Archangel Avacyn - Boros Voltron
Table of Contents
- Introduction & History
- Deck Overview
- Why Play Archangel Avacyn
- Alternative Commanders
- Deck Ranking
- Decklist
- Budget Considerations
- Budget Deck Construction
- $50 Decklist
- Deck Strategy
- Game Stages
- Early Game - Strike First
- Midgame - Strike Hard
- Endgame - No Mercy
- Tutoring
- Card Choice Discussion
- Credits & Thanks
- Change Log
- Set Reviews
Introduction & History
Introduction
Hello, my name is Peter (if we are using our made up names, call me Avacyn Believer). The deck I am writing about has been a passion project of mine for a few years now, the oldest decklist I have is dated October 2017. It is something I channel my creativity into when my job makes it impossible to play Magic for long periods of time. I've even built a website about the deck, and I want to claim it is the only deck with its own website. This primer is more detailed than the tactics and strategy posts you can find there. The website articles are short for brevity, but I love talking about the deck and I was impressed with the primers on this forum, so I wanted to write my own primer. The website is more about displaying the various card alters and sharing my fictional version of Avacyn's story, using my EDH games and the deck itself as inspiration.If you are interested in the story behind my devotion to Avacyn, see the 'Finding Faith' section below.
My history with Avacyn goes back to time before I even knew about the Commander format. It all began with the Divine vs. Demonic duel decks. I didn't know what Magic the Gathering was but I was enamoured with the packaging artwork, especially Akroma, Angel of Wrath. I played the decks with my brothers and since there were three of us, I later bought the 9th Edition Starter Set to give us more cards. I am certain I bought that set because of the Serra Angel promo card. This pattern continued and I ended up picking up the Innistrad Spectral Legions Intro Pack because of Angel of Flight Alabaster, which unknowingly was my first step on the path towards devotion to Avacyn. I didn't end up playing MtG but I kept the cards because I loved the art. I still have all three promo cards.
There was something about Angel of Flight Alabaster that spoke to me, especially the flavour text. I remember back then wanting to know what or who Avacyn was, but it never quite clicked that Avacyn was a character until much later. Somehow I didn't end up finding the MtG story, in those days I didn't spend much time online.
My ignorance of Avacyn did not stop there. Many years later I came across Avacyn the Purifier artwork by James Ryman on DeviantArt. I really loved the design, but I still did not connect that it was the character referenced on Angel of Flight Alabaster. Then, by chance, when I went to play a different game (unrelated miniature wargame) in a gaming store, they had the Avacyn the Purifier cardboard standee, and I finally realized that the character was from Magic the Gathering.
Which is when my interest in Magic as a hobby really started. I began playing kitchen magic with a friend, and then I wanted to explore Standard. At this time, Shadows over Innistrad was already released and Eldritch Moon was coming out soon (remember when we had breaks in spoilers?). I got into the story and fell in love with Innistrad. What sealed the deal for me was when I bought 13 Shadows over Innistrad booster packs and pulled my first Archangel Avacyn. Ever since then I have been a True Believer.
So you can imagine my heartbreak when the story ended with Avacyn's murder, just as I found my faith!
I continued to play Standard until the Shadows block rotated out. By then I already heard of the Commander format, but wasn't interested yet. I lost interest in Standard when I no longer could play Avacyn in my decks, which made Ixalan a bittersweet set for me. I remember my first attempt at a Commander deck was mono-White Avacyn, Angel of Hope. It was terrible but it was a start. Since then I have played all three versions of Avacyn in various decks, but it took some time before Archangel Avacyn became my commander.
Deck History
It all started with Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, during my first attempts to have a deck for each of the Innistrad legendary Angels. This was in my early days of deck building and it didn't work well. It wanted to win through multiplying non-combat damage but it suffered the classic case of not enough ramp and card draw. Which led me to trying Aurelia, the Warleader for something more combat oriented. That deck worked well enough that I thought, why not just use my favourite card? I already played Archangel Avacyn in every deck I could.The deck has come a long way since then. It took years to distill down the Voltron archetype, what exactly I love about it and how to make this deck the most effective it can be, while still using the cards I like. It was the nature of my main playgroup that kept challenging me to make this deck better, in terms of playing faster and being more resilient (I faced control a lot). Which manifested by trimming down on high mana value cards, and cards that were slow to pay off.
