I noticed this archetype is lacking in our resource thread and thought I'd give it a shot. And of course, all help and suggestions are welcome.
Boros Deck Wins!
This deck is all about fast and efficient weenies (creatures) and burn! It is easily one of my aggro builds of choice in the cube.
This deck packs all the good creatures from the White Weenie archetype and add some of Red's most efficient weenie creatures and burn and you got a recipe for one of the cubes most aggressive deck. Boros deck wins has a good match up vs. other aggressive decks because of its ability to burn out opponents blockers or point direct damage directly to your opponent.
High picks (deck staples):
This archetype is actually fairly easy to draft, as you won't usually be competing over the most powerful cards in the cube. You won't need big flashy spells or huge scary monsters. It's all about the low mana curve and the quantity. You'll need something around 12-16 creatures in your deck. The rest should be a mix of burn spells/removal, pump spells, equipments (really important) and some mana acceleration.
Generally all the good low cc creatures. You can add a slight Land disruption theme into the mix if you like. Avalance Riders and Goblin Ruinblaster etc. could be some of your higher casting cost creatures.
I also like to add Armageddon and/or Catastrophe in the deck. It is important to have a good board position before dropping one of these bombs down. Make sure to pick something for the larger creatures as well. Journey to Knowhere, Swords to Plowshare etc. because mid-range decks can give you a lot of trouble. I'd stay away from giving the opponent too many lives if possible. So cards like Oblivion Ring and Arrest should also be considered as a solution to mid-range creatures.
Other member(s) have suggested the use of cards like Reveillark and Karmic Guide can be used if you want some creature recurring, good against board sweepers for example. And also pingers (Fireslinger, Goblin Sharpshooter) to support your burn-spells and possibility of better trade-offs when blocked or blocking.
When drafting:
Concentrate on picking cards that are good for your deck first to minimize the chance of other players making the same or similar deck as you. If there are no good cards for you to pick in a pack (say 5th/6th pick or so) you could hate-draft some of the cards that you don't want to face. E.g. creatures with shroud, defenders (they slow down your tempo), board sweepers, life-gain-cards, artifact removals (you want to protect your equipments, besides these are good for sideboard anyway) or even just mana fix/accel.
You don't want to see too large creatures on the other side of the table. Board sweepers is ok, as it is fairly simple or at least doable to play around. Mid-range decks is actually some of your hardest MU's as they got larger creatures, and spells in general. But if you got your equipments in place, your shadow/pro-creatures in place, the deck should be able to win.
Equipments are high pick, at least until you got your 2 or 3 you want for your deck. They give you reach after a Wrath of God. You also want a critical amount of one and two drops. This is really important, otherwise you won't get the good start this deck really needs consistently.
Since your creatures are one of the main ingredients in this archetype, I'd pick them first. Good removals will come round the table in packs 2 and 3 as well, so don't panic if you have little to non removals after drafting the first pack. If you got all the good creatures from pack one, Its, probable that the other drafters will stay away from drafting the weenie creatures showing up in pack two as well. But if you see Lightning Bolt or Lightning Helix coming your way, its a definite pick for you.
Last words:
If the cube supports aggressive strategies enough, this archetype is easily one of the best aggro strategy to chose. It packs evasive creatures (shadow/flying/pro), decent removals that also gives the deck some reach for mid-late-game as well as the mana-denial plan. If built correctly this archetype will give control decks as well as aggro decks a really hard time. Mid-range decks is what you need to look out for.
Nice primer man. Just some thoughts on some stuff you didn't mention:
* I find Anthem effects to be good in all white based aggro decks. Stuff like Honor of the Pure and Soltari Champion etc really shine, particularly against mid-range decks, where, with the help of equipment as well, your creatures can match theirs.
*Also, pingers like Fireslinger can really shine too against other aggro decks, and also just to make your burn that little bit more effective.
*Another amazing card for this deck is Reveillark (potentially with Karmic Guide too if you're getting fancy).
I wouldn't really want to play Condemn in an aggro deck though, because it's a so defensive card. I want to play removal I can use agressive instead like Path to Exile or StP.
