Mono-red aggro has been the premier assertive deck in Pioneer for quite some time now. Other beatdown decks, such as Boros Heroic, largely fell by the wayside.
However, a hyperaggressive version of Boros Heroic has experienced a bit of a resurgence. With a top eight finish in a Magic Online Pioneer Challenge under its belt, this archetype capable of turn two kills is back and now features a new uncommon upgrade. If your opponents aren’t ready, they may lose in a flash.
Fast Kills
The card that gives Boros Heroic such explosive power is Leyline of Resonance. Leyline of Resonance is an extremely scary card to face down. If your opponent is fortunate enough to have a copy in their opening hand, they’ll get to start the game with it on the battlefield. From there, every creature your opponent plays becomes a massive threat, since they’re bound to have instants and sorceries at the ready that buff their creatures.
The fastest draws this deck has available involve pairing Leyline with Cacophony Scamp. If you get to untap with Cacophony Scamp after playing it turn one, there’s a good chance you can outright kill the opponent on turn two. All you need is any two-card mix of Monstrous Rage, Turn Inside Out, and Wild Ride. Because each spell that targets Scamp gets copied by Leyline, casting two of these spells will elevate Scamp to over 10 power.
From there, when Scamp hits the opponent, you get to sacrifice it, sending lethal damage to your opponent’s face. Monstrous Rage providing Trample even lets you get around a chump blocker, which is really nice.
Beyond Scamp, the rest of the creatures in the deck also pair nicely with Leyline of Resonance. Heartfire Hero and Monastery Swiftspear can both deal a ton of damage in short order. Dreadhorde Arcanist lets you recast your pump spells out of the graveyard, ensuring you don’t run out of gas. Illuminator Virtuoso and Inti, Seneschal of the Sun let you convert copies of Leyline you draw later in the game as well as excess lands into fresh cards. If any of these creatures stick around, you’re in good shape.
Mitigating Downsides
As strong as Leyline is, it’s worth noting that it does have its downsides. It doesn’t do anything by itself, so you need a healthy mix of spells and creatures to target with them to make the most of the enchantment. If you run out of spells to cast, you’re in trouble.
The good news is that many of your pump spells also function as cantrips. In conjunction with Leyline, you’ll get to draw multiple cards in each exchange, making it difficult to run out of ways to spend your mana.
Unsurprisingly, Ancestral Anger is one of your better tools in this department. Ancestral Anger is another Trample enabler, so blockers are of little concern. Defiant Strike makes an appearance, too.
As strong as these cards are, though, they don’t do much to bolster the creature you target. The buff is also only temporary, which can make it harder to cross the finish line when you don’t have Leyline in play.
This is where a new addition works its way into the equation. Honor fills a similar role as Defiant Strike, but the +1/+1 counter sticks around for future turns. You won’t always be able to set up lethal in one go, especially against decks with lots of interaction.
Honor helps you keep the pressure on without overcommitting. If you do have Leyline in play, you’ll get multiple +1/+1 counters out of the deal, making your measly one-drops scary attackers even on subsequent turns.
An Area of Concern
Boros Heroic definitely puts a unique spin on your traditional aggro shell. Honor is a solid upgrade, and Leyline gives you a lot of powerful starts that can race pretty much any archetype in the format.
The obvious issue here is that your matchups against decks with tons of disruption are far from ideal. If you don’t have God’s Willing or Loran’s Escape at the ready, casting Honor or Ancestral Anger into open Fatal Push mana is a surefire way to get blown out.
You do have some recourse against mono-black midrange with your sideboard additions of Apostle of Purifying Light, Urabrask’s Forge and Tethmos High Priest. Turn Inside Out can also be used defensively as a way to get another creature into play via Manifest. This line works especially well with Leyline, since you’ll get multiple 2/2s in the exchange.
In this sense, you aren’t just cold to removal. Still, a healthy mix of removal, discard spells, and finishers is often hard to fight through. Make sure you’re prepared to play patiently when necessary if you want to give this deck a shot.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!