Improving this deck taught me to pay more attention to mana production ratios and maximizing synergy between cards. To visualise the deck's synergies I've even made a Venn diagram in 2019. I am not even kidding, see it for yourself. It did help me identify the main categories; card draw, land fetch, protection, sacrifice, buffs (boosts), graveyard synergy, tutor and equipment synergy. Which are more or less still the main tactics today, just with better cards.
Eventually I also decided I want this to be my 'foiled out' deck. Which took me down the path of obtaining premium prints, and later also alters. This, alongside getting the best cards available, demanded the deck to be without a budget limit, and led to what it is today.
Deck Overview
What Is Voltron?
Voltron archetype is all about defeating your opponents with commander damage. I like this strategy because it can be built in many different ways and the decks are relatively easy to pilot with a straightforward path to victory. There are only two things you have to worry about when playing a voltron deck; how do I make the commander hit my opponents? And how do I increase the commander's power? A common weakness of the voltron strategy is that you are putting a lot of resources into one creature, so having your commander removed from the board can hurt more than in other decks. It is not suitable if you don't enjoy the combat step.Why Play Archangel Avacyn
Let's ignore my personal devotion to Avacyn, and look at the card objectively. Archangel Avacyn has several attributes which I think make her stand out from other Boros commander options.First, the colour identity. As of writing this post (February 2023), Avacyn is the only mono-coloured legendary creature that fully changes colour when she transforms, from to , and remains a creature. Which has no effect on the game in this deck, but it is a cool unique feature.
Next we have flash. This is often overlooked by opponents. The obvious use is to cast Avacyn in response to a boardwipe (that damages or destroys) to make your creatures indestructible for the rest of the turn. However, in this deck flash is used for flexible casting as a pseudo-haste. This is discussed in more detail here.
Flying is a useful keyword for evasion, and vigilance helps to mitigate a low number of creatures on the board by allowing Avacyn to attack and still be untapped as a potential blocker. Important to note, only flying is retained by the Purifier side. It is not particularly detrimental, just something to keep in mind during games.
As mentioned above, the ETB triggered ability pairs well with flash. However, it doesn't come into effect often in this deck until later in the game. Once there is a haste enabler on the board, Avacyn can be re-cast and attack while indestructible. To protect creatures, this ETB trigger is more often paired with a flicker spell.
Avacyn's most unique ability is the transformation. When she transforms, Avacyn will deal 3 damage to each other creature (including your own) and each opponent. At minimum this ability can help clear out tokens but the ceiling is much higher. It can be abused for some wonderful results; from wiping the board (regardless of toughness) to gaining tons of life (this ability is explained in more detail here). I'd say the average Archangel Avacyn deck is geared more towards re-using the transformation as a boardwipe, but in my opinion if you don't have a follow up to win the game, keeping the board clean of creatures just needlessly prolongs the game and can create a negative experience.
Power and toughness is fairly average. Power 4 doesn't multiply well towards 21, but it can be easily boosted by other cards, and when transformed it increases to 6. Toughness 4 at least protects Avacyn from being easily bolted, and it also increases with transformation; though only to 5.
So overall I can recommend Avacyn if you like to play a unique commander, and if you like Avacyn as a character but don't want to be limited to mono-white decks.
Why Not Play Archangel Avacyn
Objectively, Avacyn is not the best commander for Equipment Voltron. She does not have any inherent Equipment synergy, or built-in card advantage. The deck is built around her to make use of her abilities. If you prefer your commanders to be more synergetic on their own, Archangel Avacyn might not be for you.I also don't recommend this deck if you don't enjoy the combat step and/or playing aggressively. This is not the kind of deck where you can pillowfort or control the game. The strategy is not subtle (you can't even tutor without revealing the cards), and often you will have to be ruthless by eliminating opponents one at a time. I find Voltron fun, but you might not. With this in mind, I don't recommend this deck for a casual game where people want to play longer games, or if you do, you might have to hold back.
Alternative Commanders
Boros Voltron is nothing new. There are many options for commanders that synergize with artifacts, and Equipment by extension. However, this deck was built around Archangel Avacyn and her abilities. As such I do not believe there is another Boros legendary creature that can match Avacyn's versatility, and quite a few cards in the deck would not synergize well with other commanders. The options I've listed below are those I believe could work in similar fashion to Avacyn in terms of being an Equipment Voltron deck, and attacking fast and hard, but all of them would be better off with at least some card changes.Crafting Limitations
Before I get to the deck ranking, its attributes and the rest of the primer, I'd like to briefly touch on the self-imposed limitations. There are two that dictate where I am willing to go with the deck, and by extension what is holding the deck back.The first limitation is bling; more specifically the masterpieces. Personally I love the Kaladesh Inventions, especially the Mirran Swords (though at this time I am one shy of a full set). So while an argument could be made to swap them out for better Equipment, I'd be unlikely to do so. In a similar vein, the deck has other masterpieces, and altered cards, that I am reluctant to swap out for potentially better cards.
