So it's now post rotation of the Alara block into the new Scars of Mirrodin set and more and more new decks are starting to emerge. From what I've seen, boros is RARELY played. Why? Because I don't think it's up to par with the staple decks of the format (tier 1?) Or at least that's what most players think. My fellow boros players are trying their hardest to keep the deck alive though. According to people that I have talked to, a good option for me right now would be to turn my boros deck into either Mono-red or Mono-white.
Right now Mono-white runs around using Quest for the Holy Relic and kors to pull out an early Argentum Armor onto an equippable creature and pull off an aggressive early win. Looks like a lot of fun to play, but from what I've heard, it's really unstable. Seems like a deck that relies too much on nut draws.
Mono-red seems to be much more mid-ranged now. Not as aggressive as the old Red Deck Wins, but still good enough to last longer games now with Koth the Hammer and Molten-tail Masticore. I could of swore I was missing something, but Spikeshot Elder seems to be a lot better than I thought.
From the looks of it, red seems better, but I'm going to need 3 more Koths and 3 more Kargan Dragonlords, which will cost a fortune. For now I'll stick with boros and see how it plays out.
As for boros, from what I've seen, it's either an equipment build or more aggressive build. The equipment build runs cards such as Sword of Body and Mind, Adventuring Gear, Basilisk Collar, and maybe even Sword of Vengeance. Some run the Cunning Sparkmage combo too. I've also seen cards like Kemba, Kha Regen, Emeria Angel, and even Baneslayer Angel.
The more aggressive build I've seen runs Kiln Fiends and Emerged Unscathed. I've also seen Assault Strobe gaining a lot of popularity. Other decks seem to run cards such Devastating Summons which I'm not too fond of.
I personally like the more suicidal build for no particular reason.
This is what I've been tinkering with so far:
Lands (23):
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Plains
5 Mountain
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
Creatures (16): This seems like a low number to me, but it works out. With no more Ranger of Eos, I removed my Goblin Bushwhacker.
4 Goblin Guide (Used to hate these until I realized how fast they were)
4 Steppe Lynx (Staple)
4 Plated Geopede (Staple)
4 Kiln Fiend (Amazing when left unchecked/unblocked)
Spells (21): This section needs work..
4 Lightning Bolt (Staple)
4 Emerge Unscathed (Wins games on just about any of my creatures)
4 Staggershock (More of a reason for Kiln Fiend. Goes to the face if nothing else to target)
4 Arc Trail (To stop those pesky elves and maybe tokens plus other small creatures)
3 Assault Strobe (Just because everyone says it's good..)
2 Burst Lightning (Just for more burn/removal)
These last 5 slots are questionable
Sideboard:
3 Tunnel Ignus (For ramp decks (especially Valakut) and maybe mirror? Anything fetchland intensive I guess)
3 Luminarch Ascension (Supposedly good against control. Seems fun to play)
3 Journey To Nowhere (Anything threatening: Vengevine, Titans, Baneslayer, Linvala, Wurmcoil Engine, Molten-tail Masticore, etc)
3 Celestial Purge (Answer to RDW and Koth. Maybe even Vampires or Abyssal Persecutors/Grave Titans)
3 Revoke Existance (Wurmcoil Engine and any other amazing artifact. Also Pyromancer Ascension, Journey to Nowhere, Equipment, and Laylines.)
Basically, the deck needs to win within the first several turns or else it'll run out of steam. I run no late-game cards whatsoever. As for the main deck I wasn't sure what to do with the last 5 slots. The slots where the Arc Trails went was a decision between those, Searing Blaze, and Burst Lightning. I'm not a big fan of either and Arc Trail is my reason for not having Pyroclasm in the sideboard, so I feel safe with this decision. I've been seeing a lot of people talk about Assault Strobe, and I can see how effective it would be on an unblocked creature of mine
But then again I was also thinking. With only 16 creatures, I won't be drawing a lot and they can be easily removed. In a situation like that, I would have to resort to burning to the face leaving my Assault Strobes useless. So I decided to cut from 4 to 3 Assault Strobes and then use Burst Lightning for the last 2 slots.
As for the sideboard, this also needs a LOT of testing. I feel like Tunnel Ignus and Revoke Existence really have a place in there. Otherwise, the rest are interchangeable. Revoke Existence could be replaced with Manic Vandal for the sake of the body, but I think there are a lot of good enchantments around too. Plus Revoke Existence is definitely an answer to Wurmcoil Engine.
Luminarch Ascension is only in there because people recommend it against control. I personally have never actually gotten a chance to use it before.
Journey To Nowhere actually used to be Combust to deal with Baneslayer Angel, Linvala Keeper of Silence, and Wall of Omens, but Journey to Nowhere can target many more things.
I haven't seen any sideboards run Celestial Purge anymore, but I personally think it will work wonders against Red Deck Wins considering it can target Koth. A lot of people have Abyssal Persecutor and Grave Titan nowadays. Vampires still seems to be alive, and I heard that a lot of UW decks were switching to UB.
But then again, now that I think about it, all Celestial Purge will benefit is Koth whereas Journey to Nowhere could target anything else. The last 3 slots for Celestial Purge can definitely go to something else. If not a spell then maybe Baneslayer or Linvala... I don't know... Or maybe I can just go 4 of everything except 3 Journey To Nowhere.. Or maybe add more burn?
I need to start testing asap
EDIT: The equipment build appears to be better. I'm considering throwing in Adventuring Gears just to increase my aggression with Kiln Fiends.
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