Historic Top 1000 with 80-Card Warriors: Fun & Jank Episode 11

Imagine this: I’m standing on my soapbox in the middle of a crowded street, eyes wide, hair wild, and I’m screaming at the top of my lungs, “Cowards CAN’T block warriors!” People pass by, some shaking their heads, others glancing at me with that look that says, “Has this person completely lost it?” But I know. Deep down, I know I’m onto something big. Something important. And if you’re here with me, then maybe you see it too.

Welcome back to another episode of Fun & Jank! I’m Plum, and I’m here to tell you yet again that, no, cowards cannot block warriors. That is simply not in the cards—and speaking of cards, we’ve got some great ones to talk about today! This week, I’m proud to share with you an upgraded version of Warriors. This deck’s been through a lot of evolution, from the humble beginnings of a janky Historic brew to something that’s not only fun but surprisingly effective in a competitive meta. Today, I’ll walk you through the new and improved version and how we broke into the Top 1000 Mythic Rank on the Historic ladder.

The Deck

80-Card Warriors

by _Plum_

Buy on MTGProxy $76

Buy on TCGplayer $302.3

Buy on Card Kingdom $746.65

Historic

best of 3

20 mythic

30 rare

24 uncommon

2 common

0

1

2

3

4

5

6+

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Creatures (35)

4

Pelt Collector

$2.36

4

Evolving Adaptive

$1.40

4

Pawpatch Recruit

$2.76

4

Kargan Intimidator

$1.96

4

Voltaic Brawler

$1.40

3

Honored Crop-Captain

$1.17

4

Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

$55.96

4

Kargan Warleader

$1.40

4

Gruul Spellbreaker

$1.96

Instants (4)

4

Collected Company

$9.96

Sorceries (5)

3

Break Out

$1.05

2

Bridgeworks Battle

$2.98

Lands (32)

1

Forest

$0.35

1

Mountain

$0.35

4

Cavern of Souls

$231.96

4

Base Camp

$1.40

4

Secluded Courtyard

$2.36

4

Copperline Gorge

$3.96

4

Cragcrown Pathway

$11.16

4

Mana Confluence

$179.96

4

Stomping Ground

$47.96

2

Boseiju, Who Endures

$139.98

76 Cards
$703.8

Sideboard

2

Haywire Mite

$1.58

4

Suncleanser

$1.96

2

Drannith Magistrate

$29.98

1

Klothys, God of Destiny

$2.29

1

Jegantha, the Wellspring

$0.49

1

Thraben Charm

$0.69

3

Tormod’s Crypt

$3.87

1

Roiling Vortex

$1.99

15 Cards
$42.85

Please be aware the 4 missing cards are Gornog, the Red Reaper.
(we’re just waiting for the API to be updated with J25)

Like I’ve mentioned in Episode 8, the core idea behind Naya Warriors has remained the same: efficient creatures, tribal synergy, and swinging for lethal damage as consistently as possible. The deck has continually evolved with the past few set releases, but I think the most important addition has come from Jumpstart 2025

I mean……look at him. Take in his beauty. Look at those rippling muscles, the flowing red cape, and the path of destruction left in his wake How can you not love him?????? Gornog, the Red Reaper has been the single biggest upgrade to the deck since Intimidator and Warleader got alchemized.

Now you might be saying:

“B-but Pwum? Why awe you pwaying 80 cawds? Doesn’t that diwute the deck and make it, wike, weawwy bad? UwU”

But I’d remind you, this is Fun & Jank, my whole goal is to go against the status quo. If you follow my brewing in Discord, you know that I loooove adding Yorion, Sky Nomad to things just because it lets me play more fun cards. This version formed from the same idea, but then I realized we didn’t really get any value from Yorion.

Still wanting to play all the cool warriors, I decided to keep it 80 cards but switch the companion to Jegantha, the Wellspring. However, I don’t recommend doing this to just any deck. 80 Card Warriors works because the tribe has so much redundancy in its playable creatures and mana base that the opportunity cost to play more cards is very low. Let’s talk about a couple of additions that this 80 card variation is rocking compared to our older lists.

First is our new favorite Raging Red Beef Slab.

Gornog, the Red reaper: Gornog is the embodiment of warrior pride and aggression. With haste, he’s ready to attack the turn he hits the board, putting immediate pressure on our opponents. His ability ensures that Cowards can’t block Warriors-literally transforming opposing creatures into Cowards (notice that this does not say “until end of turn”), giving this tribe extra evasion alongside Kargan Intimidator. Additionally, attacking Warriors you control get +X/+0, where X is the number of Cowards your opponents control. This scaling power boost makes Gornog a massive threat, creating consistent turn 4 wins on curve. This jacked up cow is exactly what the doctor ordered and has been an absolute beast in the deck.

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Guys I have to apologize for this one. I have no idea how I missed the fact that AJANI IS A WARRIOR THAT MAKES MORE WARRIORS. Like, what? Maybe my pure hatred for all things Boros Energy blinded me to this fact, but boy am I glad I took another look. Ajani is just a 1-cat army. His token buffs both Pelt Collector and Evolving Adpative (welcome back buddy!) on curve, and the fact that it creates 2 warriors for the price of one means tribal buffs from Gornog or Warleader provide even more value. Of course we either have to have the token die or play another Ajani to trigger the Legendary Rule in order to flip him, but those actually aren’t too hard to achieve. Once he flips, he’s either a removal magnet or takes over the game on his own. Another perfect inclusion.

