Table of Contents
Approximately two weeks ago, a new archetype rise like one of the new contenders in Pioneer. Boros Convoke appears from nowhere, and if you are asking yourself where this began, let me break that info for you.
Many might think that the first iterations of this strategy appear during the MTGO Challenge on May 21st, where two players made the top 8 with slight variants of this archetype, but going deeper makes me realize that the first registered deck list from this archetype was from gekyume, an MTGO player that makes top 4 during an MTGO League held on May 5th.
Boros Convoke – gekyume Top4 MTGO League
by Bohe
Pioneer
best of 3
0 mythic
21 rare
26 uncommon
13 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (38)
Sorceries (4)
Artifacts (2)
Lands (16)
60 Cards
$177.48
Sideboard
15 Cards
$30.65
Having the opportunity to analyze the evolution of this archetype will help us do our best to adapt it to Explorer.
Like many other people working with this archetype, I think that its development of it is far from being done. This first iteration has some interesting cards that after just three weeks are now no longer being considered. However, some others establish what the core of this strategy is.
Deck Tech
We could divide the core of this deck into two pieces. First, the cards that let us build our board as fast as we can and the convokers, that make our plan of going wide payoff.
Of our four board builders, Gleeful Demolition is without a doubt the heart of this deck. Hands that include this sorcery let us kill our opponents as fast as turn 3. Having a target for it is something very easy. Thraben Inspector creates a clue, Voldaren Epicure creates a blood token, and Ornithopter is an artifact that cost zero.
Our best possible openings start from a turn one Thraben Inspector or Voldaren Epicure into turn two Gleeful Demolition + Venerated Loxodon or Knight-Errant of Eos. With the Venerated Loxodon play we will have 12 power on turn 2, something that could kill our opponent on turn 3 if we play Reckless Bushwhacker. With Knight-Errant of Eos, the turn three kills is also possible. Finding Reckless Bushwhacker with the Knight-Errant of Eos ability to cast it on turn 3 is very easy to do thanks to how it let us look for it in our top six cards from our library.
If Gleeful Demolition is this deck heart, Reckless Bushwhacker and Regal Leosaur are its arms. Having the capability of killing our opponents on turn 3 thanks to how Reckless Bushwhacker push all the damage we need is what makes this deck powerful enough to compete against every other tier 1 deck out there. Sadly, this goblin is not available in MTG Arena, but Regal Leosaur is.
Our dinosaur cat friend is not just a replacement for Goblin Bushwhacker. Many players are now mixing this pair of creatures in their Pioneer list, and getting good results with it! This leads me to think that playing a full set of Regal Leosaur is enough for making this deck works in Explorer; and let me tell you, dear readers, after working a lot with the archetype, translating this deck from Pioneer to Explorer is something very easy to do, and functional too!
Boros Convoke
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
1 mythic
28 rare
18 uncommon
13 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Companion
Creatures (32)
Enchantments (1)
Lands (19)
60 Cards
$244.28
Sideboard
15 Cards
$39.49
There are some singularities that we have to talk about. The evolution of this archetype has made many cards appear like viable options for strengthening this strategy. Legion's Landing is one of them. Of every successful deck list out there, in recent days, many of them are playing one or two copies of this enchantment.
The first iterations of this deck tended to play 18 lands, and without a doubt is more than enough. However, even if we can have extremely explosive starts with just one land, having an extra land on turns 3-4 can be decisive when we are trying to kill our opponents using Regal Leosaur. Transforming this enchantment is very easy to do thanks to Gleeful Demolition, Resolute Reinforcements, and Forbidden Friendship. Taking all this into consideration make I start testing the card, and I’m closer to start playing two copies instead of zero.
If we are not playing Burning-Tree Emissary, playing Jegantha, the Wellspring is the route to go. I’m going to discuss more Burning-Tree Emissary later because this deck deserves to have our old section “Potential Inclusions / Notable Exclusions”, nevertheless, the important thing to notice here is that playing a companion is something we always want whenever possible.
Lastly, elevate the number of lands to 19-20 to make this deck more solid. Like I said before, playing with just 18 lands and making everything our deck wants to accomplish with one land in our opening hand is possible, but having three mana on turn three is the difference between winning or losing in many situations.
Potential Inclusions / Notable Exclusions
Burning-Tree Emissary is one of the best creatures to pair with Reckless Bushwhacker. It enables explosive turns that can exert pressure extremely fast. A turn-one Gleeful Demolition into turn-two double Burning-Tree Emissary + Reckless Bushwhacker means 14 damage. This kind of play makes the deck have the ability to play more like 8-Whack, another archetype that aims for this kind of play and is something that makes us don’t depend on drawing our convoke creatures to make our game plan work. However, without Reckless Bushwhacker in Explorer, playing Clarion Spirit is the way to go.
