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Pioneer: Boros Zenith Convoke - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

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Boros Convoke returns to competitive Pioneer with Cosmogrand Zenith, which may not offer the same explosive potential as previous versions but brings more resilience and lasting power to your creatures.

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translated by Romeu

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revised by Tabata Marques

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With the end of the Edge of Eternities season approaching, Pioneer had one last surprise with the expansion: the return of Boros Convoke running one of the main staples released in the set, Cosmogrand Zenith, which gave the archetype new life and more resilience to become a competitive strategy in the format again!

The Decklist

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This is the standard decklist used by most players in Magic Online Leagues and Challenges, with some crucial differences from what we know from previous versions of Convoke.

Our strategy hasn't changed: we've taken the role of go-wide Aggro* with several cheap one-drops that place artifact tokens to sacrifice with Gleeful Demolition, creating three tokens with one card and using them to cast creatures with Convoke. This puts significant pressure on the board between the second and third turns while maintaining resource parity with Knight-Errant of Eos.

Unlike the previous payoff with Imodane's Recruiter, we don't end the game as quickly. Cosmogrand Zenith offers a permanent power boost for all your creatures while also being able to fill the battlefield with tokens on its own, making us a turn or two slower, but with considerably higher permanent board potential compared to older versions.

Maindeck

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The "artifacts".

Ornithopter is the only artifact creature on the list, and its main function involves enabling Gleeful Demolition on turn one and Cosmogrand Zenith the turn it enters. In the worst-case scenario, it's a free blocker, but it's also a common sideout in Games 2 and 3.

Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, and Voldaren Epicure all have the same function: putting a body on the board and an artifact to pop with Gleeful Demolition or tap with Warden of the Inner Sky. In the worst-case scenario, we can crack the tokens to filter the hand and draw more cards.

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The payoffs.

Gleeful Demolition puts three creatures into play for the cost of one artifact and one mana. From there, we can cast our creatures with Convoke as early as the second turn.

Knight-Errant of Eos provides more gas while also being a 4/4 that can come into play for free with the right sequencing, while Venerated Loxodon boosts the power of all creatures tapped to play it and enables a very explosive third turn with Demolition.

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While it doesn't offer the same insta-win potential as Imodane's Recruiter, Cosmogrand Zenith serves both of the archetype's essential lines by filling the board and permanently increasing your creatures' power. Casting two spells per turn is easy for a list with many one-drops, Ornithopter, and Convoke cards.

Warden of the Inner Sky interacts with our one-drops and the ease of populating the board with small creatures. It's our go-big in a go-wide strategy, can win games on its own, and also filters the top with each activation, improving the quality of our draws.

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Sheltered by Ghosts is our only spot removal. We could go with something like Get Lost in another Metagame, but the current format is still dictated by Mono Red Lynx's role as a regulator, so an interaction that also offers Lifelink is a great way to secure this game, especially now that our clock is slower.

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In addition to sixteen untapped and unconditional duals to ensure we always have access to Magic Symbol W and Magic Symbol R consistently, we have the Channel Lands Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance to put more tokens in play in slower games, and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire as a board interaction.

Sideboard

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We can't expect our opponent to not interact with us or to have a faster clock.

Portable Hole deals with small permanents, from one-drops to Witch's Oven in Golgari Food lists, which thankfully replaced the Jund variant with Mayhem Devil.

Torch the Tower destroys Heartfire Hero without triggering the damage trigger or Arclight Phoenix permanently while also taking care of most small creatures in the format.

Get Lost deals with larger creatures, Planeswalkers, and troublesome enchantments like Unholy Annex, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker or Temporary Lockdown.

Destroy Evil also deals with enchantments and is an effective side-in against Rakdos Midrange/Mono Black to address Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Unholy Annex tokens. It is also a common side-in against Azorius Control.

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Wear // Tear resolves artifacts and enchantments in a single slot, offering flexible costs or a two-for-one trade. It is a common side-in against Greasefang, Azorius Control, Golgari Food, and Hammer Time.

Rest in Peace works against archetypes that rely on the graveyard to win the game, such as Greasefang, Okiba Boss, Arclight Phoenix, and also against Cauldron Familiar decks and in games against Izzet Cauldron, which have started to show up in the Metagame.

Sideboard Guide

Mono Red Lynx

IN

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OUT

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Rakdos Midrange // Mono Black Midrange

IN

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OUT

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Izzet Phoenix

IN

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OUT

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Orzhov Greasefang

IN

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OUT

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Selesnya Angels

IN

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OUT

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Azorius Control

IN

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OUT

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Golgari Food

IN

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OUT

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Boros Convoke

IN

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OUT

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Wrapping Up

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!