Pioneer has experienced some major metagame shifts over the past couple years. While some archetypes like mono-black midrange have grown significantly in popularity, others completely fell off the map.
Boros Convoke falls into this camp. There’s no doubting the deck’s speed, but its resiliency leaves much to be desired. However, the deck has reappeared following a strong showing in a Magic Online Modern League. This version eschews a traditional Convoke staple in favor of a new powerhouse that not only bolsters your main gameplan but also makes it much easier to rebuild in the face of disruption.
Fast Starts
Boros Convoke is a strategy centered around two incredibly powerful five-drops. Both Venerated Loxodon and Knight-Errant of Eos add a lot of power to the board and generate a lot of value. The key is having the necessary creatures on board to facilitate them.
To maximize these elite monsters, you’ll find a whopping 20 creatures that cost zero or one mana in the decklist. Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector and Voldaren Epicure are your bread-and-butter enablers that tie everything together.
First and foremost, they each generate an artifact token that can be used to resolve Gleeful Demolition. Gleeful Demolition leads to your most explosive draws. With two one-drops and Gleeful Demolition in your opening hand, you threaten to cast Venerated Loxodon or Knight-Errant of Eos on turn two. Venerated Loxodon is particularly strong, as it then buffs every creature that Convoked it. This means you can have upwards of 14 power on board turn two, which is often insurmountable.
In games where you don’t have Gleeful Demolition, the Clue and Blood tokens also come in handy towards fueling Warden of the Inner Sky. Growing Warden is trivial, and once it has Flying and Vigilance, it will demand an answer or run away with the game.
While you don’t have much in the way of removal for game one, Case of the Gateway Express is one option you’re happy to play. Your deck is designed to flood the board with small creatures, so having access to a removal spell that doubles as an “Anthem” effect is awesome.
Added Pressure and Resiliency
As fast as this strategy is, part of the reason it has fallen out of favor is that it’s a bit inconsistent and can have trouble beating hate cards. In the event you don’t draw one of your eight Convoke creatures or they get hit by Thoughtseize, crossing the finish line can be tough given how puny your individual threats are. Temporary Lockdown and similar efficient sweepers aren’t always easy to fight through, either.
Cosmogrand Zenith addresses all of these issues nicely. As a 2/4, Cosmogrand Zenith dodges a lot of common removal in the format. You’ll typically be able to set up a window where you cast Cosmogrand Zenith and follow up with a cheap spell (Ornithopter even lets you do this on just three mana) to immediately pull ahead.
If your opponent has a sweeper, Cosmogrand Zenith is an army in a can, making for a perfect follow up. If your opponent has some beefy creatures of their own, putting +1/+1 counters on all of your one-power threats gives you a shot to attack for lots of damage over the course of a couple turns.
Of course, Cosmogrand Zenith also synergizes perfectly with your Convoke creatures. It adds a lot of power to the board, and the token production means that your Convoke creatures won’t get stranded in your hand after your opponent resolves a sweeper. You just need to play patiently depending on the disruption you expect to face. Giving up on Imodane’s Recruiter has its downsides, but Cosmogrand Zenith more than pulls its weight.
Far From Perfect
While Cosmogrand Zenith does give you a nice boost in attrition battles, Boros Convoke still does have some weaknesses that are difficult to address. We mentioned the fact that the deck doesn’t play much removal, as you need a high density of creatures to keep your gameplan consistent. Given how fast mono-red is and the tools that deck has access to, the matchup is far from ideal in game one.
Your best bet is to put a ton of power and toughness into play and try to race. The problem is that Monstrous Rage and Manifold Mouse make it super difficult to block profitably without losing a ton of your board presence. Screaming Nemesis only makes things worse.
Sheltered by Ghosts is your best option to steal games two and three. Even here, though, landing and sticking the enchantment in the face of Reckless Rage and sideboard removal spells out of mono-red isn’t always easy.
Similarly, your lack of removal may come back to bite you versus Selesnya Angels. Bishop of Wings and Righteous Valkyrie are high-toughness road blocks that will gain a boatload of life over the course of the game. You need a fast draw to compete, before Collected Company and Kayla’s Reconstruction take over in conjunction with the life gain elements.
In this sense, even with a nice upgrade, Boros Convoke isn’t in as strong of a position as it was years ago. Nonetheless, Cosmogrand Zenith adds a new dimension to the deck, making the midrange matchups better. With some good draws on your side, Boros Convoke is still one of the scariest decks to play against in the format.
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