Dies to Removal

Boros Battalion (Current)
[deck]
Creatures (28)
Boros Elite x4
War Falcon x4
Daring Skyjek x4
Truefire Paladin x2
Lightning Mauler x2
Skyknight Legionnaire x4
Frontline Medicx4
Firemane Avenger x2
Angelic Overseer x2

Spells (9)
Searing Spear x3
Boros Charm x3
Oblivion Ring x3

Land (23)
Sacred Foundry x1
Plains x12
Mountain x10

Sideboard
[card]Faith's
Reward[/card] x1
Boros Charm x1
Oblivion Ring x1
Searing Spear x1
Pacifism x3
Beckon Apparition x3
Rally the Peasants x2
Riders of Gavony x1
[/deck]

This is the current form of a deck budget Boros battalion deck that I've been playing. It's been serving me well at local FNMs but I'd like to take it improve it even further. I've put the ideal desk list I've been building toward at the bottom of the post. The sideboard needs a bit of work.

This is focused on 3 major themes: battalion, flying, and indestructibility. Battalion allows this deck's low CMC creatures to take on threats far more powerful than it should. However, battalion requires protecting the battalion. This deck achieves this through flying over enemies (War Falcon, [card:
24wb6nnp]Daring Skyjek[/card], Skyknight Legionnaire, Firemane Avenger, and Angelic Overseer) or by pushing through on the great with indestructibility (Frontline Medic and Boros Charm). I like to say that its strategy is over or through.

I've been experimenting with Angelic Overseer vs Rally the Peasants as a win-con. Both are strong cards and with all of the humans in this deck, Angelic Overseer is always hexproof and indestructible. It's also never a dead card. Rally the Peasants has won me several games through surprise alpha strikes, usually adding +6 damage, but during long games or games I've been flooded out, +12 damage by flashing it back immediately. However, many times I've drawn it and wished I had any
other card in my deck.

I label this as a budget deck because the most expensive card in it is $5 (not including the Sacred Foundry), I'm on a budget, and I've spent about $40 on it so far (I've gotten some deals and trades so its value is probably around $80).

Specific Cards
1 CMC
War Falcon - This card has won me more games than any other card in my deck. A 2/1 flyer for 1 doesn't have a drawback in a deck full of knights and soldiers. It games that have a stalled out ground game, these guys can put pressure on the enemy. However, they're absolute crap against control decks.

Boros Elite - Very strong with multiples in an opening hand. It's a tough choice between this and Champion of the Parish. Champion has a higher chance of growing out of control in the beginning of the game, but they're much worse once mid game
comes around. Where the Boros Elite can grow to a 3/3 with a couple buddies.

Champion of the Parish - I haven't run this card, but I've gone against enough Boros decks that do run him to talk about him. His early game is better than most early one drops. Champion + Gather the Townsfolk is nasty combo early game. With another human he moves out of spear range. If you play this guy over Boros Elite, it's a solid move.

2 CMC
Daring Skyjek - A 3/1 with flying battalion. His battalion protect keeps him safe from creatures, but he's weak to tragic slip. I'd probably side him out for Knight of Glory against black control. However with 2 other flyers (Falcon/Skynight), he enables 7 damage a turn and a turn 4 kill with Rally the Peasants or [card]Boros Charm[/
card].

Wojek Halberdiers - A 3/2 for 2 is solid. He's not fancy though. I was running 2 of him, but I've been experimenting with Lightning Mauler to see if trading a little damage for a more likely turn 3 battalion is worth it (signs point to yes).

Ash Zealot - A great card. 2/2, first strike, haste, and graveyard hate is amazing. I don't run her because of the RR casting cost. If you have the land and confidence to support her, go for it.

Truefire Paladin - Purely run as a mana sink for games I get flooded. This has won me quite a few games.

Lightning Mauler - He's great for allowing turn 3 Frontline Medic battalion or Firemane Avenger battalion on turn 4. Either of which are remarkably effective.

3 CMC
[card]Frontline Medic[/card:
24wb6nnp] - This card is amazing with battalion. It sets up situations where your creatures can trade profitably with roughly equal cost. When used with Firemane Avenger, he allows you to activate Lightning Helix on every turn which devastate their board and put you ahead even if they swing back. I have not once been able to use his second effect to stop a X cost spell though.

Skyknight Legionnaire - In a vacuum this card is atrocious. However, in a battalion deck she's a battalion enabler. 2/2 flying keeps her safe from most creatures and requires double blocking from Lingering Souls tokens.

Silverblade Paladin - An amazing card that enables you to break through. I haven't had experience playing with it, but against it. It can be a huge threat.

Boros Reckoner - I see this card as the exact opposite of [card:
24wb6nnp]Skyknight Legionnaire[/card]. In a vacuum, an amazing card, but it doesn't advance this deck's game plan.

Rally the Peasants - An alpha strike card. I've had mixed results with it. Without creatures on the field, it's a dead card. However it can pull wins out of nowhere.

4 CMC
Firemane Avenger - Solid 4 drop. With battalion active, she does the same damage as Hellrider with 2 friends. The targeted nuke and healing is more flexible, but it comes at the cost of not being able to play her the moment she comes out.

Hellrider- A great 4 drop, but he's not safe unless he's with Frontline Medic. I haven't had the opportunity to play with him.

Tajic, Blade of the Legion - Could be a good card as he's hard to kill. I want to try experimenting with Tajic + [card]
Angelic Overseer[/card] for a potential late game.

