@Piew

I need lifelink so I don't kill myself with Mana Crypt, Ancient Tomb, Hall of the Bandit Lord, and other lands that damage me. Also gaining so much life will give me kind of a "safety cushion" so I can just let people hit me and I won't care. O-Naginata also cannot be attached to certain creatures of mine in an emergency

I would try out Sea Gate Wreckage. I mean idk how often you are hellbent but I think having just an extra draw effect to get back into the games seems nice.

@T12H I used to run Sea Gate, but it was too situational. There were too many games where I was stuck with a wrath in my hand or I've wheeled into nothing but lands. Geier Reach Sanitarium has been working out for me so far, especially with Land Tax, and if I ever need extra draw, I'm just going to run Mikokoro, Center of the Sea

Yes Sea Gate Wreckage is very situational. But you will want it in that situation always. I think id rather have it than not, even though it's not always gonna draw you a card in games. Mikokoro, Center of the Sea is kinda scary giving your opponents cards. But in a red/white deck I think I would run it too because card draw is pretty light in those colors. And they are just free abilities you can throw in without wasting slots in your deck. I think Darksteel Citadel is very cutable.

Yes I agree that Geier Reach Sanitarium is great!

@T12H

I would really rather not run Sea Gate Wreckage. I'm trying to keep my basic land count high so I can get as much value possible out of Sword of the Animist and Land Tax.

As for Darksteel Citadel, I used to run Etched Champion and Indomitable Archangel, and I still run Puresteel Paladin, and I'm going to run Inventor's Fair, so it's nice to be able to turn on Metalcraft in an emergency. It's also nice to have an emergency sac fodder for Goblin Welder. The only reason I run Darksteel Citadel over Ancient Den or Great Furnace is because it's indestructible and doesn't get hit by artifact sweepers

Trying some new things. Stay tuned

Does anyone know if there are any good Brand type effects in these colors besides Homeward Path? Brand just isn't that great and I don't want to play it, but people keep stealing my stuff with either Dack Fayden or Grip of Phyresis and I'm getting real sick of it

What about Gisela, Blade of Goldnight for massive damage?

@MattDovah

Had her in the deck for a year and replaced her with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Gisela's great if you don't have Elesh Norn, but otherwise I prefer Elesh Norn because she straight up kills small creatures just by existing.

I ran Akiri and Bruce together.

Meekstone does some serious work when your beat stick has vigilance.

Hammer of Nazahn has some utility. Indestructible and casting an equipment auto equips.

Something I've been using in boros is the monarch cards for extra card draw. It can make you a target but its an interesting mechanic. Throne of the High City

Depending on how people are taking your creatures. You can look into the red/white counter spells. Red Elemental Blast, Pyroblast, Dawn Charm, Illumination, Rebuff the Wicked. Nothing is better than smacking down a blue player with an off color counterspell.

Good luck with the deck.

Tree

@Treehugger003

Meekstone seems like a pretty decent idea, but right now it only hoses one deck in my meta, so I'll have to think about it.

I used to run Protector of the Crown in the deck, but found it to be very underwhelming. Enemy aggro decks in my meta always seem to profit more. Also, my land slots are really tight right now, and if I do end up changing one of them, Buried Ruin is coming first.

I will need a Hammer of Nazahn eventually, but it's just a matter of finding finding a copy and finding a card slot.

I am not interested in running counterspells atm. They always seem like dead cards in my hand.

Thank you very much for the input!

Just changed out Pithing Needle for Buried Ruin. Needed another land, needed more artifact recursion, and Needle was my flex spot.

Protector of the Crown + Hammer of Nazahn is nuts, plus you already run Plate and the better Swords for redundancy. Helm of the Host for your Godo, combined with your general's vigilance is pretty much a guaranteed win.

@Mysnomer thank you for commenting on my deck! It's been a while since I've received suggestions, and it's always a pleasure to talk to someone with a new point of view!

I don't run Protector of the Crown because I tried it already and I hated it. Equipments belong on Kalemne. If I have to take one off of her to put it on Protector of the Crown in order to make it good, then it's totally not worth it.

