Hi guys! This will be my first ever deckbuilding/strategy article on this blog, so bear with me. I'll be talking about the red-white deck that dared to oppose Jund supremacy: Boros Bushwhacker. Let's start off with the decklist that made 5th place at the recent Worlds event held in Rome.

Boros Bushwacker by Bram Snepvangers:
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
4 Mountain
6 Plains
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Teetering Peaks
24 lands

3 Elite Vanguard
2 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
3 Kor Skyfisher
4 Plated Geopede
4 Ranger of Eos
4 Steppe Lynx
24 creatures

2 Burst Lightning
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
12 other spells

Sideboard
2 Baneslayer Angel
1 Burst Lightning
1 Celestial Purge
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Harm's Way
2 Journey to Nowhere
3 Manabarbs
2 Oblivion Ring


The Core
Red-white means fast. It's the color of fast food, It's the color of the Mach 5 (thats Speed racer's car for you less nerdy folks) and it's the fastest color combination in standard right now. This is mainly due to the landfall powerhouses Steppe Lynx and Plated Geopede, and the much debated Goblin guide. These three creatures are the usual 4-ofs you would find common among Boros decklists. Some people believe the Geopede is a tad too slow for the deck, but I beg to differ. Early game consistency is what makes this deck potent. It has so many ways to draw a god hand its not even funny. Having lots of one and two drops that maximize early damage allows you to get your opponent within burn range faster than he can say Concede. Red usually has problems running out of gas, and white fixes this by contributing Ranger of Eos. The deck usually ends the game by setting up a big turn 5. Ranger of eos is used to get a steppe lynx and Goblin Bushwhacker, then on the next turn you play out your creatures, activate landfall and swing for massive damage.

Beating Jund
No other deck can better capitalize on your opponent's slow draw than Boros. This is why it has the potential to beat Jund. Jund has massive midgame power. Once it gets it's proper mana it plays superior spells that always generate card advantage. This is where speed comes in. Jund usually plays a tap land on turns 1-2, and a putrid leech on turns 2-3, followed by a blightning or a sprouting thrinax turns 3-4. Such an opening is prone to an early rush, such as turn 1 lynx, turn 2 fetch + geopede, turn 3 fetch + something else. After much playtesting, I've learned that you can usually deal enough damage to Jund early on and then just reach with a burst lightning or bolt for the win. The good thing about this strategy is that unlike other decks, you are not playing Jund's game. You are the aggressor in this scenario, and the Jund player has to play his spells in response to yours, not the other way around. The Jund player will have to think if playing his usual black>green opening mana will be benificial, since he would expect an early beatdown and he might need red mana open for a lightning bolt or terminate. This in turn messes with his mana curve, and the putrid leech or sprouting thrinax might come down later than he had intended. Blightning is also less effective against a deck that plays out it's hand very quickly. In addition, some lists (like mine) run a plethora of fast unearth-able creatures like Hellspark elemental and Hell's thunder. Some Jund players side out Blightning in game two due to it becoming a 3 damage 3 to cast sorcery spell. Boros also features a great sideboard against Jund, in Goblin Ruinblaster, Celestial purge and other Exile removals that negate sprouting thrinax's ability. All in all, this tactic is something worth considering if you expect a lot of Jund in your local meta.

Deck Tuning
Speaking of your local meta, I believe its always a good idea to scout your local meta when tuning your deck. "Meta" or "Metagame" for those new to the term, refers to the deck composition of your playgroups. What decks are people bringing to your FNMs and local events? Are there more Jund players than Boros? Does anybody play rogue decks? You don't want to build a deck that hoses Jund, only to end up playing against 5 Eldrazi green decks in a row. I think its best to draft up your own decks tuned to your local meta rather than just going online and printing out decklists. Of course its also good to start from a proven archetype, then working in your adjustments from there. I once read in an article somewhere that 1st place decklists are not the "best" but actually only the "best at that particular tournament". For example, the decklist above did well at Worlds due to the population of decks present at that event, so copying it card-for-card might not net you the same results. Personal preference and your playstyle also comes in, so if you prefer hellspark elemental main deck over plated geopede then so be it. Magic is supposed to be fun game, and a lot of that enjoyment comes from designing a deck on your own an doing well with it. Keep this in mind when tuning your Boros deck, or any deck for that matter.

I for one, am expecting a Jund population of around 30% at the upcoming Southern Invitational. Other players will expect this as well and will bring Eldrazi green and White based anti-jund decks, so my list should be prepared for them too. I won't go into my decklist just yet. If I do well at the event i'll probably post it up here.

The battle for southern supremacy will be this Sunday, December 6 3pm. See you all there!