Competition
vs RDW
- In this deck's favor. Flying enables this deck to go over the top of a clogged up board. Save searing spears for Hellrider. Oblivion Ring can go for Boros Reckoner or Thundermaw Hellkite. Frontline Medic forces RDW into a race which this deck has an edge in. However, RDW can win by getting an explosive start. Ash Zealot is brutal against this deck's 1 and 2 drops.

vs UWR Control
- Requires playing around Supreme Verdict, but very winnable. Their lack of Centaur Healer and Thragtusk makes their life total an ever dwindling commodity. [card]Electrickery[/card:
24wb6nnp] can act as a board wiper because of all the 1 toughness creatures.

vs Bant Control
- I still haven't won this match up yet, but getting closer. It requires playing around Supreme Verdict and counter acting Centaur Healer and Thragtusk. Try to kill Jace and Garruk as fast as possible before card advantage destroys you.

vs Naya Midrange
- I haven't gone against this enough. My only experience is when this deck was just made and I almost beat it. That leads me to think that match ups is solid.

vs Exper Control
- Folds hard. Tragic Slip destroys most 1 and 2 drops that this deck runs. Lingering Souls is able to clog up the air and trade with War Falcon and Daring Skyjeck. This is the match up I think
this deck does the worst against.

Where I'm Going
This deck list is basically where I'm thinking about going with my deck and its sideboard. I want to experiment with Tajic, Blade of the Legion and Angelic Overseer becoming an unmovable pair. I don't expect to curve out into 5 mana, but I expect to play her later once the game stalls out. The combo would also let Tajic enable battalion by playing a single other creature.

I'm still not sure about the sideboard. I'm running the Knight of Glory to help against Esper Control. Riders of Gavony is for any theme decks that I might come across, but that means I don't have any answer to Junk Rites which is probably a bad idea.

Boros Battalion (Ideal)
[deck]
Creatures (29)
Boros Elite x4
War Falcon x4
[card:
24wb6nnp]Daring Skyjek[/card] x4
Truefire Paladin x2
Lightning Mauler x2
Skyknight Legionnaire x4
Frontline Medicx4
Tajic, Blade of the Legion x3
Angelic Overseer x2

Spells (9)
Searing Spear x3
Boros Charm x3
Oblivion Ring x3

Land (23)
Sacred Foundry x4
Clifftop Retreat x4
Plains x8
Mountain x5
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] x2

Sideboard
[card]Legion's Initiative[/card] x2
Boros Charm x1
Oblivion Ring x1
Searing Spear x1
[card]
Pacifism[/card] x3
Riders of Gavony x3
Knight of Glory x4
[/deck]

I'm only going to comment on your polished list since that's the one you're building towards.

Champion of the Parish is probably a strict upgrade over War Falcon in a deck with as many Humans as this one.

Tajic may be cute with Overseer, but Overseer is a quesionable inclusion over something like Thundermaw Hellkite anyway, so - if you've just got to run Overseer - it's not worth making deck concessions for.

Oblivion Ring is meh in Aggro - just run more burn.

Cavern of Souls seems like a no-brainer in you list.

Truefire Paladin is also pretty suspect. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is probably a strict upgrade.

Champion of the Parish is probably a strict upgrade over War Falcon in a deck with as many Humans as this one.

I'm willing to try them out. The bird gets a lot of flak but most decks I run across have little to no flying. So they're forced to use their removal on it or the soldier on the field or get pinged 2 or more damage every turn. I can see the champion getting out of hand to where he must be answered.

Tajic may be cute with Overseer, but Overseer is a quesionable inclusion over something like Thundermaw Hellkite anyway, so - if you've just got to run Overseer - it's not worth making deck concessions for.

Something to experiment with. I was thinking Overseer over Hellkite for more than price reasons. My deck can go under control decks if they have 0 answers, no life gain, and I start with the
right hand, which isn't going to happen. But, I've had success in becoming more resilient than their answers and the Overseer continues that plan. Tajic + Overseer is the ideal, but most likely it's going to be Medic + Overseer, Skynight + Overseer, etc. In those cases, it's not as imperative for me to have Boros Charm or [card]Faith's Reward[/card] in hand and untapped mana to respond.

Oblivion Ring is meh in Aggro - just run more burn.

I'm up for trying it out. What would you recommend in its place?

Truefire Paladin is also pretty suspect. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is probably a strict upgrade.

I'm only using Truefire Paladin as a mana sink. Would 2 [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] be enough? Once I get my dual lands, I'd be willing to try out [card]Elite
Inquisitor[/card] or Precinct Captain too, since my mana base is more white than red.

If I do go Thalia, should I just cut out all my spells except for Boros Charm and run Fiend Hunter and/or War Priest of Thune to give me loosely the same effects?

Just play another Slayers' Stronghold. Maybe a Stonewright or 2.

I think your O-ring slots are going to be much better served as Spear #4 and either 2 Pillar or 2 Brimstone based on your meta.

I've got a win a box tournament later today, so I'll swap O-Ring #3 for Spear #4 and move O-Ring #3 to the sideboard. There's a couple of guys who run decks that I can't burn down. I'll work on getting the pillars and volleys.

I went to the win-a-box tournament today, not too happy about my results, but fessing up is important, right? Here's what I ran:

[deck]
Creatures (28)
Boros Elite x4
War Falcon x4
Daring Skyjek x4
Truefire Paladin x2
Lightning Mauler x2
Skyknight Legionnaire x4
Frontline Medic x4
Firemane Avenger x2
Angelic Overseer x2

Spells (9)
Searing Spear x4
Boros Charm x3
Oblivion Ring x2

Land (23)
Sacred Foundry x1
Clifftop Retreat x2
Plains x11
[card:
mjf2cnxr]Mountain[/card] x9

Sideboard
[card]Faith's Reward[/card] x1
Boros Charm x1
Oblivion Ring x2
[cards]Pacifism[/cards] x3
Beckon Apparition x3
Rally the Peasants x2
Riders of Gavony x2
Firemane Avenger x1
[/deck]

Match 1 vs Boros Mirror, A Game of Derps

We were basically using the exact same deck. He even had my birdies! There may have been subtle differences, but I would say that our decks were 90% the exact same.