The second limitation is the lack of infinite combos. Personally I am happy with the power level of the deck, and I believe that with the amount of tutors I run, it would not be fun to play against or even pilot. In my opinion, it would make the game play too linear for my liking. As such, at this time I don't want to add them.
Deck Ranking
I consider the deck high-end casual. It can hold its own in high power games where you expect fast games and quick combos, and it can dominate in lower power games when the games are longer. This version of the deck I believe is near the ceiling of power it can achieve, mainly because of the limitations I've placed on myself (see above). I cannot say how it would perform in cEDH (if upgraded to that level), as I have never played a cEDH game.Attributes
Card Draw: Not the worst, not the best. There is enough card draw to keep you going, but you are either looting with red spells, or using permanents for conditional draw.Combos: There are some fun combos unique to this deck, but none of them are infinite and usually not repeatable. This is not a combo deck.
Commander Dependency: The commander is the Voltron, you need to do commander damage to win. Without your commander you have to rely on doing regular damage with the other creatures, which can be done, but it is the last resort.
Cost: This deck is expensive (nearly $1,500 with cheapest prints) because to make it fast, you need all the expensive lands and artifacts. You can build a budget version of this deck, but it is just not going to be as fast, giving more time to your opponents to deal with it before you can be a major threat to everyone.
Difficulty: The difficulty comes from being comfortable playing aggressively, making yourself the target and knowing the deck. Chances are that you have a solution for every problem, but the trick is knowing how to find the solution. Otherwise the deck is fairly easy; cast your commander, equip all the Equipments and attack!
Interaction: I feel the interaction is pretty good in this deck. It did suffer from lack of it before, but it has been improved since. Currently you have several instant speed removal, sorcery speed mass removal, and commander's transform ability that can be used as a boardwipe. But more often than not interaction has to be used to allow Avacyn do combat damage, not so much for controlling the game.
Linearity: The voltron strategy is straightforward, but you can take many different paths to victory. Each game is its own puzzle to solve so I don't feel like I am always going for the same pieces.
Ramp: There are enough low mana cost artefacts to allow explosive early turns but you are at risk of artifact removal, and there is very little land ramp. That said, the deck does not struggle with mana, but it does require you to play around it.
Resilience: Once you are set up the deck can be surprisingly resilient. The deck is susceptible to repeatable 'sacrifice a creature' effects, but there are ways around it. By default you are expecting to cast your commander multiple times in any given game anyway, so rebuilding the Voltron is part of the strategy.
Scare Factor: This deck can surprise people and you might find yourself the arch(angel)-enemy early in the game if you have an explosive start. In slower games, once the Voltron is assembled and you've defeated someone, you will be the threat. The scare factor comes from the clock hanging over your opponent's heads once you are able to deal massive amounts of commander damage.
Speed: This deck can go really fast, attacking as early as turn one with the right starting hand. On average you are looking to cast the commander on turn three, and attack on turn four. In slower games you'll take longer to assemble the pieces, but once you do, the game should finish soon.
Decklist
Budget Considerations
Budget Overview
This deck relies on some expensive cards to make it work as well as it does, and as such it does not have a budget limit. As of February 2023, the lowest price estimation for cards of any printing was $1,355. The specific printings I personally use were estimated at $2,750, and that doesn't include the alters. Without the three most expensive cards (Plateau, Mana Crypt, Jeweled Lotus), you can get down to almost half the price. If you remove every card of $10 or more, the estimated price drops to $150, leaving you with 69 cards.However, this removes most of the fast mana, tutors, colour fixing, and all of the Mirran swords. At this point I do believe the deck would struggle significantly to perform optimally. Additionally, replacing those 31 cards would likely bring the estimated price to around $200, which might be an average Commander deck, but it is still way above a budget deck price.
For better or worse, Equipment decks are not the most popular so there are a lot of budget friendly cards. To get a similar experience on a budget I will offer suggestions on how to build a budget deck, and also provide an example $50 list.
