Topic: R/W Boros Aggro Deck needs improvement

Hey all, this is my go-to deck for FNM/Local Standard tournaments. It's good, but not good enough. I have yet to place top 8, and am wondering what I can do to improve it.

I know that I need 2 more Boros Reckoners for sure, and I've contemplated dropping both Aurelia, the Warleader's for something faster/cheaper. I'm also planning on getting 4 Legion Loyalists for it as well.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

http://deckbox.org/sets/486791

Last edited by Ro11ingThund3r (2013-10-21 03:23:45)

Re: R/W Boros Aggro Deck needs improvement

So from the look of the deck, you're straddling the line between aggro and mid-range, which likely is the reason you're coming up short.  Typically the best performing decks pick one strategy and run with them.  By focusing purely on being aggro or mid-range, you can then work with that strategy in mind and add multiples of cards to increase consistency.

So what exactly am I referring to in your build?

Aurelia, the Warleader, Assemble the Legion, Gleam of Battle, Gideon, Champion of Justice, and Elspeth, Sun's Champion are all very much mid-range or even control cards.  If you're wanting to go aggro, you have to lower the curve, topping off at four or five.

So what are you lacking here?  Among other things, some spot removal goes a long way toward punching those final points of damage through.  Lightning Strike or possibly Magma Jet are decent options.  You could also benefit from Chained to the Rocks.  Then you also would want to flesh out your creatures with more aggro components, specifically, you'll want to up Akroan Hoplite and Firefist Striker to full 4-ofs.  You might also want to consider Burning-Tree Emissary - sure, the mana are off color, but dropping multiple 2/2s on turn two is pretty damned nice.  Toss in Chandra's Phoenix or Skyknight Legionnaire at the three-drop to trigger battalion for Firefist and you'll be off to a better start.  At the four, Fanatic of Mogis or even Firemane Avenger offers more punch than Spark Trooper (both of whom stick around after the end of the turn).  If you want to spend the money, you can easily slide in Stormbreath Dragon as a finisher at the five-drop (pending you want to take the curve that high).  Ajani, Caller of the Pride can also offer some added punch giving something flying and double-strike.

Again the idea is to punch through as much damage as possible as quickly as possible.  So either drop the mid-range stuff to the SB or drop it entirely and focus on fast creatures.

Re: R/W Boros Aggro Deck needs improvement

Would this be a little better?
http://deckbox.org/sets/510747?

Re: R/W Boros Aggro Deck needs improvement

The mainboard looks a lot more solid.  The real question is which of the cards in the SB would you use against a control deck?  How about against a mid-range deck that can outlast your aggro?  What do you side in against matchups and what do you side out?  If you can't think of examples where the cards would come in, then odds are you don't want/need them.  You can then use those spots for something better.  I also don't know that I'd run 4x of both Lightning Strike and Magma Jet.  Maybe bump both down to 3x to slide 2x Hammer of Purphoros to grant all your stuff haste.

Re: R/W Boros Aggro Deck needs improvement

Thank you so much for all your help, I really, really appreciate it! I'm really bad at deck building (especially the sideboard) but it's something that I'd like to get a lot better at! What are some things that I should consider about the sideboard to take into account for other decks? What are some problems that I could run into with this deck I'm running that cards in the sideboard could fix? I guess I just don't know what to look for when building the Sideboard.

Would Boros Charms be something else to consider as well?

Last edited by Ro11ingThund3r (2013-10-21 23:22:42)

Re: R/W Boros Aggro Deck needs improvement

Ro11ingThund3r wrote:

Thank you so much for all your help, I really, really appreciate it! I'm really bad at deck building (especially the sideboard) but it's something that I'd like to get a lot better at! What are some things that I should consider about the sideboard to take into account for other decks? What are some problems that I could run into with this deck I'm running that cards in the sideboard could fix? I guess I just don't know what to look for when building the Sideboard.

Would Boros Charms be something else to consider as well?

Boros Charm is going to be solid for you either in the mainboard or as sideboard tech.  Zapping for four isn't a bad deal and being able to make all your creatures indestructible will let you blow some folks out or survive a verdict.

Other things to consider in your SB:

Wear // Tear for any enchantments/artifacts (obviously)

Banisher Priest isn't a bad option to consider given the effect it can have on the tempo of the game

Chained to the Rocks can deal with the gods or any problematic creature

Electrickery could be used to combat Mono-blue Devotion as it will pick off Master of Waves' tokens (even if it only works once)

Assemble the Legion and Purphoros, God of the Forge would be decent to slide in against a deck that you just cannot outpace, giving you an inevitable combo that will finish them off

But against Mono-black Devotion and some of the PW centric decks, you really don't have that many options...

Re: R/W Boros Aggro Deck needs improvement

This article was just posted about a solid Boros Aggro build... go ahead and give it a gander, might be helpful.

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=11448