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A deck archetype that has thrived in the standardMagic: The Gatheringmetagame is Boros Convoke, a speedy and interesting aggro deck that focuses on overwhelming your opponent’s board with cheap creatures and impressive value from the cards it plays.
While this deck would likely be nigh-unstoppable if Fable of the Mirror-Breaker hadn’t been banned, it is still an impressive build with plenty of intriguing ways to play it as well as a plethora of impressively strong spells to cast. Let’s delve into the decklist.
4 Warden of the Inner Sky
3 Knight-Errant of Eos
4 Case of the Gateway Express
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
3 Cavern of Souls
Key Cards
Warden of the Inner Sky
An incredible early game creature.This white one-drop pairs beautifully with either Novice Inspector (which creates a Clue token) or Voldaren Epicure (which creates a blood token). No matter what order you play them in, you’re getting a +1/+1 counter and a Scry for the low, low cost of tapping your creatures on your turn.
While this isn’t always the best play (such as when playing against monored aggro),you’re usually safe to use the Warden’s ability with reckless abandon in the early gamein order to dig for some of your more impactful cards, which can then, in turn, end the game in a hurry.
Case of the Gateway Express
One thing this archetype was missing before the release of Murders at Karlov Manor was reliable removal as well as“anthem” effects(that boost your creatures’ power and/or toughness). Luckily,this case enchantment spell solves both issues at the same time!
When it enters play, each of your creatures deals one damage to a single opposing creature. This part is eminently useful, as there is no shortage of tremendously powerful creatures to dismiss from your foe’s board. If your foe has five creatures,destroying an opposing Sheoldred, the Apocalypse can feel like a game-ender.
Beyond that, when you attack with at least three creatures, you solve the case, and all your creatures going forward will get +1/+0. Not a bad rate!
Sanguine Evangelist
What do convoke decks need the most? That’s right, lots of creatures. This card serves two roles in the deck. When it comes in play, you get a 1/1 bat creature token, which is useful on its own, butwhen you attack with it, all attacking creatures you control get +1/+0 (thanks to Battle cry). When you cast this card, you should automatically assume you’ll be attacking your foe nonstop from here on out.
While its power and toughness (2/1) leave something to be desired for a three-mana card, the fact that itleaves behind yet another bat token means that you’ll always be at a net-neutral in any combat encounter– a very useful feature in this deck. Overall, it pairs beautifully with the next card on our list…
Warleader’s Call
Another addition from Murders at Karlov Manor that really makes this deck sing.Pairing an “anthem” effect withImpact Tremors(i.e. when a creature enters the battlefield under your control, the card pings your opponent for one damage) is a truly awesome MTG card, and it’s absolutely perfect in this deck.
At times, you may find that your creatures are slightly underpowered against the wild shenanigans your foe is getting up to on their side of the battlefield (White/green Selesneya enchantment decks come to mind). However,when you drop this card, you automatically boost your creatures’ power and toughness and provide valuable chip damageas you aim to wear your foe down with constant attacks.
Imodane’s Recruiter // Train Troops
One of the most valuable game-enders in the entire deck.Say it’s turn six, and you just drew a Resolute Reinforcements, and you already had a Gleeful Demolition in hand with the Recruiter, and a Sanguine Evangelist in play alongside other creatures and plenty of artifact tokens to sacrifice.
First, you play the Reinforcements and produce two creatures. Then, you sacrifice a Blood or Clue token for Gleeful Demolition, netting you three creatures. Not bad, right? The only problem is all of these creatures are affected by summoning sickness and can’t attack yet. Enter Imodane Recruiter. Not only will he boost your creatures’ power by one, but he alsogiveshasteto all those creatures you just recruited.
Instead of waiting for next turn, you’re attacking for a staggering amount of damage right off the bat.Couple the Recruiter’s boost with other triggered or static boosts, such as from Warleader’s Call, Sanguine Evangelist, and more, and the game can end quickly in your favor.
Gleeful Demolition
Kuldotha Rebirth2.0 serves as a terrific boon for sacrificing your Clue or Blood tokens.When combined with the other cards already mentioned on this list (Warleader’s Call, an attacking Sanguine Evangelist and Imodane Recruiter), each of these seemingly harmless 1/1 tokens will be attacking as a 4/2 creature. That’s 12 points of damage for just one mana.
Toss in a “solved” Case of the Gateway Express, and you’ve got a 5/2. Wild stuff.
This card is the perfect example of how quickly this deck can get out of hand for your foe. On its face, it doesn’t seem too impressive, though a three-for-one is usually pretty terrific, butwhen you make your creatures bigger (which they almost always will be), those three tokens can end the game quickly– let alone when you have tons of other threats on the board.
Knight-Errant of Eos
Not the most entertaining card on the list, but it is the card that gives the deck its name.This card is the premier card in the deck that features the convoke keyword, and its ability to tutor for other creatures in the deck make it invaluable in the later game as you try to outflank your foe with a huge board presence.
Playing this and then pushing the envelope next turn with an Imodane’s Recruiter or battle crying Sanguine Evangelistusually spells “game over”for your opponent. While it lacks any keywords (vigilance or lifelink would surely be nice), it’s still a beefy body (4/4) and its ability is paramount in this deck.
This cannot dig for noncreature cards, so if you’re looking for a Warleader’s Call or Case of the Gateway Express, you will not be able to grab one by using Knight-Errant’s ability.
How To Play Boros Convoke
Since this is an aggro-based creature deck, thebest way to play it is to be aggressive at all times.While it might not seem like attacking your foe is a good idea, this deck has plenty of ways to make up for fallen creatures.
Whether it be the token generated by Sanguine Evangelist upon its demise, or the ability to dig for more creatures with Knight-Errant of Eos’s ability, you likelywon’t have much trouble finding more creatures to pressure your opponent with as the game goes on. Warden of the Inner Sky can also stack your deck as you go digging for more creatures.
One major flaw of this deck is itsweakness to board wipes such as Depopulate, Sunfall, Farewell and many others. However, you’re usually quite far ahead by the time these cards are played, so it’s just a case of finding more threats to continue to threaten your opponent.
Though you’re aiming to end the game as quickly as possible by swarming your opponent with cheap creatures, if your board does end up getting wiped, one quick way to come back from that is with Imodane’s Recruiter’s adventure portion: Train Troops. Producing two 2/2 tokens with vigilance is a big play, especially if you have a Warleader’s Call in play. Couple that with playing the Recruiter himself a turn later, and you could quickly turn a game that looked dicey into an easy victory.
Another underappreciated way around those board wipes is through the tokens generatedby Novice Inspector and Voldaren Epicure. Say your foe wiped the board and left you with almost nothing in hand. Simply activate the Blood tokens or Clue tokens in order to dig through your deck to find a notable threat and keep the pressure on your foe – never let them take control.
Despite Monored Aggro sometimes being too fast for this build and control decks sometimes being annoying thanks to their bulwark of counterspells, removal, and board wipes,Boros Convoke is among the most highly played archetypes in the Murders at Karlov Manor Standard metagame. With high-powered and inexpensive cards, it’s easy to see why.
Slap down some cheap creatures, produce some tokens, boost your creatures with ease, and reap the benefits.
