, and that is why Chandra is becoming a good option. As I mentioned elsewhere, 4 damage kills Archangel Avacyn, Grim Flayer under Delirium, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Thing in the Ice, etc. Collective Defiance, actually, is one of the reason the deck is so resilient right now : the deck can easily kill almost all threats right from the main deck, removing win conditions from the opponent's board, or preventing opponent to stabilize. This gives the deck a great game 1, and with only another one more to win, helped by the sideboard, things are clearly in the deck's favor.
I also agree that 4 dmg is the magic number right now, and I definitely wouldn't replace it with something that can't do at least 4. And I probably wouldn't suggest changing the mana base since you like your RR's coming out of the board. Just thought it was something that probably deserved some consideration and testing.
I also agree that 4 dmg is the magic number right now, and I definitely wouldn't replace it with something that can't do at least 4. And I probably wouldn't suggest changing the mana base since you like your RR's coming out of the board. Just thought it was something that probably deserved some consideration and testing.
We've all faced the power of Ormendahl before rotation, and I can understand the urge of wanting to find the right shell for Westvale Abbey. It was good in WB Control and WG Tokens, because both were designed for the long game. I think the deck would need more profound changes to make Westvale Abbey a reliable strategy. It's entirely possible, but it wouldn't be an Aggro deck anymore. Even Boros Tokens decks that play 4 Gideon and 4 Servo Exhibition don't play Westvale Abbey, because the deck either win or lose before it gets to 5 creatures and 6 lands.
Weapons trainer + some sort of equipment package as An alternate build instead of avacyn, Gideon, selfless spirit and smug; maybe a budget option? Seems like he could be a strong lord coupled with slayer's plate etc.
Weapons trainer + some sort of equipment package as An alternate build instead of avacyn, Gideon, selfless spirit and smug; maybe a budget option? Seems like he could be a strong lord coupled with slayer's plate etc.
Be my guest. But I think you would be better with an Artificer theme rather than Human. Synergy with equipments is much higher there, and it really looks like a fun deck. Frank Karsten wrote an article on Channel Fireball with Artificer + Equipment being one of the many new deck from Kaladesh. You should look it up. The problem with that kind of deck, is that you need a lot of Equipment to support the theme, and a lot of creatures to support the Equipments. This leaves very little room for the Burn package that I beleive makes this deck so good.
2 Hanweir Battlements
1 Aether Hub
1 Stone Quarry
4 Needle Spires
4 Inspiring Vantage
6 Plains
6 Mountain
Human Creatures (15)
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Hanweir Garrison
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Selfless Spirit
2 Archangel Avacyn
Support Spells (7)
3 Smuggler's Copter
1 Always Watching
3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Burn spells (10)
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Collective Defiance
2 Flame Lash
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Flame Lash
2 Goldnight Castigator
2 Declaration in Stone
2 Blessed Alliance
3 Fragmentize
4 Galvanic Bombardment
Introduction
This deck was designed to win in the current metagame of GB Delirium, UW Flash and WR Dwarf Vehicles. It has more main deck removals than these usually have (to control the board if needed), and our removals can all burn the dome to finish the opponent in the late game (or exile vs GB Delirium with Incendiary Flow, or 2-for-1 with Collective Defiance, or surprise everyone with Flame Lash). This is compounded with the Human theme and intense synergy they all have together, card filtering of the Smuggler's Copter, support from Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and induced indestructibility with Selfless Spirit and Archangel Avacyn.
Boros Human Burn : the making-of
I was having bad results with my 4c Ally Evolution deck, and quite burned out after Game Day. I read Mark Nestico's article The Standard Cards That Matter, and let that sink in for a full week before touching my cards.
Smuggler's Copter, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Thraben Inspector and Archangel Avacyn are indeed among the most powerful cards in Standard. But no way I would copy a UW Flash if I want to beat them. I felt Burn was the best way to complement these white cards in the current metagame, to support aggression by removing blockers (and Spell Quellers) and/or targeting the dome (when otherwise removals would be dead cards). There are good burn spells out there that can exile creatures (Incendiary Flow), 2-for-1 (Collective Defiance) and surprise (Flame Lash). That was a start.
