My take on Temur Aggro. Usually the quick, aggressive creatures can do enough damage early on to set up a lethal
Crater's Claws
once the opponent tries to stabilize.
It's based mostly on Kibler's Temur Aggro, but with additions of
Stormbreath Dragon
, Sagu Mauler, and
Xenagos, the Reveler
, which seem to be great options that he wasn't running mainboard.
Fate Reforged cards I like for this deck:
Whisperwood Elemental -- fantastic against boardwipes. Might not be worth a mainboard spot, but could have a place in the sideboard alongside Surrak Dragonclaw and Sagu Mauler to stave off control strategies.
Yasova Dragonclaw -- will probably take the place of a few
Boon Satyr
s. Trample is nice and might get through a few early points of damage that decide the game later on. Also, entering combat and stealing a Courser of Kruphix or
Mantis Rider
is actually just fantastic.
Shamanic Revelation -- I had been considering putting Treasure Cruise in here, but I think I've found my late-game gas. Stalled board against Abzan, Mardu, Jund, or Devotion? Yeah, how about I gain 16 life and draw six cards? Sounds great to me.
Flamerush Rider
-- I'm not as sure about this one, but I think casting him for Dash turn 3/4 would actually be really good. Imagine I have a Savage Knuckleblade or
Boon Satyr
out. Next turn I drop him and all of a sudden I'm swinging in for 11 spread across three bodies.
Shaman of the Great Hunt
Flamewake Phoenix
Maybe Arcbond, maybe
Wild Slash
instead of Magma Spray, maybe
Frontier Siege
, definitely Whisperer of the Wilds, possibly
Cunning Strike
, maybe
Torrent Elemental
in the SB to bring in against decks with tons of good blockers that stall out my attacks?
Suggestions are welcome, especially for the sideboard! Help me make this the best it can be.
OVERALL RECORD (through 5 tournaments): 12-11 in matches, 27-31 in games played (not counting byes or concessions).
OPTIMAL OPENINGS:
Hand: Yavimaya Coast, Mountain, Shivan Reef, Elvish Mystic,
Boon Satyr
, Savage Knuckleblade,
Stormbreath Dragon
.
Turn 1: Yavimaya Coast, Elvish Mystic. Pass.
Turn 2: Mountain, pass. Cast a
Boon Satyr
on the end of opponent's turn.
Turn 3: Shivan Reef, cast a Savage Knuckleblade, give it haste. Attack for 8. Pass.
Turn 4: Play another land that you've probably drawn by now. Cast
Stormbreath Dragon
. Swing for 12.
Apply the pressure early and often, and fill up on threats that don't lose value as the game progresses.
CARD-BY-CARD BREAKDOWN:
CREATURES (25):
3x Elvish Mystic
The classic turn 1 ramper. Enables a turn 2
Boon Satyr
or a turn 3 Polukranos, World Eater,
Ashcloud Phoenix
or hasty Savage Knuckleblade. Can also attack for 1 if I've got nothing to do and they have no blockers.
3x Rattleclaw Mystic
Another solid mana-ramper. Usually I play him face-up, but if I've got a Knucks in my hand, playing him facedown and then flipping him for the Savage Knuckleblade and having 3 more mana available turn 4 can help things get out of hand a bit more quickly than usual. He's also very helpful in that he often gets me the color I don't have.
4x
Heir of the Wilds
This guy is a great turn 2 drop who can swing in for 2 or 3 early on that no one's gonna want to block. Later on in the game, he's terrific to leave back as a blocker, since he trades up with everything. Great little guy to have. Also gets pretty terrifying with a
Boon Satyr
bestow.
4x
Boon Satyr
In addition to being a ferocious enabler for CMC 3, the flash makes him a really solid end-of-the-other-guy's-turn option. Have a
Temur Charm
and a
Boon Satyr
in hand turn 3? Pass the turn and leave the mana up to either Mana Leak something you really don't want to happen, or just
Boon Satyr
at the end of the turn. Additionally, the bestow can be game-breaking, pushing through more unexpected damage. One of the most unexpected and effective plays with his bestow is attaching him to an +1'd, attacking
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
. Not only does he get through for 8 in the air, but at the end of the turn he stops being a creature and the
Boon Satyr
falls off to become a viable blocker. Loads of fun and useful plays with this card.
4x Savage Knuckleblade
If you're in Temur colors and you're at all aggressive, you're doing something wrong by not running this card. In addition to being a 4/4 for 3 mana, he can be a 4/4 with haste for 4 mana, which is often better in many situations. Additionally, he eats Courser of Kruphix for breakfast and, when pumped by his convenient little ability, slams right through
Siege Rhino
and Polukranos, World Eater. In a pinch in the late game? You can save him by bouncing him back to your hand. A really aggressive and fun beastie, especially if you can attack with him on turn 3 or 4, and he has so much utility and usefulness in several situations. A must-have for Temur Aggro.
2x
Ashcloud Phoenix
This is one of those cards that's just plain annoying and aggravating for opposing decks. Being able to deal 4 in the air is solid enough, but if you have six mana available, he's damn near impossible to get rid of. If they don't have a way to block it, they end up spending resources to kill it, and that's always good for me. Additionally, it trades with Wingmate Roc, which is a trade I would make if I had to. Unfortunately, it is weak to
Doomwake Giant
and literally any burn spell.
