Topic: Boros Battalion/Token
http://deckbox.org/sets/342027
Thoughts, criticisms, critiques, suggestions, etc.
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http://deckbox.org/sets/342027
Thoughts, criticisms, critiques, suggestions, etc.
Okay, so first off the questions you have to clarify for us to give you better feedback:
1) Is this for competitive FNM play? Or is it more casual play amongst your friends? (I can venture a guess it's the former, but just to be sure).
2) Are you wanting to take this in more of an aggro route or a mid-range one?
3) What is the budget you're looking to work with?
The reason I ask these questions is because of the varied feedback we can offer depending on your answers, i.e., you should totally run Bonfire of the Damned either as a 1-2x in the MB or in the SB - but if your budget isn't such to absorb another $50 - $100 in cards, then clearly that feedback isn't as useful.
Now, onto the more general thoughts I have.
1) I think to a degree you're going to have to choose between aggro or mid-range as you're sporting elements of both. If you choose to go aggro, you're missing Champion of the Parish who would be triggered by damned near every creature you're putting on the field. Similarly, you would want to drop Krenko's Command in place of another Gather the Townsfolk and likely would want to find room for at least 2x Silverblade Paladin. To some degree, I'm not even sure Firemane Avenger even belongs in here if you're going aggro, as another 2x Spark Troopers would provide a sufficient finisher on T4 (especially with double-strike). Additionally, Hellrider is a must for any aggro deck with red.
If you're looking for more of a mid-range game, you can likely get rid of Boros Elite as it's really not that useful outside of a rush situation. I would still suggest Champions because they'll grow in any instance and could prove useful regardless of how it plays out. Aurelia would be your main win-con, but you'll want things to protect and power her more. I'm thinking Cloudshift could be a nice addition - as it both offers spot protection for your creatures, but it also could give you a third combat phase in a turn to push through those last remaining points of damage. Gisela, Blade of Goldnight would make another nice addition - although then you'd best be sure to toss in Cavern of Souls to name angel. Restoration Angels could also prove useful (and perhaps to a lesser degree Thraben Doomsayer, Cathars' Crusade, and Assemble the Legion could be considered. Remember, in this plan, you're happy to draw the game out to turn 6-10 as that's when your bombs really start hitting the field.
2) No Sacred Foundry? I know they're a bit pricey, but playing Boros these days is probably the most expensive of the guilds (much like trying to do anything Azorius in RTR).
3) Outside of 2x Boros Charm what's your plan to deal with control decks that wipe the board almost every turn?
4) Your SB simply consists of more removal spells... when would you envision siding them in and what would you pull out? The SB should be designed to slide in cards that you might not normally want to run, but that REALLY would help you in a particular matchup. For instance, Rest in Peace would be a good SB card for you, as it would completely shut off any flashback/reanimator strategies. Since you're not running any of that, it'd be a great option. Similarly, I would say to put 1-2 of your O-rings into the SB unless you envision running into a lot of creatures outside of burn range or walkers/artifacts/enchantments that will totally screw you up. Again, think about the decks you play against or are otherwise in your local meta and then think about the cards that would do the most damage to those specific decks and THAT is what you put in the SB.
Best luck!
Rather than keeping the Krenko's Command, consider adding Thatcher Revolt. The human tokens it creates get sac'ed at the end of the turn, but they will let you attack and activate Batallion abilities on any other creatures you already have in play.
Thank you both for the great feedback, I apologize for not being clear on the purpose or budget. I'm trying to stay around $75 for new purchases, so with the cards you've mentioned, it's definitely going to be a work in progress. I'm still really new at the current game, so I'm not sure how competitive I'm looking to get, but it's definitely for FNM... 3/2 would be nice, but it's more about having fun and re-learning the game, getting familiar with the new cards and strategies more than anything at this point. As to the question about Aggro vs mid, I didn't realize I was mixing and matching so I'll need to do more reading on that, but basically I'd like to put the pressure on from turn one. I guess I really won't experience the shortfalls you're discussing regarding my sidedeck until I've played a larger variety of people. My only experience so far was getting hit hard by some really powerful creatures, so I was really focused on removal/protection.
Remember that no deck runs perfectly against every other deck out there. If you try to plan for everything, the deck might end up good for nothing. Focus, instead on cards that you would have included in your deck anyway, were you not trying to keep it to a certain size.
I run a goblin aggro deck. The main deck has some burn spells for spot removal (or direct damage), the ability to create a lot of goblins early, and to make those goblins bigger (e.g., Teetering Peaks, kicked Goblin Bushwacker, overloaded Dynacharge). It has no fliers, to that's a weakness. Had I had more room, I would have included Goblin Balloon Brigade (pay one red to give it flying until the end of the turn). Since I couldn't fit them in the main deck, I put three of them in my sideboard.
I hope that helps. Just make your deck the best it can be, focusing on what you need it to do. As you play it, you'll figure out what you may want to change in the main deck, or what you will want in the sidebaord.