Vos_Is_Boss I have to say that this is an amazing deck. In my group I normally play control type decks. When I came to this site I stumbled upon this gem and loved it. Been trying it out and my group and having a blast, much to the disdain of my friend who normally runs red/black vampires, lol.

Alright well I've been play testing this deck while I've been away. I have to say when people looked at my deck the made fun of my Volcanic Strength but it wrecks face so much because almost every one is running mountains because everyone is running Boros Reckoner. lets me slide in for that dmg to rape face.But I also play tested more with Infernal Plunge and while it does kill one of my creatures usually its just making my turn two to turn four and I also ran Rubblebelt Raiders and i have to say they are usually hitting as a 6/6 and they need to remove it immediately or it will just punish people. But still liking the build. And people are still a little pissed at me when i play this deck. lol

Haha, I'm glad you guys are having fun with it. Its a slight deviant from the 'norm' when it comes to aggro. It still packs the punch of the popular naya blitz while utilizing the total potential of Burning-Tree Emissary.

I have this deck, MrFoxVentura, Break the Damage Limit, and bringing out a turn 2 Hellrider, Rubblebelt Raiders, Thragtusk, or Thundermaw Hellkite. It seems so fun and naughty.

Discovered another turn 3 win:

T1: Land, Champ

T2: Land, Champ, Boros Elite - swing 3

T3: Land Boros Elite, Lightning mauler - swing 17

:D wadd'ya know

Question, Voss_Is_Boss. (long post incoming)

I have played this deck quite extensively since I saw you post it, and I LOVE it. It has made me fall in love with aggro.

That said, after playing MANY games with it (easily over 100, between Cockatrice, FNMs, and tournaments (which btw, I've split top 4, and gotten second place at my two local GPT qualifiers)), my biggest problem with this deck is it's consistency. When the deck "goes off", it really does do it's job, and IMO, if it does, it will beat any other deck out there.

The problem that I have seen is that this deck NEEDS to win by turn 4 against any sort of deck that is actually competitive, and in order to do that, your turn 1, 2, and 3 really need to be awesome (and it usually is, I will give it that). In order to do that, however, you need several things to go right for you:

First of all, you need a one-drop creature (obviously preferrably champ, but elite does well, too) and the correct land to play it. I will say that this is USUALLY not the problem.

Second, you need a good two-drop. Burning-Tree Emissary is absolutely awesome, and if you have him and another two drop, it eliminates this problem almost immediately, as it gives you the colors for all of your other two drops. IF you get that combo off, with a good one drop on the first turn, I would say that you win at least 90% of your games from there.

Third, you need some sort of follow up after that. This is where I would say that one of the biggest problems with the deck lies. In my opinion, Boros Reckoner should not be in the mainboard of this deck, at least not with the lands that this deck runs. I am almost never happy to see a Reckoner in my opening hand, as I know that it will be dead weight until I can get it out later. The Reckoner (while it is a great creature, I will never say it isn't), just doesn't seem to fit with this deck. This deck NEEDS to win quickly, and by playing Reckoner, you are saying that you WANT the game to go to at least turn 5 or later. After this point, this deck has almost always lost. If you want to go later, I would say that Frontline Medic Would be SOO much better, as it provides basically unlimited attacking potential, as you don't really care what the enemy has on their side of the field, PLUS it's human PLUS it only costs 2W, making it SOO easy to play with this. What are your thoughts on making this switch? (possibly putting Reckoner in the SB)

In addition, I really think it would be a good idea to take out the Mountain and one or two of the Cavern of Souls and put in a couple Stomping Ground. I have had MANY hands where I've had to mulligan just because I've had a Cavern and only one other "slow land", where if that Cavern had been a shock land, I would have been able to go full combo. This deck just cannot afford to miss it's second turn, or get a turn behind, so I find myself doing many mulligans that I really don't want to.

Ok, I'm done (finally). I hope you get the idea that I'm trying to make, that this deck is AWESOME, but I just think that it needs to be AWESOME more consistently. Almost every match that I lose is due to me getting either land screwed (both because of not the right colors, and not the right amount.)

What are your thoughts about making this deck more consistent, bearing in mind that it NEEDS to win by turn 4 (or at least be far enough ahead that it doesn't matter at that point)?

