Primer: R/w/x Aggro

[dpaine88]

yeaaaa buddy good shit fellas!

[Yarpus]

Johnny, why not dropping 1CMC drops? You'd get access to some premium shit like Warleader's Helix and Magma Jet actually.

[NerdBoyWonder]

Johnny, why not dropping 1CMC drops? You'd get access to some premium shit like Warleader's Helix and Magma Jet actually.

I would advise against that. Yes you get awesome removal and filtering but the one drops matter against control match ups (UW/Esper) applying pressure to force them to scramble for removal.

[LP, of the Fires]

RE Stormbreath dragon and Desecration Demon:

I'm playing Big Devotion red which is obviously a different deck, but worth noting, I've just started boarding out dragon vs. Desecration Demon decks cause the dragon just seems underwhelming in those matchups between 4 drop that blocks and infinite doom blades.

[hamfactorial]

Congrats on the great results NerdBoyWonder. How's that mat looking?

[Lightning_Dolt]

@ NBW Great job!

@ Yarpus You'd be trading free wins for a grindier m/u vs a lot of the meta

@ LP We have 5 plus ways of dealing with demon post board and we can protect our dragons if they find a doom blade late game.

[NerdBoyWonder]

Congrats on the great results NerdBoyWonder. How's that mat looking?

Thanks! Pretty awesome. Should have the report up soon. Faced Dega, UB Mill, Selesnya, and Mogis Devo. Some fun matches. Out of the 16 people there 6 of us were local. Omly my brother and I topped 8 (my little bro got 4th playing Esper and only lost to the guy playing Selesnya I beat.) out of all the locals.

Overall very fun, solid games but wouldn't have been able to do it without this primer and Johnny's work. Seriously the match up guide and sideboard guides really helped me out building up to the event.

[NerdBoyWonder]

[deck]Creatures 23
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Firedrink Satyr
4 Ash Zealot
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Planeswalkers 2
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Artifacts 1
1 Hammer of Purphoros

Instants & Sorceries 10
4 Lightning Strike
4 Boros Charm
2 Mizzium Motors

Land 24
14 Mountain
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
2 Mutavault

Sideboard
4 Frostborn Weird
4 Chained to Rocks
2 Burning Earth
2 Wear//Tear
2 Shock
1 Assemble the Legion[/deck]

Sidenote: notes done briefly on my phone between matches.

Game day
Vs Dega 2-0
Game one go double Phoenix into reckoner into Stormbreath. He removes them. I land Chandra and return phoenixes to close out the game.
Game 2 board out hammer and all one drops. Bring in burning earth x2 an Assemble, Wear//Tear x2 and Chained to Rocks x4. Opened hand of double burning earth, assemble, stormbreath, 2 lands and chained. Drew into land
drop dragon for damage. He removed it. Drop assemble. Followed up by 2 burning earths. He does nothing while the assemble ticks. He eventually concedes.

Vs UB Mill 2-0
Game 1 rushed him before he could do anything. Satyr into ash zealot. He mills a Phoenix. Burn him to get it back. Play hammer and make tokens. Beat him for the game with Phoenix and tokens.
Game 2 took out Mizziums for 2 wear//tear. Kept a strong hand but never see another land after my first 3. My hand was Chandra, double dragon, 3 land and a phoenix. He mills any other land I see. Phoenix and Boros charm gets me there. He gains 12 life mid match but I cut him from 21 back down to 8. End of turn he tapped out for a wall and Aetherling to bring me to 2. End of turn Boros charm. Beginning of my turn Boros charm for the game.

Vs Selesbos Aggro 2-1
Game 1 he rolls me over. He gets the nut draw of triple Fleecemane Lions with mana to monstrous them.
Game 2 Sideboard out 8 one drops and hammer. Bring in 2 Shocks, 2 Wear//
Tear & 4 chained to rocks. I'm on the play he is on the draw. He mulls to 6 and keeps a horrible hand. I mull to 5 and beat him down with Chandra and her Phoenix.
Game 3. Came down to this. I lose this and I am out of the final. This guy won a game day in a town over. I wanted this bad. Kept a 3 land hand with double dragons reckoner and burn. He had a slow start. I drop reckoner and draw lands. I stall his board and wipe it with a reckoner trade. Drew into another reckoner after and played on turn 4. He passes. Turn 5 drop dragon one and pass. Turn 6 he passes back to me. I drew into dragon 3 and play a scryland. See it is land 7 and keep it to threaten monstrous next turn. Drop dragon 2 and swing in the air. He attacks forcing me to lose dragon one with a green token with unflinching courage by double blocking with reckoner. I drop dragon 3 swing for 8 and Boros charm for game.

