Last time we talked about the nerfs that hit Boros Energy in Historic and I left you with a question: "Has Wizards of the Coast managed to bring the deck back to the same level as the others?".
In case you missed it and want to know more about the recent Historic rebalances, together with my thoughts, I'll leave the article below so you can catch up!
Today, after a week, I will try to answer this question, but above all we'll see in practice the effects that these changes have had on the deck, showing you my personal version of Boros Energy post-nerf and the processes and reasoning that led me towards this evolution.
Lurrus Vs Phlage
Before rebalancing, there were two macro versions of the deck and players had to choose whether it was better to play Lurrus of the Dream-Den or Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury.
- Lurrus of the Dream-Den, allowed a more explosive and aggressive playstyle, with many low-cost threats and removals. The opponent had to be able to interact quickly and running out of removals could be a big problem... especially when Lurr entered the battlefield!
- Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury, allowed a slightly more midrange playstyle, without giving up the threats of the early turns, but guaranteeing depth with Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki and extra removals with Phlage itself, which turned into a win condition in the late game.
As far as I'm concerned, I preferred the Phlage version even before, but the nerf of A-Ocelot Pride, which brought it to cost 2 mana, further reinforced this preference of mine, since the loss of such an important 1-drop goes to damage mostly the more aggressive version: the Lurrus one, as said.
So in this article I will cover only deck with the Elder Giant, although this doesn't mean that the other is not possible or not strong... just slightly weaker now, in my opinion!
Boros Energy Midrange (first day version)
When the Historic rebalances were announced, I immediately thought that the best deck to absorb them was none other than the midrange version of Boros I was playing up to that point!
- A-Guide of Souls has had the smallest change and, aside from less front traction, it doesn't affect the version and can still do what it did before.
- A-Galvanic Discharge has been hit, but it was a pretty general change for all decks that used it. Its use depends on the amount of other ways to generate Energy and whether or not you need to kill a creature with 3 toughness in the first two turns of the game.
- A-Ocelot Pride is what does affect the version and makes the difference. Some people think it's still good because you can do it on turn 2 after doing A-Guide of Souls, just like before. In reality, this is putting you in the best case scenario and you can't play it together with a removal or another 1-drop, while for all the other cases you'll have a creature that has lost the timing to connect and that, yes, in the late game will be the same as the 1-mana version... but that was never intended for the late game!
Already pre-nerf I used to side out Ocelot Pride, especially on the draw, due to the many removals, favoring a more midrange plan and putting in Tajic, Legion's Valor, completely unmanageable for the vast majority of the other decks. Why not make this change for maindeck, then, now that Ocelot is gone?
Furthermore, the massive presence of Suncleanser in the metagame had already led me to abandon Amped Raptor which also risked whiffing too often by revealing a mana value 3 when it shouldn't have, and it would have done even more so now with the inclusion of a 4-drop like Tajic, Legion's Valor.
Because of Suncleanser I also gave up on Static Prison, preferring the less versatile Fragment Reality, leaving the Energy package only to Guide of Souls and Galvanic Discharge. However, the latter does only 2 damage now and needs more Energy enablers to work at its best and reach at least 3 damage like any decent Lightning Bolt, something that doesn't happen consistently here and which therefore made me opt for a return to what was played until a couple of months ago: Shove Aside.
In addition, as I mentioned in the previous article, I expected that Izzet Wizards would become popular again and I thought it was important to have a removal spell that could be done on turn 1, maybe even on the draw, to remove any of: Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student // Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar, A-Symmetry Sage, Dreadhorde Arcanist, Balmor, Battlemage Captain, as well as Strict Proctor in UW Field Control.
Lastly, all that remains is to fill the void of the 1-drop now that Oot Pride is no longer there and the best replacement, although unfortunately not as synergistic with the deck, is Esper Sentinel. It's not always excellent, but you can hardly go wrong with it, making you draw at least 1 card or slowing down the opponent.
The deck proved to be very strong right away, smoothly taking me up to Mythic #40 on Arena ladder with a win rate of over 85%. I was continuing to win, but as I was doing so I realized that something wasn't going as expected and that, despite the positive results, something had to change...
Boros Energy (first week version)
So what happened? The problem wasn't the deck... the problem is the metagame!
