Type: Deck Idea
Format (legal 👍) modModern
Approx. Value:
$153.11

0 Likes 13 Comments
Avg. CMC 3.32
Card Color Breakdown
Card Type Breakdown

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Main Deck - 80 cards, 26 distinct
Columns
Name  Edition $ Type Cost
Rarity Color
Creature (24)
2 Aurelia, the Warleader
$13.15 Legendary Creature - Angel
2 Blaze Commando
$0.12 Creature - Minotaur Soldier
2 Boros Reckoner
$0.59 Creature - Minotaur Wizard
3 Boros Swiftblade
$0.19 Creature - Human Soldier
3 Firemane Avenger
$0.40 Creature - Angel
2 Foundry Champion
$0.09 Creature - Elemental Soldier
3 Hearthfire Hobgoblin
$0.08 Creature - Goblin Soldier
2 Legion Loyalist
$3.65 Creature - Goblin Soldier
3 Skyknight Legionnaire
$0.03 Creature - Human Knight
2 Tajic, Blade of the Legion
$0.45 Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
Instant (11)
4 Boros Charm
$3.62 Instant
4 Lightning Helix
$0.23 Instant
3 Warleader's Helix
$0.14 Instant
Sorcery (2)
2 Solemn Offering
$0.09 Sorcery
Artifact (3)
3 Sunforger
$1.94 Artifact - Equipment
Enchantment (13)
3 Glory of Warfare
$0.72 Enchantment
4 Legion's Initiative
$0.72 Enchantment
3 Oblivion Ring
$0.30 Enchantment
3 Scourge of the Nobilis
$0.23 Enchantment - Aura
Land (27)
4 Clifftop Retreat
$0.79 Land
1 Evolving Wilds
$0.07 Land
7 Mountain
$0.09 Basic Land - Mountain
8 Plains
$0.06 Basic Land - Plains
4 Sacred Foundry
$17.50 Land - Mountain Plains
2 Slayers' Stronghold
$0.20 Land
1 Terramorphic Expanse
$0.06 Land
Sideboard - 16 cards, 6 distinct
Name  Edition $ Type Cost
Rarity Color
Creature (12)
2 Bogardan Hellkite
$0.41 Creature - Dragon
3 Fiendslayer Paladin
$0.66 Creature - Human Knight
2 Griffin Sentinel
$0.02 Creature - Griffin
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
$2.65 Creature - Dragon
3 Wojek Halberdiers
$0.08 Creature - Human Soldier
Instant (4)
4 Wear // Tear
$0.82 Instant // Instant //

Comments
  • Christopher W | 25-Jul-2013 09:45
    Made a lot of changes; trying to do too much with the creatures and buffs I fear. I want it to be fun to play and play against, so I suppose I could cut and vary..
  • Chris O'Neal | 16-May-2013 01:30
    4x Vexing Devil
    4x Orz Charm
    Ditch the expensive dudes.
    Ditch Viashino & Blaze, maybe keep 1 of auralia and 2x tajic. 4x Zealot, Falkenrath aristocrat maybe, legion loyalist is meh.


    Just some suggestions :)


    Ohh, and screw the boros keyrune. Rakdos isn't bad, 3/1 first striker is good, but the boros guy sucks. Especially since you have no real way to boost his power beyond legion's initative.
    • Christopher W | 18-May-2013 18:45
      I think I'm going to follow most of your suggestions for this one; I have another deck focusing more on Blaze Commando (http://deckbox.org/sets/384351), so this I'll try to make a better Boros/B aggro. 
      • Pierce | 18-May-2013 23:53
        Sure. Don't forget to increase your black lands then.
  • Pierce | 15-May-2013 05:27
    WOW
    You just entered a whole new league! This has some really impressive synergy!
    You're focused on dual-colored creatures, which is very good, as they'll make the most use out of Legion's Innitiative. Being able to sac the innitiative to trigger Viashino Firstblade's ETB ability to do that extra bit of damage is cool flexibility and power too.
    And I love the star of your deck: Blaze Commando. Remember you can get those tokens on defense too by casting an instant. And Maze Abomination's synergy with him - deathtouch tokens? Brilliant!