Vs Mogis Red 2-1
Game 1 he got a good start and was quicker than me.
Game 2 board out 8 one drops
and hammer board in 3 chained 2 shocks and 4 frostborns. I am on the play and mull to 6. He has a full seven. I play control killing off threats. I had to kill back to back Reckoners with lightning strikes so I was at 14 turn 4. I play my reckoner. He plays fire drink satyr and I realized he side boarded horrible. He burns my reckoner and I redirect damage to his satyr. DAT VALUE. I eventually land a Phoenix and take over the game.
Game 3 I board out 1 Boros charm and bring in the last Chained. Curved into Frostborn into Reckoner back up by removal to try to keep him off Devo. He built a decent board and managed to Mogis me and bring me to 10. He wastes a turn playing Purphoros. I drop dragon turn 5 and swing. Follow it up turn 6 dragon again. He hits all lands. He scoops.

Phoenix, Boros Charm, Reckoner, and Thundermaw Jr. wrecked house today. Even the hammer managed to do some work against the UB mill deck.

[Zooligan]

Game 2 board out hammer and all one drops. Bring in burning earth x2 an Assemble, Wear//Tear x2 and Chained to Rocks x4. Opened hand of double burning earth, assemble, stormbreath, 2 lands and chained.

Damn, I feel like I never see my sideboard cards. You got nearly all of yours - in your opening hand! You sure you shuffled?

[Gigex]

Went to gameday with the following list, went 4-0 in the swiss, lost the finals 2 -1

[deck]
Creatures
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Ash Zealot
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Stormbreath Dragon

Planeswalkers
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Other Spells
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Strike
2 Chained to the Rocks

Lands
3 Mutavault
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
13 Mountain

Sideboard
1 Assemble the Legion
2 Burning Earth
4 Mizzium Mortars
2 Chained to the Rocks
3 Shock
1 Frostburn Weird
2 Wear // Tear[/deck]

Round 1 vs Mogis mono red
G1: I win the die roll and go t1 cackler, t2 satyr and cackler, t3 reckoner. Chained his reckoner and that was that
G2 I sided out 2 dragons and my 8 one drops for the shocks, chains, mortars and the singleton weird. I land the weird turn 2 and just removed everything
he played. 2 phoenixes finished him off

1- 0

Round 2 vs G/w aggro
G1: I stuck double reckoners and he pretty much couldn't attack in. Landed a dragon the following turn and rode it to the win
G2: sided out my 8 one drops for the mortars, chains and 2 shocks. He got stuck on 2 lands with no white sources and i just ran him over with my phoenixes/dragon

2-0

Round 3 vs Naya midrange
G1: This deck was............weird. He had maindeck centaur healers :s. Anyway he won game 1 off of double advent of the wurm. I only managed to draw my one drops and ash zealot
G2: I side out the 8 one drops for the mortars, chains and burning earth. I landed a burning earth on turn 4 after playing a reckoner on t3. He had no basics, and no creatures on board. Stuck a dragon the following turn and won shortly after
G3: No changes. This time he was prepared for the burning earth as it was met with a destructive revelry, which in hindsight was probably a good thing as he didn't have a DR for my CttR the following
turn, taking out his polukranos. Chandra came down on my side and ticked up. He lands a fiendslayer paladin and passes. I play a dragon, pass and tick up chandra. He plays a second paladin. I use chandra's 0 to find a land, play it and overload mortars and crash in with the dragon. He plays ANOTHER paladin and suits it up with an unflinching courage. I draw a boros charm, use chandra's 0 again ..........mortars. Overloaded that shit and took the game.

3-0

Round 4 vs G/W aggro
G1: My turn 3 reckoner kept his fleecemane lion and scavenging ooze at bay until i drew two zealots and a dragon.
G2: Same SB plan as the earlier G/W guy. And just like before, he had little to no chance.