I'm still not sure about Hammer of Nazahn because I like to cast all my equipment before Kalemne hits the field. It's a great card, but it doesn't really fit my play style

Sure, Helm of the Host is cute with Godo, Bandit Warlord, but otherwise it's not all that useful for me because of the high equip cost. I'd rather be spending my mana elsewhere

Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas used to be unique as the only commander with active Double Strike.

However, now we have Samut, Voice of Dissent, one extra mana to cast, almost identical but comes with tonnes of useful abilities. Then we have Oketra the True and Zetalpa, Primal Dawn, the unlikely commander choice.

The concept of experience counter isn't all that bad. The concept is simple by fulfilling the term to earn the counters and you'll be rewarded for what you've paid for.

Meren of Clan Nel Toth is sadistic. She loves your creatures die and brings them back just to die over and over again.

Ezuri, Claw of Progress is peado who groom your minions.

Mizzix of the Izmagnus is a super saleswoman who promotes buy-more-free-more. Ended up a shopping frenzy.

Daxos the Returned's experience counter ability gets a little irrelevant. He encourages you to play enchantment, but he complement the weakness by providing creatures, which you won't be running a board full of enchantment with no creature.

Now, here comes Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas. She wants you to play creature spells with 5cmc+ to earn the counters which has nothing to do in return with the 5cmc creatures whatsoever.

Perhaps wizards really aren't sure what to do when it comes to combat phase.

@Piew

Who cares about experience counters? Even without her experience ability, Kalemne is still the best RW voltron general. She is extremely aggressive and consistent

Samut is indeed close in power to Kalemne, but I prefer the play style of just RW and not RWG. Oketra isn’t nearly as reliable as a voltron general because you need to have other creatures on the board, and Zetalpa is way too slow

A protector of the crown with DS plate means you take no damage, FYI. I mean, that's pretty freaking strong. I lost a game to a Tajic* as Momir Vig to a Protector with Fire and Ice + Feast and Famine. Sure, I technically lost to the two best Swords, but I couldn't even push damage through with flyers or trample over with craterhoof. Plus, you need all the card advantage you can get in RW.

Hammer is good as another source of indestructibility (especially relevant on a vigilant general), even if you never use it's

As to helm, you can also run Aurelia to increase redundancy, but I can understand why you might not want to.

*btw, Kalemne is cool, I love that you're trying to push her over, but Tajic is a far better voltron choice, b/c you load the deck with boardwipes.

@Mysnomer

I know how Protector of the Crown works, I had it in here for over a month. In order to make this card work, I would need to load it up with my equipment, and that is NOT WORTH IT. Protector is not good by himself, he needs support in order to make him work, and that is not worth the card slot for me. If I needed more things to protect myself with, I'd run something like Crawlspace or maybe Norn's Annex because those cards are good BY THEMSELVES. They don't stop working because I didn't equip Darksteel Plate to them.

As for card advantage, you can see in the deck that I've got plenty already. I'm trying out Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and I am also planning on getting a Karn, Scion of Urza soon

I understand why Hammer of Nazahn is a great card, but it's just that I don't have room for it. I really only need one Darksteel Plate effect, and I personally prefer Plate over Hammer because of the equip cost and because the Plate itself has indestructible. I need to try it out with my flex spot sometime because maybe I'm wrong!

As for Aurelia, the Warleader, I actually had her in this deck for over 2 1/2 years and just recently took her out! She is a fantastic card, but I had to cut her because I needed room for more important cards. Usually extra combat step cards are "win more" cards, but because the effect is on a creature it's great

