This weekend, multiple Regional Championships are taking place. Players from different parts of the world are bringing their best Standard decks to compete for Pro Tour invites and other prizes.
As expected, given the high stakes at these events, most players registered top tier archetypes like Izzet Prowess to give them the best shot at winning. However, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some innovative strategies near the top tables.
Today, we’re going to highlight a neat Boros tokens deck that boasted a 6-2 record on day one of the Regional Championship in Southeast Asia. This deck is very aggressive, but the token theme gives it a nice twist that helps in a variety of matchups.
Going Wide
As you might expect from a fast Boros tokens deck, there are a handful of cheap ways to add multiple creatures to the board. What’s cool is that many of these token producers are Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards that never really found a home.
Stadium Headliner is a great example. A red one-drop that essentially attacks for two damage and can act as a removal spell if you draw it later in the game would be strong in a lot of Standard formats. Unfortunately, it’s been largely outshined by Heartfire Hero and Monastery Swiftspear out of the red decks.
Here, though, Stadium Headliner gets extra value as a token generator, even if the token doesn’t stick around permanently. First, Mobilize synergizes well with Warleader’s Call. Warleader’s Call not only pumps your creatures, but it also pings the opponent each time Stadium Headliner attacks and makes a token.
The extra body also makes the second modes of both Frontline Rush and Goblin Surprise scarier. Both of these cards double as token producers and combat tricks, which can threaten a lot of damage once you’ve built out a nice board.
Lastly, you’re free to sacrifice the token to Torch the Tower when applicable to remove a bigger blocker. Between Fear of Missing Out in Jeskai Oculus, Screaming Nemesis in mono-red, and Fear of Isolation in self-bounce shells, the upside of removing three-toughness creatures for one mana is pretty big. The exile clause also comes up versus Mosswood Dreadknight out of Golgari midrange.
This deck is capable of some nasty draws. Curving Stadium Headliner into Voice of Victory puts your opponent under the gun in no time, especially if you have Warleader’s Call as a follow up.
Keeping the Pressure On
To further apply pressure to the opponent, this deck makes use of a multitude of hasty red creatures that are capable of dealing lots of damage on their own.
In the one-mana slot, Monastery Swiftspear is obviously a great option. You have enough spells to grow your Monastery Swiftspears in many cases, and the threat of growing Monastery Swiftspear at Instant speed makes it difficult to block profitably.
From there, at three mana, both Screaming Nemesis and Tersa Lightshatter make an appearance. Screaming Nemesis shines in the red aggro mirrors as well as control matchups as an anti-life gain card. If you manage to prevent your opponent from gaining life for the rest of the game, both Warleader’s Call and Boros Charm can help you end games even if your opponent managed to stabilize the board.
Meanwhile, Tersa Lightshatter serves as a beefy body that smooths out your draws. Discarding excess lands or copies of Torch the Tower versus control can make it easier to close games. Getting to cast cards from your graveyard is just gravy but does come up every now and again in grindy games.
Tradeoffs
At the end of the day, this deck has a lot in common with mono-red, with a few tradeoffs. Individually, Stadium Headliner and Voice of Victory are less threatening than Heartfire Hero and Emberheart Challenger. The draws from the Boros deck are typically a bit slower than from mono-red, especially due to the lack of Monstrous Rage.
In a similar vein, the Boros deck has a high density of three-drops, so some of its draws will be on the clunkier side. In pure racing situations, this can be awkward.
Where Boros tokens gets its edge is with its ability to win longer games. Warleader’s Call threatens a lot of damage in conjunction with your token makers. In some games, even if your opponent is able to kill your creatures on sight, Frontline Rush and Goblin Surprise in conjunction with Warleader’s Call will slowly burn your opponent out.
Warleader’s Call growing your creatures is also extremely important in matchups where your opponent has removal designed for smaller creatures. Playing Screaming Nemesis or Tersa Lightshatter after Warleader’s Call and knowing they won’t die to Lightning Helix or Nowhere to Run is a pretty big advantage.
The fact that Frontline Rush and Goblin Surprise can make tokens at Instant speed makes it a bit easier to beat board wipes, too, since you can make tokens on your opponent’s end step post-Wrath. This unique deck may not have made top eight, but a 6-2 record is nothing to scoff at. Perhaps more players will give Boros tokens a shot moving forward. We’ll just have to wait and see.