Budget Deck Construction
I believe the guiding principle behind constructing a budget version of the deck is to focus on the key tactics that make the deck function consistently, and how to achieve mana ramp, card advantage and commander damage while supporting the Voltron strategy. When it comes to mana ramp, my recommendation is to focus on cards that are low mana value artifacts to be able to cast the commander early. It also helps to have cards that allow you to have consistent land drops, such as Renegade Map. Boros colours have very few budget and efficient cards that put lands directly onto the battlefield (at least without conditions like an opponent having more lands), but being able to play a land each turn can really help in the late game when the commander tax gets high. With lands themselves I advocate for only a few lands that enter tapped.There is actually a decent amount of looting spells in red to achieve card advantage, so it is up to you really how many of those you want to run. Always better to have too many than too little. There is also a good amount of options for card draw that triggers on attacking with equipped creatures, or through some other interaction with Equipment. By utilising those, you are doing what the deck wants to do and draw cards, win-win.
For an Equipment Voltron you'll need a lot of Equipment, and thankfully there are many budget friendly options to choose from. My recommendation is to pick Equipment that either provides keywords (Swiftfoot Boots), or the power boost can scale up (Blackblade Reforged). Anything that provides double strike is also a good option to boost commander damage. Equipment that only provides power boost is not worth it, plenty of better options. Don't be afraid to add some Auras too, but since this deck is about Equipment, you want to focus on those more or it might become an enchantment deck. By focusing on Equipment, you'll also have access to some very budget tutor cards. Tutors can make almost any deck feel more consistent, so I definitely see that as a bonus for Equipment decks.
Lastly, sprinkle in some interaction (like removal), protection, Equipment synergy (like making the equip cost cheaper) and graveyard recursion. You should end up with a deck that focuses on dealing commander damage and assembling the Avacyn Voltron with Equipment.
$50 Decklist
Using the considerations from the section above, I've come up with a $50 budget list as an example that should work in a similar spirit to the main deck, albeit slower, but it still cares about commander damage and synergizes with Avacyn's transformation. Interestingly, this budget list has an even lower CMC average of 2.39. In February 2023, without basic lands, TCGplayer price estimation was just below $29, Card Kingdom was just over $54, and Cardmarket just over €29.Deck Strategy
Strategy Overview
As I've briefly mentioned in the Deck Overview, the strategy of this deck is to attack first. You don't wait to respond, you make your opponents respond to you; or at least that is the plan. Your first aim will be to cast Archangel Avacyn, then assemble the Voltron and then eliminate your opponents. All of this can happen in the first five turns, but that is with the assumption your opponents cannot stop you, so realistically you are looking at a longer game than that. Because of this, it is important to know the deck, and your opening hand will dictate what you will be focusing on each game.
Opening Hand
The most important thing about the opening hand is the ability to generate mana. It doesn't matter how many other things you can cast on turn one if you can't cast Archangel Avacyn in the next two or three turns. The deck does not struggle with colour fixing, if you do not sabotage yourself with the opening hand.In the early game you will either be casting Equipment and other utility cards to prepare the board for Avacyn's arrival, or you cast Avacyn first and then equip her with weapons and armour. This will be decided primarily by how much fast mana you have in the opening hand.
With each hand, ask yourself how quickly will you be able to cast Avacyn, and do you have a follow-up play? This could be either equipping Avacyn, drawing cards or tutoring. You do not want to be in a situation where you have nothing to cast. Remember we want to put pressure on our opponents and keep them on the defence.
Ideally you want three lands, and a mana rock, a draw spell or a tutor. However, this can vary greatly. The deck has enough tutor effects to get you what you need, and sometimes a good hand will only have one land. I will demonstrate some variations in the Example Hands section below.
Example Hands
Game Stages
Early Game - Strike First
How many spells you'll be able to cast before Archangel Avacyn entirely depends on your opening hand. It can be none, or you might have four turns to cast other spells. Priority is always mana rocks, draw effects like Esper Sentinel and tutors.The ramp in this deck comes from mana rocks of mana value between to . Jewelled Lotus is arguably the best ramp in the deck. Even if it is one time use, it can allow you to cast Avayn on turn one (see Example Hand 4). Other high value ramp cards include Mana Crypt, Urza's Saga and Ancient Tomb. Don't worry about being set back by all mana rocks being boardwiped. By the time your opponents can destroy all of them, you should be set up to make them pay for it. You can also get a good mana boost with Dockside Extortionist, and Dowsing Dagger.