    You should be aware that sacrificing the Legion's Innitiative means you will lose (and not get back) any tokens you already have.
    I'm not advocating you get rid of that at all - but I probably wouldn't put more emphasis on tokens because of it. For example: Sorin is an awesome card, but it monoblack vampire tokens aren't getting buffed in this deck. It's pretty much a 1/1 lifelink chumpblock.
    The emblems are good too, of course, but he just might not be worth it. Maybe he is - we'll go back to him.


    There are a couple things I'd touch on.
    #1 Mana
    Part A: This is a relatively expensive deck for aggro. It can do awesome things with 3 or 4 mana, but the real stars come out at 5 and above. I would recommend running 24 lands. Another reason: this deck is crippled unless it gets 3 mana. Getting "mana screwed" can be minimized with proper mana basing (though luck is still always a factor). You might be surprised the difference one land makes.
    Part B: You very successfully maximized the deck to focus on Red and White. Since you aren't splitting as much attention to a 3rd color, you don't need as many dual lands as before. Additionally, the only mana restrictive card to cast is Aurelia, with 2 red and 2 whites. However she is also 6 mana, meaning that by the time you have 6, you're almost certain to have the 2red/2white. For this reason (as in, because you've constructed such a great mana-costed deck), you don't need the guildgates anymore. 4 Clifftop Retreats and 4 Sacred Foundries should have you covered amply. The enter-tapped cost of the guildgates is now too high.
    Part C: You have a little more Red than White in this deck. More important is the tempo of that - your turn 1 desirable Vexing Devil. Right now you have 5 more white lands than red, when in fact you would want just slightly more red than white. The 2-white Sundering Growth isn't too worriesome, since it is very unlikely you would need to play it early game.
    Part D: Black mana. Without "tutoring" (ways to increase your chances of drawing cards you want), 4 black lands is not enough to dependably cast anything black. You're wise to have all your black cards be late-game expensive cards, so you don't need many more though. 4 out of 60 is 1/15. That's too low. Simply adding one more makes it 1/12 - about a turn 5 swamp, as it were - right in line. A 6th would give you better odds (1/10). I would run 5-6 black lands, depending how much you're leaning on black. Your 4 Godless Shrines is a good choice for the black mana, since they will serve as plains and free up slots for Mountains, which you can use to play your Vexing Devils on turn 1 without drawback.
    Part D: This is just for consideration. Your deck runs relatively more expensive cards for an aggro deck - 5 mana being the sweet spot. What's better than playing a Blaze Commando on turn 5?
    Playing it on turn 4, before you've already played your Warleader's Helix! :D
    This can be done with the ramp provided by Keyrunes and Cluestones. Additionally these could be an effective way to get a little more black mana. Boros Keyrune can be a 1/1 (2/2 with Legion's Innitiative) double-striker. Rakdos Keyrune a 3/1 (4/1) first striker, and Orzhov Keyrune a 1/4 (1/5) lifelinker. Cluestones net you a card when you sacrifice them.


