MTGO
ARENA
PAPER
Boros Convoke in Standard: Deck & Sideboard Guide
Quick Intro
With the arrival of Murders at Karlov Manor, one of the Standard archetypes that has certainly benefited is Boros Convoke; it has gained some key pieces to try to compete with the meta decks.
Today, I'm going to talk about it, the new cards included, the card choices, and provide a sideboard guide against the tiers of the format.
The Deck
(5 - 2)
71% in MTGO Standard Challenge 64 #12612888 [64 Players] — 11-Feb-2024
$311/55.79 Tix
Maindeck (60)
| Creature [31] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Knight-Errant of Eos | $7.99 | |
| 4 Imodane's Recruiter | $0.35 | |
| 4 Novice Inspector | $0.59 | |
| 4 Regal Bunnicorn | $0.99 | |
| 4 Resolute Reinforcements | $0.59 | |
| 3 Sanguine Evangelist | $0.49 | |
| 4 Voldaren Epicure | $0.39 | |
| 4 Warden of the Inner Sky | $2.29 | |
| Sorcery [4] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Gleeful Demolition | $2.49 | |
| Enchantment [3] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 Case of the Gateway Express | $0.35 | |
| Land [22] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 Mountain | $0.01 | |
| 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire | $9.99 | |
| 1 Mirrex | $7.99 | |
| 4 Battlefield Forge | $0.99 | |
| 2 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance | $6.49 | |
| 3 Sundown Pass | $12.99 | |
| 2 Thran Portal | $0.69 | |
| 2 Plains | $0.01 | |
| 4 Cavern of Souls | $42.99 | |
| Sideboard [15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 Destroy Evil | $1.99 | |
| 2 End the Festivities | $1.99 | |
| 4 Invasion of Gobakhan | $5.99 | |
| 3 Lithomantic Barrage | $0.99 | |
| 3 Lantern Flare | $0.49 | |
$55.91 Tix @cardhoarder
$1.40 / Week @cardhoarder
$260.34 @tcgplayer
$360.85 @cardkingdom
Visual View
Similar Decks
Proxies
Archetype Analysis
Magic online format
Apprentice and MWS .dec
Rastaf, one of the best Magic Online grinders and the current Brazilian champion of Magic, made top8 last weekend with this list.
Originally, the list was created by Sodek, also well-known in the community. I didn't have much success in the tournament when I decided to play with it, but some of these results show that the deck is really here to stay.
The New Cards
Novice Inspector
Thraben Inspector is a key card for the Pioneer version of the convoke deck, and I believe that having another solid one-drop has really boosted the deck's performance in its Standard iteration. In fact, some Pioneer builds have even started to forgo the Ornithopter in favor of running "8 inspectors," resulting in fewer poor draws in the mid to late game and maintaining better consistency with artifact and white creature generators for convoking. However, speaking of Standard, although we don't have eight convokers like in Pioneer, there was a need for an additional one-drop to pair with Voldaren Epicure. Now, we have a version that comes very close to its Pioneer counterpart.
Case of the Gateway Express
A case that became a pleasant surprise. With the possibility of making many creatures early on, mainly with the help of Gleeful Demolition, it has a great ability to kill almost any creature in the format and even increase the power of your creatures, being very relevant especially in damage race matches.
It gets a bit weaker post-sideboard, as increasing the number of removals makes it less efficient, but still, it seems to be a perfect card to have in the main deck and deal with some problematic cards, like Dennick, Preacher of the Schism, and Glissa Sunslayer.
Warleader’s Call x Sanguine Evangelist
Some lists have been opting for Warleader's Call, which is the type of "anthem effect" that's useful these days: besides increasing the power and toughness of creatures, it has a very good effect making every other creature deal direct damage when it enters. But still, it might be a bit slow for the format. In this list, Sodek preferred to use Sanguine Evangelist, which in a way, also acts as an anthem with its battle cry and even if it's removed, it leaves an important token on the table. Personally, I also prefer Evangelist, although I believe Warleader's Call can also be an interesting option, especially serving as a mirror breaker, in case you expect many matches like this.