Early game draw synergies are limited, mainly the already mentioned Esper Sentinel, but you also have Sram, Senior Edificer and Puresteel Paladin. They draw cards when you cast Equipment or it enters the battlefield, and there are a few or mana value Equipment cards which you can cast early. Skullclamp is also great to use after creatures provide their utility. There is some graveyard recursion in the deck, so don't be afraid to clamp creatures for card advantage. Though admittedly, the Skullclamp is best used after casting Avacyn.
There are at least six spells that can tutor for Equipment, and even more that can do it by extension. I will cover specifics about tutoring in a later Tutoring section. Here I want to focus on what Equipment to tutor for first in the early game. Generally speaking, my common first targets are Dowsting Dagger, Swiftfoot Boots or Embercleave. The Dagger provides more value the sooner you can flip it into a land. It should be easy to do in the early game as opponents either don't have blockers yet or don't want to sacrifice their utility creatures. Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus is also a good alternative to the Dagger if everyone has blockers because it triggers on attack, so it doesn't matter if the creature using Bitterthorn is blocked. The Boots could be interchanged with Champion's Helm or Commander's Plate. The goal is to have Equipment that can protect Avacyn once you cast her. Lastly, I go for Embercleave when I already have ramped and I have protective Equipment. Alternatively you can also go for any of the other power boosting Equipment.
If you already have Equipment, take this time to cast it. Having the Equipment on the battlefield can signal to your opponents what your play will be, but this strategy is not subtle, especially if your opponents have seen this deck before. Having the Equipment sitting on the board allows your opponents to remove it before you can use it, but I found it is better not to worry about this too much. Some Equipment, like Sword of Feast and Famine, yes hold it back until you can cast and equip it on the same turn, because it is a high threat, but otherwise I advocate for making your opponents use their removal early on. You want them to be on the defence. Casting Equipment early is good resource management because it will allow you to equip more of them to Avacyn since you won't have to worry about the casting cost, just the equip cost.
As a general tip; if you are ever deciding what to cast first, creature or Equipment, cast creatures first. If nothing else, in the next turn the creature can attack and make use of the Equipment.
It is rare to prioritise interaction in the early game, but sometimes you will have to play low mana value removal spells if an opponent manages to get a faster start. However, keep in mind that you are not trying to control the board. Our goal is to do commander damage, so removal should be reserved for blockers or other creatures that interact with Avacyn in a negative way, such as making us sacrifice her.
One early game interaction to look out for involves Restoration Specialist, Jeweled Lotus and Urza's Saga. If you managed to get the Lotus and the Saga early, you can then use the specialist to get both back to your hand, and transform Avacyn. Great early game start.
Casting Avacyn
Although your aim is to cast Archangel Avacyn as soon as possible there is one very important keyword to keep in mind when casting her; flash. This allows you to cash Avacyn anytime you could cast an instant. Which means that when you have the mana to cast Avacyn, don't do it on your turn but wait for your last opponent's end step. This way Avacyn won't spend time sitting on the battlefield as a target for removal, and it also works as a pseudo-haste because after you cast Avacyn it'll be your turn and you can attack with her. The exception to this is if you can give Avacyn haste, then might as well cast her on your turn and start attacking!Sometimes you might be tempted to cast Avacyn to protect utility creatures already on the board, but remember that faith requires sacrifice, and before you cast Avacyn for the ETB trigger that will give your creatures indestructible, evaluate how likely your opponents can remove Avacyn from the board before it gets to your turn. It hurts a lot less to lose utility creatures than losing Avacyn.
Something to be aware of; you might feel safe casting Avacyn because she becomes indestructible until end of turn when she enters the battlefield, but there is a moment between entering the battlefield and the triggered ability resolving where Avacyn is vulnerable to 'destroy' removal. Not much can be done to prevent it, so it is just something to keep in mind. If you happen to have Cloudshift or Ephemerate on hand, it might be worth considering waiting until you can cast Avacyn and one of those spells in the same turn if you suspect your opponents are holding removal. However, if this situation comes up in the early game, you can either spend total mana to cast Avacyn and one of those spells, or total mana to re-cast Avacyn with the first commander tax. Sometimes it is worth holding a flicker spell for later when the commander tax is higher.
Assembling the Voltron
In an average game, after Archangel Avacyn is on the battlefield you will be looking to start assembling the Voltron. It will be tempting to go for increased power first, but unless you are absolutely certain your opponents are not running removal, you will want protection first. The first Equipment to get is either Swiftfoot Boots, Champion's Helm or Mithril Coat, alternatively Hyena Umbra is also an option if you are struggling for mana. Commander's Plate and the Mirran swords can provide protection from colours, but hexproof is still preferable to those because it is not often that you can account for all opponents with one sword. Basically my point is, get the Boots first.- Mirran swords are a cycle of Equipment cards that give protection from two colours and have various abilities, triggered when the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player. You can find a full explanation and the list of swords on MTG wiki.