4-0

Finals vs Naya midrange
G1: I land double reckoner and double phoenix. He has a polukranos, smiter and fleecemane lion and is on 14. I swing out with everyone, he takes a while to decide if he blocks the reckoners or not, i reveal the boros charm and lightning strike from my hand and we move on to game 2.
G2:
Same sb plan as before and also taking out 2 ash zealots for wear//tear I get stuck on 3 lands and he runs me over, onto game 3
G3: this goes back and forth for a bit. We each spend the first part of this game chaining each other's reckoners (and my phoenixes) lol. He lands an advent of the wurm token. I play a dragon and crash in for 4 with a reckoner back to block. He draws his FOURTH chain and takes away the reckoner and swings in with the wurm. I draw a mortars (where is my wear // tear!?!??!?) and keep my dragon back to block. He swings in with the wurm token i block and go monstrous with the dragon, he hits the dragon with lightning strike so one damage tramples over from the wurm. Both wurm and dragon hit the bin and he casts a reckoner and I'm at 3 life. I top deck a CttR and take out his reckoner, swing in for 4 with 2 mutavaults dropping him to 2. He top decks Lightning Strike......................

While i was
disappointed i didn't get the playmat, the deck exceeded what i expected it to do. And u can't really be mad at losing to top decked burn, ........live by the sword, die by it lol. I will say that I was quite fortunate not to play any black based deck as their removal pretty much laughs at our dragon. I found the mainboard CttR instead of Mortars very useful mainly because it cleanly deals with opposing reckoners. Despite using 24 lands I was never unable to cast my dragon (the 2nd game in the finals withstanding). That being said , I was thinking of dropping the dragons down to 3 and playing an extra chain or chandra in the main. This is purely a meta choice as hardly anyone plays black removal at my LGS. So most times the one dragon gets the job done. The rest of the deck is pretty legit.

Out of the sideboard, I wasn't particularly impressed with burning earth but I guess in an esper/dega matchup it just wrecks them. I was thinking of replacing it with Peak Eruption (as we pretty much win the esper
match anyway) which has the added bonus of dealing with opposing chained to the rocks. Also maybe warleader's helix has a place here as it can help win damage races.

Will definitely keep testing this deck at FNMs in the comming months and will keep you guys posted on my findings

[NerdBoyWonder]

Game 2 board out hammer and all one drops. Bring in burning earth x2 an Assemble, Wear//Tear x2 and Chained to Rocks x4. Opened hand of double burning earth, assemble, stormbreath, 2 lands and chained.

Damn, I feel like I never see my sideboard cards. You got nearly all of yours - in your opening hand! You sure you shuffled?

That was the only game I saw my sideboard. I shuffled and then my opponent shuffled and cut my deck. My opponent misplayed and sideboarded horribly wrong. He expected me to go heavy aggro cause of game one but after seeing his burn removal
I had to board out my one drops. Start of game two he noticed I didn't play anything till turn 3 with phoenix and then nothing turn 4. Turn 5 comes and i drop Assemble and he literally went "oh shit. No wonder you didn't rush. You went big." With a sad dissapointed look on his face.

I didn't feel bad for him. All last season he played jund or any money.dec so he expected to do much of the same and jam power cards or cards worth value in a deck and try to win. He was also the only local I faced all day. The 10 guys from Mexico (I live 30min away from the border)'had came in and expected to sweep because of our meta being viewed as "easy." Glad my bro and I placed to remind them there is no weak shit here.

[NerdBoyWonder]

Good job Gigex!

[Wipe Out]

Thank you to the all the people who put in their detailed match reports, decklists, and ideas here. I was really excited about Big Boros and have been slowly amassing the cards needed to make it. Unfortunately, I cobbled together my deck at 2am before game day (a list that is a mirror of Johnny Spike's with some SB differences). With no testing or familiarity, I didn't do great at game day (2-2) but some of that was piloting errors. I've been playing RDW for the last few months and was really looking forward to the splash W with some Dragons. I know it is somewhat meta-dependent, but what do people feel moving forward? R/w aggro that is a little faster? Keep roughly as is with some SB tweaks? Is this as competitive as Pyroboros or Big Red? I've been learning an incredible amount from the community here as I get back into Magic and try and sharpen my Red Mage Skills.