Boros was a strong incentive to play Dwarves and Vehicles. But for the same reasons I didn't want to play UW Flash, I didn't want to copy WR Vehicles : I wanted to beat them! Also, there is no room for burn spells in a Vehicle deck that has a reasonnable Creatures to Vehicles ratio.
Out of true inspiration, I just sorted my Standard collection by price (current power level of the card). I identified Selfless Spirit in the top values, as well as some Humans being above average (Thalia's Lieutenant, Hanweir Garrison, Pia Nalaar, Thalia, Heretic Cathar). Mmmm... Humans that could stand on their own, synergize well with others and complement the burn spells and high value cards (Gideon, Avacyn, Selfless Spirit, Copter)? The rest is history and fine tuning the numbers.
Results of the deck
I was piloting v1.0 of the deck, and didn't have the full playsets of Needle Spires and Inspiring Vantage (my store was sold-out and 3 Stone Quarry replaced the missing cards)
With v1.1 of the deck (no Thalia, Heretic Cathar in the deck at that time), I did an amazing 4-1-1 at PPTQ (the draw was intentional), and I made the Top 8 (4th out of 35 players).
Click here and here for all the details.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Please post your comments on this deck. I have a very good and strong feeling for this deck (considering the results), and unless the metagame adapts to this obscure deck, it will probably perform for quite some time... Have fun with it!
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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Thanks for the comment. The deck plays 40% lands, so I consider that I'm flooding whenever I draw considerably more than that. In the top 8’s first round of PPTQ, I flooded with 50% lands (9 on 18 cards). Normal ratio would have been 7 lands on 18 cards. But flooding is something that is normal to happen once in a while (as is being short on mana). It is sheer bad luck if it happens twice in a row.
I wouldn't play less than 24 lands. On the play, odds of having 4 or more lands by turn 4 are only 63% (and 46% of 5+ on turn 5). With 10 spells costing 4 or 5, these are barely acceptable odds. Add Needle Spires as mana sinks (need 5 lands to activate and attack with it), and also Hanweir Battlements (cost 2 to give Haste), and there is normally plenty to do with extra mana in the late game if we're close to that 40% ratio. It is generally better to flood out and be able to cast everything you draw (or filter lands with Copter or Collective Defiance, or dump them in mana sinks), than be mana short and have dead cards in your hand.
Sometimes, bad things happen at the bad time. PPTQ final game was an example... it is not however a testimony of bad design.
I once read an interview with a pro player (don't remember who), and he said something along these lines : "When I find a good list and want to make it better for an event, most of the time cutting a spell to add a land is just enough. People never play enough lands." That quote hurt me at that time, as I was the first to cut lands for more spells whenever possible. I look more at numbers and statistics since then (hey, Bant CoCo played 25-26 lands in a deck mostly filled with three-drops!!!).
PS : Have a look at this hypergeometric calculator. If we agree that "reliable" is odds at 75%+, then casting Avacyn with a 24 lands deck should happen on turn 8 (14 cards, on the play). That's already late IMHO, and I don't want to reduce the odds, particularly in a deck that needs RR or WW on some spells.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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Anyways to the point, curious as to why you dont use Harnessed Lightning as part of your burn utility.
Because Harnessed Lightning is a removal spell, and not a burn.
I wanted the burn spells to have both modes of targeting creatures or players.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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Gotcha, i definitely see that now and possible thoughts of adding at least 1 Westvale Abbey?
I thought about it, and I am not fully decided yet. Here's how I see it, and let me know what you think about this reasoning :
It is the other abilities then that matter the most (Haste or token). Haste's surprise effect is more useful to the deck than a single token, but is more conditional (we need a creature in hand *and* a board state where attacking with it is reasonable). Getting the token is less conditional, but slower.