Tajic, Blade of the Legion calls for a completely different play style than Kalemne. He isn't as good as a voltron general because you need to have at least two other creatures attacking as well in order to activate his battalion ability, and even then, his damage output isn't even close to Kalemne because Kalemne naturally has double strike. Sure, Tajic players don't need to run Darksteel Plate, but Kalemne players don't need to run things like Fireshrieker or Silverblade Paladin to get in for crazy amounts of damage and double the Sword and Jitte triggers. Besides, indestructible isn't always relevant anyways. If you're playing against something like Meren of Clan Nel Toth for example (an archetype I play against frequently), they'll rely less on destroy effects and more on sacrifice effects like Fleshbag Marauder. If you like winning with Tajic by casting Obliterate and having the only creature left on the board, then by all means go for it. Kalemne is just better at everything else

Good deck, I have been refining my Kalmene deck since when cmd 2015 was released and I would like to exchange some knowledge

Do not you consider using Sigarda's Aid? Another thing that caught my attention on your deck is the use of a few mana rocks (I counted 5 considering Sword of the Animist), do not you feel that the deck walks slowly?

@Sladde

Good to hear from another Kalemne player! I would be happy to share what I know!

I used Sigarda's Aid in here for about half a year, from just after it was printed in summer 2016 until around that winter if I remember correctly. I ended up taking it out because my play style involves casting most of my equipment before Kalemne even hits the field, so it didn't end up being that useful. It allows for some pretty hilarious interactions with things like Sun Titan, but otherwise it just seemed like a "win more" card to me. I needed to use the card slot for more important things. If you like casting your commander first and then casting protective equipment afterwards, then Sigarda's aid should work just fine for you! I just don't feel safe having Kalemne be on the field naked for even one turn

As for my mana sources, you would be surprised at just how consistent this deck is! Land Tax and Sword of the Animist make good use of all 15 basic lands that I'm running, and they allow for constant value throughout the game, always keeping me on curve. This is also one of the few decks in all of Magic that heavily profits from Inspiring Statuary because I run a good balance of artifacts and non-artifact spells! With it on the field, it means that all 17 artifacts that I run that have no tap abilities count as mana rocks too! It is also hilarious when I get Inspiring Statuary and Howling Mine on the field at the same time :P Lastly, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, and Chrome Mox all need no explanation, they are all fantastic!

After extensive play testing over the years, this decks feels as consistent as any non-green dualcolor deck can reasonably get with its mana base, and if you don't trust me, you can try it out for yourself :)

Incredible this interaction of Inspiring Statuary with the other artifacts of the deck, I had not attacked it, Howling Mine also seems a great option because of our difficulty of drawing running an RW.

If you want to add another weapon in your arsenal at any point, I recommend Tenza, Godo's Maul for the cost, she is sensational + 3 / + 3 trample Kalemne and team by 1, with her strategy of equipping everything when kalemne enters the field Tenza falls very well and has a general similar cost to O-Nagimata of similar effect.

What is your opinion on MLDs like Cataclysm and Armageddon on the deck?

@Sladde

I used Tenza, Godo's Maul in here for a long time when I first built the deck, and it's a lovely card! I don't really need it anymore because I've got enough swords, but it's a fantastic card for a budget build of a deck like this!

I abhor mass land destruction cards like Armageddon and Cataclysm, at least in decks that don't instantly win when you cast them. For instance, my Marchesa, the Black Rose deck runs Obliterate, Jokulhaups, and Bearer of the Heavens to great success because I'll be the only one left with any permanents, and they're all creatures! In every other deck though, MLD cards are just "win more" cards, and by that I mean that they are only good in a winning position. Blowing up everyone's lands won't help if I don't have a winning board state, so I tend to avoid running them and run cards that turn games around in my favor. Also, things like Cataclysm and Tragic Arrogance tend to be VERY bad for this deck because it's so artifact heavy

Hey, long time Aurelia player here. Deck looks sweet, I just have a few questions for you. Do you find that you are getting good value from Sword of Light and Shadow? Your creature count seems a bit low, and ive had not great luck with Light and Shadow in low creature count decks. I noticed you're not running sunforger, I know its slow but its so ridiculously powerful if the game goes late. A card you must add is, Mask of Memory its literally the best card draw in boros. Some other things ive thought about in a deck like this are Specter's Shroud and Destructive Urge. Another thing too, I would probably add Balan, Wandering Knight to act as back up commander if Kalemne gets killed too many times. I like the bit of stax that you have going on, helps slow down the other powerful stuff going on. If I get some time (it might be a while) Id like to try this deck out on my channel.

