MTG Salvation

Let's add Reprisal to that list Plus he's an enchantment and there's a lot of heavy enchantment removal. He's not bad, not by a far sight, but we have tons of ways of dealing with him--sometimes for as little as two mana.

Hello fellow Gatherers!

I myself played in two pre-release events for Journey Into Nyx, and I've seen some insane combos (mostly done with Strive, of course). Since this Friday will be the first night we see a ton of Standard archtypes re-defined with JOU cards, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to make Boros Burn viable against these new (and quite insane) mechanics!

Right now I'm running the following:

Lands (23)

• 2 Boros Guildgate
  
• 3 Mutavault
  
• 4 Temple of Triumph
  
• 4 Sacred Foundry
  
• 9 Mountain

Creatures (9)

• 4 Chandra's Phoenix
  
• 3 Ash Zealot
  
• 2 Spark Trooper
  

Spells (29)

• 2 Chained to the Rocks
  
• 3 Shock
  
• 4 Warleader's Helix
  
• 4 Searing Blood
  
• 4 Magma Jet
  
• 4 Lightning Strike
  
• 4 Skullcrack
  
• 4 Boros Charm

Sideboard

• 3 Anger of the Gods
  
• 2 Blind Obedience
  
• 2 Chained to the Rocks
  
• 2 Toil // Trouble
  
• 2 Mizzium Mortars
  
• 2 Wear // Tear
  
• 2 Peak Eruption

I have a bunch of prevalent spells to utilize as well, including 4 Satyr Firedancer , 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 3 Viashino Firstblade, 2 Wear // Tear, another Toil // Trouble as well as 4 Assemble the Legion and 4 Young Pyromancer.

I was thinking of possibly running Burning Earth sideboard to punish Mana Confluence decks (or three color decks) and possibly toss in 2-3 Temple of Silence in order to fuse Toil // Trouble for insane damage against Kruphix, God of Horizons.

I also like Magma Spray, but things like Dictate of the Twin Gods and the red Eidolon impair me as well. Also I like the idea of throwing in Reprisals against fatties, as it wouldn't slow down my curve at all, and some Deicides would be nice!

Feel free to let me know what you guys think, and I look forward to your input. Thanks again, and remember--never play with fire unless you want to sizzzzzzzle.



3 Shock

Hey guys,

I've been playing James Fazzolari's Boros Burn Standard deck for a while now, and have seen it evolve to an interesting deck. I love the archtype and enjoy burning people out, but I have identified my weak points and decided to reach out to fellow gamers to help solidify my tactics.

As far as my current deck list goes, I tried Zem's recent updated list for Boros Burn--that is adding the Young Pyromancers, Temple of Silence/Malice build, and I did horrible with it at a $500 free event last Friday.

I've kept up to date with the changes and have read all of Fazzolari's analyses, and while they do give a huge understanding of how the deck works, I still have a hard time against GR/Jund Monsters, Junk Midrange, and even Mono Red Devotion kicks my ass.

My real question regards with strategies and tactics to take down these problematic decks. I know that strategies are extremely conditional based on board-state, but any help and advice would be great. Below is the deck list I played, as well as other cards I can add in for a more viable build.

Lands

• 8 Mountain
  
• 3 Mutavault
  
• 2 Boros Guildgate
  
• 4 Sacred Foundry
  
• 4 Temple of Triumph
  
• 1 Temple of Malice
  
• 1 Temple of Silence

Creatures

• 4 Chandra's Phoenix
  
• 4 Young Pyromancer

Noncreature Spells

• 3 Chained to the Rocks
  
• 4 Boros Charm
  
• 4 Lightning Strike
  
• 4 Magma Jet
  
• 2 Searing Blood
  
• 4 Shock
  
• 4 Skullcrack
  
• 4 Warleader's Helix

Sideboard

• 1 Assemble the Legion
  
• 1 Chained to the Rocks
  
• 1 Wear // Tear
  
• 1 Mutavault
  
• 1 Blind Obedience
  
• 2 Firedancer Satyr
  
• 2 Mizzium Mortars
  
• 2 Viashino Firstblade
  
• 2 Toil // Trouble
  
• 2 Peak Eruption

My hardest match ups were GR Monsters, and most of the reasons I lost to them was due to Xenagod. Sure when Xenagod is turned on I can chain his ass, but otherwise I had to race it or chump block with my Young Pyromancer tokens. Interestingly enough the Pyromancers really did trip me up, as I didn't really have enough time to play test the deck before I made the alterations --the event itself was the playtest--and I faced no Mono-Black action to warrant Assemble the Legion.

