By @MagusoftheSalt
Hey Planeswalkers, welcome back to the Top Down Commander Blog. I'm your Sensei, the Magus of the Salt. Today we're going to be taking a look at a different kind of Boros Voltron.
I know it's a bit of an oxymoron to say "different" and "voltron" in regards to a Boros commander deck but I think you'll see what I mean as this article unfolds. You see, when I think of Boros Voltron decks, I think of commanders like Aurelia, the Warleader and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, suited up with tons of equipment and several extra turn spells. This deck runs none of those. Without further ado, let's take off our shoes and step into the deck dojo.
The Top Down Commander
Let's start off by taking a look at the commander of today's deck: Haktos, the Unscarred.
Haktos is Magic: The Gathering's representation of Achilles from Greek mythology. He attacks each turn if able, to demonstrate his commitment to the fight (which doesn't make a lot of sense if you know anything about Achilles, but whatever). And as Haktos enters the battlefield you randomly choose either 2, 3, or 4 and Haktos gains protection from each converted mana cost except the chosen number; this protection from all but a single source is obviously emblematic of the classic "Achilles' Heel."
Protection is an incredibly valuable mechanic to have on your giant 6/1 commander because it makes Haktos virtually unblockable, except by creatures with the chosen CMC. Remember the acronym DEBT when dealing with protection; the creature with protection cannot be Damaged, Enchanted, Blocked, or Targeted. The twist of this deck will be manipulating that protection to best take of advantage of our commander.
On the surface, Haktos looks like he has all the potential in the world, but we're going to have to dig a bit deeper to unlock said potential.
Sensei's Strategy
Before we start figuring out how we're going to abuse Haktos, let's start out by looking at different cards that Haktos will always have protection from. At converted mana cost zero, we primarily focus on lands that can't target Haktos. Lucky for us, our opponents can't depend on a Maze of Ith or Kor Haven to shut down Haktos. You'll have to be more clever than that. Unfortunately, this protection from lands goes both ways and we can't target Haktos with a Slayer's Stronghold or a Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. Looks like we'll have to be more clever too.
Moving on to the one drop slot, we start to blank some popular removal spells that would otherwise take care of Haktos like Swords to Plowshares, Pongify, Lightning Bolt and a revolted Fatal Push. Once again, this protection is symmetrical so we lose access to utility cards like Mother of Runes, Assault Strobe, Built to Last, and Built to Smash.
Remember when I said that we weren't running equipment in this deck? That's because of Haktos and his random protection. We never know if Haktos will have protection from two, and stop Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots, or protection from three, stopping any of the Swords. Plus Haktos will always have protection from Skullclamp. So, in my opinion, it just isn't worth the struggle to play equipment that might just end up doing nothing.
And finally, Haktos will also have protection from cards with converted mana cost five or greater. This will blank effects like Mind Control and Windgrace's Judgement. We can also use this protection to our advantage in the form of damage based board wipes like Blasphemous Act and Hour of Devastation which will leave Haktos, Unscarred (pun intended).
Converted mana cost 3 is easily the most dangerous CMC for this deck and the number we hope we don't hit when we cast Haktos. Being vulnerable to three opens us up to so many popular targeted removal spells like Anguished Unmaking, Beast Within, Chaos Warp, and Generous Gift. We've got a few ways to protect ourselves from these spells, but usually we'll just be praying to the Lords of Chaos to avoid it in general.
The Haktos Twist
So we've seen what Haktos cannot do but I'm sure you're asking what CAN Haktos do? How are we going to abuse this 6/1, nigh-unblockable, badass? We're going to put most of our focus into two abilities: Exalted and Soulbond.
Let's start off by looking at Exalted, which says: Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, that creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. I recommend running every card with exalted that we can because even one instance of Exalted puts Haktos into the sweet spot of seven power (or a three hit kill). The best exalted cards include Battlegrace Angel and Sublime Archangel. Sublime Archangel will even grant all of our creatures Exalted, hopefully making Haktos swing for a ton of damage each turn.