You can check out my Aurelia deck here if you like Weapons of War

@DespairFaction

Hello! Long time Kalemne player here! I have a few answers for you!

I'm glad you brought up the good old Sword of Light and Shadow vs Sword of War and Peace debate! I prefer Light and Shadow in here over War and Peace for a number of reasons

1: Pro-black is more important than pro-red. This depends on your meta, obviously, but I've found that having protection from black creatures and spells can be far more relevant than red. If you run lots of Earthquake effects then you should take that into account, but otherwise I like pro-black more

2: Creature recursion is very important! Even with a low creature count in a deck like mine, being able to recur a fallen Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Sun Titan or even your commander, is invaluable. I noticed in your deck that you run a whopping 21 creatures! Almost a quarter of your deck is creatures and you call that a low creature count?

3: The extra damage from War and Peace doesn't count towards commander damage. Although the damage you get from War and Peace's triggered ability can get out of hand at times, it ultimately won't matter as much because the goal of the deck is to win through commander damage

I used Sunforger when I first built the deck, and it was fun for a while! I ended up taking it out because it's way too slow and I needed room for more important equipment. Without other pieces to support it like Leonin Shikari or Sigarda's Aid, it can be kind of underwhelming

I hope you're joking with Mask of Memory. Nothing else in Boros comes close to Wheel of Fortune - it's one of the best draw spells in the whole game. Mask of Memory isn't even as good as Sword of Fire and Ice because it doesn't give evasion. It's very useful in your case because Aurelia, the Warleader naturally has evasion. If I ever needed more draw, I would run something that wouldn't require me to have a creature with evasion already on the field - something like Magus of the Wheel, or maybe Wheel of Fate or Sram, Senior Edificer

Spector's Shroud is only one quarter of Sword of Feast and Famine, and I can't imagine ever running it over any other equipment

Destructive Urge is terrible and I don't know why anyone would run it over Stone Rain or any other kind of targeted land removal. If I ever needed more land hate, I'd run either Wasteland or maybe Crucible of Worlds

Balan is an excellent card - as a commander. In the 99, he's not so useful. If I ever wanted a "plan B," I would put Aurelia back in because she's useful even if Kalemne is still on the field. That being said, if Kalemne gets killed too many times and I can't recast her, that's a sign that I might need more ramp or more ways to recur Command Beacon, but so far that hasn't really been the case

Thank you for the comment! I'm sorry for sounding like an ass, but I want to make the most efficient deck possible! Every meta is different, and maybe yours allows for more options for what to play

I will check out your deck soon!

Oh yeah I understand, metas can vary pretty widely. And that can make certain cards looks awesome and others look terrible.

1. Cool totally understand the protection colors. I think body and mind has the best protection colors, but worst abilities. I don't run it, but always feel like I should be.
2. Yep totally understand that. I think Aurelia naturally wants higher creature counts, with Kalemne its probably not as important since it comes down so much faster.
3. yeah ive been cutting war and peace most of the time as well. makes me sad.

I'm telling you try out mask of memory, it is so much cheaper than Fire and Ice and it draws so much less hate. Wheel of fortune is great, but there are times late in a game, where if your opponents only have a card or 2 in hand you don't want to be casting wheel, but mask is still great. I run both. I run magus of the wheel a lot, its reasonable but not as effective as wheel, and runs into the "do I want to give my opponents cards?" problems.

I don't run specters shroud or destructive urge currently, but ill be working on some decks with the New Aurelia and New tajic where I think they will both be very good. More to come on that, we'll see how it pans out.

Oh also I'm a huge fan of Hour of Revelation, especially if you run teferis and boros charm. WWW destroy everything is fantastic, even crazy when you protect your stuff from it.

Anyway great chatting, Ill reach out to you when I get that video filmed and try out some of the new Aurelia builds that I think you might be interested in.