Both times I played GR Monsters, Xenagod was extremely relevant. I paid attention to Zem's Deck Tech which basically says you either burn your opponent out while building up a creature base with Elemental tokens, or your burn your opponents creatures out to get in with your own tokens for recurring damage. This is a good theory, but Domri Rade puts a serious kink in that plan.

Below is a list of strategies I've come across for taking on Monsters:

1. Turn-1 Shock targeting Elvish Mystic to prevent Turn 3 Domri Rade
2. Chain Targets:
Courser of Kruphix
Polukranos, World Eater
Xenagod
3. Burning Earth for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx/non-basics?
4. Burn Race?
5. Chump Block with Tokens/Mutavault

Also I need to identify the "nuts" hand against Jund/GR Monsters as well. Often times I'll see my colored sources and a Helix, so I keep it, only to find out it was a bad idea.

I want to try to use Firedancer Satyrs against Monsters, however a lot of the creatures are higher toughness so I might have to two-for-one...but Searing Blood makes up for that quite well. Domri is a big kink in that plan though, as I'd have to turn 4 the Firedancer to get some value with a Boros Charm or Searing Blood.

Right now I have a lot of the Boros Burn staples sitting around, so I can toss these in:

• 4 Ash Zealot
  
• 4 Assemble the Legion
  
• 4 Firedancer Satyr
  
• 4 Wear // Tear
  
• 3 Toil // Trouble
  
• 2 Blind Obedience
  
• 4 Anger of the Gods
  
• 4 Peark Eruption
  

My current permutation involves cutting one Phoenix and one Ash Zealot to throw in 2 Firedancer Satyrs, but really it doesn't hit anything other than like Stormbreath Dragon or Courser. Domri, Courser, Poly-K and Xenagod are hard to deal with, especially if your opponent is running Jund Monsters with Abrupt Decays and Dreadbores.

Thanks for your help and I know enough to ask for assistance when I consistently get my ass kicked by this deck time and time again!

Hey guys,

I recently put together a nice RW Burn deck courtesy of Channel Fireball's James Fazzolari, and most of the cards are pretty self explanatory...except three sideboard cards.

The cards in question are 3x Viashino Firstblade, which definitely rocks some ass against some forms of control, but honestly I have been quite hesitant to side him in.

Additionally there was a ruling at a FNM I attended that said he was a viable target for Searing Blood, seeing as his ETB trigger goes on the stack and it says "it gets", not "comes in the battle field with", thus making it a 2/2 before the trigger, and Searing Blood is cast while trigger is on the stack.

ANYWAYS!

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best matchups that I could side him in? Below I've included the final decklist, but I was thinking of taking Firstblade out in favor of 3x Satyr Firedancer. Fazzolari affirms that the Firstblades are all-stars that have out-performed during his experiences at Melbourne, but I haven't had much luck with them so I try to steer clear of them and focus on siding in removal like Chained to the Rocks or Mizzium Mortars.

Any suggestions and help are greatly appreciated. So far the deck has done quite well, and most events I attend I get into top 4 and win packs. I took home 13 packs the other night with it (all M14's with no Mutavaults or goodies, sadly ;[) and cracked Top 4 at a GPT but was smashed by a mirror matched RW burn deck.

