Not that I'm an expert, but here's some recommendations:
-Bosh, Iron Golem: With only 4 artifacts, you won't be getting much utility out of him beyond being a generic trampling fatty.
-Emrakul, the Promised End: Since the idea is to cheat huge creatures like Emrakul into play, you won't get the controlled turn unless you hold out until you have 13 mana.
-Aurelia, the Warleader: While she's one of my favorite cards, she can't be cheated out with Mayael.
And especially in a deck with lots of high-cost cards, you'll need more mana ramp, mana rocks, and probably some mana dorks. Here's some recommendations:
Sol Ring: This is a Commander Staple. There's a reason its reprinted and put in every year's precons.
I usually use the full cycles of Cluestones (Boros Cluestone, as well as Selesnya and Gruul). Once you have enough lands and don't need the rocks, you can sac them to draw a card. Gilded Lotus works well in a ramp-heavy deck.
So about a week ago I posted a decklist for Iroas, God of Victory that I'd built awhile back and wanted to update. Then after spending more than 5 minutes looking at other Iroas/RW decks, I realized something: It had a lack of a point. It tried aggro, voltron, and some form of lockdown all at the same time and wasn't particularly good at most of them. So I took down the thread and spent some time researching and came up with a new, more focused decklist.
Its not quite Voltron (maybe Megazord?), but its based on the principle, which was pretty much the best focus of the initial list. It relies mostly on Equipment to buff Iroas and other creatures. Most creatures are meant to benefit Iroas in some way, but are usually pretty tough in their own rite. I kept some of the more defensive cards like Martial Law, but I'll post my reasoning for each card below. The main win condition is to just beat them to death with Iroas, possibly in a single attack. Fueling devotion is probably its main drawback- if Iroas can't stay online, winning is that much harder (though not impossible):
Iroas: While I'm sure Kalemne is just as good of a RW Voltron commander, Iroas’ double-block and damage prevention open up some pretty interesting tactical choices. And he's indestructible to boot.
Figure of Destiny: Meant to basically be chump devotion to keep Iroas online, plus a later-game mana sink. I'd replace it with Serra Ascendant if I was willing to spend the money.
Stoneforge, Puresteel, Relic Seeker, Steelshaper's Gift, Open the Armory, Stoneforge Giant: This deck uses a lot of hard-hitting equipment, so fetching it and cheating it into play is essential, and these cards help with that. The creatures also provide easy devotion for Iroas.
Grand Abolisher, Basandra: Try to avoid any funny business during attack phases. Grand Abolisher protects my whole turn, and provides easy early devotion. This deck doesn't have many, if any, Instants to use in the attack phase, so Basandra doesn't hurt much. Plus her forced attack ability synergizes with cards like Powerstone Minefield and Heliod.
Intrepid Hero: Spot removal is always nice. Repeated spot removal is even better.
Purphoros, Assemble the Legion: If there's little to no enchantment removal on the deck, this is a pretty good alternate wincon. Not the most practical, but Assemble the Legion is easily one of my favorite cards, just because of how obnoxious it is to casual groups without being outright broken. I can fetch both cards with Plea For Guidance. While it doesn't put up as many creatures as before, Purphoros can still burn people and firebreathe.
Odric: If his ability triggers, Iroas is big enough, and the attack isn't interrupted (thanks to Abolisher or Basandra), it can take somebody out immediately.
Agrus Kos, Nobilis of War, Balefire Liege: Buffs upon buffs. Nobilis’ devotion alone keeps Iroas online.
Aurelia: Any RW beatdown deck is gonna run her. and she's my waifu
Forgestoker Dragon, Inferno Titan, Boros Battleshaper: With Iroas’ double-block ability, knocking out potential blockers becomes much more impactful. Battleshaper synergizes the same way Basandra does.
Sun Titan: I've been back and forth on this card, but this iteration of the deck has plenty of 1-3 CMC cards to resurrect.
Moonveil Dragon: Cheap firebreathing across the board.
Gisela: Providing both offensive and defensive benefits from double/half damage, she fits the top of the curve perfectly, even without any ways of cheating her in.
Legion's Initiative: Anthem isn't as strong as it could be since there's very few RW creatures in this deck, but Wrath protection is more than worth it.