Midgame - Strike Hard
You will experience two very different midgames with this deck. The first one is when everything is going right; Archangel Avacyn is on the battlefield and you are able to keep attacking. The second is when Avacyn is removed from the game the same turn you cast her, or in the following turn. I will first go over the scenario when everything is going well. In both scenarios, you should be prepared to re-cast Avacyn multiple times per game, the difference is how soon your opponents will make you do it.Now that Avacyn is on the battlefield and ready to attack, you have two options: a direct line of attack to eliminate your biggest threat, or you can spread out the damage among your opponents. I believe the direct line of attack is the more optimal way of playing this deck, at least in higher power games, so I will go over this strategy first, and then touch on spreading the damage.
Direct Attack
This approach is all about aggression. The expectations set at the start of the game for everyone should be that you will be as aggressive as possible, so don't hold back. It might feel bad to eliminate someone early in the game, but it is what you have all signed up for.Threat assessment is very subjective, a lot of it depends on your knowledge of your opponents and their decks, so I won't get into it too much but it is important to decide which opponent to attack first. Ideally, this would be the opponent that is the biggest threat, either to the whole table because they are aiming for a quick combo win, or just to you because they have the tools to stop you from dealing commander damage. If you do not know your opponents, ask yourself which deck is likely to stop you from attacking the longer the game goes on? Personally I prioritise decks that are heavy on control or making others sacrifice creatures (so or decks).
Once you decide on who to attack, the goal is to keep attacking them until they are eliminated. This strategy is not subtle. You are not being sneaky or clever with hidden combos. Any turn that you did not attack is a turn wasted. At the slowest pace, if you are doing 4 commander damage per turn, this could be six turns. The fastest pace is elimination with one hit, but you should be aiming for three to four on average. This might sound slow, but often once you eliminate your target opponent, the others should follow soon because you have assembled the Voltron.
From this point on, all resources should be devoted to keeping Archangel Avacyn on the board, removing obstacles that prevent her from dealing combat damage, and maximising her combat damage. You should also expect to be targeted by your chosen opponent. They will be devoting their resources trying to stop you. I will touch on setbacks in more detail later in this section.
During this stage of the game is when the Mirran swords work really well. You should be able to find the sword which gives you protection from the colour of whatever blockers your target opponent is using. These swords work especially well in combination with Embercleave, because double strike can trigger the swords up to two times per combat.
I'd also like to mention that if politics are welcomed in the game, it might be tempting to make a deal and change the target opponent but keep in mind the biggest threat is the biggest threat for a reason.
Spreading Damage
Not all games are about who can win the fastest. In more casual games you might want to see what the deck can do by stretching out the turns and keeping everyone in the game as long as possible, or you might want to lull your biggest threat into a false sense of security so that they do not spend all their removal on your side of the board. You can achieve these goals by attacking each opponent in turn to spread the damage equally, or try a faint attack by switching from your biggest threat to someone else, with the aim to give yourself time to build your resources and then attack the biggest threat again when you know you can eliminate them.In casual games, sometimes I like to attack opponents until they are 'one attack away from death'. This gives you the satisfaction in seeing that the deck is capable of dealing a lot of damage, whilst keeping players in the game and being in a position where you can close the game when it gets to that stage.
The downside of this approach is that the longer the game goes on, the harder it might be to keep Archangel Avacyn on the board because your opponents will have more removal available to them. Not to mention more time to set up defences and counter attacks. Fully assembled Voltron might be difficult to remove and block, but it is not invincible, and the archetype has its own weaknesses that can be exploited by your opponents.
One Hit, Three Kills
One of the biggest drawbacks of the Voltron strategy is that normally you have to eliminate one opponent at a time, however, certain cards make it possible to eliminate all opponents at the same time. The key piece of this combo is Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar. While this little lizard is on the battlefield, when any commander you control deals combat damage to an opponent, the same commander will deal that much damage to each other opponent. Therefore, if your commander does 10 damage in combat to an opponent, it will do 10 damage to all the other opponents. Do enough combat damage, and you could eliminate everyone. The distinction between 'damage' and 'combat damage' is very important here. The damage dealt to other opponents does not count towards commander damage because it was not dealt in combat, but by an ability.You might be already thinking, how can you eliminate all opponents with one hit when some might be on 40 or more life, and you can't hit for that much damage. Well, that is where the other part of the combo comes in, the Grafted Exoskeleton. This Equipment gives Archangel Avacyn infect, which in turn means that any damage dealt by her to players is in the form of poison counters. Therefore, all you need to do is hit one opponent for 10 infect damage in combat, and you will eliminate all of them because all opponents will get 10 poison counters! This is arguably the fastest way to win the game with this deck.
