Legacy: Hexing Boros Energy - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Greetings, Legacy community! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set is already here, but, while we're still waiting to see how these incredible characters will affect our format (or not), lots of decks are prospering with Lorwyn Eclipsed. In our last article, we covered a deck that plays Moonshadow. This time, we'll take a look at a deck that plays Hexing Squelcher.

This powerful Goblin has shown up in a huge variety of decks, including combo, Prison, and aggro. The deck we'll see today is very aggressive and currently rising in popularity: Boros Energy.

There are many ways to build Boros Energy in Legacy, but today we'll focus on a list that plays Hexing Squelcher, like many lists that are performing well in the format lately. This version in particular made it all the way to the top 8 of a Japanese tournament in Osaka that welcomed 55 players.

When Squelcher came out, we questioned whether there was space in this deck for it, as theoretically Voice of Victory already did what Squelcher would come in to do: fight enemy interaction. As it happens, this effect is so strong, and blue decks are so popular that many players welcomed more of it. These two cards are also slightly different: Voice creates value with Mobilize, and Squelcher gives Ward to the board.

This list leans on what we often call the "Modern Horizons 3 Kindred": Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, and Static Prison.

This list also plays something new to support these cards: Sand Scout. It is, at the same time, a way to create creatures with your fetch lands and Wastelands and a way to get some tempo when you don't start playing.

The rest of the deck includes Swords to Plowshares, Goblin Bombardment, and Staff of the Storyteller. Swords is undeniably the best creature removal in the format. Goblin is both a way to enable Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, a way to control the board, and eventually a way to throw your creatures at the rest of the opponent's life points. Staff eventually becomes a card draw engine with the tokens it creates.

As for the mana base, this list plays a combination of fetch lands and many utility lands. Karakas is still an excellent answer to many things that see play in the format, like Marit Lage, Atraxa, Grand Unifier, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Emry, Lurker of the Loch, and Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, to name a few. Wasteland is still the most relevant land in the format. Then, we have a combination of tempo and disruption. Sunbaked Canyon turns excess mana into resources. Elegant Parlor will always give you valuable cards. Lazotep Quarry is, primarily, a target for Sand Scout, but it can always create a threat in battles of attrition.

As most cards in this deck dominated Modern until Amped Raptor was banned, it is usually a gateway for Modern players into Legacy.

Apart from the two Plateaus, this deck doesn't play any cards from the Reserved List, so it's relatively budget-friendly for this format. However, unlike other budget-friendly decks, Boros Energy has performed well even on Magic Online, where real-life money matters less than on traditional tabletop Legacy.

One reason why this deck is so successful is that, though it has weak spots against combo decks, it plays well against the other archetypes. It might be the perfect deck for some local metas.

Because this is an aggressive deck that doesn't draw lots of cards, your opening hand matters a lot. After all, other decks can manipulate the next cards they draw. You need to avoid hands that are too reactive or that have too many lands, and you must plan out the first cards you play almost perfectly.

Let's see a few opening hands.

This hand is both too reactive and has too many lands, which is precisely what we mentioned you must avoid. Verdict: Mulligan it.

This hand is a bit slow, but it has a clear game plan: turn 1, play a fetch land into Elegant Parlor. On turn 2, play a creature (the opponent's deck will show you which one) and another creature and a Wasteland on turn 3. Verdict: Keep it.

This hand is a bit risky because it doesn't have too many lands, but it does something on turns 1 and 2, potentially even on turn 3 between the second Guide and activating Wasteland, even if you don't get another land. Verdict: Keep it.

This hand is quite similar to the second hand we saw. It can play a surveil land on turn 1 and Ajani on turn 2 and has options for turn 3 - Sand Scout into Lazotep Quarry if you didn't start out playing, or even the second Ajani to transform the first one. Verdict: Keep it.

This sideboard's main goal is to fix this list's main issue: because it can't play Force of Will and its only disruption is Wasteland, it is an easy target for combo lists. So, most of the 15 cards in this sideboard will do something in combo matchups.

Leyline of the Void is the standard 0-turn answer to graveyards in a format where Oops All Spells sees play.

For 1 mana, Deafening Silence disables most decks that want to play several cards one after the other.

Disruptor Flute is always a broad-spectrum answer. It's never the best card to anything in particular, but it covers a wide variety of opponents. In a format like Legacy, this is a huge advantage.

Containment Priest is useful both against Show and Tell and decks that reanimate cards.

Finally, Pyroblast doesn't do anything in particular against combo decks, but it is incredibly efficient against blue decks, including the ones that play Show and Tell.

Other cards you can use in this sideboard are Jegantha, the Wellspring, Abrade, Mindbreak Trap, Null Rod, Stony Silence, Surgical Extraction, and Wear//Tear.

Dimir Tempo

Boros naturally plays answers to Dimir Tempo's main threats: Swords to Plowshares and Static Prison hit Murktide Regent, Barrowgoyf, and, if you know how to play around the effects that transform Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, her too.

The threats you'll have, however, are much harder for them to deal with. Voice of Victory and Hexing Squelcher disrupt their interactions, and many of the cards in Boros leave value behind when they're removed.

In:

Out (playing first):

Out (drawing first):

Show and Tell

Game 1 will be complicated because there's not much you can do against a fast Show and Tell besides finding a Static Prison. Post-sideboard, you'll have more options to deal with them. Try to find out which version you're facing because the Aluren version is rising in popularity.

In:

Out (playing first):

Out (drawing first):

Lands

Their main way to stop you is The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, so you must know where to use your Wastelands pretty well. You already have good answers to Dark Depths considering Karakas and Swords to Plowshares. Maze of Ith is less efficient against Hexing Squelcher and other cards that create tokens. As they often accelerate their lands, Sand Scout is useful even when you start out playing.

In:

Out:

Storm

You also can't do much against this opponent except pray they don't have their main pieces in game 1. From game 2 onward, you'll have everything you need. Leyline of the Void hits two of their main cards: Echo of Eons and Gaea's Will.

Deafening Silence is the main star of this sideboard, and Disruptor Flute is often crucial when they try to put cards in play through Beseech the Mirror (keep in mind you must name a card before they reveal their card, but it will still cost 3 extra mana) or through Burning Wish.

In:

Out:

Eldrazi Stompy

Boros Energy is a huge problem for Eldrazis: they take damage from Ancient Tomb and Dismember and don't have many tools to deal with broad boards. Swords to Plowshares is incredibly efficient against their threats. Boros Aggro is performing quite well right now precisely because Eldrazi lists are also quite popular, and this is a good matchup for Boros.

In:

Nothing.

Out:

Nothing.

Boros Energy is currently a rising star. It also represents aggressive decks that benefit from Hexing Squelcher pretty well. The fact Dimir Tempo and Eldrazi Aggro lists are so popular definitely puts Boros in a great spot as well. Finally, it's pretty easy to get the Modern base and bring it to Legacy, so that's another reason why it became so popular.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!