[LewisCBR]

What about a more white focused Boros? I thought about this, debating on whether or not white had better weenies than red, than made the following deck. Afterwards, i played in two 6 ticket 8 person sit'n'go type tournaments on MTGO and placed 2nd, then 1st


[DECK]Creatures - 24
3 Banisher Priest
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Imposing Sovereign
4 Precinct Captain
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Aurelia, The Warleader

Spells - 11
4 Boros Charm
3 Brave the Elements
2 Lightning Strike
2 Spear of Heliod

Land - 25
3 Mutavault
10 Plains
4 Mountains
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph

Side
3 Chain to the Mountains
3 Anger the Gods
2 Mizzium Mortar
3 Fiendslayer Paladin
2 Wear / Tear
2 Glare of Heresy[/DECK]


The idea is to essentially force your opponent to deal with your weenies while you load up to hit him hard later in the game with Stormbreath/Aurelia. Instead of playing more
burn spells and dropping the weenies altogether like I see in some BigBoros lists, I think it is better to be aggressive and make them waste their burn/removal so they cant hit your 5/6 drops with their removal spells.

I remember back when Theros just dropped there was a WB deck that played a lot of removal and then big creatures like DD, Obz, Blood Baron, etc. Once one of the pros got the idea to play weenies like Pantheon and Precinct Captain in lieu of some of the removal the deck ran sooo much better, and its the deck we see today. Thats the same idea here. Play weenies to draw their burn/removal, and if they dont have those spells then the weenies just wreck house. If they do remove them all, you get worry free casts with Stormbreath/Aurelia because they are probably out of removal.

Yes, Aurelia is money here. She is a surprise in every game that she drops. A Dragon turn 5 and Aurelia turn 6 is game over. Aurelia wins games and is a lot of fun. Once game I had a Spear out and he was at
like 22. I played the Dragon turn 5 for 5 damage, then Aurelia turn 6 for 18 damage. It was crazy how fast the game went from stable to him losing. The only thing to worry about is DD, but you can plan around him when you need to do your big attack.

If you can get in 6 damage early and then some Dragon damage, Boros Charm can finish it up, too. This deck is not tricky, it just has a good build up, with no 4 drops so you can use that turn to scry land, Boros Charm save your army from a Verdict, play two creatures, Spear and a Brave, etc. Set yourself up for strong turn 5 and 6's.

I feel as if i lose late game by having no extra draw mechanic, but it has held its own so far in the few tournaments. If you get into top deck mode with someone, i feel as if Charms, Stormbreaths, and Aurelia can all end the game fast.

EDIT: In general, i just think white has the better creatures for this deck. To me, Precint Captain is better than Ash Zealot, Imposing Soveign is better than an more 1 drops (the
enter the field tapped is ridic good), and obviously Pantheon is better than any red one drop. Banahser Priests are debatable against Chandra's Phoenix, both have their days in the sun.

[rcwraspy]

Oh ok ahah Yea I didn't run into any Green based decks..

2x Esper
2x B/W Control Midrange
1x Junk Midrange
2x Monoblack Midrange/Devotion
1x Jund Midrange/Control

Congrats on 7-2 DPaine!

Just to give another view into that event's meta, in the same event I went 6-3 with a burning-tree and fanatic list. My matchups were:

Naya Mid (2-1)
Master of Waves (2--1)
Gruul Monsters (2-1)
Gruul Monsters (2-0)
Esper Control (2-0)
Dega Midrange (0-2)
Esper Control (2-1)
Master of Waves (1-2)
B/g Midrange (1-2)

So there were definitely some green-based strategies there. I'd say the biggest archetypes, percentage wise and in order, were: Esper Control, Devotion Black with or without a splash, Master of Waves, and G/R Monsters.

[Jedi_Knight]

Apparently yesterday's DE got posted and someone took notice of me going 4-0. Met an exact mirror for the first time since rotation - the only difference was he had ember Swallowers instead of Dragons (money reasons I guess). That felt weird.

LewisCBR - I would advise against playing 2 Aurelias and 3 Mutas with Precinct on 25 lands. That's really too top heavy imho. But the missing four drops could serve as a time off I guess. Still... you have no deck manipulation aside from the 4 scry lands... no Chandra, no Magma Jet. As for the red-white comparison, I would take sides with the red one drops. Soldier essentially blanks Selesnya, but then again, you already have Banisher for troublesome dudes there. Satyr can push through that goddamn wall, which for me is all the reason to switch Shocks and go all Beelzebub on my enemy.

