BOROS IS ACTUALLY GOOD??? (NOT CLICKBAIT)
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on March 30, 2021, 1:41 p.m. by Sultai_Sir
What do you guys think of Boros in Strixhaven so far? We've gotten a bunch of cool legendaries, a whole new theme (sacrifice/recursion), card advantage, and a hodge-podge of other great cards, like Efreet Flamepainter, Strict Proctor, and Rip Apart. So how's it looking to ya? Any cool things you want to build around?
Sultai_Sir says... #3
Thanks for the input, Archetypezero! I think that while the elder dragon is horrendous (worse Narset for more mana while also having less safety), the other legends, especially Hofri, look great, and the card advantage being pretty well costed, with some of the cards (Reconstruct History and Radiant Scrollwielder) being decent in other colors! When's the last time you could've said that Simic wanted a Boros card, and not vice versa?
March 30, 2021 2:03 p.m.
Archetypezero says... #4
I'm definitely interested in cards like Hofri, but I feel that by the time you have the mana to actually get it on the board, you're dead or Hofri is dead.
Radiant scrollwielder is a neat effect, but even playing it on turn 4 (when it's easily answerable), it first has to survive for a full round and come back to you, then you have to have the mana to cast the exiled instant/sorcery, which most likely slows down your turn 5 play. Again, if Radiant Scrollwielder was cheaper this wouldn't be a problem.
Reconstruct history doesn't affect the board. it has the same problems as radiant scrollwielder, where its easily answered (graveyard hate, counterspells, etc) by the time its playable because its so expensive.
I will say this too: It's impossible to evaluate the strength of cards in a vacuum. we're speculating here, so we won't know the true power level of these cards until we've played with them. I could be totally wrong and look like an asshole in a few months when someone much smarter than me cracks these cards.
March 30, 2021 2:17 p.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #5
Well, from what I've been brewing, Hofri is insane. He's like Marchesa, the Black Rose because he can steal your creatures, kill them, and than make a copy of them while also removing them, and he also supports combos and a general sacrifice theme like a boss. He's sort of like Muldrotha, the Gravetide in that he's hard to get set up, but once he's there, you win. But I do see what you mean with Radiant Scrollwielder and Reconstruct History. They're definitely dead to graveyard hate, and I'm not saying Boros is as good as Simic or Izzet anytime soon. It's still the worst color pair in Commander. It's just a lot better then in previous sets.
March 30, 2021 2:23 p.m.
Omniscience_is_life says... #6
Yeah. Not impressed.
The thing that makes me a little sad is that WotC clearly tried so hard to make good card advantage for RW in this set: you can clearly see that the majority of Lorehold cards have some sort of value in that respect, and yet--I still don't really want to play any of the effects in any of my several Boros decks. Why? Because the Legends are all build-arounds (Wizards focusing too much on making cards good commanders, not good in the 99), and the rest require a GY theme which no current Boros deck is.
March 30, 2021 2:30 p.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #7
I guess I'm in the minority! Maybe I've been desensitized by the white/red trash WotC has been releasing the past year or two ( Divine Gambit? Really, Wizards?).
March 30, 2021 2:40 p.m.
Archetypezero says... #8
I was really hoping for some spicy new Feather tech. There are definitely STX cards that could be good in Feather, but nothing making my eyes pop like Unleash Fury did.
March 30, 2021 2:51 p.m.
Omniscience_is_life says... #9
Sultai_Sir don't ever let go of your enthusiasm! Just because we may hate doesn't mean its bad, nor should it. Keep seeing things as good and they will be :)
March 30, 2021 2:53 p.m.
TriusMalarky says... #10
It's a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE step in the right direction. Doesn't do too much for EDH, but I've seen a lot of cards good all the way to Modern in White.
March 30, 2021 4:10 p.m.
Boros has been good for like year now. It's not cedh but you could get it up to like 7-8 range
March 30, 2021 4:19 p.m.
I love Rip Apart and Quintorius, Field Historian . This is the direction I like to see WotC taking Boros.
March 30, 2021 7:05 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #13
Eh. I'm not too impressed power wise but I think it's a step in the right direction. The best thing to me has to be the Cathartic Reunion that doesn't come at an additional cost and the hate bear that doubles as a silence.
Most of the other things are just spirit tribal support and a Narset elder dragon which I think are neat but they're not pushing the envelope like they did with winota but there are still some spoilers left so we'll see how this pans out.
March 30, 2021 10:18 p.m.
AjaxSlumbering says... #14
Honestly, I like it. It takes the (IMO) stale graveyard/reanimator archetype in a new drection, in colors that not only needed it, but have a surprising amount of things already that use the graveyard for something (like Alms , or Flashback , or Retrace ...).
In addition, the flavor really feels on point, though that might be a general Strixhaven thing. Quintorius, Field Historian is the first Boros commander that i've been excited to play since I started, and that's partly because of the flavor text on both him and Stonebound Mentor, but also see above.
Also, Sultai_Sir, I personally think that Velomachus Lorehold is pretty good as is, mainly because I don't really want a Boros Narset. Red should have a bit of risk in it, and without Blue in there to hold it back, Velomachus feels right in a way I can't explain.
March 30, 2021 11:50 p.m.
Nightblad3 says... #15
Lorehold is a much bigger body, has haste, evasion, and digs a card deeper. It's an interesting Narset-like effect but it has its pros and cons. I'm definitely going to brew around him some but not entirely sure where I want to go with it. Overall I like the Boros tech in STX and it has interesting stuff to play around with, not only in boros aggro, but boros spellslingers and graveyard are also getting new tech. Overall not bad at all
Archetypezero says... #2
If everything cost 2-3 less mana I think STX Boros would be good. Most of the cards I've seen seem overcosted into outer space.
Maybe I'm just dumb though and wizards is trying to make STX boros something other than aggro? (which it historically has been)
March 30, 2021 1:57 p.m.