Hey Jayenn I agree with the same when I see a Boros Reckoner in my hand i'm not liking it to much plus i dont like to be naming wizard on my Cavern of Souls. But if you switched them i could see it being a bit nicer all around but the problem with running Stomping Ground is I would never really turn one shock my self for two. because I can't play a turn one red or green creature so it's a dead draw for me. But another card I've considered adding to this deck is Legion Loyalist just because his ability is nuts but you need to think of it more as a late game buff. Only thing i dont like is that he is goblin that is annoying. So I will play test with the Frontline Medic but it seems to tie a little nicer with it being human compared to reckoner.

i agree with Jayenn, that if this deck does not go off turn 1,2 and 3 your gona be in a bad spot, although i have always thought that Frontline Medic was a bit to slow. i think Silverblade Paladin is much better as it gives one of your guys double strike the turn it enters the battlefield. it depends what you want your three drop to do, the medic has great sustain and worst case scenario it absorbs some removal. i, personaly, would up Silverblade Paladin and add two Ghor-Clan Rampager, as it is a great turn two buff to combo off of Burning-Tree Emissary

as for the lands since all your slow lands come in untapped from plains (exept Rootbound Crag but there's only one of them), and all your one drops are white you should consider putting in two plains.

Well, as you all know, this is an "all or nothing" kind of deck. The point is to win fast, which it can do, but it admittedly has some problems in the late game. Most aggro decks do. If you'd like to be able to last longer in a match, i suggest going a little bit heavier on the mana, and play cards like Zealous Conscripts or Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip.

As far as Boros Reckoner goes. I do agree with you all, that sometimes it is a bit clunky. The reason for having him in the mainboard is mainly my local meta. Where every deck i play against, Boros Reckoner changes the game. It might be a bit difficult to cast at times, swapping out a Cavern of Souls for a single Stomping Ground might help, however, I haven't had much trouble casting him when i need him.

I have tried this deck with Frontline Medic in his place... however, it didn't work. For me. I made the swap at a TCG tournament, thinking it would be smart. However, he DID NOT perform well at all. In fact, he was just a 3/3 body that made my guys indestructible in scenarios when i didn't even need it. Then my enemy would play a Mizzium Mortars, or Blasphemous Act. Guess which card would have been much better to have in play at that point?

Boros Reckoner is offensive and defensive. It is so good right now that he has a REALLY valid spot in my mainboard, I have complained a few times about using a Cavern of Souls on him... however, when he hits the field. I am always happy.

As far as consistency, as you said, Jayenn, the deck NEEDS to have the turn 1-2-3 go right otherwise the game is probably over. However, ALL of my creatures, save Boros Reckoner, assist in the combo, and the lands i run provide the potential in almost every way. If i draw creatures, they will work. The only thing a player has to be smart about is when to take the mulligan, and when to keep the hand. Then it comes down to the luck of the draw.

In conclusion. I do not like Frontline Medic (as good as it appears on paper), I could probably drop a single Cavern of Souls for a Stomping Ground, I will keep Boros Reckoner because it is a game changer that i can drop against any kind of deck.

I hope this answers your questions, and thanks for making my deck reach over 80 votes!

Broke 8500 views, thanks er'body :D

Started giggling today when I read up about a bunch of kids bragging about their 24 damage on turn 4 and how they had the fastest deck ever.

wonder if its a copy of your deck with minor modification -.-''

I don't know, it just seems like there has to be some way to change around the creature base a bit with this deck to make it more consistent. In just playtesting this a bunch, I still HATE seeing a Boros Reckoner in my hand, as I'm just thinking "My opponent will boardwipe on turn 4 (or even 3 sometimes), this Reckoner is useless to me."

I'm not saying that the Reckoner is the only problem with this (or even that this deck has a lot of problems), but it just seems to me, that with the speed that this deck NEEDS to play at, Reckoner is just too slow. You say that your deck can outpace any other aggro decks (and I agree), but that is the type of deck that (in my opinion) you have Reckoner in here for. If you're playing against a midrange or lategame deck, and you get to the point that Reckoner can help you, you've already lost probably 75% of the time.

It just seems to me that that 3-drop could be used for something much faster and more reliable. Even replacing him with some other 1 or 2-drop might be a good idea, Ghor-Clan Rampager maybe? Possibly even bringing Thalia, Guardian of Thraben into mainboard. (You may have better ideas, I am just horrible at thinking of other things that might be better). I feel like a broken record, but it seems like the answer to some of the matchups is just "be faster" not "slow the board down and hope I can burn you to death". I understand that in the meta at your store, there is a lot of aggro, but in that case, why not just try to make the deck even a bit faster, that way you just outpace the other aggro decks, and against later-game decks, you just beat them before they can get anything going (esper control is still bad for you, but Reckoner doesn't really help in that matchup much, anyway).