[LewisCBR]

Hmm, Soldier of Pantheon is actually the very one drop you want vs GW because it has protection against Fleecemane, Loxodon, Trostani, Voice, AND Dryad Militant. Its a brick wall, or i can usually do damage if i want since they cant block him. Better with a spear in play, of course. I think GW is one of our best matchups, they cant do anything against a Panteons or Dragons.

[Jedi_Knight]

That's what I meant by "blanks them". It's just that I am much more often running into G/x with that wall (Sylvan Caryatid) instead of Selesnya, hence my choice of Satyr.

[Yarpus]

[deck]Creatures:
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Ember Swallower
4 Stormbreath Dragon

Planeswalkers:
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Elspeth, the Sun's Champion

Other Spells:
4 Chained to the Rocks
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
4 Boros Charm
4 Warleader's Helix

Lands:
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Plains
12 Mountain[/deck]

[Zooligan]

Seems like more of a control variant than an aggro variant.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Alright, as promised, here is the new SBing guide. Please keep in mind that this is by no means gospel, just a rough guide for new players and people like me who need a plan going in.

This is my most recent list:

[deck] Creatures (24)
4 Ash Zealot
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Stormbreath Dragon

Planeswalkers (2)
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Spells (9)
3 Boros Charm
4 Magma Jet
2 Mizzium Mortars

Lands (25)
13 Mountain
4 Mutavault
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph

Sideboard (15)
1 Assemble the Legion
2 Burning Earth
4 Chained to the Rocks
2 Mizzium Mortars
3 Shock
2 Warleader's Helix
1 Wear // Tear[/deck]

I'm only writing for the decks I consider to be the best decks in standard at the moment. If you want to discuss some fringe build, please do, but I won't be covering it. After we've had some time to discuss this, we can decide if it is
worthy of being used as an update to the primer or not.

Mono Blue Devotion

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly Unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Even

Sideboard plan: -4 Firedrinker Satyr, -1 Boros Charm, -4 Rakdos Cackler +3 Shock, +4 Chained to the Rocks, +2 Mizzium Mortars

I prefer to play this matchup as the control. I side out the 1 drops because A) I don't like running them into Omen Speakers / Frostburn Weirds and B) I don't want then to get value out of their Tidebinder Mages. I'd rather shock them at EoT after they get no value
out of them. We're dropping a Boros Charm because their only destroy spell is Rapid Hybridization. We're bringing in Shock because it plays well with Ash Zealot / Boros Reckoner's First Strike and kills Tidebinder Mage. Chained to the Rocks is for Master of Waves and Thrassa. Mizzium Mortars can be overloaded to deal with a token horde, or used to punk Omen Speakers / Frostburn Weirds.

Mono Black Devotion

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Even
Post-Sideboard: Slightly unfavourable

Sideboard plan: -4 Boros Reckoner, -4 Magma Jet , +1 [card:
1mrhy3td]Wear // Tear[/card], +1 Assemble the Legion, +2 Mizzium Mortars, +4 Chained to the Rocks

We don't really want Boros Reckoners here because we almost never get a 2 for 1 with all their removal. I don't want to, but I think it is correct to cut MJ here. [card]Wear // Tear[/card] is for Whips / Connections. Assemble the Legion is un-removable and offers a way to deal with demons / have inevitability. Mizzium Comes in to kill Nightveil Spectre, which should die on sight. Chained to the Rocks is also un-removable.

Mono Red Devotion

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Even.


Sideboard plan: -4 Rakdos Cacklers, -4 Firedrinker Satyr, -3 Boros Charm, +3 Shock, +4 Chained to the rocks, + 2 Mizzium Mortars, +2 [card]Warleader's Helix[/card]

You want to cut your small stuff, because they will bring in Frostburn Weird. Boros Charm is lack lustre here, since they don't have much burn. We want to try to aggressively 1 for 1 them, until we can go over the top. Save your Chains for Boros Reckoner. Fry everything else.

Esper Control

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Favourable
Post-Sideboard: Highly Favourable

Sideboard plan:[/u:
1mrhy3td] -4 Boros Reckoner, +1 [card]Wear // Tear[/card], +1 Assemble the Legion, +2 Burning Earth.

My favourite match up. Boros Reckoner eats all the removal in this match / gets swept before it can attack. [card]Wear // Tear[/card] is for Detention Spheres. Assemble the Legion allows you to attack on another, difficult to deal with axis. Burning Earth punishes their greedy mana base.

R/G monsters

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Unfavourable.

