Any list that isn't running some number of Hellrider is suboptimal, unless the mana base absolutely can't support it. In which case I'd suggest you take another look at your deck and figure out how to fit it in. It's insanely powerful in this kind of deck, and you need a finisher for when the board clogs up and you can't get attacks through.
I want to know why so many people want to run Boros Elite. It looks okay on paper, but really, by the time it gets to attack as a 3/3, a vanilla 3/3 probably isn't going to matter much to your opponent. It's just a bad card.
With Legion Loyalist I was mostly thinking that it was too slow. It does sort of give you a powerful alpha swing, but I didn't really need that. I just shoved for a ****-ton of damage every turn and hoped to race aggro and swarm control. Legion Loyalist is more of a skirmishing card where you care about the intricacies of the combat phase. I understand why it can be good though, sort of in the same way Pyreheart Wolf can be good.
Here's a list that I'm not sure about and haven't tested much:
You won't always be holding Boros Charm with two open mana when your opponent plays a Verdict. The charm is a fantastic card, but it doesn't mean we can afford to go into games thinking we're somehow immune to sweepers now.
The issue, though, is that the deck just looks too weak. Eleven one drops (seven of which can't really do much on their own) means a lot of your creatures and draws are going to become irrelevant long before this deck can finish off an opponent. Fencing Ace is just incredibly lackluster here, as is Gather the Townsfolk. Boros has TONS of great two-drops that are both more powerful and more consistently reliable than either of these cards. Spark Trooper also looks quite underwhelming; the deck desperately needs some lasting board presence going into the later game, which Trooper can't provide. I see no reason not to run Boros Reckoner over it (Easier mana requirements, constant threat of doing damage, more solid board presence, etc.)
Just a quick note: I see many lists here that includes 3-4x Boros Reckoner and 4x Cavern plus utility lands. After a bit of deck testing, I discovered how crippling the combination can be. If you've got one of those lands on turn three, you can't cast Reckoner, and if you've got one in turn four, you can't drop it and keep a mana for first strike. This happened a lot to me with just 4x Cavern. I'm downsizing to 3x Cavern for 3x Reckoner to see how it goes.
The nice thing about Reckoner is that you don't always need to have first strike mana up for it to be useful. Unless they use a hard removal spell on it, like oblivion ring or dreadbore, it will almost always generate value just by being on the field. Of course, the lists that run it should still be careful about how many colourless lands they run.
I'm seeing a lot of cards like Boros Elite, Frontline Medic, and Skullcrack in these lists, and I really don't like any of them in this deck, especially Boros Elite. If you're looking for more one drops, I can't see any reason to play this card over Stromkirk Noble or Champion besides being human, which just isn't a good enough reason to include a card that will often be terrible. If you're that hungry for one drops, I think Stonewright would serve much better in that slot, as both a more consistently useful creature and as a sink for your red mana.
I'd rather play Kessig Malcontents than Frontline Medic. With Malcontents, you're guaranteed at least some damage value, whereas the Medic might often just wind up a vanilla 3/3, and the Battalion ability might not always be helpful even when you manage to activate it. A lot of decks will just send out chump blockers like lingering souls and don't care whether they kill your creatures by blocking. It's counter ability might be useful at times, but on its own I think its too conditional to warrant the Medic's inclusion. Plus, sacrificing your three drops isn't really what an aggro deck wants to be doing.
Skullcrack could be really good in certain matchups, but for now I'm still very on the fence about it and would rather have more versatile and consistently useful cards in my 75.
On the other hand, Boros Reckoner and Boros charm are both cards that should definitely be played if your deck can handle the mana.
With all that out of the way, here's the deck I'm trying to put together (the list has been in constant flux, so constructive input is more than welcome):
I'd love to try and include Ash Zealot somewhere, possibly over the Champion or the Noble since having eight one drops that are awful top decks seems a bit risky; but as others have said, it would make the mana base really shaky, especially with Hellrider and Reckoner already present. Eventually I'd like to try out a more red-based list with Stonewright and Pyreheart Wolf.
I'm also wondering if Hellion Crucible might be a better utility land than the Stronghold. While the Stronghold is great at times, Crucible is less colour intensive, can recycle unused mana, adds additional pressure if your board presence gets slim, and is better on an emptier board.
I want to know why so many people want to run Boros Elite. It looks okay on paper, but really, by the time it gets to attack as a 3/3, a vanilla 3/3 probably isn't going to matter much to your opponent. It's just a bad card.
You won't always be holding Boros Charm with two open mana when your opponent plays a Verdict. The charm is a fantastic card, but it doesn't mean we can afford to go into games thinking we're somehow immune to sweepers now.
The issue, though, is that the deck just looks too weak. Eleven one drops (seven of which can't really do much on their own) means a lot of your creatures and draws are going to become irrelevant long before this deck can finish off an opponent. Fencing Ace is just incredibly lackluster here, as is Gather the Townsfolk. Boros has TONS of great two-drops that are both more powerful and more consistently reliable than either of these cards. Spark Trooper also looks quite underwhelming; the deck desperately needs some lasting board presence going into the later game, which Trooper can't provide. I see no reason not to run Boros Reckoner over it (Easier mana requirements, constant threat of doing damage, more solid board presence, etc.)
The nice thing about Reckoner is that you don't always need to have first strike mana up for it to be useful. Unless they use a hard removal spell on it, like oblivion ring or dreadbore, it will almost always generate value just by being on the field. Of course, the lists that run it should still be careful about how many colourless lands they run.
I'd rather play Kessig Malcontents than Frontline Medic. With Malcontents, you're guaranteed at least some damage value, whereas the Medic might often just wind up a vanilla 3/3, and the Battalion ability might not always be helpful even when you manage to activate it. A lot of decks will just send out chump blockers like lingering souls and don't care whether they kill your creatures by blocking. It's counter ability might be useful at times, but on its own I think its too conditional to warrant the Medic's inclusion. Plus, sacrificing your three drops isn't really what an aggro deck wants to be doing.
Skullcrack could be really good in certain matchups, but for now I'm still very on the fence about it and would rather have more versatile and consistently useful cards in my 75.
On the other hand, Boros Reckoner and Boros charm are both cards that should definitely be played if your deck can handle the mana.
With all that out of the way, here's the deck I'm trying to put together (the list has been in constant flux, so constructive input is more than welcome):
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Stromkirk Noble
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4x Lightning Mauler
4x Gore-house Chainwalker
4x Silverblade Paladin
3x Boros Reckoner
4x Hellrider
4x Boros Charm
4x Searing Spear
LAND
2x Slayers’ Stronghold
3x Cavern of Souls
4x Clifftop Retreat
4x Sacred Foundry
6x Mountain
5x Plains
2x Zealous Conscripts
3x Nearheath Pilgrim
4x Pillar of Flame
3x Flames of the Firebrand
2x Fiend Hunter
I'd love to try and include Ash Zealot somewhere, possibly over the Champion or the Noble since having eight one drops that are awful top decks seems a bit risky; but as others have said, it would make the mana base really shaky, especially with Hellrider and Reckoner already present. Eventually I'd like to try out a more red-based list with Stonewright and Pyreheart Wolf.
I'm also wondering if Hellion Crucible might be a better utility land than the Stronghold. While the Stronghold is great at times, Crucible is less colour intensive, can recycle unused mana, adds additional pressure if your board presence gets slim, and is better on an emptier board.