---CREATURES: 8---
4x Ash Zealot
4x Chandra's Phoenix

---SPELLS: 29 ---
2x Chained to the Rocks
4x Boros Charm
4x Lightning Strike
4x Magma Jet
4x Searing Blood
3x Shock
4x Skullcrack
4x Warleader's Helix]

---LANDS: 23---
2x Boros Guildgate
9x Mountain
4x Mutavault
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Temple of Triumph

-----SIDEBOARD: 15-----
2x Chained to the Rocks
4x Firedrinker Satyr
3x Satyr Firedancer
3x Spark Trooper
3x Viashino Firstblade (Possibly swapped with 3x Satyr Firedancer)

Also some tips on grappling with an Evolve-based Selesnya deck with Experiment Ones, Gyre Sages, Voice of Resurgences would be helpful. The game itself quickly escalated out of hand and I was told I need to just race it for damage. Voice's trigger is detrimental to my deck around turn 3-4 if I haven't done any damage, considering a lot of my burn is being cast on my opponent's End Step.

Early on it's not such a big problem, but having to main burn spells isn't very efficient when I'm being toppled by a bunch of Evolved little guys who got big quite fast.

Thanks a ton!

Thanks guys, that helps a lot. Especially the exiled cards not keeping the same rules as permanents in the battlefield ;]

Hey fellow Gatherers,

As a player I'm happy to say that I've come a long way since my novice status back in February, but I still have a ways to go before I have a chance as a pro.

My question is specifically focused on removal spells like Detention Sphere and Chained to the Rocks, or more specifically the state in which a permanent (or creature) returns onto the battlefield.

Let's say I attacked with a creature, so it's tapped, and then next turn my opponent uses Chained to the Rocks to temporary exile said creature. Then I respond next turn with a Peak Eruption to blow up the Mountain that's enchanted with Chained to the Rocks.

Since my creature was exiled in a tapped state, does it return to the battlefield tapped as well? I understand that if I did some enchantment removal spell at Instant speed on my opponents End Step that I'd be able to simply Untap said creature during my Untap phase.

Also feel free to let me know of any specific plays that can be useful to even out the odds against these removal spells, which will help.

Thanks!

I like the idea of certain spells targeting Bestowed creatures, as in "this happens if a creature is bestowed", etc etc. As for the legends or even historical references, I think a siege engine artifact depicting the Helepolis would be insane. This thing was known as the "city taker", but unfortunately it was destroyed in the Siege of Rhodes.

We already have an allusion to the Colossus of Rhodes--the Colossus of Akros--which was made from the destroyed Helepolis itself, and seeing the Helepolis would be interesting. For JOU I expect some far-out mystical cards as we're venturing into Nyx, the full-out god-plane, so Bestow sure will be there but it should be kicked up a notch.

Just about everything should be more in-depth and powerful, but also balanced and provide adequate combos.

Sorry about not wrapping with deck tags, I'm pretty new to the forums. I'll definitely keep that in mind. Right now I have the Sacred Foundrys and the Temple of Triumphs, but the Mutavaults are out of reach for a while. I wanted to try something awesome at the PTQ event at our local LGS but the timing is bad for me.

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to make a recreation of Zemanjaski's RW Burn deck but I don't have the funds to pick up 4x Mutavaults at ~$30-34 a piece, and was wondering if there was ANY way to run the deck without them.

They are extremely versatile and can be quite relevant, and I don't think there's any real replacement for them...but I figured I would ask!

http://www.channelfireball.com/videos/channel-zemanjaski-standard-rw-burn/

Also I wanted to try this deck out as well, but I don't have the Chandra, Pyromasters or the Mutavaults ;/

Creatures (28)
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Firefist Striker
4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Rakdos Cackler

Lands (22)
19 Mountain
3 Mutavault

Spells (10)
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
2 Shock

Sideboard
4 Searing Blood
4 Skullcrack
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Mizzium Mortars

Thanks Yeef, that helped a lot. It's a bit daunting to get the hang of the rules (and the phrases/timing of spells and abilities), but I think I've got it down.

I'll be sure to post further inquiries of this nature in the rulings forum ;]

Hey guys!

My re-immersion into Magic: The Gathering is coming along swimmingly, as I've learned many new things about how to play successfully via playtesting, scouring the web, and generally asking the greats at my LGS.

I recently ran into a situation at last week's Friday Night Magic session that really affected me as a player, and I feel I need to fully understand the dynamics of priority and response.

First, let me outline the situation for you.