Sideboard plan: -4 Firedrinker Satyr, -4 Rakdos Cackler, -
3 Boros Charm, +4 Chained to the Rocks, +2 Mizzium Mortars, +2 [card]Warleader's Helix[/card], +3 Shock.

Small creatures will get walled by hexproof plant. Boros Charm isn't super relevant. We need shock for elves, and boon satyrs. Chained to the Rocksfor big guys, Mizzium Mortars for dragons, [card]Warleader's Helix[/card] for planeswalkers. Tough match, cross your fingers.

Dega

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly Favourable
Post-Sideboard: Slightly Favourable.

Sideboard plan: -4 Firedrinker Satyr, -4 [card:
1mrhy3td]Boros Reckoner[/card], -2 Magma Jet +1 [card]Wear // Tear[/card], +2 Burning Earth, +4 Chained to the Rocks, + 2 Mizzium Mortars, +1 Assemble the Legion.

Firedrinker Satyr is really bad here. They have a bunch of ways of killing reckoner for no value. Magma Jet has no targets other than dome. We want [card]Wear // Tear[/card] for Whips, Burning Earth because they are three colour, Chained to the Rocks for Desecration Demon, Mizzium Mortars for Blood Baron of Vitzkopa, Assemble the Legion as hard to remove threat.

OK, it's late, I'm tired and
I'm going to bed. Hopefully I didn't make too many errors. Let me know what you think.

[Aodh]

Very nice guide, JS!

[Wipe Out]

Awesome guide and decklist, thanks for all of the hard work. It seems like in that SB guide there are more unfavorable (MoW, DevoRed, R/G Monsters, DevoBlack) than favorable matchups for Big Boros. Would you say most other matchups are even to favorable? I'm guessing that we're only worried about SBing for the matches we have problems with and we're not as worried with a plan for matches that we have a good matchup or obvious SB plan against (Esper, U/W Control, AIR, etc.). I felt like in general the Mono Red matchups shouldn't be hard but I have had a helluva of a time with DevoRed. I think I need to aggressively focus on just keeping their board as clear as possible until I can win through the air. Hopefully, Warleader's Helix will buy some time too and keep a fatal Fanatic from finishing me off.

I know it is meta-dependent, but sometimes I find myself wishing I had Peak Eruptions in the SB to punish Naya,
Dega, and maybe even B/r, but I suppose Burning Earth is supposed to be punishing all the 3-color builds.

[NerdBoyWonder]

Assuming the shift from 3-4 weirds to none with Warleader's Helix and increased removal has more to do with the meta shifting from red aggro to devotion lists?

Looking forward to trying some of these changes. Was actually surprised magma jet wasn't mainboarded in the first place.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Assuming the shift from 3-4 weirds to none with Warleader's Helix and increased removal has more to do with the meta shifting from red aggro to devotion lists?

Looking forward to trying some of these changes. Was actually surprised magma jet wasn't mainboarded in the first place.

Frostburn Weirds just aren't that great in this deck, vs that deck. They can sit at a stand-still, building devotion and then drop a couple Mogises and dome you for all the damage. I think a spell that kills anything in their deck and gains four life is worth trying.

Magma Jet is being swapped in because:

A) All the matches I lose are due to consistency issues.

B) None of the top placing decks are running lightning strike. They are running
MJ / mortars.

The match up analysis is based only on my testing across three events. I'd appreciate your feedback on what you believe tge percentages to be so we can come to a consensus.

[NerdBoyWonder]

Assuming the shift from 3-4 weirds to none with Warleader's Helix and increased removal has more to do with the meta shifting from red aggro to devotion lists?

Looking forward to trying some of these changes. Was actually surprised magma jet wasn't mainboarded in the first place.

Frostburn Weirds just aren't that great in this deck, vs that deck. They can sit at a stand-still, building devotion and then drop a couple Mogises and dome you for all the damage. I think a spell that kills anything in their deck and gains four life is worth trying.

Magma Jet is
being swapped in because:

A) All the matches I lose are due to consistency issues.

B) None of the top placing decks are running lightning strike. They are running MJ / mortars.

The match up analysis is based only on my testing across three events. I'd appreciate your feedback on what you believe tge percentages to be so we can come to a consensus.

I'll sleeve up soon and see how it goes. I'm all for more removal because in that last match at Gameday the board was stalled for 2 turns and he topped decked land. If he had top decked mogis I was done.