    #2 Cards
    A: Sundering Growth. Your only token generators are Blaze Commando and Sorin - and they only make 1/1s. Populate is nice, but I would definitely opt for Wear // Tear. Enchantments are more common than artifacts right now, and you can get rid of them for only 1 mana. And if your opponent has both? You can take out two! Better as Wear // Tear may be, I would put it in the sideboard, not mainboard, but that's me.
    B: Toil // Trouble is flexible, but you pay a high price (in mana) for that flexibility. Personally, I think you'll get more bang for your mana-buck with some other cards. Notably: Rakdos's Return. You can wipe out entire hands with this - doing extra damage and still triggering Blaze Commando.
    Other cards to consider:
    Devil's Play (I'd run Rakdos's Returns if since you're running black, but without it this is a handy fireball-type spell that you can cast a 2nd time)
    Burning Oil. This is a really underrated card, but not every card is made for every deck. In the right deck, like this, it could be quite useful. Flashback is the main champion of this card, and its damage isn't to scoff at either. I'd recommend playtesting with it and seeing how it does. Not many other burn spells can net you 4 tokens and still be good removal in their own right.
    C: Mask of Avacyn
    This isn't a bad card. I see why it's here: hexproof. But I haven't had good luck with this card. If your opponent is running instant-speed removal, after you pay for the equip they can cast it in response, meaning it's been a waste of a card and mana (which has happened far too many times). And the +1/+2, for 2+3mana? Meh.
    What I would run instead? It's not perma-hexproof, but it does the job excellently: Faith's Shield. It requires you to have the mana open to counter a kill spell - but only 1, and its other uses I feel far make up for it:
    Prevent damage, Unblockable, and on those rare occasions: Fateful Hour for amazingness.
    And want to turn it into a kill spell that triggers Blaze Commando? Divine Deflection. Your opponents never see it coming. :D
    On the opposite side, sacrificing Legion's Innitiative also serves as a reactive hexproof.
    D: Sorin
    Ah... Sorin. I love you man, but as good as you are, I think you could be replaced by something better here. Your lategame is kind of outclassed by Blaze Commando and Aurelia.
    Cards to consider: Swift Justice. First strike keeps your guy alive, and that lifelink on your big beefy creatures is a great deal for one mana.
    Legion Loyalist - requires batallion, so it's only useful on offense, but first strike (potentially w/ deathtouch too!) helps, and trample likely helps even more. With haste, he could be considered more a 1-mana sorcery for the first strike and trample that also contributes to Tajic's Battalion ability.


    Now, I think black is probably the route to go for a 3rd color (especially with Rakdos's Return), and I know I've already presented you with many options. But one more....
    Green. For 2 major reasons:
    1. Clan Defiance. No other card in standard can net you 6 tokens from Blaze Commando (since it deals damage 3 times)
    2. Gruul War Chant. For aggressive domination.
    And, Huntmaster of the Fells has a nice ETB ability (and more, hence the price).
    • Pierce | 15-May-2013 05:55
      I really like this deck you came up with. Here's my own version I spun up. On the fence are the Vexing Devils and Burning Oil. I feel strongly the rest of the deck is rather solid. The Vexing Devils are a big part of this deck, too, so I'd keep and have my fun with them. Not too much tweaking necessary.
      I named it Kyrs's Black Blaze Commando


      You'll have to let me know how your deck does. Like I said, I like it!
      • Christopher W | Edited 15-May-2013 06:39
        I'm glad you do, and thank you for helping me improve it! I'll take a closer look at your response soon; just want to tell you about the other deck I'm making that is capitalizing solely on Blaze Commando with a plethora of Battalion effects. I am seriously considering finding a way to merge this deck and the other via a Sideboard. Basically alternate focus between Blaze Commando + Battallion vs. Legion's Initiative + ETBs and W/R buffs.
        To be honest, I have no idea if that is viable.
        • Pierce | 15-May-2013 07:00
          Sure it is. Usually it isn't a good idea, but on occasion it works spendidly. I did that for this deck. 
          Check out my land control deck, http://deckbox.org/sets/353838, which sideboards into an elf tribal deck http://deckbox.org/sets/360960.
          • Christopher W | 15-May-2013 21:43
            Oh I like that.. I need to delve into more archetypes before I attempt something like that, I believe..
  • Christopher W | 14-May-2013 12:30
    I took out most cards and playtested a few times with a friend when it was 60. I now have trimmed it and edited it a bit with a slight direction.
    I'm trying to get a good aggro base going, maybe more tokens? Ramp up the multicoloreds with Legion's Initiative, and some mean ETB effects to couple with it when I have to bail. When I can't do that, either use the Boros Charm to save creatures + tokens, or use to burn to get more tokens out of Blaze Commando.
  • Pierce | Edited 14-May-2013 01:59
    Tempo (mana tree/cost of cards) and mana base are arguably the two most important things in a deck.