Please, don't take this as me saying that this deck doesn't work, I absolutely LOVE this deck, I just want this to be the best deck in standard, and I think it can be, with just a little bit of fine tuning.

Thanks for the comment, Jayenn,

Honestly, i'm happy when people point out the flaws in a deck, and back it up with evidence. I'm getting tired of people saying "That card sucks, why do you use it? Its so bad, you probably lose because of it." and leave it at that.

It is true, that Boros Reckoner does not help with the speed in this deck. He would probably be a better sideboard card to bring in is most situations. However, through playing this deck for months it became a norm to bring in something to stop other aggro decks every single time game two. To me, Boros Reckoner is always the best answer, so i decided to chuck him in the mainboard.

The main problem with this deck is that once the game has reached the middle, I either run out of steam, or just flat out die... or maybe getthe lucky burn spells in for the win... otherwise its just game over. Now... this is against decks that have the damage-less boardwipes like Terminus or Supreme Verdict. If they run Bonfire of the Damned, or Mizzium Mortars, I can actually use that to my advantage with Boros Reckoner. If i play against another midrange deck with fat creatures... Boros Reckoner is the perfect tool for offense and defense.

If i have him in my hand, I do not usually play him until i need him, or if i have nothing else to do, otherwise, i'm dropping my humans for the fastest win possible. So, for me, he is a situational card, like a burn spell, that i save for the right opportunity.

You are right, however, that if i had a different card, like Ghor-Clan Rampager, my hand, i have a better opportunity to win faster. Its just that I've grown accustomed to Boros Reckoner, and i've learned how to use him in this deck.

There are not that many substitutes for Boros Reckoner at this point... i'd say the only one being Ghor-Clan Rampager. But thats something for you to decide. Frontline Medic is not a great substitute. Hellrider would probably be decent. Otherwise... it is up to you.

Vos_Is_Boss I'm on the fence about Boros Reckoner. I ran a slightly subpar version of this deck and had so-so results (2-2 on the night) (I was late and threw it together, basically I screwed up and had 4 Cavern of Souls and 1 Kessig Wolf Run which screwed up the consistency for having the right land in my opening hand plus I only had 3x Lightning Mauler at the time so I had to substitute with a Legion Loyalist). Anyway that aside, I first played two Bant midrange decks with hella ramp. The first match I steam-rolled with god hands, and did get Boros Reckoner out, only to have it immediately Detention Sphere. In the 2nd match, I got smashed in 2 games. Despite having a great hand he was able to Detention Sphere my mayor on turn 2, eat my champion with Garruk Relentless  ^Flip and was then able to pump out wolves faster then my 2nd mayor. In game 2 I had to mulligan to 4 and it was ugly. I lost my third match in 3 to a guy playing a pseudo-version of this deck, but without Lightning Mauler. Instead he had Rakdos Cackler and Brimstone Volley. I felt like I should have stomped him but I lost the 2nd match to a Brimstone Volley to the face after i blocked an attacker and the 3rd match when I had 3xCavern of Souls and no way to cast Boros Reckoner or use the Boros Charm in my hand (grrr!). That was frustrating. There were too many times where either I had no one drop or no lands that wouldn't come in tapped.

Anyway, despite my mana problems and lack-luster performance I think it would pay to swap out Boros Reckoner to the sideboard (to bring in against other aggro decks, I think Blind Obedience fits here too). I feel like this deck needs to have the hasty creatures and am thinking of going to 4x Silverblade Paladin and then either Hellrider, Spark Trooper, or Ghor-Clan Rampager at 2x. Ghor-Clan Rampager bloodrush ability with the possibility of doublestrike from the silverblade is something I've thought about a lot. Legion Loyalist is another way to go.

Also I need a sideboard that will help against the @#$% Bant midrange ramp decks that are driving me nuts.

Yeah, things will happen. I've had my fair share of bad games. However, of all the games I've played, my win % is at about 85% which i think is pretty good, all things considered.

If you don't like the Boros Reckoner in this build, i really suggest trying out either Ghor-Clan Rampager or Giant Growth in it's place. Or maybe even add a 4th Thatcher Revolt and 2 Hellrider.

