Standard: Boros Tokens Midrange - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

As the Standard metagame develops, new strategies are beginning to emerge, exploring cards from Bloomburrow that were overlooked during the preview season.

Among them, Caretaker’s Talent has stood out for its interaction with the various tokengenerators present in the format today, establishing new Midrange variants that had notable results in last weekend’s Challenges.

In this article, we delve into Boros Tokens Midrange!

This is essentially the list that has been appearing in Magic Online Leagues and Magic Arena ranked matches, with only a few specific differences in the maindeck or sideboard. For example, some lists prefer copies of Beza, the Bounding Spring in the maindeck while others run more Sunfall and/or Archangel Elspeth, or more copies of Temporary Lockdown.

The above version prioritizes consistency over meta calls because MTG Arena ranked is unpredictable, so cards like Beza, the Bounding Spring stay in the sideboard, no matter how powerful they are while others, like Sunspine Lynx, didn't do enough to justify their slots in my testing.

Personally, I'm pleased with the above numbers. The sideboard is constantly changing with the meta, but the maindeck is on the right track and I would use it as a starting point for any Boros Midrange variants in the coming weeks, adjusting it as the Metagame changes (more Sunfall and less spot removal, more Beza and less Elspeth, less Lockdown in the maindeck and more Destroy Evil, etc.)

Maindeck

The reason Boros Midrange exists.

Caretaker’s Talent turns all of our tokens and token-generating effects into draws once per turn, can copy one of them with its second ability, and becomes a double Glorious Anthem for your tokens at level three. It’s a source of card advantage, an enabler, and a win condition all in one card.

The three cards above interact with our key enchantment and are part of our main win conditions.

Urabrask’s Forge has become a staple in Standard and is now the main line for Boros Midrange to win games, since every turn it is in play it will create a more powerful token.

Carrot Cake doesn’t look like much, but it guarantees two draws with Caretaker’s Talent, two tokens and a much-needed life gain against Aggro.

Archangel Elspeth does a bit of everything, and its main modules are to create a token with Lifelink or permanently increase the power of a creature, which we can capitalize on with Urabrask’s Forge or Beza, the Bounding Spring

Beza, the Bounding Spring is what I call the deck’s “power play” - that is, the card that can turn unfavorable situations in the game. A second copy can be included in the maindeck, but some of its effects seem too “win more” in Boros Midrange and/or become irrelevant when the next turn’s play is a Sunfall, so one copy seems ideal.

Virtue of Loyalty grants tokens starting on turn two and is another effect that snowballs on their power, making them gradually grow each turn.

White Sun’s Twilight is a late-game bomb, where it is a sweeper that puts tokens into play for the opponent to deal with and/or lose the game in one or two turns because of them. Its high cost limits the amount we want, so one copy is enough.

Our interaction.

Torch the Tower is an Instant-speed Strangle in this list given the high number of tokens we put into play, and sacrificing them to increase the range of this spell is a very common play.

Lightning Helix complements Torch the Tower in dealing with three-toughness permanents. Its life gain is essential against Aggro and its Burn module helps close out some games.

Get Lost is our unconditional removal and deals with creatures, Planeswalkers or Enchantments. We can consider replacing two copies of it with Destroy Evil if we don't want to give the opponent Maps, but our sweepers tend to take care of that problem.

Temporary Lockdown is the necessary evil against Aggro and also works on the Mirror. Two copies in the maindeck seems ideal as the Metagame shifts towards Midrange.

Sunfall is the main sweeper in Standard today and another token generator for the list. The fourth copy could be a maindeck inclusion instead of Beza, White Sun's Twilight or even another removal, but Boros Midrange already suffers some issues with establishing pressure and having proactive plays once the game is controlled.

In addition to our duals (4 Elegant Parlor since we don't have many ways to filter the top deck), we also have Sunken Citadel and its synergy with activated abilities. In this case, we use it to transform Fountainport into another source of card advantage in the deck - in an ideal and not so rare world, we can draw up to three cards per turn with Caretaker’s Talent and Fountainport.

Sideboard

Our anti-aggro package. The three cards also work in other games and in the mirror.

Abrade is a clean removal against Slickshot Show-Off and an answer to heavier artifacts such as Thousand Moons Smithy or Unstable Glyphbridge.

Brotherhood’s End, in addition to being a sweeper against go-wide, also resolves several cheap artifacts in the format today and is necessary for these weeks after the rise in popularity of Azorius Aggro and Boros Midrange.

Destroy Evil deals with unwanted enchantments or high-power creatures, being a necessary answer in games against Domain Ramp, where it is complemented by Loran of the Third Path, which also responds to artifacts and generates some value in the mirror.

Beza, the Bounding Spring is a difficult card to evaluate in which matchups I would really like it. In theory, it is excellent in games against other Midranges because it will always provide value in addition to being a 4/5, and in practice, this value is usually a draw and/or a life gain that the opponent can get around - still, given how much opponents try to hold us back with cheap sweepers, I recommend running it in these matchups, but maybe three copies on the Sideboard is a bit too much.

Serra Paragon, on the other hand, was an extremely pleasant surprise in the Sideboard due to its recursion potential against the opponent's Destroy Evil or hates like Tranquil Frillback and Loran of the Third Path. It is a “must-answer” and leads me to consider what we can do with Zoraline, Cosmos Caller in a Mardu list.

h1](Sideboard Guide)

Domain Ramp

IN

OUT

Golgari Midrange

IN

OUT

Orzhov Midrange

IN

OUT

Gruul Prowess

IN

OUT

Azorius Aggro

IN

OUT

Boros Midrange

IN

OUT

That’s all for today!

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!