I wouldn't really want to play Condemn in an aggro deck though, because it's a so defensive card. I want to play removal I can use agressive instead like Path to Exile or StP.
Agree. This was my only criticism too. I'd run another Plains before adding Condemn into my boros aggro deck.
I'd say Figure of Destiny is a pretty high pick. But its not a must have in order to build a boros deck that can go all the way and win the draft. Its definitely a good addition to your squad.
IMO the quality of the creatures you use don't need to be top notch, quantity is the key here. Most of the weenie creatures got some sort of evasion, be it first strike, flying, shadow or pro color. If you find yourself lacking on evasive creatures, fill the gap with more burn/removals so that you can take down opposing blockers.
Equipments are also really important. I see that the deck above only got one. Which may be one too few. You don't want to over extend your board with multiple creatures, while still giving your opponent pressure. Equipments help you achieve that goal. Of course, if you only got one, then you'd have to do with what you got.
I'd run another Plains before adding Condemn into my boros aggro deck.
While I agree that Condemn is a defensive card and fits much better into midrange and control decks than it does in aggro decks, I don't understand this logic at all. It's still removal. I'd rather have a cheap defensive removal spell than an 18th land in my aggro deck. Granted, Condemn would most likely be my 23rd card, as there are lots of cards I'd play over it, but I'd run it before the extra land for sure.
There's a good chance I'll play against midrange or control and when they swing at me with some giant fatty that my burn can't do anything about, I'd rather have Condemn in my hand than be staring at the Plains I decided to include instead.
A simple and useful primer for a fun to play archetype. W/R aggro had been worse (and is played less often as well) then most other aggro color combinations in my cube (W/B, R/B, R/G, W/G and the monocolors have been better) but as long as white aggro decks and red aggro decks are healthy I figure it should break in eventually without intentional help.
Boros Deck Wins!
This deck is all about fast and efficient weenies (creatures) and burn! It is easily one of my aggro builds of choice in the cube.
This deck packs all the good creatures from the White Weenie archetype and add some of Red's most efficient weenie creatures and burn and you got a recipe for one of the cubes most aggressive deck. Boros deck wins has a good match up vs. other aggressive decks because of its ability to burn out opponents blockers or point direct damage directly to your opponent.
High picks (deck staples):
This archetype is actually fairly easy to draft, as you won't usually be competing over the most powerful cards in the cube. You won't need big flashy spells or huge scary monsters. It's all about the low mana curve and the quantity. You'll need something around 12-16 creatures in your deck. The rest should be a mix of burn spells/removal, pump spells, equipments (really important) and some mana acceleration.
Creatures:
Isamaru, Hound of Konda, Goblin Guide, Paladin en-Vec, Calciderm, *Shadow creatures (Soltari Champion, Soltari Monk), Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Figure of Destiny, Keldon Marauders, Hellspark Elemental etc.
Generally all the good low cc creatures. You can add a slight Land disruption theme into the mix if you like. Avalance Riders and Goblin Ruinblaster etc. could be some of your higher casting cost creatures.
Equipment:
Umezawa's Jitte, Bone Splitter, Grafted Wargear etc.
You'd want at least 2 equipments in your deck
Removal:
Path to Exile, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Helix, Chain Lightning, Char etc.
I also like to add Armageddon and/or Catastrophe in the deck. It is important to have a good board position before dropping one of these bombs down. Make sure to pick something for the larger creatures as well. Journey to Knowhere, Swords to Plowshare etc. because mid-range decks can give you a lot of trouble. I'd stay away from giving the opponent too many lives if possible. So cards like Oblivion Ring and Arrest should also be considered as a solution to mid-range creatures.
Other cards:
Land Tax, Wasteland, Strip Mine, Spectral Procession, Sol Ring, Ankh of Mishra, Cursed Scroll, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Mirror Entity Honor the Pure etc.
Other member(s) have suggested the use of cards like Reveillark and Karmic Guide can be used if you want some creature recurring, good against board sweepers for example. And also pingers (Fireslinger, Goblin Sharpshooter) to support your burn-spells and possibility of better trade-offs when blocked or blocking.