Game 1:

I made my first major derp. I had just played my 2nd Daring Skyjek with a War Falcon on board as well. At the beginning of his turn, he speared a Skyjek. From there, he had battalion and I didn't. But here was the
kicker, I had Boros Charm in hand and open mana to play it when he speared. I could have saved my Skyjek and begun racing, but... I didn't. Derp. Game 1, loss.

Sideboard: None

Game 2:

It was a closer race this time, both of us down to 10 or less. I had Skyknight Legionnaire, War Falcon, and Daring Skyjek on the field and played Boros Elite and Lightning Mauler. I bound the Boros Elite and Lightning Mauler but kept the Mauler back because he had Wojek Halberdiers, Truefire Paladin, and Ash Zealot. The Mauler would have just died. So I swing in for 9 of 10 damage with no cards in hand.

Derp'd again. Why did I swing in with [card]Boros
Elite[/card]? The 3 fliers would have killed next turn for 6 more. I figured I could hold back the Mauler to chump block and I would survive his attack with 5. That'd be out of Boros Charm range. Except... I forgot about removal. At the start of his turn, he used Oblivion Ring on the Mauler, swung in for full, and burned 4 with Boros Charm. Derp. Game 2, loss.

Match: 0-2, loss.

Match 2 vs Dimir Millggro(?)

This deck seemed to be based on some type of mill strategy that caused recursive mill loops between several cards and Consuming Aberration. After the match, he told me that it was still not complete. He's looking for [card]Jace's Phantasm[/card] and Invisible Stalker.

Game 1:
Pretty easy match. I curved out.
He played turn 1 [card]Judge's Familiar[/card] but I burned it with Searing Spear once it had a couple of cipher'd mill cards on it. He tried to make a comeback using double Aetherize, but it only bought a little time. Game 1, win.

Sideboard: None

Game 2:
I underestimated his deck and kept a hand with 4 land, Searing Spear, and 2 Boros Charm. It came out faster than I thought and by turn 4 or 5 he had a recursive mill loop going with Consuming Aberration, Nightveil Specter, and Paranoid Delusions. I played for a bit to see if I could find an Oblivion Ring, but time was ticking down and I scooped once that Aberration is like a 30/30. Game 2, loss.[/b:
mjf2cnxr]

Sideboard: None

Game 3:
I milled to 6, but kept a hand with plenty of action. I had Boros Elite and Skyknight Legionnaire on the field with 2 Boros Charms in hand. I tried to complete the battalion by casting 2 War Falcons back to back, but used Psychic Strike in response each time. It bought him a few turns, but he had a hand full of cipher cards and no creatures to play them with. Game 3, win.

Match: 2-1, win

Match 3 vs G/R Bloodrush Aggro Homebrew

I played against a regular of the store. We've been going back and forth with our Boros decks, but today he decided to play something new. He wasn't having the best of luck and basically got mana screwed several games in a row. I played a few games with him
afterward where his deck finally worked. One trick is to have Feral Animist, with Rancor, blood rush Ghor-Clan Rampager, use Armed of [card]Armed // Dangerous[/card], and activate his ability to basically kill someone in one shot. It's a neat combo, but his Boros deck is much better.

Game 1:

He had plenty of mana this game, but hardly any action. A Spire Tracer, a Feral Animist which I immediately speared, and nothing. It was over quick. Game 1, win.

Game 2:

He mulled to 4 and had to keep a barely passable hand. I kept with a full 7 and sheer card advantage made this open and shut. Game 2, win.

Match 2-0, win

I didn't make the cut for the finals, so I went 2-1 overall for the night. I could have won the first match if
I didn't derp so hard and the rest felt like I was getting lucky. I've had better showings before, but a few lessons.

I played another match with the guy from round 3 against his Boros deck. I won it. Afterward he commented, "You've changed that a lot. It plays differently."
"Is it better?"
"Yeah. It's faster."

• Lessons Learned
  1. Sleep and Food are important - I was tired and hungry for the entire tournament. It affected my ability to think and is half the reason I derped.
  2. The 4th Searing Spear for Oblivion Ring was a good idea. Spear lets me interfere with any creature based shenanigans involving blood rushes, ciphers, etc before they hit me.
  3. Don't get cocky, mulligan hands that don't have creatures. Boros Charm won't save you.

The guy who won the tournament got a box of Dragon's Maze. I don't feel too bad for it because
he didn't draw a single shockland out of the entire box. He did get a Ral Zerak and a Voice of Resurgence though. I walked away with a booster pack for what it's worth.

Trade Info

I'm putting priority on find Sacred Foundry and Clifftop Retreat. Over the last 2 days I was able to trade to foil Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch for 1 Clifftop Retreat and before the tournament, 1 Render Silent and 1 Savageborn Hydra for 1 Clifftop Retreat. After the tournament I traded 1 Realmwrightfor 1 [card]Faith's Reward[/card] to be Boros Charm 6 against control match ups.

I'm looking around my local area to trade an Ethersworn Cannonist for a Clifftop Retreat in
my local area.

Do you guys think that focusing on shoring up the land base is the best move at the moment?

Let's make this a triple post.

Boros Battalion
[deck]
Creatures (28)
Boros Elite x4
War Falcon x4
Daring Skyjek x4
Truefire Paladin x2
Lightning Mauler x2
Skyknight Legionnaire x4
Frontline Medic x4
Firemane Avenger x3
Tajic, Blade of the Legion x1

Spells (9)
Searing Spear x4
Boros Charm x3
Oblivion Ring x2

Land (23)
Sacred Foundry x1
Clifftop Retreat x2
Plains x11
Mountain x9

Sideboard
n[card]Faith's Reward[/card] x2
Boros Charmx1
Oblivion Ring x2
Pacifism x3
Beckon Apparition x3
Angelic Overseer x2
Riders of Gavony x2
[/deck]

I made a few edits to the deck from some testing I did with a buddy of mine.