I was playing this Red Deck Wins deck against a cheapy Gary Monoblack Devotion deck. You know with Nightveil Specters, Gray Merchants, and the much hated Pack Rat (at least I hate 'em now).

First game he overloaded me with Pack Rats, so I tossed in Pithing Needle from my sideboard. I drew into Pithing Needle, waited for a Pack Rat, and tossed out the Needle in an effort for it to be resolve.

So we can all guess what's going to happen here. I should have waited for him to tap out, but he kept enough mana untapped for the Pack Rat's ability, and my opponent triggered the ability in response to me casting Pithing Needle.

So now the Needle is on the stack, and the Pack Rat's triggered ability is on the stack--technically Pithing Needle hasn't resolved yet, so he can still use the ability one last time and create another annoying bastard-rat.

So I'm thinking, sure, there's a rat about to come out on the field.

Then I toss a Shock at the Rat to kill it, thinking I can use it before the triggered ability is being used, or use my priority response to kill it before the trigger resolves.

I was told that the trigger still resolves, he gets another rat, and that I couldn't kill it with Shock before the rat was being made. I wasn't sure about this (still am learning the ropes) and called for a judge. The judge echoed my opponents ruling, stating that triggered abilities are different from casted spells, and they go on the stack differently.

My question is this: Is there any way that I could have killed the Pack Rat before it triggered its ability with the Shock? Should I have shocked it first, THEN cast Pithing Needle? Or would I need a creature (or permanant) who's triggered ability is something like "Deal 2 damage to target creature" to add to the trigger stack in an effort to kill the Rat before its trigger resolves?

It's a bit confusing to me, and I have the gist of it, I just wanted to know if there was anything I could have done to handle that play better. I was told it was good to kill the Rat because then the created rat would be stronger by 1/1, thus making my Shock ineffective.

Also I hate Nightveil Specter. The bastard swung, hit me, and took my top card which was a red mana. So there on in he could cast ALL my spells. I wasn't too happy about that. Second game I had to Peak Eruption the stolen Mountain, which was cool, but damn is the specter annoying!

OH and another question: Do I get a priority step in response to the Pack Rat triggering? Or do you only pass priority when casting spells. Thanks!

So Planeswalkers are an extension of the player, when it comes to direct damage spells...interesting.

I found a ruling that really interested me, especially since I plan to play a Red Deck Wins-type speed deck at this week's FNM.

The ruling is on Ral Zarek's page on the official WotC MtG Gatherer. I scanned what Ral did...which is interesting in itself, but the ruling piqued my interest.

Basically it states that you can target a player with a direct damage spell (take Shock, for example), and as that spell resolves apply that damage to a Planeswalker that player has in play.

7/1/2013 If a source you control would deal noncombat damage to an opponent, you may have that source deal that damage to a planeswalker that opponent controls instead. For example, although you can’t target a planeswalker with Shock, you can target your opponent with Shock, and then as Shock resolves, choose to have Shock deal its 2 damage to one of your opponent’s planeswalkers. (You can’t split up that damage between different players and/or planeswalkers.) If you have Shock deal its damage to a planeswalker, two loyalty counters are removed from it.[/i]

Interesting...so does this hold ground? If so, I like the idea of potentially double Shocking most Planeswalkers at the end of that player's end step when an opponent is tapped out.

Also I wanted to get clarification on something else. Once you have a Planeswalker in play, your opponent can declare attackers against it (as if it's a player, in a way).

Once your opponent declares attacks, you can declare blockers, and this ruling suggests that you can have your other creature(s) intercept that damage and fight the creature(s) attacking your planeswalker.

7/1/2013[i]If a creature that’s attacking a planeswalker isn’t blocked, it’ll deal its combat damage to that planeswalker. Damage dealt to a planeswalker causes that many loyalty counters to be removed from it.[/i]

Is this correct? Orrrr has it been unruled or something

Thanks!

Thanks guys, I just wanted to make sure. I plan on throwing on a variety of Shocks just so I don't have to pay for the $1.00+ shipping when buying from say, eBay or Channel Fireball

So it would be okay to use 'em? I have some Shocks from Stronghold and such...I just don't want people being like "OH HEY YOURE DISQUALIFIED!" >.<