Many utility lands like Shefet Dunes and Castle Embereth can give this archetype the redundancy it needs when we try to make strong attacks turn after turn. After testing both, is clear how good they can be in the right situations. The problem with both is how strongly we need to be flexible during the first two turns for casting our spells in the best possible sequence. Without Sacred Foundry or a Mountain, Castle Embereth comes into play tap, and Shefet Dunes, even if it can give us white on turn two for casting our convoke creatures in case we need it, playing more pseudo-duals like Mana Confluence and Needleverge Pathway is something I like more. Playing the Kamigawa legendary lands Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance works better thanks to how this land comes into play untapped while giving us more tools to work with in attrition matches.
I thought a lot about playing Unbreakable Formation in this deck. It’s a card I like in this kind of deck. It can help us survive against Supreme Verdict while giving us an extra pump spell to close the game when needed. Testing 1 or 2 copies between the main and the sideboard is one of my next steps with this archetype.
Not playing Invasion of Gobakhan on the sideboard can be the first thing many of you can notice. Don’t get me wrong, the card is fantastic in this archetype! However, working with creatures decks during the last weeks had made it clear to me that whenever we can have an answer from a creature we have to go for it. In my list, Thalia, Guardian of Thrabengoes in any match that I could think of playing Invasion of Gobakhan.
Someone mention during my stream the idea of playing Embercleave. I saw the card in a few lists, and the idea of it is not crazy. It’s a tool that can help us finish the game on turn three, just as Reckless Bushwhacker or Regal Leosaur, even if our opponent is playing another creature-based deck and have many blockers. This archetype is still in development and is just a matter of time to realize how good this card is for this strategy, especially when we can have a 4/4 ready to attack on turn 3 with many other creatures. In this particular case, I think is a meta-dependant card. Playing 2-3 copies of it in a meta-game crowded with creature decks is a very good idea.
I’m not working with a decklist that thinks about playing a lot of mirror matches. In case you expect a lot of Boros Convoke in your next event, running some copies of End the Festivities, Declaration in Stone, Magmatic Chasm, and/or Authority of the Consuls will help you navigate this pairing. Imposing Sovereign is a card that could serve this purpose in Pioneer.
Just like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben serves as a protective creature against board wipes, dangerous spells, and a tool for delaying our opponent’s plans, Selfless Spirit can be a secondary option against Supreme Verdict, Brotherhood's End, etc.
Throne of the God-Pharaoh is probably the best of all the less-tested cards. It works as a +1/+0 effect to all our attacking creatures, dealing damage to our opponents equal to the number of tapped creatures we control. It stands out during long games and matches. And that’s not all, it’s also an artifact, something that could help have extra targets for Gleeful Demolition.
Budget
Boros Convoke Budget
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
0 mythic
3 rare
26 uncommon
31 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (28)
Instants (4)
Enchantments (1)
60 Cards
$37.24
Certainly, playing this deck without Venerated Loxodon and Knight-Errant of Eos is not the same. However, every other card in our main deck (besides our lands) is a common or uncommon card. Replacing our rare convoke creatures with Halo Hopper and You See a Pair of Goblins allow us to keep the aggressive plan. Both cards even app here and there in some top 8 decklist; this means that even if we don’t have our big payoff cards, we can still have a sequence of spells that put a lot of pressure on our opponents.
Speaking about lands that can come into play untapped during the early game is mandatory. Playing Wind-Scarred Crag could be hard in this kind of deck, but in this case, I decide to play a full set of this common dual because having the right color on turns two and three is extremely important.
Best of One
Boros Convoke Bo1
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
1 mythic
28 rare
18 uncommon
13 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Companion
Creatures (32)
Enchantments (1)
Lands (19)
60 Cards
$244.28
Sideboard
1 Cards
$0.79
This kind of archetype is fantastic for Bo1. The main difference between this style of play and other slower strategies is how midrange and control decks have the opportunity of being adaptable against the Bo1 meta.
When playing aggressively in Bo1 games we want consistency. This means that most aggro decks prefer to play without many changes compared to how the deck list could be during the first game of a Bo3 match.
Matchups and Sideboard Guide
Rakdos Midrange
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| +2 Collective Effort | -4 Ornithopter |
| +2 Wedding Announcement |
Collective Effort is in our sideboard basically for this matchup. In this kind of attrition match where exchanging resources with our opponent every sing turn is the bread and butter of the pairing, a card that can kill Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker at the same time is something that we can’t let pass.
Speaking of Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is our worst enemy. Giant Killer plays a major role against it. Saving this creature at the right time can save us many headaches.
