I've always wanted to make a tokens deck, and in standard right now, red and white seem to be the colors for it, and present the most options and strength. They have access to cards that can not only make tokens a playable deck type, but also give us good, or not bad matchups against many top tier decks. I wanted to try a deck that was aggressive and creature based, but not a race and total beatdown.
In addition, I wanted a deck that utilizes a mix of cards that complement each other and present a variety of different strategies and win cons. This deck does just that, it can play aggro, midrange, and even semi control-ish, while being able have many different ways to win.
The two key cards of the deck are Purphoros, God of the Forge and Ogre Battledriver. While ideas for token decks with Purphoros have been presented before, something always comes up short and those decks couldn't really function against top tier decks without Purphoros. This is where Ogre Battledriver comes in. Ogre Battledriver presents a different strategy that works both with and without Purphoros, making the deck viable and a contender where token decks usually fall short.
Purphoros turns all of your creatures into damage to be able to quickly kill your opponent and any pesky walkers they may have as well. Meanwhile, Ogre Battledriver allows your creatures to not only get a sizable boost until end of turn, but also allows them to attack the first turn out without wasting a slot on
Hammer of Purphoros
, speeding things up significantly and allowing you to get more value out of your cards. Paired with cards like Legion's Initiative and Spear of Heliod, out of nowhere your opponent can take a ton of damage.
Breakdown of the Cards:
Boros Reckoner: The Reckoner is in here because he is able to quick and easily switch his strategy, making him very versatile. He is a great attacker and blocker, and is annoying for most decks to deal with. Along with of this, he provides 3 red and white devotion which helps animate Purphoros, God of the Forge and get more value out of
Evangel of Heliod
.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos: He is also in here because of his versatility. He is solid on the offensive or the defensive and allows you to play both strategies. On top of being a 3/4 vigilance for 3, his abilities work well with Purphoros, God of the Forge, Ogre Battlemaster, and Spear of Heliod.
Evangel of Heliod
: Evangel shares the spot of a late game bomb along with Elspeth, Sun's Champion. At the bare minimum he is gets you three creatures including himself, but often he will get you 4-7 tokens. He can be a game ender, dropping him with Ogre Battlemaster or Purphoros, God of the Forge can be devastating.
Ogre Battledriver: Ogre Battledriver is the key card of the deck. He allows you to get more value out of your creatures by giving them a sizable increase and allowing them to attack the first turn they're out.
Purphoros, God of the Forge: Another key card in the deck, he is the card that makes tokens playable. Purphoros turns all of your creatures into damage, which gives you more value out of everything you play. His activated ability also allows you to get more out of your creatures, it helps push extra damage through and make your creatures larger threats.
Scion of Vitu-Ghazi The Scion is a card that barely sees any play, so he may be a bit of a surprising choice, but he is a bomb. He is a great follow up to a Purphoros, God of the Forge or an Ogre Battledriver, and after a Battledriver he is a a 6/4 haste that also gives you two 3/1 haste and flying birds. Another one of his assets is because of how little play he sees, it's unlikely that your opponent will have any answers for him out of the board, making him harder to deal with.
Precinct Captain Precinct Captain is in the deck because he does many different things while filling the much needed 2 drop slot. He is a 2/2 first strike for 2 mana, and when he hits he gets you a token, which means you can get a lot out of him. Also, if he is played, your opponent may expect you to be playing aggro, which changes the way they play, when you actually are not. The first strike is very relevant against other aggressive decks and with pump effects like Purphoros' ability and Spear of Heliod.
Chained to the Rocks
: Chained to the Rocks is the deck's main removal spell. Most decks need some type of removal, and this is no exception. It helps from becoming overwhelmed by your opponent and having answers to their threats.
Legion's Initiative: Legion's Initiative is in to help pump your creatures. It is strong with Assemble the Legion and can potentially save your nontoken creatures from a board wipe, as well as effectively filling the 2 drop slot.
Spear of Heliod: The spear is in the deck because of its versatility. It allows you to play on both the offensive and the defensive and is able to switch tactics easily, or play both at the same time. The boost is very relevant, and some type of spell like this is essential for tokens to be able to win.
Assemble the Legion: Assemble the Legion is a card that must be answered immediately or else it gets quickly out of hand. By itself, it is a strong standalone card, but with Purphoros, God of the Forge or Ogre Battledriver, it is a card that if left unanswered will end the game. It absolutely destroys Mono Black and can blow out aggro.
