Standard: Boros Convoke - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Murders at Karlov Manor brought several exciting additions to Standard, but when it came to supporting a specific archetype, the set stood out for many of its cards that entered Boros Convoke, a strategy already known in Pioneer.

With Novice Inspector, Case of the Gateway Express and Warleader’s Call, the deck has become one of the most popular in the format today, with its Metagame share growing rapidly.

In this article, I present the latest version of Boros Convoke for Standard!

Boros Convoke is an Aggro deck that appeared in Pioneer after the release of Knight-Errant of Eos in March of the Machine. Its strategy is focused on using the interaction of creatures that create artifact tokens along with Gleeful Demolition to cast cards with Convoke as early as the second turn.

In Standard, the archetype received support after Imodane's Recruiter was released in Wilds of Eldraine, and each subsequent expansion brought another important card to its strategy, culminating in the combination of Novice Inspector and Warleader's Call in Murders at Karlov Manor.

Today, it has become one of the most consistent, fastest and aggressive strategies in Standard, with a notable increase in presence in Magic Arena ranked matches, in addition to being the most played archetype in Leagues and Challenges in Magic Online in the last week.

This is the list I have been using in Magic Arena ranked matches.

While some lists bet on cards like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Case of the Gateway Express, I chose to focus my list on being as aggressive as possible, in addition to ensuring consistency in speed and recovering my board in case of sweepers.

Sanguine Evangelist and Warleader’s Call are the key pieces to maintaining this consistency. Case of the Gateway Express does a good job of interacting with the board, but the number of creatures we actually want to destroy is very small compared to the advantages of having more bodies on the battlefield or more reach during the game, and Boros Convoke seems to benefit more from an straightforward game plan.

Maindeck

Our enablers.

Novice Inspector and Voldaren Epicure allows casting Knight-Errant of Eos as early as the second turn. In perfect sequencing, the third turn will be accompanied by Imodane’s Recruiter and your opponent needs to deal 15 damage, which normally leads to them conceding in Game 1.

Resolute Reinforcements increases the number of creatures in play, interacts well with Warleader's Call, and Yotian Frontliner is a means of adding more consistency to the Gleeful Demolition plan, in addition to its Unearth ability, which interacts with the enchantment.

Our payoffs.

Gleeful Demolition was the card that made this archetype possible. Getting three creatures into play for one mana is one of the biggest Tempo advantages Boros Convoke can offer, and with Warleader’s Call, it turns into a Lava Spike.

Warden of the Inner Sky is excellent at filtering its top while becoming a threat on its own, making it our best asset in attrition games to improve our draws.

Knight-Errant of Eos is our source of card advantage. With it, we can find Imodane’s Recruiter, Sanguine Evangelist, or even another Knight-Errant of Eos to extract the most value from our creatures.

Imodane’s Recruiter enables Boros Convoke's most explosive turns, as well as giving us extra reach in longer games with its adventure. A copy of it from the top can change the course of the game, so we should use it in turns where we find an opening to deal as much damage possible. Otherwise, it's better to save it for casting the Adventure.

Sanguine Evangelist offers two bodies, can be found with Knight-Errant of Eos and guarantees a power boost for your creatures whenever it attacks, in addition to replacing itself on the battlefield if it is destroyed.

Warleader's Call is the mix of Glorious Anthem with Impact Tremors that Boros Convoke needed to gain more reach, as well as allowing your creatures to survive against End the Festivities, a common Sideboard piece on the mirror and against Mono Red Aggro.

The mana base was diversified to meet the deck's various needs, with the reduction of lands that enter tapped in favor of more proactive cards in the first turns, such as Thran Portal and Cavern of Souls, of which is essential to protect our Humans from No More Lies and other counterspells.

Sideboard

End the Festivities is an excellent option for the Mirror, or against other archetypes with small creatures, such as Bant Poison and Azorius Soldiers.

Lantern Flare works against aggressive decks where we don't need to face sweepers, like Mono Red Aggro or Soldiers. It can enter the mirror, but I don't recommend it, as the value added by it is minimal in this matchup.

Lithomantic Barrage is another useful removal against Poison and Soldiers, as well as answering some of the main cards we need to deal with against Esper Midrange.

Destroy Evil is our comprehensive answer to several major threats in the current Metagame, as well as dealing with Leyline Binding and other troublesome enchantments. It is best used against Atraxa, Grand Unifier and other permanents that disrupt our clock.

Invasion of Gobakhan works mainly to delay key spells, especially Sunfall, which our deck has no other way to protect itself from. I don't recommend transforming it against archetypes where there are no sweepers that destroy creatures, but its other offers a huge advantage against Midrange.

Esper Midrange

IN

OUT

Domain Ramp

IN

OUT

Mono Red Aggro

IN

OUT

Boros Convoke

IN

OUT

You might be tempted to add Lithomantic Barrage or Lantern Flare, but this is a matchup where speed and consistency matter, and the only useful removals in the mirror are those capable of delaying the opponent's board extension.

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Azorius Soldiers

IN

OUT

Boros Convoke has become one of the most solid options for Standard, whether in the Best of One, where the list above also presents itself as a good choice due to its proactivity, or in the Best of Three environment, where it will face challenges depending on how the Metagame adapts to its speed.

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

Thanks for reading!