Changes: -1 Plains, -2 Angelic Overseer, +1 Clifftop Retreat, +1 Firemane Avenger, +1 Tajic, Blade of the Legion
Basically, the Overseer comes out a little too slow. I would replace the 2 Overseers with 2 Firemane Avenger, but I don't have a full playset just yet so I put Tajic in her place. Testing it afterward proved to be much more powerful. [card]Firemane Avenger[/card:
1d1jdg08] can take over games far easier than Angelic Overseer. I moved the Overseers to the sideboard for those grindy games.

So I went to the FNM at one of the LGSs near my house. I went 3-1 for the night, but it's not saying much.

Match 1 vs Monogreen... something

I played against this guy about a month ago, his deck is marginally better than it was last time, but it still isn't that good.

Game 1:
He kept a 1 land hand and it bit him in the ass. He played virtually nothing.

Game 2:
A better game, he was able to get creatures into play. He was using a psuedo-unblockable with a bit of pump. He tried to stall out the killing strike with Fog but Searing Spear ended it right there.

Match 2-0

Match 2 vs Boros Aggro

This was the most competitive deck I played against for the night. This is against the guy who usually brings his Bant Control deck, but he felt like trying out his new deck.
n
Game 1:
I keep a hand of Plains, Boros Elite, Boros Elite, War Falcon, Truefire Paladin, Daring Skyjek, and Boros Charm. It's a risky hand with a lot of action.

I'm on the play and we go back and forth. He used Pillar of Flame to kill a Boros Elite. I used Oblivion Ring to exile a 3/3 Stromkirk Noble. It comes down to a race. My creatures have a bit more power and a Boros Charm wins it for me.

Game 2:
Mana screwed. Mulled to 5, kept a no land hand on the draw hoping to get that miracle land to save me. It doesn't happen.

Game 3:
I'm on the play with a slower hand than I would like. My opponent kept a 1 land hand that
consisted of 4 one drops, a spear, and [card]Legion's Initiative[/card]. However, he stays locked on 1 land the whole game and loses because of it. If had drawn another land, a miracle of Bonfire would have wiped my board.

Match 2-1

Match 3 vs Dimir Cipher

This is an interesting homebrew deck that uses unblockable creatures with Hidden Strings and Contaminated Ground and a touch of extort. Hidden Strings acts as pseudo-ramp and pseudo-vigilance for his land and permanents. Contaminated Ground acts as pseudo-land destruction and whittles down his opponent's life. When that combines with Hidden Strings he can continually zap his opponents and trigger extort.

Game 1:
He plays 4 Contaminated Ground on me. He's able to keep me off of white mana just in time to prevent me from getting the
several 3 drops in my hand out. A few swings with Hidden Strings attached and I'm out.

Sideboard: -1 Searing Spear, -1 Boros Charm, +2 Oblivion Ring

Game 2:
I'm able to curve out before his Contaminated Ground is able to affect me too much.

Game 3:
Mana screwed. I only had plains when I was drawing all of my [mana]R[/mana] [mana]W[/mana] cards. I tried my best to win it but he was able to stall the board out with Vampire Nighthawk using an unblockable creature with Hidden Strings to act as pseudo-vigilance to stop any swing backs.

Match: 1-2

Match vs GW Tokens... sorta

Game 1:
His deck puts up some early pressure and resistance, but on turn 3 I play Frontline Medic and his creatures can no longer trade
with mine. After a couple of turns he scoops.

Game 2:
I curve out and he has no respond to 7 damage a turn in the air. A couple turns later, he scoops.

Match 2-0

Overall it only felt like matches against the Boros Aggro and the Dimir deck felt real. I could have taken game 3 of the Dimir match if I had drawn a mountain early in the game. Some players from the more competitive stores in the area came by. I would have liked playing against them, but I didn't get the chance. I know one guy was running Naya Blitz and another was running Bant Control.

This LGS is running draft next week so I'll be going to a different store.

I've still been playing this deck. At the LGS it's been doing well, usually going 3-1, 3-2, or 4-1, my loses coming to more competitive decks. Played against a few modern decks for the hell of it. Anyway, a few buddies of mine were talking and thinking about this:

Boros Humans White
[deck]
Creatures (29)
Boros Elite x4
Champion of the Parish x4
Some Two Drop x4
Lightning Mauler x4
Silverblade Paladin x4
Frontline Medicx4
Firemane Avenger x2
Riders of Gavony x2

Spells (9)
Searing Spear x4
Boros Charm x2
Pillar of Flame x3

Land (23)
[card:
1ndkbs0t]Sacred Foundry[/card] x4
Clifftop Retreat x4
Plains x9
Mountain x4
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] x2
[/deck]

The creatures at 1 and 3 are pretty much set. Boros Elite and Champion of the Parish are awesome. Frontline Medic and Silverblade Paladin make things difficult for opponents. The harder question is, what to do with the 2 and 4 drops? I'm thinking x4 Lightning Maulers for either turn 3 Frontline Medic battalion or turn 4 Firemane Avenger battalion. A friend suggested that instead of going 4Firemane Avenger to instead do 4 Riders of Gavony main board to act as another form of evading annoying blockers or protecting
my humans from things like Olivia Voldaren. However, what's your guys' take? Here's the stuff that came to mind:

Potential 2 Drops
Wojek Halberdiers A 3/2 human for 2 mana is all right. The battalion first strike is just a bonus.