Spear of Heliod, Powerstone Minefield, Lightmine Field, Martial Law, Sphere of Safety: This batch of Enchantments is my main line of defense, and will punish anyone who attacks. Sphere of Safety and Iroas alone mandate paying 2 mana per attacker. Lightmine Field and Powerstone Minefield will deal damage to attackers, while Iroas prevents damage to my own attackers (correct me if I'm wrong on that). Martial Law prevents a potential attacker -and- blocker, in addition to locking down abilities. And if anything gets through, Spear of Heliod will destroy it.
True Conviction: Pretty much GG if this gets out.
Keyrune, Cluestone, Sol Ring, Commander’s Sphere, Darksteel Ingot, Gilded Lotus, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots: Ramp and Protection staples.
Mask of Memory, Skullclamp: Easy card draw. Getting through with Mask of Memory shouldn't be too hard with Iroas out. Skullclamp can get draws off early-game creatures who've outlived their usefulness. Also works with Heliod’s tokens if no anthem effects are out.
Loxodon Warhammer: Trample is necessary to get Commander damage off Iroas, and Lifelink gives a cushion if I need to leave myself open.
Godsend: With Iroas double-block, this will force one of them straight off the field. Plus it gives a nice buff and 2 devotion.
Kaldra: With enough Equipment fetch in this deck, getting all 3 pieces out is easy. And Gods help you if I do. The Sword is the mainstay of the set. It's like Godsend, but better. Either take 12+ points of Commander damage or have 2 creatures exiled. Kaldra himself is a pretty tough beatstick whose quite the pain to remove.
Argentum Armor: Massive damage boost on top of fragging a permanent per attack. This deck doesn't have much Artifact/Enchantment spot removal, so Argentum Armor helps fill that gap, in addition to taking out blockers otherwise.
Boros Charm: Wrath Dodging or Iroas Instakill. RW Staple.
Gift of Estates, Sword of the Animist: Land ramp
Orim’s Thunder, Dusk to Dawn, Return to Dust, Condemn, Afterlife: Spot removal is always necessary, for creatures, artifacts, and enchantments. These are the only one-off answers, but cards like Argentum Armor and Intrepid Hero allow repeated spot removal.
Master Warcraft: “Now you can't block my 12/9 double-strike Iroas, GG”
Reforge the Soul: Throw this out when my hand is empty.
Plea for Guidance: Perfect Enchantment fetch.
Planar Cleansing, Fated Retribution: Wrath cards. Fated Retribution can probably be replaced with something cheaper.
Aurelia's Fury: Tons of utility out of this card. Tap out potential attackers and blockers, protect combat phases from interruptions.
So how does the list look now? I have most of these cards, but not all of them. I wanted an opinion from people who are better at the game than me before I commit money to finishing it up. Not expecting to win any tournaments with it, but I want to have some fun with it, and be competitive enough to not just get railed every single game.
Almost 2 years and nobody mentioned Intangible Virtue. Cheap, easy buff for the soldiers. Heliod, God of the Sun could also be usable. Vigilance for everything, indestructible beatstick (as a monocolored deck, it shouldn't be too hard to keep him online), extra tokens if you need a mana sink.
-Bosh, Iron Golem: With only 4 artifacts, you won't be getting much utility out of him beyond being a generic trampling fatty.
-Emrakul, the Promised End: Since the idea is to cheat huge creatures like Emrakul into play, you won't get the controlled turn unless you hold out until you have 13 mana.
-Aurelia, the Warleader: While she's one of my favorite cards, she can't be cheated out with Mayael.
And especially in a deck with lots of high-cost cards, you'll need more mana ramp, mana rocks, and probably some mana dorks. Here's some recommendations:
Sol Ring: This is a Commander Staple. There's a reason its reprinted and put in every year's precons.
Karametra's Acolyte, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: Devotion can net you a lot of mana in a high-curve deck like this. Take some land untappers like Voyaging Satyr.
Avacyn's Pilgrim, Llanowar Elves, Sylvan Caryatid, Elvish Mystic and the like are easy mana.
Gift of Estates is probably good, but I don't really have it so I can't say.