We are the beatdown in most matchups. Haste it is then, IMHO (until I change it!).
Opinion?
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Edit to v1.3 : Small modifications to the deck and SB (swapped a Mountain for a Plains, and SB Goldnight Castigator for Flame Lash).
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
I was excited with Flame Lash the moment it was spoiled. It is obviously less powerful than Stoke the Flames, because there is no way to pay less than 4 mana to cast it. But Stoke the Flames was often cast for full mana cost of 2RR, and games won on that extra burn to the dome.
Flame Lash can burn for 4 at instant speed. The extra damage is very important in the current metagame. It can kill Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, 4/4 Grim Flayer, Liliana, the Last Hope after her classic +1, Noxious Gearhulk, Dwarven crewed Smuggler's Copter or Fleetwheel Cruiser, Thing in the Ice, Archangel Avacyn, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar after his classic +0, Spell Queller or Reflector Mage boosted by Gideon's emblem, etc.
Fiery Temper can't deal with any of these staple cards of the current Standard format. But it has many advantages, I admit. If anything, it should take the place of Incendiary Flow in the main deck (but not of Flame Lash). The only draw to Incendiary Flow is that it can exil creatures, a good thing in a meta dominated by GB Delirium. But it's too weak against most of their cards, and probably only good vs 2/2 Grim Flayer in the very early game (or the rare Filigree Familiar or Pilgrim's Eye that sometimes go in the list).
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
I felt the same way when deciding or not to play Aether Hub. But I feel it is required to fix our color needs. The problem of running out of energy is mitigated by just playing two copies of Aether Hub instead of the full play set. Harnessed Lightning would help fix it, however. But I will be looking for other solutions to fix the manabase before adding Harnessed Lightning in the deck. Not burning the dome is a huge drawback...
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Sorry it took so long to respond. I definitely appreciate the list of pros and cons to both which you have added for the battlements and the abbey. Honestly, i kind of enjoy how often a lot of players, or at least the people at my LGS, overlook the abbey being on the board. Now i am by no means a pro of any sort but in a game when all i had was 4 tokens, a thraben inspector along with my westvale abbey on the board and my opponent was coming at me with two torrential gearhulks, it was a great contingency plan when i had no other plays and it won me the game. Now i understand that chances of this even happening again but i like it there as a commonly overlooked backup plan or a most definite overkill.
That was a great play!
But I don't think this deck runs enough token generators to make Westvale Abbey works. The old WG Tokens deck that was played before rotation enjoyed the benefits of Secure the Wastes at instant speed. Boros Human Burn has nothing close to that, and Westvale Abbey is probably just a cute card that will do wonders if it works, but otherwise underpowered or a very risky business.
That's the cruel beauty of Magic deck building : cutting and trimming down all cards we love and want to play, down to the best 60 cards that are most likely to make us win in the current metagame.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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I was piloting v1.4 of the deck :
Primer's description has been updated with the new results.
Sideboarding with Boros Human Burn :
VS CONTROL
Side in :
- 2 Flame Lash (instant burn 4 to the dome when they're tapped out ; kills Planeswalkers, Kalitas and Thing in the Ice)
- 1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (Classic is 2/2 token, then +1 to attack with 5/5 ; kills and survive blocking Thing in the Ice and Torrential Gearhulk ; beware Stasis Snare)
- 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance (Always consider first her +1 mana ability the turn she ETB)
Side out :- 1 Smuggler's Copter (you're likely to run out of crew against Control, and you really want to avoid drawing duplicates)
- 3 Thalia's Lieutenant (itself or other Humans are unlikely to stay on the battlefield long enough to benefit from this ability)
VS UW FLASHSide in :
- 3 Fragmentize (kills Copters and get rid of Stasis Snare)
- 2 Flame Lash (kills Gideon, and Avacyn before she triggers ; always useful to play at instant speed against an opponent who does the same)
Side out :- 3 Selfless Spirit (useless against non-destroy removals)
- 2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (too many pesky flyers to make it worthy of playing a Planeswalker)
VS GB DELIRIUMSide in :
- 2 Flame Lash (instant burn 4 to the dome ; kills Liliana, Kalitas and fat Grim Flayer)
- 1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (Classic is 2/2 token, then +1 to attack with 5/5 ; kills and survive from blocking Ishkanah and Mindwrack Demon)
- 2 Declaration in Stone (exile effect is good, Clue is not ; try to save it for Ishkanah's spider tokens, but don't miss an opportunity to remove an annoying creature that you don't want to see coming back from the graveyard)
Side out :- 1 Smuggler's Copter (you're likely to run out of crew against Control, and you really want to avoid drawing duplicates)
- 4 Thalia's Lieutenant (itself or other Humans are unlikely to stay on the battlefield long enough to benefit from this ability)
VS WR VEHICLESVS RG ENERGY
VS UR MACHINEGUN
(Under construction...)