Wedding Announcement gives us the capability to generate creatures turn after turn without spending mana and the +1/+1 ability helps a lot in fighting for the board’s presence. Think twice before attacking; deciding if you want to generate another token or draw a card can be a game decider.
Ornithopter goes out because we want don’t want to top-deck this card in this match.
Azorius Control
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| +3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben | -2 Giant Killer |
| +1 Light of Hope | -4 Ornithopter |
| +2 Wedding Announcement |
You can play this pairing in two ways: race and develop your board as fast as you can and play Wedding Announcement as early as possible, or play the tempo plan, establishing pressure with 3-4 creatures, exchanging resources with your opponent gradually.
This decision relies on your opening hand. However, in both cases, a turn two or three Thalia, Guardian of Thraben can seal the game single-handedly.
Light of Hope is a very versatile card, but here, we most of the time want to destroy Temporary Lockdown Doing this for one mana on the end of our opponent’s turn followed by a Regal Leosaur is enough for winning the game. Don’t forget that if you play Light of Hope in response to the Temporary Lockdown trigger, you can also save your tokens.
Greasefang
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| +3 Rending Volley | -3 Clarion Spirit |
We want to outrace our opponents in this match. Clarion Spirit is great against creature-based pairings. In this scenario, we want all the pieces that enable our most aggressive starts. Having Ornithopter here is preferred over Clarion Spirit, which shines in slower games.
With 3 Rending Volley and 2 Giant Killer, killing Greasefang, Okiba Boss is not that hard. Play carefully and always leave mana open for answering this creature if you’re not attacking for lethal.
White Weenie
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| +3 Rending Volley | -2 Giant Killer |
| +3 Forge Devil | -2 Forbidden Friendship |
| -2 Ornithopter |
In this match, playing Venerated Loxodon became a priority. In combination with Clarion Spirit we can push damage while having good blockers at the same time.
We take out 2 Forbidden Friendship and 2 Ornithopter instead of taking 4 of any of these cards because, even if we want to take out the weaker cards in this pairing, keeping a consistent plan is a priority. White Weenie/Humans is one of the most consistent decks doing what it’s intended to do, reason why doing our best keeping our plan steady as possible is beneficial for us.
Forge Devil can’t kill Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Coppercoat Vanguard, and many other of their creatures, but having the capability of killing Thalia, Guardian of Thraben Thalia's Lieutenant or Recruitment Officer is more than enough to justify the idea of playing this devil. Having 3 Rending Volley for bigger creatures combines very well and lets us keep our aggressive plan while having answers at the same time.
Tips & Tricks
- Keeping a hand with one land and winning on the first four turns is common. Evaluate carefully how your hand can be punished and decide if you keep or mulligan accordingly. Treating this deck like other aggressive strategies like Affinity, Hardened Scales, or Infect could be a very good comparison that could help you decide how to mulligan while playing this deck.
- Sequencing your spells to maximize damage can be the difference between winning and losing. Your best possible hands include Thraben Inspector / Voldaren Epicure + Gleeful Demolition + Venerated Loxodon / Knight-Errant of Eos + two lands.
- Attacking even if you are going to lose one or two tokens against opposite blockers is worth it when you can deal lethal damage the turn afterward.
- Always remember that Gleeful Demolition can destroy our opponents’ artifacts like Esika's Chariot.
- Knowing what creatures take with Knight-Errant of Eos is vital. Go for Regal Leosaur if that enables lethal damage the turn after this play. Go for creatures that enable your board position if you expect a sweeper.
- If your opponent has untapped lands, playing a convoke creature using three creatures and two lands is most of the time the proper way to do it. Losing a creature in the process making us unable of tapping five creatures for convoking Venerated Loxodon or Knight-Errant of Eos hurts.
- Depending on the situation, destroying a blood token is preferred against destroying a clue. Evaluate the archetype you’re facing and which of these tokens let you have more options in long games.
- If you are going to play Collective Effort on games 2 and 3, don’t forget you can’t play Jegantha as a companion.
- Forge Devil is an amazing tool, not only against Mono White but also against every deck that plays Llanowar Elves and/or Elvish Mystic.
End Step
Returning to writing these guides consistently has helped me tremendously. I sincerely hope that each of you, dear readers, can get the most out of it.
Boros Convoke stands as the new big dog in the block. It put amazing results in competitive Pioneer and Explorer tournaments every single day since its first appearance a few weeks ago. And this doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Seeing it, what will happen is that the archetype will continue to be refined until with the efforts of all of us who have worked on it, the best options for the flex slots can be found. Although this will normally depend on the evolution of the metagame, every day new interesting ideas arise as new staples for this archetype.
It’s time to keep an eye on them and keep working. Let me know your opinions on my social media (links below) and until the next article, don’t forget to smile! I assure you that it makes a difference.
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Bohe
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