Ha!!! I knew I'd get you to endorse Hellrider eventually! LOL.

ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Doesn't mean that I WILL RUN IT XO

it's ok, you can change your mind and tell me you meant to say Spark Trooper.

;-)

ITS A SOLDIER

WOULD BE MORE VIABLE

MAN

Changed to it.

Trying it out.

Someday.

I am going to switch out the Boros Reckoners for Ghor-Clan Rampagers tonight for FNM, just to see what happens (possibly adding Reckoners to sideboard, haven't decided yet). Or do you think it would be better to put in Spark Trooper?

The biggest fear that I have with putting in a 4-drop is the fact that if I have the 4 mana to play it by turn 4, that almost always means that my turns 1-3 were subpar, just because that means that (assuming you played first) at least 5 out of your 10 cards in hand were either land or not useful until turn 4. Yes, sometimes the other 5 cards will have been very good, and may have played out perfectly, but the odds of that happening every time you would have that 4-drop in your hand are very slim. For an aggro deck that is only playing 1 creature a turn, that may be fine, but generally, your goal is to empty your hand and get as many creatures out as quickly as possible with this deck.

And by the way, I understand that your meta is different than my meta is. Almost everyone that regularly win at my store play "destroy"-based boardwipes and spells, while you may just be used to playing against heavy burn, I'm basing almost all my comments on my local meta. It seems like, at my store, the best way to win is just to beat them before they get their first boardwipe or Thragtusk out, as they usually don't have that much before then.

Then you should most definitely substitute my Boros Reckoners for Ghor-Clan Rampager.

I'm opting for Spark Trooper potential, because most of my store is RDW. I can usually out-race them, and if i cannot, i had Boros Reckoner as a finisher.

However, a card like Spark Trooper could turn an iffy hand into a powerful finisher. Especially if I end up with the mana, and a turn 3 Silverblade Paladin.

Wow, amazing deck idea! However, I have two questions:

1. What is the purpose of using Thatcher Revolt ? Okay, it triggers the Champion of the Parish and gives you 2/2 tokens with Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip , but so does Gather the Townsfolk . What do I overlook?

2. What do you do against a second turn Blind Obedience ? Do you just sideboard Spark Trooper out, probably against Boros Reckoner ?

Turn 2 in this deck has a lot of 2 CMC. Thatcher Revolt slots in well at Turn 3 and the key is that they have haste. But you're correct that blind obedience would badly hurt both thatcher revolt and spark trooper.

Hey laccol,

I'll do my best to answer those questions.

1) Thatcher Revolt , in this deck, is by far the most powerful finisher that can be used in standard. There are two differences from Gather the Townsfolk . The first is that it gives you 3 humans instead of 2. The second is that they have haste. Haste is the key factor here. You want to win NOW with this deck, because it does struggle late game if you cant finish them off early. (turn 3 is the fastest it can go off)

With Thatcher Revolt you need to be careful when to use it, and when to save it. Unlike Gather the Townsfolk where you'd probably just play it as soon as you can. While 2 permanent creatures can be good, have the 3 guys with haste provides a surprise attack that nobody is really ready for. It puts a winnable situation into a guaranteed win situation.

Having 3 2/2 haste humans (or more, depending on how many Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip s you have) is a lot of damage. 3 mana for 6 damage (or more) should not be ignored. Not to mention it makes your Champion of the Parish incredibly strong. Effectively out of the range of almost any aggro deck (RDW can no longer burn this guy efficiently) It puts an even larger threat factor into your opponents mind when they think that little 1/1 will be a 4/4 from one spell. (and of course... it will be much stronger because the deck is always playing other humans)

That 3'd human does a lot, and at instant speed, its all about the surprise. Opponents like to think that they only have to deal with what is on the board. Haste, in general, is the most powerful ability an aggro deck can have. This is why i strongly urge the use of Thatcher Revolt in any deck with Champion of the Parish , or battalion-like abilities.

2) Strangely enough, Blind Obedience is the perfect counter to Thatcher Revolt and most hasty creatures. My local store doesnt run Blind Obedience that much, fortunately. However, if i did see it the first game, or knew it was coming out game 2, i would bring in Boros Reckoner in place of Spark Trooper , i would probably take out the Thatcher Revolt s for Thalia, Guardian of Thraben , and probably utilize War Priest of Thune or Ray of Revelation as well.