When drafting:
Concentrate on picking cards that are good for your deck first to minimize the chance of other players making the same or similar deck as you. If there are no good cards for you to pick in a pack (say 5th/6th pick or so) you could hate-draft some of the cards that you don't want to face. E.g. creatures with shroud, defenders (they slow down your tempo), board sweepers, life-gain-cards, artifact removals (you want to protect your equipments, besides these are good for sideboard anyway) or even just mana fix/accel.
You don't want to see too large creatures on the other side of the table. Board sweepers is ok, as it is fairly simple or at least doable to play around. Mid-range decks is actually some of your hardest MU's as they got larger creatures, and spells in general. But if you got your equipments in place, your shadow/pro-creatures in place, the deck should be able to win.
Equipments are high pick, at least until you got your 2 or 3 you want for your deck. They give you reach after a Wrath of God. You also want a critical amount of one and two drops. This is really important, otherwise you won't get the good start this deck really needs consistently.
Since your creatures are one of the main ingredients in this archetype, I'd pick them first. Good removals will come round the table in packs 2 and 3 as well, so don't panic if you have little to non removals after drafting the first pack. If you got all the good creatures from pack one, Its, probable that the other drafters will stay away from drafting the weenie creatures showing up in pack two as well. But if you see Lightning Bolt or Lightning Helix coming your way, its a definite pick for you.
Last words:
If the cube supports aggressive strategies enough, this archetype is easily one of the best aggro strategy to chose. It packs evasive creatures (shadow/flying/pro), decent removals that also gives the deck some reach for mid-late-game as well as the mana-denial plan. If built correctly this archetype will give control decks as well as aggro decks a really hard time. Mid-range decks is what you need to look out for.
D3@D
* I find Anthem effects to be good in all white based aggro decks. Stuff like Honor of the Pure and Soltari Champion etc really shine, particularly against mid-range decks, where, with the help of equipment as well, your creatures can match theirs.
*Also, pingers like Fireslinger can really shine too against other aggro decks, and also just to make your burn that little bit more effective.
*Another amazing card for this deck is Reveillark (potentially with Karmic Guide too if you're getting fancy).
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I'll edit the post and add your suggestions, I don't have firsthand experience with pingers in this archetype though.
I wouldn't really want to play Condemn in an aggro deck though, because it's a so defensive card. I want to play removal I can use agressive instead like Path to Exile or StP.
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I agree, Condemn was just an example of a card that can get rid of troublesome creatures that burn might not be sufficient for.
D3@D
Agree. This was my only criticism too. I'd run another Plains before adding Condemn into my boros aggro deck.
The rest of the Premier is spot-on. Nice job.
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Figure is the best card in the archetype. Every time I draft this deck and have Figure, it is UNREAL.
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IMO the quality of the creatures you use don't need to be top notch, quantity is the key here. Most of the weenie creatures got some sort of evasion, be it first strike, flying, shadow or pro color. If you find yourself lacking on evasive creatures, fill the gap with more burn/removals so that you can take down opposing blockers.
Equipments are also really important. I see that the deck above only got one. Which may be one too few. You don't want to over extend your board with multiple creatures, while still giving your opponent pressure. Equipments help you achieve that goal. Of course, if you only got one, then you'd have to do with what you got.
-AA
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Sorry if it seemed that way, but my post wasn't a direct reply to your post. I was just stating my own opinion.
D3@D
While I agree that Condemn is a defensive card and fits much better into midrange and control decks than it does in aggro decks, I don't understand this logic at all. It's still removal. I'd rather have a cheap defensive removal spell than an 18th land in my aggro deck. Granted, Condemn would most likely be my 23rd card, as there are lots of cards I'd play over it, but I'd run it before the extra land for sure.
There's a good chance I'll play against midrange or control and when they swing at me with some giant fatty that my burn can't do anything about, I'd rather have Condemn in my hand than be staring at the Plains I decided to include instead.
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