well done!...i might have to use something like this... mind if i borrow the idea?

Go ahead PyriteBob. And don't think this is perfect either. Don't feel bad about making changes if you see fit. I know I will once the meta solidifies (and I get some real testing done).

thinking about this deck I would make the following suggestions:

-1 Assemble the Legion , 3x with 2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion is too many high CMC win-cons. I think you want to draw into it, not start with them in your opening hand.
-1 Tymaret, the Murder King he's awesome, but a legend. I think with three you'll end up with a dead card in your hand too often and it's easy to get him out of your graveyard.
-2 Young Pyromancer having him early only helps you stall and all that dies if you have to cast Anger of the Gods , better to draw into him after Purphoros, God of the Forge has resolved.
-2 Rakdos's Return , maybe keep one mainboard as a finisher, and move one to sideboard to bring them in against control matchups

+4 Boros Reckoner I loved this guy in my American control deck. I used him with both Rolling Temblor to control the board and Blasphemous Act as a win-con (see AEther-Reckoner's Army for details). He's a better option then Young Pyromancer : if you have to Anger of the Gods , at least then you can redirect 3 damage to kill almost any larger creature. And he's a win-con by himself.

I'm still thinking about what your other options would be. I like Legion's Initiative , for one main reason: you can Anger of the Gods and the +1 toughness keeps Boros Reckoner alive. It also pumps all your tokens, which helps if Purphoros, God of the Forge gets Slaughter Games . Another option would be 2x Boros Charm , keeps reckoner alive, protects your board state from wraths (including your own), triggers Young Pyromancer . Yes, probably 2x Boros Charm (getting to 3x would be better, but keep reckoner at 4x). Precinct Captain deserves a look too.

Sideboard you should consider Lightning Strike (against aggro whether you'll need more spot removal) or Warleader's Helix , (against midrange or planeswalkers you might need the extra damage over Magma Jet 's scry ability). Yes Purphoros, God of the Forge damage can be redirected to a planeswalker and you have Dreadbore , but sometimes you might want a bit more to draw into, actually 2x Boros Charm also helps with planeswalkers, you can always redirect the 4 damage to them). Mizzium Mortars is always worth thinking about. It's one sided wrath can be a game ender by clearing the path for all of your tokens.

Anyway, all of this will require playtesting. You have a lot of options for what to add, but with the subtractions I feel pretty comfortable with those recommendations to make this deck more effective. I may plays something very similar along the lines of this deck with the tweaks I've suggested. Haven't decided yet. Hope my advice helps.

Oh.. I forgot that Anger of the Gods exiles... not good with the murder king. Seems like you'll need to make a choice there. I would consider removing him entirely, and go 4x Boros Charm .

I don't really like that though. If anything I'd take out Anger of the Gods . In playtesting, Tymaret has been awesome as a secondary win condition (or even primary if I can't get Purphoros. And usually, I would just swing with Tymaret into their big guy who can kill him, then do Anger so not only is Tymaret safely in my graveyard, but I can also exile whatever was big enough to kill him. If it stops working that way, then I'll have to make changes. But Tymaret has been amazing for me so far.

Whoa. Apoptosis, somehow I passed over your first comment and only responded to the second. I'm gonna re-read its a few times and I'll get back to you.

Ok, I looked it over some more. The Boros Reckoner is cool, but he almost always makes Purphoros, God of the Forge a creature. Which makes him an easier target. But I can get into Boros Charm . And I mostly agree with your removal suggestions. I like the Pyromancer for an early board state, but I agree that he's more useful once Tymaret or Purphoros is out. So I will take out Rakdos's Return entirely, take out one Tymaret and Assemble the Legion , and take out at least one Pyromancer. I'll add a couple Boros Charm for protection, another Read the Bones to help dig for my win conditions and perhaps another Obzedat, since he's a winner on his own (and helps regain all my lifeloss from shocks, Thoughtseize , and Read the Bones ).

How does that sound?