Sword of the Animist for land fetch.
I usually use the full cycles of Cluestones (Boros Cluestone, as well as Selesnya and Gruul). Once you have enough lands and don't need the rocks, you can sac them to draw a card. Gilded Lotus works well in a ramp-heavy deck.
Just a few suggestions.
Its not quite Voltron (maybe Megazord?), but its based on the principle, which was pretty much the best focus of the initial list. It relies mostly on Equipment to buff Iroas and other creatures. Most creatures are meant to benefit Iroas in some way, but are usually pretty tough in their own rite. I kept some of the more defensive cards like Martial Law, but I'll post my reasoning for each card below. The main win condition is to just beat them to death with Iroas, possibly in a single attack. Fueling devotion is probably its main drawback- if Iroas can't stay online, winning is that much harder (though not impossible):
Commander (1):
4 Iroas, God of Victory
Creatures (21):
1 Figure of Destiny
2 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Puresteel Paladin
2 Relic Seeker
2 Grand Abolisher
3 Intrepid Hero
4 Heliod, God of the Sun
4 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Odric, Master Tactician
5 Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran
5 Nobilis of War
5 Basandra, Battle Seraph
5 Balefire Liege
5 Stonehewer Giant
6 Aurelia, the Warleader
6 Forgestoker Dragon
6 Inferno Titan
6 Sun Titan
6 Moonveil Dragon
7 Boros Battleshaper
7 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Enchantments (8):
2 Legion's Initiative
3 Spear of Heliod
4 Powerstone Minefield
4 Lightmine Field
4 Martial Law
5 Sphere of Safety
5 Assemble the Legion
6 True Conviction
1 Sol Ring
2 Lightning Greaves
1 Skullclamp
2 Mask of Memory
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Sword of the Animist
3 Boros Keyrune
3 Boros Cluestone
3 Commander’s Sphere
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Loxodon Warhammer
3 Godsend
3 Helm of Kaldra
4 Shield of Kaldra
4 Sword of Kaldra
5 Gilded Lotus
6 Argentum Armor
Instants/Sorceries (14):
1 Steelshaper’s Gift
1 Condemn
2 Gift of Estates
2 Boros Charm
2 Open the Armory
3 Afterlife
3 Orim’s Thunder
4 Dusk to Dawn
4 Return to Dust
4 Master Warcraft
5 Reforge the Soul
6 Plea for Guidance
6 Planar Cleansing
7 Fated Retribution
6 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Lands (38):
12x Plains
10x Mountain
0 Encroaching Wastes
0 Temple of Triumph
0 Boros Guildgate
0 Sacred Foundry
0 Transguild Promenade
0 Rupture Spire
0 Command Tower
0 Smoldering Spires
0 New Benalia
0 Slayer's Stronghold
0 Temple of the False God
0 Tectonic Edge
0 Terramorphic Expanse
0 Evolving Wilds
0 Opal Palace
0 Thespian's Stage[/cards]
As for why I use each card:
Iroas: While I'm sure Kalemne is just as good of a RW Voltron commander, Iroas’ double-block and damage prevention open up some pretty interesting tactical choices. And he's indestructible to boot.
Figure of Destiny: Meant to basically be chump devotion to keep Iroas online, plus a later-game mana sink. I'd replace it with Serra Ascendant if I was willing to spend the money.
Stoneforge, Puresteel, Relic Seeker, Steelshaper's Gift, Open the Armory, Stoneforge Giant: This deck uses a lot of hard-hitting equipment, so fetching it and cheating it into play is essential, and these cards help with that. The creatures also provide easy devotion for Iroas.
Grand Abolisher, Basandra: Try to avoid any funny business during attack phases. Grand Abolisher protects my whole turn, and provides easy early devotion. This deck doesn't have many, if any, Instants to use in the attack phase, so Basandra doesn't hurt much. Plus her forced attack ability synergizes with cards like Powerstone Minefield and Heliod.
Intrepid Hero: Spot removal is always nice. Repeated spot removal is even better.