Soulbond is a mechanic I was surprised I could even include in this deck. I mean, when I think of Soulbond I usually only think of Deadeye Navigator anyway. But the important thing about Soulbond is that it doesn't target. Soulbond says: "You may pair this creature with an unpaired creature." So as long as Haktos isn't already paired with another soulbond creature, you can pair away. The best soulbond cards include Silverblade Paladin, which grants Haktos double strike and Stonewright, which gives firebreathing so you can dump all that sweet excess Boros mana into it. Because we all know you'll have soooooo much extra mana in Boros.
And the last way we're going to buff Haktos is with anthems. Just like exalted, any single anthem will bring Haktos to that magical seven power. Double Strike is another powerful way to ensure that we can close out games as quickly as possible. Some of my favorites in this category include Goblin Oriflame, Dictate of Heliod, Gratuitous Violence, and True Conviction.
I'd also highly recommend running Akroma's Memorial and The Immortal Sun as they are both incredible cards for this deck. Akroma's Memorial gives Haktos and the rest of our board so many keywords and can usually close out games shortly after it comes down. The Immortal Sun is an anthem, a cost reducer, and card draw all on one so you'd be hard pressed not to include it in every Boros deck ever.
Staying Alive
While Haktos has protection from a great many threats, he isn't indestructible. The two greatest weaknesses to this deck are board wipes and being overrun. Haktos may blank a lot of single target removal, but he doesn't have any defense against wraths. We don't have a critical mass of creatures so we struggle when opponents come at us with a huge board. So let's look at some ways to shore up those weaknesses.
We start off with ways to make our commander indestructible. Boros Charm, Selfless Spirit, and Unbreakable Formation do a great job of protecting Haktos and any other creatures on our board. My personal favorite form of protection, though, is Archangel Avacyn. Not only does Avacyn come down at flash speed and protect Haktos, but if it flips, Avacyn acts as a mini board wipe that deals three damage to each opponent and each creature (except Haktos because she retains her 5 CMC and can't damage Haktos!).
To stop ourselves from being overrun by tokens, we're going to run a small prison package. Ghostly Prison taxes our opponents for each creature they swing our way while Crawlspace is going stop all but two creatures from being able to swing at us in general. Lastly, we're running Silent Arbiter which fits perfectly into our Voltron strategy.
Sensei's Top Pick
And now we've come to Sensei's top pick of the deck. Remember Sensei's top pick is my choice for the best card in the deck. Drumroll please...
Sanctum Prelate is the perfect partner for Haktos. With the Prelate, there are two primary ways to capitalize on its utility. First, you can play the Prelate after casting Haktos and choose the same number to which Haktos is weak. EG Haktos enters and you randomly select three, then you cast the Prelate, choosing 3, and shutting your opponents down from casting noncreature spells with CMC of 3.
The second trick with Prelate is to use it proactively to protect you from certain spells. Let's say you know someone has a Wrath of God or Fumigate in hand; even if your Haktos has protection from 4, blanking someone else's Wrath of God could be a lot more valuable in keeping Haktos alive and devastating your opponents.
More often than not, the best choice will still be to choose 3. As discussed above, three is a popular and dangerous converted mana cost in commander. Ultimately, Sanctum Prelate is a versatile tool that is essential for a well run Haktos list and is this Sensei's Top Pick of the deck.
That's All Folks
And that's my deck overview for Haktos, the Unscarred, Boros Voltron with a twist. I'm sure you'll recognize that this isn't a full deck tech. I thought I'd just give a preview and discussion of the deck in this blog, so if you'd like to see the rest, I encourage you to check out the Archidekt link below. If you'd rather I cover the whole deck and the whole list next time, please let me know in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to also check out the full video breakdown of this deck HERE on YouTube.
Until next time, Keep Kicking Ass!
Archidekt: Achilles' Heel
YouTube: Top Down Commander
Twitter: @MagusoftheSalt
Facebook: Top Down Commander
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