This is also a good time to mention how commander damage and infect works. When a commander with infect deals damage, the damage is then transformed into poison counters. Commander damage cares about damage dealt in combat, not what type of damage it is. Therefore the infect damage counts towards commander damage, despite not lowering the opponent's life. For example, an opponent has already been dealt 4 commander damage and Avacyn attacks them for 4 infect damage. That opponent will gain 4 poison counters, and the commander damage total is now 8. Then if Avacyn attacks again for 4 damage, but without infect, the opponent's commander damage total will become 12.
Few additional things to note about this combo; it is not Kediss who deals the extra damage, but the commander who has dealt the combat damage to trigger this ability. Other abilities and keywords that trigger on dealing damage also work with Kediss. For example; if Avacyn has lifelink, you can gain a lot of life. In this deck Avacyn is the only commander that you will likely ever control, but if somehow you manage to control one of your opponent's commanders, they will also deal extra damage because of Kediss. You do not have to own that commander.
Transformation
At this stage of the game you might also want to transform Avacyn into Avacyn, the Purifier. Though do not see this as mandatory. It is a tool that can help you, but you can go an entire game without transforming Avacyn. To make the best use of this ability, you must first understand how it works, so let's go over the fine details:- Firstly, the transformation is triggered by a death of a non-Angel creature under your control. It is not an optional trigger and your opponents can trigger it by killing one of your creatures.
- Once triggered and resolved, it creates a delayed triggered ability that will resolve at the start of the next upkeep (regardless of who's turn it is). For example; if you trigger it during your turn, Avacyn will not transform until your next opponent's upkeep.
- The transformation does not cause Avacyn to leave the battlefield. This is important because it means she will not lose any attached Equipment or Auras, or counters.
- When Avacyn transforms she will deal 3 damage to every other creature and each opponent. Once the damage is on the stack, it will resolve regardless if Avacyn is removed from the board. This means that opponents have to remove Avacyn before the upkeep, or counter the ability on the stack.
- You cannot transform Avacyn back to the front face (that I know of). If she leaves the battlefield, she will re-enter as Archangel again, but that makes her a new entity.
To activate the transformation the deck has sacrifice outlets and creatures that can sacrifice themselves. Mortarpod is a hidden gem because it can be easily tutored as an artifact Equipment, and cast for low cost of mana. Because of the living weapon ability, it enters the battlefield with a Germ token that is attached to the Equipment, which you can then sacrifice to trigger Avacyn's transformation.
Now that you know how the transformation works, let me explain a combo that might be the best use of this ability. When Avacyn transforms whilst equipped with Basilisk Collar, all the damage dealt by her to other creatures and each opponent has lifelink and deathtouch. This means that it will kill any creature that is not indestructible and you will gain life from all the damage! This is great to make up for all the life you had to pay for mana in the early game, and boardwipe at the same time.
At minimum you should gain 9 life, assuming you have three opponents, but it scales up linearly with the number of creatures on the battlefield. You could easily end up with over 100 life if someone is playing a token deck. And the best part? This is repeatable! As long as you have the Collar, you can flicker Avacyn with Cloudshift, which will return her to the battlefield as the Archangel, or just sacrifice and re-cast her, and do it all over again.
You can also do infect damage with this ability if Avacyn is equipped with Grafted Exoskeleton.
Setbacks
This is the second variation of the midgame. It is inevitable that your opponents will remove Archangel Avacyn from the board if they are able to, or the various Equipment attached to her. This can certainly set you back, but the deck is resilient enough that you can keep re-casting Avacyn and follow the strategy, albeit at a slower pace. There is no plan B or an infinite combo to wait and draw into, so don't feel bad when someone removes Avacyn, instead plan how to make them pay for it. The deck can be shut down if an opponent is able to consistently prevent combat damage, but that is a bad matchup, not just a setback.The only realistic backup plan is using another creature to deal lethal damage. Even a Germ token can kill an opponent if given enough Equipment. It is not recommended but if you can't cast Avacyn, don't be afraid to use other creatures to do combat damage.