Elite Inquisitor The protection from vampires would be nice against Jund decks. There's a few werewolves decks around here but not many. The first strike, vigilance 2/2 is pretty nice.

Daring Skyjek A really aggressive creature that finds its way straight to the graveyard if a removal spell even so much looks at it. I like this card, but it gets wiped easily.

Precinct Captain 2/2 First Striker than makes tokens. I can see this guy being nifty.

Firefist Striker 2/1 with a nifty battalion effect. I'd like something that's a touch more durable though, but does his effect make up
for it?

Gather the Townsfolk Champion into this into Silverblade Paladin can be pretty nice. Especially if I happen to find a train to magical Christmas Land and use it to put 5 counters on a Champion of the Parish. I'm not sure how many of these I should run if any. I'm not quite sold on it.

4 Drops

Hellrider Ya'll know him. The built in haste is awesome and the damage to the face is great too.

Tajic, Blade of the Legion After playing with him a bit, I prefer Firemane Avenger over him. The indestructibility is nice and the bonus 5 damage is awesome, but if you compare it to Firemane Avenger, a helix to the face is a 6 life swing compare to a 5 one. In addition, she can remove a creature from blocking while Tajic basically removes a creature that did block. However, I could see Tajic being a great [card:
1ndkbs0t]Silverblade Paladin[/card] target, but if I wanted him to proc immediately, I'd need to bind him to a Mauler.

Angel of Jubilation The anthem is nice, but it requires over committing to the board to do more damage than Firemane, Hellrider, or Tajic.

Odric, Master Tactician Has battalion, but worse. I like the effect and the 3/4 first strike lets him stand up well on defense, it's just... 4 creatures is a lot harder to do than 3. Riders of Gavony's effect might be better to negate that one problem blocker or creature.

Spells:

How do you feel about 4 Spear, 3 Pillar, and 2 Boros Charm? I'm pretty open to suggestions here. Boros Charm has won me plenty of games with either burn to indestructibility.

Hello, i tough of taking pillars in SB and playing 4 spears and 4 boros charm MD.
I know your 3drops are good, but a silverblad after a board wipe is just a 2/2 for 3. With 4 boros charm, you're evading all except terminus, the 3 in one can or evade a board wipe, or finish the opponent, or etc.. (you know how to use it ).
Without 4 of them, i think 2 reckoners 2 silverblades could be better than 4 silverblade.
And yes, i prefer firemane avenger too, tajic is more fun than competitive in this deck.

So you're thinking something more like this

Boros Humans White
[deck]
Creatures (29)
Boros Elite x4
Champion of the Parish x4
Stonewright x2
Some Two Drop x4
Lightning Mauler x4
Silverblade Paladin x4
Frontline Medicx4
Firemane Avenger x2
Riders of Gavony x2

Spells (8)
Searing Spear x4
Boros Charm x4

Land (22)
Sacred Foundry x4
Clifftop Retreat x4
Plains x8
Mountain x4
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card:
167gpo6i] x2
[/deck]

The other change besides the 4 Boros Charms is -1 Mountain, +2 Stonewright. I know I'm running light on red (12 sources) but it opens up another 2 slots that I could use in the 1 to 2 range.

Do you have any suggestions for 2 drops? I forgot about Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in the last post, but she could work as well. What would be better though? 4 Thalia or replace the Stonewrights with 2 Thalia and run 4 of some other 2 drop?

I went to one of my LGSs' FNM last night with this deck.

Boros Humans White (current)
[deck]
Creatures (30)
Boros Elite x4
Champion of the Parish x2
War Falcon x2
Daring Skyjek x3
Truefire Paladin x2
Lightning Mauler x3
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben x2
Silverblade Paladin x1
Skyknight Legionnaire x3
Frontline Medicx4
Firemane Avenger x3
Tajic, Blade of the Legion x1

Spells (8)
Searing Spear x4
Boros Charm x2
Pillar of Flame
x2
[card][/card]
Land (22)
Sacred Foundry x3
Clifftop Retreat x3
Plains x8
Mountain x7
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] x1

Sideboard
Oblivion Ring x4
Pacifism x3
Angelic Overseer x2
Riders of Gavony x2
Boros Charm x2
[card]Faith's Reward[/card] x2
[/deck]

I went to a modern tournament since that's what every store is basically running because of Modern Masters. That said, this tournament was 80% standard. I ended up going 3-1 for the night and took 3rd. An hour before the tournament, I put +2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, +1 Lightning Mauler, +1 [card]Champion of the Parish[/card:
2ocr9mmo], +2 Pillar of Flame, +1 [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card], for -2 Oblivion Ring, -1 Boros Charm, -1 War Falcon, -1 Daring Skyjek, -1 Mountain, and -1 Plains. I went with the 2 Pillar of Flames over 4 Boros Charms because of how aggro heavy this store is. These changes won me 3rd.

Before the tournament, there was a bit of inter-card store drama going on. People from this card store hate that card store and yada yada. I don't see why the regulars of one card store hate people from another. Anyway, guys from the most competitive store showed up which made some other people leave.

Match 1 vs Bant Control
MVP Card: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

This was a new brew
from a guy who came from the competitive store. His deck puttered a bit.

Game 1: I'm on the draw. Champion of the Parish, Lightning Mauler, Frontline Medic, and Thalia win this for me. I only see a single creature this game, a Snapcaster Mage, but Thalia hoses his attempt to flash back a Supreme Verdict which basically wins me the game.

Sideboard: -2 War Falcon, -2 Pillar of Flame, +2 Boros Charm, +2 Riders of Gavony

Game 2: I'm on the draw again. Around turn 2 or 3 he tells me, "Aha, I've got my threat this time. I should win this."
"Oh, and what's that?"
"You'll see it in a bit."