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Of course!
This is not my thread, exclusively. Actually, I hope the deck can get some recognition and perform well at a premium event (and be promoted to Established, if not Proven). I'm an average deck pilot, and make mistakes a bit too often. But this deck is powerful enough that it pardons more than half these mistakes, and I win anyway. I would be delighted to see my deck list be piloted by a more skilled player than I, and see how far it could rise.
So please, post your deck here, and I'll help you with it.
Edit : BTW, I fully and sincerely understand the urge to focus on the tribe. I've done that successfully with M14-M15 Slivers, but that was because there were many solutions within the tribe. I failed lately with Allies, and Werewolves. Humans have the same problem in the current Standard, and playing not enough cards to interact with opponent's deck spells doom agaisnt UW Flash and GB Delirium (from my experience).
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
(I didn't take into account your 2 Castigators in the side. I don't know how often you bring them in or if you can live without them.)
Goldnight Castigator is useful against Control when on the play. It survives Radiant Flames, Harnessed Lightning and Galvanic Bombardment. And it will deal 8 damage, flying above Thing in the Ice (or Torrential Gearhulk, later), if played on curve before Fumigate can resolve.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance also costs RR. I don't think it would be reasonable to reduce the number of red mana sources in favor of Westvale Abbey, only to substitute Collective Defiance for a less powerful spell. Dealing 4 damage is quite important in the current metagame, and that is why Chandra is becoming a good option. As I mentioned elsewhere, 4 damage kills Archangel Avacyn, Grim Flayer under Delirium, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Thing in the Ice, etc. Collective Defiance, actually, is one of the reason the deck is so resilient right now : the deck can easily kill almost all threats right from the main deck, removing win conditions from the opponent's board, or preventing opponent to stabilize. This gives the deck a great game 1, and with only another one more to win, helped by the sideboard, things are clearly in the deck's favor.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
I also agree that 4 dmg is the magic number right now, and I definitely wouldn't replace it with something that can't do at least 4. And I probably wouldn't suggest changing the mana base since you like your RR's coming out of the board. Just thought it was something that probably deserved some consideration and testing.
We've all faced the power of Ormendahl before rotation, and I can understand the urge of wanting to find the right shell for Westvale Abbey. It was good in WB Control and WG Tokens, because both were designed for the long game. I think the deck would need more profound changes to make Westvale Abbey a reliable strategy. It's entirely possible, but it wouldn't be an Aggro deck anymore. Even Boros Tokens decks that play 4 Gideon and 4 Servo Exhibition don't play Westvale Abbey, because the deck either win or lose before it gets to 5 creatures and 6 lands.
Thanks for the suggestion however.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Be my guest. But I think you would be better with an Artificer theme rather than Human. Synergy with equipments is much higher there, and it really looks like a fun deck. Frank Karsten wrote an article on Channel Fireball with Artificer + Equipment being one of the many new deck from Kaladesh. You should look it up. The problem with that kind of deck, is that you need a lot of Equipment to support the theme, and a lot of creatures to support the Equipments. This leaves very little room for the Burn package that I beleive makes this deck so good.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.