Testing & Refinement

Like with every iteration of this deck, refining is all about repetition. Despite playing 20 extra cards, the redundancy at each point in our curve keeps the deck consistent.

1-Drops: Pawpatch Recruit, Evolving Adaptive, Pelt Collector – fantastic suite of small creatures that grow or provide utility as the game goes on.

2-Drops: Voltaic Brawler, Kargan Intimidator, Honored Crop-Captain – A trifecta of 3-power creatures for two mana that add a lot of strength to the board while also evolving Pelt Collector and Adaptive on curve.

3-Drops: Kargan Warleader, Gruul Spellbreaker, Gornog, the Red Reaper – Doesn’t get any better than these 3. Spellbreaker and Gornog are awesome threats with built in evasion, and Warleader buffs the whole squad and provides them decent protection against interaction.

The real power of this deck comes from our curve. A hand with any 1-drop into any 2-drop sets you off to the races and can outclass other decks easily. Below is a quick game from when we played our list on stream.

Despite not having a 2-drop, Pawpatch enabled our Adaptive to grow on curve to keep the pressure up until we could jam Spellbreaker and Gornog. We even see our opponent Ritual into a Swarmweaver giving him multiple blockers, which Gornog was able to easily take care of.

4-5 Additional matches can be found here!

Now I won’t go into specifics because we’ve mentioned a few matchups previously, but I do want to outline how they generally go

• Control Matchups: Control decks can be tricky, but this version of Naya Warriors is well-equipped to handle them. Cavern of Souls makes sure our key threats hit the board uncountered, and Gruul Spellbreaker adds another layer of resilience with hexproof on our turn. The sideboard tech of Klothys, God of Destiny is also crucial here, providing a continuous stream of damage and graveyard hate that control decks struggle to answer.
  
• Aggro Matchups: Against other aggressive decks, our creatures often outclass theirs. Gornog, the Red Reaper is a star in these matchups, helping to push through blockers and pump our Warriors when there are Cowards on the field. Cards like Voltaic Brawler and Gruul Spellbreaker can effectively dominate combat, while Pawpatch Recruit helps us build back up after trades. The key to winning these matchups is to leverage our superior stats and force combat scenarios that favor our board state.
  
• Combo Matchups: Combo decks are a race, and we’ve got tools to win it. Roiling Vortex is a must-have in these matchups to keep combo players honest, preventing life gain and dealing incremental damage each turn. Drannith Magistrate also helps shut down certain combo strategies, making it harder for opponents to assemble their win conditions. Our fast clock, paired with these sideboard cards, allows us to put immense pressure on combo decks and disrupt their plans.
  
• Graveyard Strategies: For graveyard-based decks, Tormod’s Crypt from the sideboard is our go-to answer. It’s an efficient way to keep graveyards in check without disrupting our game plan. Klothys, God of Destiny also provides incidental graveyard hate while helping us stay aggressive. The goal is to keep the opponent’s graveyard empty enough to prevent explosive plays while maintaining a steady flow of pressure.

While we do dominate against generic creature aggro strategies, archetypes that go wide can be tough. Boros Energy has that perfect combination of removal and “army-in-a-can” style threats that we are unfavored against. UR Wizards also fits the bill. Their burn doubles as removal while pumping their creatures. If they land a Dreadhorde Arcanist it’s usually too much value for us to handle.

Despite those rough matchups, as of me writing this article, we are sitting at Historic Mythic #809 playing only Bo3. I’m quite proud of our 67% win rate across the 145 games we’ve played so far. I’m looking forward to making the push for top 250 as the season comes to a close.

Closing Thoughts

This iteration of Naya Warriors represents the culmination of numerous hours of playtesting, community input, and adaptation to the ever-changing meta. We started with a simple idea: make a warrior deck that’s both fun and functional. What we have now is something more—a tribal list that punches above its weight, leveraging powerful synergies, efficient threats, and relentless aggression to keep our opponents on their heels. Our journey has not only made this deck viable but also an absolute blast to pilot. There’s something uniquely satisfying about turning Warriors sideways while turning your opponent’s creatures into Cowards who simply can’t get in the way. This deck embodies the spirit of brewing: taking risks, experimenting with new ideas, and ultimately crafting something that feels uniquely ours.

If you’re looking for a deck that combines high-powered plays with the opportunity for constant refinement and creativity, Naya Warriors might be just what you need. It’s not just about winning—it’s about sending a message. A message that cowards can’t block warriors, and that with the right tools and community support, even the most janky of ideas can become something formidable.

There’s always room for improvement, and I can’t wait to see what future iterations bring. I encourage you to take this list out for a spin, surprise your opponents, and have some fun. Just remember-cowards can’t block warriors.

Thanks for reading.

As always feel free to comment and leave any questions you have below! Make sure to come back next week for even more Fun & Jank!

If you want to see these decks in action, come hang out with me on stream where we test, refine, and have a ton of fun together!

Happy Brewing!