Akros, the polis watched over by Iroas, the God of Awesome, needs to have a military force to match. Mogis can try and destroy Akros, but the forces of Iroas will stand up, look him in the eye, and say 'No.'
THE BEATSTICKS - The meat and potatoes
Anax and Cymede
- Obligatory RW legendary which create incremental amounts of value as more is piled onto it, on top of being a formidable foe without heroic triggers as well. No Akroan deck is quite the same without it.
Fabled Hero
- One of the cards this deck would not survive without. With a Madcap Skills attached, there is little stopping this guy from getting huge and mowing down anything that looks at it funny; In more recent times combos have included 18 damage on turn 4, followed up by 30 damage the turn after. Incredible 3 drop.
Hero of Iroas
- The best Born of the Gods had to offer this sort of deck. Opens up a world of possibilities, has his own heroic trigger, the works, makes EVERY noncreature spell cost 1 CMC, making the mana base very flexible as early as turn 2. Makes me very optimistic for what the rest of Theros has in store for the Polis of Awesome.
Favored Hoplite
- Every army has a small beginning. Dropping this guy on turn 1 is the smallest start the army of Iroas can get, but - the value gained from one of these guys is immense. Great against burn decks, the hoplite can go into battle against forces far superior to his own (on both offense and the rare defense) and still come out with a smile on his face. Inspiraional.
THE PUMPS - The source of their strength
Gods Willing - I know what you're thinking. This doesn't pump. However, this spell has two sides, making it incredible value in this deck: For one, protection from a colour. Indestructible blockers, Unblockable attackers, hexproof for the rest of the turn. Then there's the less impactful scry clause, which can filter out lands once you've hit your magic number. Long story short, this card keeps your opponents guessing.
Madcap Skills - Yes, it is this card. The uncomfortable situation on a stick for your opponent. Especially slapped onto a
Fabled Hero
which is swinging at 6/3 Double Strike on turn 4. Drop that other 2 mana into, say, a Titan's Strength and a Gods Willing, then you're swinging with a 11/6 Double Strike that they may not be able to block. Game, Set, and Match.
Coordinated Assault
- A swap out from the previous addition of
Martial Glory
, the glory will stay in the sideboard if the toughness boost is needed, but the first strike and two aggressive targeted boosts push this card over the top for me. The first strike is relevant on 9 of the creatures in this deck, but if i had to choose between +3/+0 and +0/+3 on a board of
Anax and Cymede
and
Fabled Hero
, or 2 instances of +2/+0 when they already have first strikes, i know which one i'd choose.
Titan's Strength - Another straight forward pump spell, that buffs your dudes while checking ahead to smooth out your consistency. Makes for even more value when tacked onto a
Fabled Hero
, who benefits doubly from every extra point of power placed onto it. For the benefit of the Scry, see Gods Willing.
THE REMOVAL - Why won't they die?
Chained to the Rocks - So good. I'll take 4. Journey to Nowhere for W, which makes the deck even more blisteringly quick and allows for you to deal with larger threats than normal.
Ordeal of Purphoros
- Ok, so this is debatable. I elected to class this under removal, as more often than not it procs on the same turn, making it a
Searing Spear
with an extra 2 +1/+1 counters, often more, on your creatures. These can be used to wombo combo into your opponents face, but I prefer using them to obliterate your opponents blockers, denying them a chance to block a Madcap Skills or kill the only creature you dont have protection from with a Gods Willing. Excellent Creature-based removal.
Feel free to +1 if you enjoy what you see!