We continue play a bit, Thalia continues to muck up his spell casting until he plays [card]
Aetherling[/card].

"That's my threat." He said with a smirk on his face and explains what the card does to me.

At the beginning of my next turn I play Riders of Gavony naming Shapeshifter.

"So, that doesn't do anything. I can make him unblockable."
"Mine are too."
"Until I remove him."
"Until you do."

I attack. I'm noticing something with control players, they have this weird habit of thinking they can out race an aggro deck with huge board presence when they have a single threat on the field. I seriously do not get it.

A turn later, he removes my Riders and then tries to Azorius Charm my Frontline Medic to prevent battalion from going off. I have to explain it to him and soon after it's over. He complains that his next few draws would have ended it for me. They may have, Thragtusk, [card]
Supreme Verdict[/card], and Angel of Serenity are pretty nasty cards.

Match 2 vs Modern White Weenie
MVP Card: Oblivion Ring

During match 1 I hear a guy playing a modern RDW who got hosed by this guy because he played Story Circle and named red. I'm up against him.

Game 1: I'm on the draw. A fairly typical match. He was running a white weenie deck that focused on knights, soldiers, and these smith guys that boost each other up. A couple pillars and spears handle it until I get Frontline Medic battalion online. From there it was a race.

Sideboard: -2 Boros Charm, -2 War Falcon, +4 Oblivion Ring

Game 2: I'm on the draw. The O-Rings won me the game. I mulled to 6 and still only had a decent hand. He plays his creatures on curve. An [card]Elite Vanguard[/card:
2ocr9mmo], armor smith card, double striking hob goblin, and Honor of the Pure. I O-Ring the last two and end up stabilizing at 4 life. From there, I proceed to build board presence and take it. He was stuck on 4 mana with 6 costing cards in hand.

Match 3 vs Jund Aggro
MVP Card: Champion of the Parish

Game 1: I'm on the draw. Really came down to who's deck was faster. In this case, his was because mine puttered a bit.

Game 2: I'm on the play. This time, his deck putters and I win.

Game 3: I'm on the draw. The game was decided on my second turn. He had an Arbor Elf and 1 counter Savageborn Hydra on the field. I could either Pillar the Hydra or play Lightning Mauler. I decide to play the Lightning Mauler. Next turn, he swings in with the Hydra, I let it through and then casts [card]Rakdos, Lord of
Riots[/card]. I got nothing to answer that and die a few turns later.

Match 4 vs Boros Aggro
MVP Card: [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card]

Game 1: I'm on the draw. Deck puttered again and triple Wojek Halberdiers with Tajic, Blade of the Legion seals that game.

Game 2: I'm on the play. I'm able to curve out on time and get the win because I got battalion up before he did and baited blocks with Boros Charm.

Game 3: I'm on the draw. His deck curves out and mine floods, but there's hope. My turn 3 land was [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] and I draw enough pillars and spears to keep him off activating Tajic, Blade of the Legion's battalion for several turns. During this time, I'm able to activate my own battalion thanks to the tap ability from [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card]. He finally gets
battalion online and drops me to 1 life then plays a Daring Skyjek to block fatal damage from me. I play a War Falcon, activate [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] and seal the deal.

With that I got 3rd for the night and some boosters as prize support. The changes I made earlier got me here. I don't think those games would have been possible without Thalia and Slayers' Stronghold.

I talked to a bunch of people about the 2 drop for my deck and the recommendations were:

Ash Zealot: 2/2, first strike, haste, and graveyard hate. An amazing card, but it's [mana]R[/mana] [mana]R[/mana] which is basically unplayable on curve in my deck. I like the card, I really do, but would it mess up my deck too much?

Precinct Captain: 2/2 first strike, makes a token whenever it does combat damage to a player. I'm more comfortable with
this because of the W W casting cost.

Nearheath Pilgrim: 2/1 with lifelink soul bind. This could be useful, the 1 toughness body worries me against control matches though.

Went to a few more events lately. Last week, I went 1-1-2 at a FNM. I was having a bad deck day. I think I mulled to 5 every single game that night.

I went 3-1 at the last FNM, but um, I only went against one real deck and lost 0-2. It was RDW with something I hadn't seen before.

Anyway this deck made use of Kruin Striker and Burning-Tree Emissary. He plays his turn 1, either Rakdos Cackler or Stromkirk Noble then his turn 2 play is Kruin Striker. On turn 3, I imagine his plan is to play Burning-Tree Emissary x2 followed by Lightning Mauler with bind. He can then swing in for 11 on turn 3.

Game 1, my deck stumbled for a couple of turns and game 2 I kept a greedy hand and got burned for it (1 land, but
everything was 1 and 2 drops).

I've done a bit of experimenting and this is where I'm thinking of going with the deck

Boros Humans White
[deck]
Creatures (30)
Boros Elite x4
Champion of the Parish x4
Elite Inquisitor x4
Lightning Mauler x4
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben x2
Silverblade Paladin x4
Frontline Medicx4
Firemane Avenger x2
Riders of Gavony x1

Spells (8)
Searing Spear x4
Boros Charm x4
Land (22)
Sacred Foundry x4
Clifftop Retreat x4
Plains x8
Mountain x4
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] x2

nSideboard
Oblivion Ring x4
Pillar of Flame x4
Volcanic Strength x2
Legion Loyalist x3
Thalia, Guardian of Thrabenx2
[/deck]

Boros Charm or Pillar of Flame main board is basically meta dependent. My LGS used to be stupid aggro heavy, but they've been shifting away from everyone playing some sort of Boros deck.

I'm finding that Elite Inquisitor is a bit better thanPrecinct Captain in my games. He lets me keep up an annoying blocker after attacking all-in against someone. The protections also help with random theme decks and that damned Olivia Voldaren.