On day 1, I expected the nerfs to not change much:
- Boros Energy had just taken a beating, but it was the undisputed tier 1 and, even if it hadn't remained that way, it would have continued to be played and get results;
- UW & Jeskai Control were strong before and would have been strong after, with Jeskai compensating for the nerf of A-Galvanic Discharge with Tune the Narrative above all;
- UR Wizards would have become popular again, taking advantage of the nerf just mentioned;
- Woodland, Mardu Sac, Yawgmoth, G Devotion, Affinity and Kethis would have been the other decks that would have been played, in some cases taking advantage of the period of confusion and settling.
But that's not how it went! A week later, people have almost stopped playing Boros Energy and moved towards Mardu Sacrifice, which doesn't need A-Ocelot Pride (it wants 1-drops to sacrifice) nor A-Galvanic Discharge (it has Fatal Push) but continues to make the most of the combo between Ajani, Nacatl Pariah and Goblin Bombardment.
Boros Energy has inevitably slowed down following the nerf of Ocelot Pride and this has led to the rise of MonoG Devotion which now has time to set up, becoming unmanageable for any fair deck and pushing out Control, which perhaps needs more time to find a new balance.
While my win rate against G Devotion was still positive, I wasn't entirely satisfied with my midrange build in the matchup: with mediocre and situational removals and Tajic, Legion's Valor that sometimes wasn't enough. There were no more mirror matches to play like before and, without even Jeskai Control, I gradually reduced more and more Suncleanser between mainboard and sideboard.
Wait a minute! No more Suncleanser?? This means the deck can now be completely redesigned and go back to being full Energy as it always should have been!
Static Prison is the removal I missed the most in the other version and I find it ideal against MonoG Devotion since it allows you to remove both low-mana value things like Utopia Sprawl and Fanatic of Rhonas, as well as bigger and harder to remove threats like Old-Growth Troll, Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner and Cavalier of Thorns.
A-Galvanic Discharge also regains the maindeck, boosted by the many ways to get Energy, and being able to occasionally remove Fanatic of Rhonas or Polukranos Reborn // Polukranos, Engine of Ruin from the unattainable toughness for a classic bolt as was Shove Aside.
With the return of Energy, the creature department gains Amped Raptor, which could still whiff revealing a 3-mana piece, but which is boosted by 4 Aether Hub! Even without having A-Guide of Souls on the first turn, in fact, it will still be possible to play Aether Hub + Amped Raptor on the second one and be able to cast a Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki or Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury on that same turn for a huge value!
As for the sideboard, it's obviously very similar in both versions and is pretty standard with well-known cards, except for maybe Stone of Erech which I think is particularly important at the moment It's there mainly for Mardu Sacrifice, neutralizing its entire strategy: denying the value of the sacrificial pieces, not losing life from Marionette Apprentice (at least with the creatures), and preventing Ajani, Nacatl Pariah from transforming. By sacrificing itself it can then exile the graveyard and is also useful against graveyard-based combos like Woodland or Kethis, up to extreme cases where you could even use it on yourself to save other Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury from Surgical Extraction.
How good is Boros Energy still?
So it's time to take stock, is Boros Energy still tier 1?
Right now, just trying this second version more suited to the metagame, I'm mythic #15 without too much effort and maintaining a win rate of around 85%, so yes, for me Boros Energy is definitely still a tier 1, but most likely it's no longer as dominant as before and now it has to compete for the top with other equally valid choices that currently seem to be: Mardu Sacrifice and MonoG Devotion!
Even with some nerfs not done in the best way, in my opinion, Wizards of the Coast seems to have achieved its goal, taking the throne away from Boros Energy and rebalancing it to the level of the other top decks, recreating a varied and innovation-friendly metagame (during my short climb up the ladder I also encountered many strong and interesting decks but that I have not mentioned since they are not popular yet... but who knows if they will come out soon!).p>
I think Historic is currently a good format, maybe the best on MTG Arena, where you can be competitive and have fun at the same time and where you can still experiment with new things, maybe valorizing those MH3 cards that up to now have not managed to emerge due to the old metagame being too oppressive.
If you like it, don't miss the chance to play it now, because it won't last forever and sooner or later a Historic Qualifier or another serious tournament will arrive, ready to re-establish a tierlist and flatten it again.
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