Purphoros, Assemble the Legion: If there's little to no enchantment removal on the deck, this is a pretty good alternate wincon. Not the most practical, but Assemble the Legion is easily one of my favorite cards, just because of how obnoxious it is to casual groups without being outright broken. I can fetch both cards with Plea For Guidance. While it doesn't put up as many creatures as before, Purphoros can still burn people and firebreathe.
Odric: If his ability triggers, Iroas is big enough, and the attack isn't interrupted (thanks to Abolisher or Basandra), it can take somebody out immediately.
Agrus Kos, Nobilis of War, Balefire Liege: Buffs upon buffs. Nobilis’ devotion alone keeps Iroas online.
Aurelia: Any RW beatdown deck is gonna run her.
and she's my waifuForgestoker Dragon, Inferno Titan, Boros Battleshaper: With Iroas’ double-block ability, knocking out potential blockers becomes much more impactful. Battleshaper synergizes the same way Basandra does.
Sun Titan: I've been back and forth on this card, but this iteration of the deck has plenty of 1-3 CMC cards to resurrect.
Moonveil Dragon: Cheap firebreathing across the board.
Gisela: Providing both offensive and defensive benefits from double/half damage, she fits the top of the curve perfectly, even without any ways of cheating her in.
Legion's Initiative: Anthem isn't as strong as it could be since there's very few RW creatures in this deck, but Wrath protection is more than worth it.
Spear of Heliod, Powerstone Minefield, Lightmine Field, Martial Law, Sphere of Safety: This batch of Enchantments is my main line of defense, and will punish anyone who attacks. Sphere of Safety and Iroas alone mandate paying 2 mana per attacker. Lightmine Field and Powerstone Minefield will deal damage to attackers, while Iroas prevents damage to my own attackers (correct me if I'm wrong on that). Martial Law prevents a potential attacker -and- blocker, in addition to locking down abilities. And if anything gets through, Spear of Heliod will destroy it.
True Conviction: Pretty much GG if this gets out.
Keyrune, Cluestone, Sol Ring, Commander’s Sphere, Darksteel Ingot, Gilded Lotus, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots: Ramp and Protection staples.
Mask of Memory, Skullclamp: Easy card draw. Getting through with Mask of Memory shouldn't be too hard with Iroas out. Skullclamp can get draws off early-game creatures who've outlived their usefulness. Also works with Heliod’s tokens if no anthem effects are out.
Loxodon Warhammer: Trample is necessary to get Commander damage off Iroas, and Lifelink gives a cushion if I need to leave myself open.
Godsend: With Iroas double-block, this will force one of them straight off the field. Plus it gives a nice buff and 2 devotion.
Kaldra: With enough Equipment fetch in this deck, getting all 3 pieces out is easy. And Gods help you if I do. The Sword is the mainstay of the set. It's like Godsend, but better. Either take 12+ points of Commander damage or have 2 creatures exiled. Kaldra himself is a pretty tough beatstick whose quite the pain to remove.
Argentum Armor: Massive damage boost on top of fragging a permanent per attack. This deck doesn't have much Artifact/Enchantment spot removal, so Argentum Armor helps fill that gap, in addition to taking out blockers otherwise.
Boros Charm: Wrath Dodging or Iroas Instakill. RW Staple.
Gift of Estates, Sword of the Animist: Land ramp
Orim’s Thunder, Dusk to Dawn, Return to Dust, Condemn, Afterlife: Spot removal is always necessary, for creatures, artifacts, and enchantments. These are the only one-off answers, but cards like Argentum Armor and Intrepid Hero allow repeated spot removal.
Master Warcraft: “Now you can't block my 12/9 double-strike Iroas, GG”
Reforge the Soul: Throw this out when my hand is empty.
Plea for Guidance: Perfect Enchantment fetch.
Planar Cleansing, Fated Retribution: Wrath cards. Fated Retribution can probably be replaced with something cheaper.
Aurelia's Fury: Tons of utility out of this card. Tap out potential attackers and blockers, protect combat phases from interruptions.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion: Chump Blockers, Wrath effect, game-ending Emblem.
So how does the list look now? I have most of these cards, but not all of them. I wanted an opinion from people who are better at the game than me before I commit money to finishing it up. Not expecting to win any tournaments with it, but I want to have some fun with it, and be competitive enough to not just get railed every single game.