Boros Charm Boros Charm is in the deck to be able to potentially save your creatures from removal spells and board wipes. Versatile cards are very important for the deck, and so Boros Charm is very useful. On top of the indestructibility, double strike and the damage can finish off last points of damage and finish off planeswalkers.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion: Elspeth is a mass token generator. She spits out 3 tokens a turn, by itself threatening, but is also another card that works well with Purphoros, God of the Forge and Ogre Battledriver. Her emblem is a game ender, and her minus ability can deal with pests like Stormbreath Dragon.
Heliod, God of the Sun: Heliod is another card with many uses. He gives your creatures vigilance, so you can play aggressively but still be able to block, and his activated ability is strong in the late game and synergizes with Purphoros, God of the Forge, and Ogre Battledriver.
Sideboard Tactics
Vs. U/W/X Control:
+2 Spirit of the Labyrinth, +2
Fated Conflagration
, +2 Revoke Existence
-3
Chained to the Rocks
, -3 Boros Reckoner
Chained to the Rocks
and Boros Reckoner don't do anything against control decks with few creatures, so they both come out. They are replaced by Revoke Existence to hit Detention Sphere and other obnoxious enchantments, Spirit of the Labyrinth to shut down Sphinx's Revelation and Kiora, the Crashing Wave or any card draw shenanigans.
Fated Conflagration
comes in to deal with opposing Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Jace, Architect of Thought, and other annoying walkers.
Vs. R/G Monsters:
+2 Brave the Elements, +1
Chained to the Rocks
, +2 Mizzium Mortars, +3
Fated Conflagration
-1 Heliod, God of the Sun, -3 Precinct Captain, -3 Boros Charm, -2 Legion's Initiative
Heliod, God of the Sun does barely anything in this matchup, so he gets taken out. Precinct Captain will just be walled by Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix, Boros Charm's effects don't help out too much in this matchup, and Legion's Initiative is basically a dead card, so all of those come out. They are replaced by
Fated Conflagration
for removal, which can deal with any planeswalker, Polukranos, World Eater, Stormbreath Dragon, and just about any creature they have. Mizzium Mortars comes in for the same reason, it can hit many of their creatures and it prevents Stormbreath Dragon from wrecking us. Brave the Elements comes in to be able to push through walls of creatures, and
Chained to the Rocks
is for extra removal.
Vs. Mono Black Devotion
+2 Brave the Elements, +1
Chained to the Rocks
-2
Evangel of Heliod
, -1 Boros Charm
Evangel of Heliod
is not worth keeping in when your white devotion sources are more frequetly answered, and another
Chained to the Rocks
will be straight up better than a Boros Charm so that Pack Rat and Nightveil Specter can be answered immediately. Brave the Elements is to help save your creatures from removal, or to make your opponent to have to use two cards to deal with one of yours.
Vs. Mono Blue
+1
Chained to the Rocks
, +2 Revoke Existence, +3Lightning Strike
-2 Assemble the Legion, -2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion, -2 Legion's Initiative
Lightning Strike comes in to pick off all of their early creatures and reduce their devotion. The deck plays Lightning Strike in the board instead of Shock or Magma Jet so it can also kill Nightveil Specter and
Omenspeaker
. It is a much better 2 drop than Legion's Initiative in this matchup, so that comes out. Elspeth, Sun's Champion is not only too slow, but also won't hit anything with her minus and her tokens won't do anything in the way of the unblockable Thassa, God of the Sea gives. She is replaced by Revoke Existence to be able to take out Thassa and possibly the Bident of Thassa. The extra
Chained to the Rocks
comes in for more early removal, replacing Assemble the Legion as it doesn't do much in this matchup as well.
Vs. Aggro/Mono Red Devotion/Burn
+3 Lightning Strike, +1
Chained to the Rocks
-2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion, -2
Evangel of Heliod
Lightning Strike and
Chained to the Rocks
come in for quick and early removal to quell the beatdown and give you time to set up and stabilize. Elspeth, Sun's Champion and
Evangel of Heliod
are just way too slow for this matchup.
If you like the deck, please +1. Suggestions, comments, and criticisms welcome and appreciated. I will credit any used suggestions in updates.