Also he had magma jets & I sat on the other side wishing I had them to filter through my deck a bit.

[pejmagic]

Hello, i've played big boros on Game Day, finished 3rd, my only round lost versus the eventually winner of the playmat, who played BWr. (mid + anger + rakdos keyrune + rakdos return).
I've taken him to 4 HP, but he topdecked whip with a demon in the graveyard, and that was over for me.
If i have sided burning earth in place of peak eruption in the 15,it was autowin, since he played 12 shocklands & 8 temples..
More, as eruption don't hit temples, i'm pretty sure i'll not sideboard it next time.
So yes, this is meta dependant, but in a majority of cases, i'll prefer right now have burning earth in my SB.
I'll make a report when i'll have enough time, but my three major feelings right after the prizes were :
-damn missing burning earth
-damn missing magma jet in main board for digging faster, but... what should i remove? firedrinker satyr maybe...
-oh man, ultimate's chandra on last match for 3rd place on
boros charm... xD pew pew

[Jurrk]

Anyone playing Big Boros in the online meta? Was curious as to how it faired as opposed to Ze's latest test PyroRed w/ BTE

[Zooligan]

Anyone giving any thought to using Tajic, Blade of the Legion with higher numbers instead of 1-of? I'm hating getting my Dragon Doom Blade-ed. Seems like with Mutavault it might not be too hard to get his Batallion going pretty consistently.

Thinking maybe a 3-3 split between Tajic and Stormbreath, siding out the dragons against Doom Blade decks??

[LaZerBurn]

I've not tried Tajic but I completely agree on taking the Dragons out against the Doom Blade decks. I like Chains for the Demon, Wear/Tear for the Whip and Skullcrack for the Merchant. Stop them stabilising from the early beats and I think it's a favourable match up.

[Wrathberry2]

siding out dragon vs mono-black control i kinda agree. but i really disagree to board him out vs any deck playing doomblade. i would never board him out vs esper for example.

[Zooligan]

Esper is my hardest matchup.

I can't get SBD online and productive, it either gets Doom Bladed, Downfalled, or countered. And my Burning Earth gets D-sphered or countered.

Maybe I just don't know how to play against that deck??

[LaZerBurn]

I hardly ever seem to play Esper but my plan (I think you have to have a plan) is to apply early beats, counter Wrath with Boros Charm, hold Wear for the D-Spheres and Skullcrack for Revelations and play Assemble at the first opportunity.

[Purp]

[quote="Johnny_Spike » Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:34 am"]

Mono Blue Devotion

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly Unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Even


Mono Black Devotion

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Even
Post-Sideboard: Slightly unfavourable


Mono Red Devotion

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Even.


Esper Control


Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Favourable
Post-Sideboard: Highly Favourable


R/G monsters

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Unfavourable.

Dega

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly Favourable
Post-Sideboard: Slightly Favourable.



Is this really the deck you want to be playing?

[Zooligan]

Sounds like a plan, tho I think I might try Tajic vs. Stormbreath against Doom Blade, Supreme Verdict, and big fat Aetherlings.

On the whole Burning Earth front, while it's ok against tri-color decks, it doesn't do anything against the mono-dev decks. Peak Eruption works against Mountains, but anything else nada.

I throw up a little in the back of my mouth every time I say it, but what about Demolish? Kills any land (including Nykthos and those rocks the chains holding your creature are tied to), and handles the gods' weapons.

[Zooligan]

Is this really the deck you want to be playing?

What else you got? R/G Scaries? Dega? Master of Waves ??

[Jedi_Knight]

No no no, don't take out Dragons against control. It is a must answer threat for them - you want as many of these as possible. Take out reckoners and do-nothing cards if you're playing these (Chained, Mortars etc.). But like J_S pointed out, Esper is very favourable.

They are playing 2-4 Spheres, may SB into Needles against your Chandra, so Wear // Tear is a blowout against them.

Where do you have problems with that MU? I for one consider it essentially a joke - every now and then I may lose a game, but we're packed with so many threats they must answer and answers to their threats that are far and few between. I for one am not proponent of Burning Earth - you may just as well put Assemble there. Either way, if you're having trouble with Control, consider putting Needles in your own board. Their only wincon nowaydays is either 1/2 Aetherlings or PWs. Needles shut down either one of those.
Tajic would work too, as their only answer to him is D-Sphere/counter, which applies to Assemble too (Jace can take care of the tokens, but they will not get card advantage from him then, which works for me).