2x Polukranos, World Eater
This guy is here mostly because he's a 5/5 for 4. He costs the same as
Siege Rhino
but eats him in combat, and his monstrous ability can be nice to clear a board of a few mana dorks to throw off their mana and help push more damage through. Often comes down on turn 3 and demands an answer immediately.
2x
Stormbreath Dragon
Stormbreath is a pretty terrifying thing to face down. Even if he dies the next turn, the 4 hasty evasive damage is almost always worth the mana it takes to cast him. Its value multiplies exponentially against Abzan, where they have to save Hero's Downfall and
Murderous Cut
s to deal with it specifically. It comes out against Sultai and removal-heavy decks that don't run white, and is also not very good against Jeskai (dies too easily to
Stoke the Flames
).
1x Sagu Mauler
This guy is a beast against controlling decks that employ a lot of targeted removal. It laughs in the face of
Utter End
, Abzan Charm, Hero's Downfall, and
Murderous Cut
. Singlehandedly wins games against Abzan and Sultai sometimes.
INSTANTS (5):
2x Lightning Strike
It's here to get rid of early threats. It usually gets sided out against Abzan, but it's fantastic to kill a
Mantis Rider
or other annoying early-game creatures in aggro matchups. Also useful to destroy a mana dork and throw off their tempo. Even in game 1 against Abzan, where this card has no creature targets, I'll hit them to the face with it for 3 at the end of turn, which can actually be very relevant with
Siege Rhino
s floating around.
3x
Temur Charm
I've lamented often about how Temur has the weakest charm. I wish its removal mode was better, but it ends up getting used most often as a Mana Leak, which isn't terrible. It's nice to keep
Siege Rhino
, Dig Through Time, any kind of planeswalker or whatever else they've been working up to off the board. The fight mode is useful in a lot of matchups as long as I've been able to maintain a decent board state. Usually, any of my guys pumped +1/+1 will at least trade with whatever they've got going on. And, although I don't use it that often, the third mode can be fantastic situationally. It makes a field of Goblin Rabblemaster and friends useless as blockers, and once helped me beat a green devotion deck my casting it after a Hornet Queen and just swinging for lethal. To recap: all the other charms are better, unfortunately, but this has too much utility NOT to use. Fingers are crossed that they'll maybe come out with another set of wedge charms to match the Planeshift Alara shard ones.
SORCERY (4):
4x
Crater's Claws
This is a fantastic, fantastic spell in here. It's best use is in the mid-game against midrange decks. Oh, you're stabilizing now? You're bringing yourself back from 7 or 8 life? Actually, no. You just lose here. It is also versatile for creature removal, usually being able to nab anything at 5 or 6 toughness pretty reliably. Really no reason to not run 4 because it's even useful as a sorcery-speed Shock for 2 if I have ferocious.
PLANESWALKERS (3):
1x
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
So this guy comes down and is, at worst, "4 damage to target creature or player" for . At best, he's a terrifying threat to deal with that puts a clock on the game. The
Boon Satyr
combo described earlier is nothing short of fantastic.
2x
Xenagos, the Reveler
At his worst, you just get a 2/2 haste for CMC 4, which is inefficient but not awful. At his best, it's an extra creature per turn, and then some extra mana later to either make a huge
Crater's Claws
, a devastating Polukranos, World Eater monstrous, or to just play an additional threat that turn.
SIDEBOARD (15):
2x Anger of the Gods
To bring in vs. aggro matchups. Does work against mono-red aggro and UW heroic, and is also good against Jeskai (nabs Goblin Rabblemaster,
Mantis Rider
and
Narset, Enlightened Master
while leaving my Knuckleblades and 4-drops alive. Also permanently rids me of an opposing Bloodsoaked Champion and doesn't play right into a massive delve spell.
1x
Burn Away
Threw this in here in response to the Whip of Erebos reanimator decks that are floating around. Once I determine its prominence in my local meta, I'll figure out if I need more or less graveyard hate.
2x Destructive Revelry
Comes in whenever I see a Whip of Erebos,
Perilous Vault
, or any other artifact/enchantment that I don't want to stick around for too long.
2x Disdainful Stroke
Usually gets brought in against Abzan or other midrangy decks that play high-cost planeswalkers and other large things I don't want to resolve. Counters
Siege Rhino
and basically all the Standard-legal planeswalkers.
2x Magma Spray
Same deal as Lightning Strike, but can hose a heroic deck on the draw by killing your thing right before you planned on enchanting it.
1x Reclamation Sage
Comes in against pesky artifacts and enchantments. Fills the same role as Destructive Revelry, but is attached to a body in case that's relevant in the matchup.
1x Sagu Mauler
Comes in against removal-heavy decks like Abzan and Sultai. He's so hard to deal with once he resolves and can be a fantastic finisher.
3x
Stubborn Denial
Fantastic to prevent my stuff from dying, and against a controlling deck like UB or Abzan, can really swing things my way. "Oh hey, you just wasted your last kill spell and now I'm swinging for 8. Sounds pretty fantastic to me."
1x Surrak Dragonclaw
He comes in against control, because he can't be countered and lends my guys the same uncounterability. He's not as great in combat as you think he'd be, because he himself doesn't actually have trample. Still a great option against control decks.