    Going 3 colors is going to make a lot of these cards hard to cast - or at least hard to cast when you want them.
    You won't be able to consistently cast Precinct Captain, Spike Jester, and Tithe Drinker on turn 2. Sometimes you will, but often you won't, and that often hurts too much. Casting these guys on turn 5 isn't nearly as powerful as casting them on turn 2. They're powerful cards - but say, going up against a Thragtusk or most other 4-5 mana creatures?
    Tempo.


    The same concept applies to Vampire Nighthawk, Hellrider, Necropolis Regent, and Angel of Serenity. Mind you, every card I pointed out is a great card - in fact, that's why Wizzards of the Coast made them harder to cast.


    So that's your biggest problem. The solution? Modify the counts and mana, prioritize, and/or go two colors.


    Additionally, a few cards are just bluntly bad:
    Sunspire Keepers
    Showstopper


    And more are inneffective for the style you seem to be running:
    Phantom General (only for decks nearly entirely tokens)
    Riot Piker (not a bad card, but you'll often find he gets himself killed to no benefit. This guy is for super-aggro decks)
    Profit // Loss (usually there are better options you'd prefer, such as Weapon Surge)
    Krenko's Command (good for Goblin themes, otherwise worse than Lingering Souls)
    Mind Rot (yes, you losing 1 card for them losing 2 is good, but you don't have anything else that utilizes this benefit, and you lose time casting it, and it could be a worthless draw if your opponent has no cards)
    Morgue Burst (most of your creatures don't have much power, and for 6 mana, it's expensive. Think: do you want to do the damage now, or get the card you're retrieving immediately with Rise from the Grave? Both have their merits, but for 6 mana, I wouldn't run more than one.)
    Disentomb (for this deck, Rise from the Grave is better - that can also let you choose your opponent's dead creatures!)

    Tablet of the Guilds (good for 2 colors, not 3)
    Sinister Possession (this card has a cool effect, but unfortunately, in practice it isn't very good)
    Gleam of Battle (only good in longer lasting 40health-multiplayer games. Not worth it in a 1v1 for 6 mana)
    Trumpet Blast (inferior to Weapon Surge, or Rally the Peasants)



    Now, you also have some good cards that you don't want to run every game. These are your sideboard cards, that you'd play after noticing they're strong against your specific opponent.
    Vs opponents that use creatures from their graveyard:
    Vile Rebirth, and Crypt Incursion

    Vs an opponent that is milling you:
    Elixir of Immortality (you probably wouldn't normally want this in your deck. 3 mana for 5 life isn't terrible, but it's mediocre. The bigger impact and purpose of this card is to put your graveyard back in your library. In fact, if you have only 2 creatures or more in your own graveyard, Crypt Incursion will net you more life)
    Vs an opponent using enchantments and/or artifacts:
    Wear // Tear, Keening Apparition, Sundering Growth if going 2 colors


    Those are my suggestions. Hopefully it helps you narrow it down and decide how you want your deck to go.


    FYI, Torret of Souls and Death Grasp are not in standard.
    • Christopher W | 14-May-2013 12:30
      Thanks much for the information :) I took it into consideration as I took those cards out and pulled a deck out of them. What do you think of it now? Added some direction (and cards to Wishlist); was having problems with FAT creatures, didn't duel big decks, but that was obvious weakness. 
  • Christopher W | 12-May-2013 10:42
    Compiling to see what options I have; could use any suggestions / trade offers to get this Standard deck going!
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