Riders of Gavony has been doing work. Even if your opponent doesn't have a theme to his deck, naming
their creature win-con or just some trouble blockers/attackers is often enough to push the game into your favor. I've had a lot of success naming Minotaur, Human, Vampire, Beast, and Shapeshifter.

Sideboard wise, this is what I'm thinking:
Oblivion Ring for catch all removal.
Pillar of Flame for Voice of Resurgence and aggro decks.
Volcanic Strength for red based aggro match ups
Legion Loyalist for token decks
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben for control, reanimator decks, and token decks.

I did some experimenting with the deck for a couple weeks that I'll get into later. Anyway, I went 5-0 at the last FNM, losing only a single game. I rotate between 2 stores, and this was the aggro heavy store. So I put Pillar of Flame main board instead of Boros Charm. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben was the MVP that night. Most of my matches ended with an opponent yelling, "THALIA"S A WHORE!"

Match 1 - Junk Tokens Match 2 - Junk Tokens Match 3 - Bant Midrange Match 4 - Boros (red) Aggro
Match 5 Boros Aggro I was pretty happy with my first FNM win. I went back to mostly the list I made above minus a few cards I hadn't gotten yet (2 dual lands a spell land, and the sideboard mostly).

Previously I had been testing out a faster version of the deck that removed all 4 drops for [card]Kessig Malcontents[/card:
cwe9mj02], 2 less land, but 4 Searing Spear, 4 Pillar of Flame, and 2 Boros Charm main board. It was all right, a very all-in sort of strategy, but it lacked the speed or ompf to push the game into my favor in close games. It felt like I was either stomping my competition or being stomped. In the end, my initial impression of Kessig Malcontents was right. It's that it's a win more card. If it had haste, I think it would be a viable card, but usually it comes as an overpriced Searing Spear or Boros Charm and if I'm able to do more than 5 damage with him, I'm already winning. Even then, on turn 3 I'd rather play Frontline Medic or Silverblade Paladin.

I've been testing this card and it's a huge boon to the deck. It adds so much stability and allows the non-hasted creatures to survive long enough to become relevant. It's rarely a dead card as well. It's best in midrange or control match ups and it's still relevant against aggro.

Here's the updated list

Boros Humans White
[deck]
Creatures (30)
Boros Elite x4
Champion of the Parish x4
Elite Inquisitor x3
Lightning Mauler x4
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben x3
Silverblade Paladin x4
Frontline Medicx4
Firemane Avenger x2
[card]Riders of
Gavony[/card] x2

Spells (8)
Searing Spear x4
Brave the Elements x4

Land (22)
Sacred Foundry x4
Clifftop Retreat x4
Plains x8
Mountain x4
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] x2

Sideboard
Pillar of Flame x4
Boros Charm x4
Rest in Peace x2
Burning Earth x3
Immortal Servitude x2
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben x1
[/deck]

MD: -4 Pillar of Flame, +4 Brave the Elements, -1 Elite Inquisitor, +1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
SB: -4 Oblivion Ring, -3 [
card]Legion Loyalist[/card], -2 Volcanic Strength, -1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, +4 Pillar of Flame, +2 Rest in Peace, +3 Burning Earth, +2 Immortal Servitude

So my thoughts on the sideboard

Stuff I've Removed
Oblivion Rings are good, but there are better things for the 4 slots.
Legion Loyalist - This guy isn't actually needed. Thalia by herself hoses tokens decks. I've found token decks to be one of my easiest match ups. Brave the Elements, Frontline Medic, and Riders of Gavony is a lot of main board hate.
Volcanic Strength - Brave the Elements and [card]Frontline Medic[/
card] basically give me the same. I can either pro-red and become unblockable for an alpha strike or force bad blocks/race with Frontline Medic.

Where I'm Thinking About Going
Pillar of Flame - Moved to the sideboard. It's still amazing against aggro decks
Rest in Peace - I'm experimenting with this one. It's for Rites decks, but I've been trying it out in Snapcaster Mage or flash back decks. I've had mixed results.
Burning Earth - I'm thinking about siding this in against creatureless control decks. It becomes a threat by itself.
Immortal Servitude - I saw 2 of these in the sideboard of Josuha Everly's top 8 mono-white deck at the SCG Open in Richmond. Against UWB Control, this turns their mill strategy back against them. Against other control decks, it lets me catch up against the card advantage theyve generated through Supreme Verdict. You can check his deck out here http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdat ... ckID=57538

Thanks for keeping this thread up to date, especially with your results - very interesting!

No problem man. Have you tried running a deck based on this? I've been wanting to test out 4 Hellrider, but I don't have the cards for it. Also, would you be interested if I write out some of the lines of play this deck is built around?

Anyway, I went to a Standard tournament last night, going 2-2. I went to the 3rd LGS near my house (there's 5 within 5 miles of my house). This store is one of the more competitive stores in the area, but tonight most of them were playing homebrews or fun decks (one guy was running a Battle of Wits deck).

Brave the Elements proved to be the best card of the night.

Match 1 vs UWR Homebrew Nivix Blitz
Match 2 vs G/R Stuff Deck Match 3 vs Esper Control
Game 4 vs Dega Midrange
n As a random aside, the guy from Match 1 and the Battle of Wits guy were talking about how they dislike Cedric Philips because he's a bit of an
ass. For example, they say he bends the rules when going against newbies so he can win for sure. They both agreed that they hate playing with him. The name is familiar to me, but I don't know anything about the guy. I just thought it was funny.

Anyway, I found myself siding in Brave the Elements in almost every match of the night. That card is amazing in this deck. It can be used for protecting key creatures from removal, destroying an opponent's board via protection, or as a source of evasion by gaining protection from the color of your opponent's creatures.