Matchups & Sideboard guide
Esper Midrange
It's not one of the best matchups. Deep-Cavern Bat removing our best card, in combination with Raffine, can make the damage race very complicated, as it can gain a lot of life while Raffine locks down our best attacks. In addition to that, Dennick is also hard to deal with due to his lifelink ability, and Wedding Announcement locks down the ground to the point where our attacks become increasingly worse. In G2 with more removals we have more chances to combat so many efficient creatures, but we must remember that many efficient hate cards like Path of Peril and Gix’s Command will also be present, so we cannot celebrate too much.
Golgari Midrange
Another match that isn't the best, but at least we don't have as many disrupting creatures like versus Esper. Golgari is very good at doing one-for-one trades, but from the moment we fill the board with tokens and set up lethal attacks with Imodane’s Recruiter, the match becomes more favorable. If we face a build with mass removal in the main deck, it becomes more complicated, but we shouldn't worry too much because lately, Golgari builds have been more focused on creatures, which is good for us. Post sideboard, yes, we have to be careful with the black sweepers. In this type of match with more removals, I miss something like Wedding Announcement, precisely to make these one-for-one removals worse, but with this configuration, what we can do is bring in some relevant removals, like Destroy Evil, which can destroy Preacher of the Schism and Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal, and also Invasion of Gobakhan, which when flipped can save our creatures from the sweepers.
UW Soldiers
It's a favorable matchup; they can't withstand the pressure of many creatures on the board. Our Knight of Errant-Eos has more relevant targets than theirs. The most complicated card to deal with is the Lunarch Veteran, which allows them to gain a large amount of life, turning the race in their favor. Post-sideboard, they have more removal spells, but ours are more efficient. Regal Bunnicorn is a real terror for them to deal with.
Monored Aggro
This match is slightly more favorable, but mono-red is a very dangerous deck that can easily win by curving out its spells. In Game 1, we don't need to worry about anything too relevant; we just need to flood the board with tokens, hold back some attacks, and flip the switch with Recruiter to have a significant body on the board with Knight Errant of Eos. Post-sideboard, they have access to End the Festivities, which, depending on the situation, can act as a brutal Plague Wind. Against this specific card, I believe builds with Warleader's Call are more favorable, but we don't have many ways to play around it. Lantern Flare is an exceptional card, as it not only removes creatures but can also provide very relevant life gain.
Dimir Midrange
A "Esper variant" that is better for us exists, precisely because it lacks white cards. We shouldn't be overly concerned with the card advantage that Gix generates, since the damage points it deals are also significant in the race. However, some cards like Preacher and Aclazotz are quite challenging to handle. Moreover, our opponent likely has more spot removals, so we shouldn't expect an easy match. Post-sideboard, Gobakhan once again stands out by neutralizing the most impactful cards. When flipped, it serves as both a threat and a safeguard against mass removal.
Rakdos Aggro
In the first game, this deck doesn't have a lot of removal options, but its creatures are more threatening than those in Golgari decks, especially builds that include Archfiend of Dross, which can kill opponents very quickly. The first game tends to be favorable, and in the second game, you'll have access to more removal and sweepers. In this matchup, we will miss not having Wedding Announcement, but Gobakhan can also provide assistance, just as it does against almost all black midrange decks that lack access to really effective exile removal.
Domain Ramp
Some Domain builds have started playing with Temporary Lockdown, which is very bad news for us since it is one of the main pieces of hate that we can suffer. Apart from that, Sunfall can be either very efficient or very slow, depending on how you start the game. So focus on aggressive hands and mulligan those that give time for the opponent to breathe. Post-side Gobakhan helps, not so much because of being flipped but more for delaying sweepers and making us feel safer putting many creatures on the board.
Final words
MKM's arrival has resurrected a deck that seemed forgotten. Boros Convoke has gained new weapons to fight against the meta decks, and the initial results are very promising. Although it doesn't have a good matchup against Esper, I still believe there is room for evolution and for it to become an even better option for Standard.
Until next time!