Brozek-style Boros

[woremak]

I think there have been threads on this before, but I couldn't find any when I searched so I'm starting this one. I started thinking about the deck again when I saw someone playing it on SCGLive.

The basic idea of the deck is to abuse the landfall mechanic, specifically with Steppe Lynx and the interactions between Ghost Quarter and Flagstones of Trokair.

That two card combo seems kind of janky, but Ghost Quarter pulls double duty as an out to lands like Maze of Ith.

Brozek's original list was for old extended, and it included Plated Geopede which I don't think is good enough. Here's what I've been playing on cockatrice to moderate success:


4 Zektar Shrine Expedition

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
2 Magma Jet
3 Searing Blaze
2 Fireblast
2 Shard Volley
4 Chain Lightning

4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Steppe Lynx
2 Figure of Destiny

3 Plateau
4 Arid Mesa
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Marsh Flats
4 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Ghost Quarter
3 Mountain
1 Plains



Shrine is kind of loose, but definitely leads to some pretty explosive turn 3 wins. The deck has some consistency issues, but I think it's fast enough to compete, and definitely seems better than straight Burn. Shard Volley combos with Flagstones to get more landfall triggers. Some other cards I've considered for the maindeck are Jötun Grunt, Reckless Charge, Flame Rift, Plated Geopede, and Path to Exile. I don't think my version is perfect by any means.

My general impressions of popular matchups based off of miniscule sample-sizes:
U/W Blade: Good preboard, poor postboard
Ritual Combo: Pretty much a coinflip with it in their favor
Zoo: Poor
Delver Decks: Good
Maverick: Good (only one game)
Dredge: It's dredge, but you are fast enough to legitimately race.
Midrange G/B/x decks: Depends on their build, seems to be fine

Thoughts?

[NeoTech]

I think that Boros Deck Wins can still hold its own on occasion in the right Meta. Though I think you need to go for a more direct Aggro-Control version. This is the list i have been testing on MWS and it has been a real powerhouse against a list of teir 1 decks.

Land:
3x Mountain
4x Plateau
4x Wasteland
4x Plains
4x Arid Mesa

Creatures:
4x Silver Knight
4x Goblin Legionnaire
4x Stoneforge Mystic
3x Isamaru, Hound of Konda
3x Figure of Destiny
2x Grim Lavamancer
2x Stonecloaker

Spells:
4x Path to Exile
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Magma Jet
3x Lightning Helix
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Umezawa's Jitte
1x Fireblast

I reccommend giving this list a try, its very consistant. Alot of the card choices are self explainitory, in case your wondering my 4 Magma Jet vs. only 3 Lightning Helix, is I have always been happier to see a Magma Jet for the Scrying, try it and you will see why. Stonecloaker is also a very efective card to use when you are blocking, with damage on the stack, play it to return your creature to your hand your creature survives and you now have a 3/2 flyer for next attack.

I have not yet settled on a sideboard, though it would of course consist of graveyard hate, Red Elemental Blasts, etc...

[Meekrab]

Stonecloaker is also a very efective card to use when you are blocking, with damage on the stack, play it to return your creature to your hand your creature survives and you now have a 3/2 flyer for next attack.
Combat damage hasn't used the stack for almost two years, so this trick doesn't actually work.

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/42a

[NeoTech]

Well sh*t, everything has changed since I last played... Damn wizards...

[from Cairo]

@ the OP Landfall list

Is Green worth splashing to give you Wild Nacatl (over the Shrine) and Crop Rotation (over Figure of Destiny, I suppose)? Ball Lightning just seems awful even at 2cc. And the deck is built around Fetchlands so it seems like a splash would be pretty workable. It would also give you SB Qasali Pridemages that maintains your threat density while giving you some utility.


@ the midrange list

You need more than 19 land, you're running several 3cc cards and have things like Grim Lavamancer and Equipment that tie up mana over multiple turns. You want closer to 22 mana sources and with your mana curve you might want Aether Vials as well to increase your flexibility.

The weakest cards in that list to me seem like Goblin Legionnaire, Magma Jet, and Isamaru.

Goblin Legionnaire is garbage w/o the ability to stack damage and sacrifice it. It was bad before, it's unplayable now. I'd probably try a couple Mirran Crusader and Jotun Grunt in it's slot they're both good with equipment and are powerful options against Green decks (obv pro Green and Jotun against Goyf and KotR).

Magma Jet is just poor damage to cost. The Scry is useful, but really only impressive when you see two land and get to dodge them. If looking for a filter ability I'd probably run a couple Sensei's Divining Top, the re-usability and better synergy with Fetchlands is worth the fact that they don't do damage themselves.

If you're going midrange with Stoneforge Mystic, run Mother of Runes over Isamaru. A 2/2 gets outclassed real quick. I can see it as defensible in the all in agro approach, but if you're playing equipment it's poor.

A couple Stonecloaker still doesn't seem bad to me even w/o the damage on the stack trick. One can still get a block and bounce a guy. The ability to trump Snapcaster Mage is pretty nice, it can hit good stuff against Dredge and Reanimator too, though a little slow.

If I was going to test a midrange Boros build I would probably start with something along these lines...

Land 22
4 Wasteland
4 Arid Mesa
4 Plateau
3 Plains
2 Flooded Strand
2 Mountain
1-2 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
0-1 Scalding Tarn

Creatures 22
4 Mother of Runes
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Silver Knight
3 Grim Lavamancer
2 Jotun Grunt
2 Mirran Crusader
2 Stonecloaker
1 Figure of Destiny

Spells 16
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
3 Lightning Helix
1-2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Umezawa's Jitte
0-1 Fireblast


W/R gets some dirty SB options, honestly they probably have the best hate against the format right now. I'd run Enlightened Tutor SB.

2-3 Enlightened Tutor
2 Pyroblast
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1-2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Blood Moon
1 Phyrexian Metamorph

and some meta slots
Retribution of the Meek / Tariff
Stony Silence
Pithing Needle
Oblivion Ring / Journey to Nowhere

[264505]

I would consider playing Sword of Body and Mind over Feast and Famine as the pro blue aspect of the card seems a lot more relevant in the current meta. Being Pro Jace and unblockable by any of the Canadian Thresh creatures is pretty important.

[woremak]

@From Cairo

I get what your saying about shrine not being good enough, but in the (admittedly limited) testing I've done it holds it's own weight. I think splashing green is an option, but I'm not sure the deck is any better than zoo at that point. The original list has fairly tight mana requirements as you need two mountains for Fireblast, but you also need the 4 Flagstones/Ghost Quarters. I'll try it out though, might be good.

@the midrange build
I think any R/W midrange build will be inferior to Maverick. Also, as the title of the thread says I'm interested in Brozek's style of the deck, so I think a midrange build is a little off topic.