But then again, would Tajic work against other decks? MonoB perhaps, what else?

[NerdBoyWonder]

@Zooligan is a good match up for us but you need to apply early pressure ASAP. As Jedi stated take out cards that are dead in the match up (reckoner & mizzium).

Just dont over extend and save your boros charms for creature protection when u do not have a back up threat. Tajic I believe is too weak. In esper match up he would be a 4 costing 2/2 that wont die. His battalion is non existent. Better off with Assemble.

[Zooligan]

I'm probably trying something like this Friday:

[deck]My Big Boros[/deck]

With a sideboard plan (basically Johnny_Spike's with some deviations to fit my deck alterations) like:

• Beatdown vs:
  - UW Control
  OUT: 2 Boros Reckoner, 1 Chained to the Rocks, 1 Stormbreath Dragon
  IN: 2 Assemble the Legion, 2 Wear // Tear
  
  - Esper Control
  OUT: 2 Boros Reckoner, 1 Chained to the Rocks, 3 Stormbreath Dragon
  IN: 2 Assemble the Legion, 2 Wear // Tear, 2
  Lightning Strike
  
  - Naya Midrange (on the play)
  OUT: 4 Rakdos Cackler, 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 4 Ash Zealot
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 3 Mizzium Mortars, 4 Lightning Strike, 3 Peak Eruption
  
  - Dega Midrange
  OUT: 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 2 Rakdos Cackler
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 3 Peak Eruption, 2 Wear // Tear
  
  - B/R Midrange
  OUT: 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 2 Chandra, Pyromaster, 3 Boros Charm
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 2 Wear // Tear, 3 Peak Eruption, 3 Mizzium Mortars
  
  - Mono-Black Devotion
  OUT: 4 Boros Reckoner, 4 Firedrinker Satyr
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 2 Wear // Tear, 2 Assemble the Legion, 3 Mizzium Mortars
  
  
  
  Control vs:
  - Mono-Blue Devotion
  OUT: 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 3 Rakdos Cackler
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 3 Mizzium Mortars, 3 Lightning Strike
  
  - Red Aggro
  OUT: 4 Rakdos Cackler, 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 3 Boros Charm
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 3 Mizzium Mortars, 4 Lightning Strike, 3 Peak Eruption
  
  - GW, Green Aggro
  OUT: 4 Rakdos Cackler, 4 Firedrinker Satyr
  IN: 1 Chained
  to the Rocks, 3 Mizzium Mortars, 4 Lightning Strike
  
  - GR Ramp
  OUT: 4 Rakdos Cackler, 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 3 Ash Zealot
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 3 Mizzium Mortars, 4 Lightning Strike, 3 Peak Eruption
  
  - Naya Midrange (on the draw)
  OUT: 4 Rakdos Cackler, 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 3 Ash Zealot
  IN: 1 Chained to the Rocks, 3 Mizzium Mortars, 4 Lightning Strike, 3 Peak Eruption
  
  - Mirror
  OUT: 4 Firedrinker Satyr, 4 Rakdos Cackler
  IN: 3 Mizzium Mortars, 3 Peak Eruption, 2 Wear // Tear

Any major huge faux pas there?

[Lightning_Dolt]

Mono Blue Devotion

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly Unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Even


Mono Black Devotion

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Even
Post-Sideboard: Slightly unfavourable


Mono Red Devotion

Matchup Analysis

[i:
2i8bzuh8]Pre-Sideboard:[/i] Slightly unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Even.


Esper Control

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Favourable
Post-Sideboard: Highly Favourable


R/G monsters

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Unfavourable
Post-Sideboard: Unfavourable.

Dega

Matchup Analysis

Pre-Sideboard: Slightly Favourable
Post-Sideboard: Slightly Favourable.



Is this really the deck you want to be playing?

Would you prefer I lied to you and said:

"This deck beats everything, all the
time, and you just have to flip cards, extend hand, collect prize money."

(like Esper players seem to think)

There are no matchups that are unwinnable. You've got the tools you need, but you have to play intelligently. This isn't the best deck in the format, or it would win GP's / pro-tours. I do think it's the best red aggro deck in the format.

I also might be too hard on the deck. I am a teacher IRL and have a reputation for being a hard marker / too critical. with the current build I am 9-4-1.