Firemane Avenger proved to be the weakest card. I always wanted something just a bit faster. Riders of Gavony is relevant the moment I drop it. I can name off a problematic creature and basically ignore it for the rest of the game.

So, I went to a modern FNM to win packs. I ended up going 3-1 for the night and grabbing 2nd place.

The list of what I took is a little different than what is above. That one is where I plan on going. Anyway, Brave the Elements was amazing yet again.

Match 1 vs B/W Orzhov stuff Match 2 vs G/R Little Kid Match 3 vs Homebrew B/R Infect Control Match 4 vs Monored Goblins Overall, I think 2nd place is all right for a Standard deck at a modern event.

Another week, another FNM. I didn't do quite so well this time, I ended up in 4th place. Surprisingly, Brave the Elements was not so good this week.

Match 1 vs Junk Midrange [b:
1mvl15j2]
Match 2 vs U/W Starter Deck[/b] Match 3 vs U/W Detain Match 4 vs Mono-Green Elf-Ramp Aggro Stompy
I went 3-1 for the night, but man, I wish I did better against that Junk deck. I made waaay too many misplays and other stupid decisions. At least I recovered afterward.

I figured I should talk about another Boros Humans White deck that isn't mine, but is better than what I came up with, Craig Wescoe's top 8 finisher. You can read about it here: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=11309

Craig Wescoe's Boros Humans White
[deck]
Creatures (29)
Champion of the Parish x4
Doomed Traveler x2
Knight of Glory x4
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben x4
Silverblade Paladin x4
Banisher Priest x2
Sublime Archangel x4

Spells (7)
Brave the Elements x3
[card]
Searing Spear[/card] x4

Land (24)
Sacred Foundry x4
Clifftop Retreat x4
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] x4
Plainsx11
Mountainx1

Sideboard (15)
Banisher Priest x1
Brave the Elements x3
Burning Earth x4
Fiend Hunter x2
Nearheath Pilgrim x3
Rest in Peace x3
Mountain x1
[/deck]

The only change that Wescoe mentioned that he would make is that he would change 1 Burning Earth into 1 Fiend Hunter. I'm going to skip over the sections that Wescoe goes over and focus on how my deck compares to his and basic deck
statistics:

Mana Curve Mana Sources Deck Consistency I really like this deck. When I was originally brewing my build I realized that two white mechanics are mutually exclusive with each other, exalted and battalion. I decided to go the battalion route, but Wecoe's deck basically proves that exalted is better. Sublime Archangel combined with Silverblade Paladin puts out 12 flying damage a turn, [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] can easily jack that up to 16. Battalion on the other hand, gives my Boros Elite +2/+2, Indestructibility till end of turn, and Lightning Helix. All of these things are nice, but do not compare to the raw, game ending damage that
a single Sublime Archangel can produce. Multiple copies obviously take this over the top and shut down any sort of life gain that Thragtusk, Restoration Angel, Centaur Healer, or [card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card] can hope to achieve. All of these cards put immense pressure on my deck.

Comparing our decks even further, I would say mine is a bit faster, but his is safer and survives blow outs much better and can hit far harder going into the mid and late game. 4 [card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] is ridiculous. I've had a few long grindy games with just 2 on the field and every one drop in my deck became a miniature Thundermaw Hellkite for 7 mana. It lets you play single cards as gigantic threats and makes lands into a semi-useful card to draw into. By constantly reactivating [card]Slayers'
Stronghold[/card], you buy time to replenish your hand. Where your opponent is forced to provide an answer to you each and every turn. Wescoe's deck gets this set up far more reliably than mine.

FAQ
Why No Boros Charm? Why Only 3 Brave the Elements Mainboard? How Would You Make Your Sideboard Stronger Against UWR Flash?

Dear Online Diary,

I played in FNM the last two days, I won both FNM and Gamesday. I went 4-1-1 in FNM and I went 5-0 during Gamesday not losing a single (recorded) match. This was the deck I used

Boros Humans White
[deck]
Creatures (30)
Boros Elite x4
Champion of the Parish x4
Precinct Captain x1
Elite Inquisitor x2
Lightning Mauler x4
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben x3
Silverblade Paladin x4
Frontline Medicx4
Firemane Avenger x2
Riders of Gavony x2

Spells (8)
Searing Spear x4
Brave the Elements x4

Land (22)
[card:
eq4td1h2]Sacred Foundry[/card] x4
Clifftop Retreat x4
Plains x8
Mountain x4
[card]Slayers' Stronghold[/card] x2

Sideboard
Pillar of Flame x4
Boros Charm x4
Rest in Peace x2
Burning Earth x2
Banisher Priest x2
[/deck]

I was a dumb ass and only had 14 cards in the sideboard, but thanks to the new M14 rules, I'm safe. Wheew. Anyway...

Gamesday

I figured Gamesday would have a bigger showing with a field full of Jund, American Control, hexproof, and R/x aggro. What I got was a shit ton of RDW from people who really should read Z'man's primer.

Match 1 vs RDW (sort of)
Match 2 vs American Hexproof Match 3 vs R/G Aggro Match 4 vs Boros Aggro: Match 5
vs Monored Aggro Burn Thing Match 6 vs R/G Aggro (again) I decided to take a page from Craig Wescoe's deck above and try out Banisher Priest in the sideboard. It's a boon for the deck. It gives me another way to handle problematic creatures that I can't easily fight through or burn away. And since it's on a 2/2 body, she makes a decent creature to go punch faces with and activate battalion triggers.

I also agree with Wescoe that 4 Brave the Elements mainboard is a bit too many. Often times you have a [cards]Brave the Elements[/cards] floating around in your hand that would be better as nearly anything else in your deck. I still think keeping 4 in the 75 is the right move. Against removal heavy decks, you can never have enough Brave the Elements.