I'd still put in Boros Reckoner if Purphoros, God of the Forge becomes a creature it's not the end of the world. You're running 3x and if he were to die, it's likely that you'd draw him again. Better to have a 6/5 indestructible beater then a dead card in hand. Also, in a pinch you could use your own spot removal (eg Lightning Strike ) to kill a creature in response to someone targeting purphoros with creature removal (even the reckoner, you can the redirect the damage from the lightning strike to not lose card advantage). Which would make him turn back to an enchantment. I just think its not going to be a bad thing to turn him into a hella beater. Reckoner is sooo good. With a 6/5 indestructible god at his side? Ugh. Worth testing out at least.

Awesome deck! This is the one I decided to run in Standard. I like the idea of being able to play some sort of red/black control oriented deck. Since there is a lot of sorcery and instant in this deck, how about playing Chandra's Phoenix instead of Boros Reckoner ?

Another thing you could use is Whip of Erebos .

I did think about the whip. With Tymaret or Purphoros out, its gravy (plus its nice with Obzedat). But otherwise, it may not be worth it. But I'll do some more play testing. (Which is why I haven't made any changes yet Apoptosis and stayinalivee. Still testing)

you said i could copy the idea, and i went with a home brew of a playset of Silence and Duress i also added Spark Trooper . i had an idea that might make it scary: combine with Gift of Immortality

y/n?

Thank you for posting your deck. I've been working on a straight up Boros version of this idea. However, I really like what black gives access to here. I'll definitely consider it.

I can't believe I forgot about Warleader's Helix . I will definitely be working this in.

If you've continued to play with this deck, let us know how it's doing.

Thanks for the cool comment. And I have this Friday off work, so I'll be taking this out to see how it goes. Unfortunately I'm missing about 8 cards , so I'll let you all know how it went and what was in it.

I really like the deck +1 from me. Why not Spear of Heliod for the deck? It acts as a continuous source of removal if you've exhausted your removal. And it pumps up your tokens

That's not a bad suggestion. I never really considered it. At first glance, I don't like that it requires them to deal damage to me, but it's worth some playtesting at the very least. Thanks!

Thanks! Ya I agree it's got it's disadvantages. It should be last resort removal. It gives a nice boost to the tokens.

Hm. After one quick playtest, it did great. The best part is that it forces them to think twice about attacking, which provides me with precious time to get my combos down. Plus it makes my tokens decent blockers even if the token generators are removed. The question is how to make room now. I took out a Dreadbore and Hero's Downfall for the playtest, but I don't know if I want to even run 2 (double white is rough). I think I'll take out one Mizzium Mortars for it. Mizzium isn't unconditional destruction, plus it's boardwipe isn't always necessary. The spear is good, but I never want to see another in hand. I'd rather have it as a possibility, but not something that I ever truly need.

I totally agree with that I think a 1 of would be a solid edition. Getting 2 of the same weapon is never fun. And it really does delay the game a bit because it makes attacking more risky for the opponents

Why not add Whip of Erebos ? That card combos well with your decks win cons. Plus that card and the ghost council IS awin con.

I don't like how expensive the Whip is. My deck only has 8 actual creatures, since Purphoros rarely becomes one, so there isn't much to bring back with it. The lifelink might be helpful, but for it to have an impact, it means my token generators have to land and stay, which is usually already game over if they do.

Not to mention, it takes up my whole turn 4 with little immediate impact. I need whatever removal I can get in this deck, since control is a little more difficult without blue. I did consider the whip when I was looking for lifegain, but I found Warleader's Helix , which is removal and life in one. If that stops doing the job, I'll look into the whip for more life. So thanks for the suggestion, but as of now I'll pass.

I think Blood Baron of Vizkopa is better than Obzedat. My roommate runs a deck almost exactly like this, and after playing against him a lot with it, he took out the two obzedats for two blood barons and it was a lot stronger.

But Obzedat + Purphoros is so good. Plus, I don't have any Blood Barons. But I'll admit, they are good.