One thing that will become important during this stage, when you are likely to re-cast Avacyn, is haste enabling. If you can, try to play a land that can give Avacyn haste so that you can attack the same turn you can re-cast her, such as Hanweir Battlements. One thing to note is that lands are colourless, so even if you are paying or for the ability, you can target Avacyn if she has protection from red or white.
It can also happen that through opponents' actions, you might be prevented from having a fast start, and little to no cards in hand. However, this usually means that everyone else is suffering too, and eventually you will draw into cards that you can set up the board with. Even if it is taking longer and at a slower pace, the game plan for this deck doesn't change. You are still aiming to attack with Avacyn and eliminate with commander damage.
I consider the midgame over when the first opponent is eliminated. In theory, this means that the biggest threat to this deck is gone and you can focus on the remaining opponents, who are likely scrambling to find answers to avoid Avacyn's wrath.
Endgame - No Mercy
In an ideal situation, after you eliminate someone with commander damage, the remaining opponents are not able to dismantle the assembled Avacyn Voltron and you are able to add more damage boosting Equipment to eliminate the remaining opponents even faster. However, it is more likely that you will have to deal with more setbacks.This deck is able to deal with attrition because the strategy relies only on two things, Archangel Avacyn and combat damage. As long as you can deal damage with Avacyn, you'll be alright. Unless you've been completely dismantled, you can always keep re-casting Avacyn to attack for 4 damage at least. It might be slow, but it will add up. Commander damage is a clock that your remaining opponents will have to race against because inevitably you will deal 21 commander damage.
The main difference between the endgame and the midgame is that you should have more mana available, but likely have less cards in hand because most of your resources were used to assemble the Voltron. Therefore resource management will become even more important. The resources you need in the endgame, however, are not much different from the midgame. You'll need mana to pay for additional commander tax, card advantage to get more resources, and Equipment to protect Avacyn and to deal more combat damage.
Card Advantage
Card advantage is arguably the most important resource for any deck. This deck achieves card advantage mainly through looting, where you have to discard cards before or after you draw (most often before). This is by necessity due to the type of card draw available to Boros colours. As a result, it is important to try not to empty your hand because you will need at least one card to discard to draw more. Discarding cards might seem like a disadvantage, but with graveyard recursion you can think of the graveyard as a second hand.That said, graveyard recursion is limited and therefore it is important to understand which card types you can bring back from the graveyard, so you can plan ahead when discarding cards. The deck can bring back artifact, creatures and enchantments. These card types account for roughly half the deck. Additionally, most of the cards that allow graveyard recursion can be tutored for. Once you understand this, you can be more confident with discarding cards to get card advantage through looting.
The secondary way to achieve card advantage is with Equipment. Mask of Memory and Sword of Fire and Ice draw cards when the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player. To maximise the card advantage these Equipments provide, combo them with double strike to make them trigger twice, and if you can get Aurelia, the Warleader on the battlefield, so you can trigger the card draw up to four times in a single turn. Skullclamp, Sram, Senior Edificer and Puresteel Paladin were already mentioned in the early game section, but they are just as useful in any stage of the game to draw cards.
Card advantage is not the easiest thing to achieve but the deck is designed to make the most of what is available to Boros and the Voltron strategy.
Mana Management
It was already mentioned several times that you should be prepared to re-cast Archangel Avacyn multiple times per game. Finishing the game with casting Avacyn only once is not impossible, but it is rare. So how do you prepare yourself for the ever increasing commander tax?The most obvious and easiest way to ensure you'll have the needed mana in the late game is to have consistent land drops throughout the game. The more cards you draw, the more likely you'll end up with lands (or mana rocks) to play, which will accumulate over the course of the game. However, while this is the easiest way, it is also the slowest. There are four cards in the deck that can get you more mana. Three of these were mentioned already in the early game section; Dockside Extortionist, Dowsing Dagger, and Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus. The first two are more of a one time boost, while Bitterthorn can provide additional land per turn, though it is limited by the number of basic lands in the deck.
Smothering Tithe is arguably the best way to get a significant mana boost. The Tithe triggers every time an opponent draws a card, and it is unlikely they will pay the mana every time. If left unchecked you can end up with a lot of Treasure tokens.
Command Beacon is an alternative to paying the commander tax, especially when it gets too high. By tapping and sacrificing it, you can get Avacyn into your hand from the command zone without any mana cost. Though in this deck the Beacon is one time use only because there is no graveyard recursion for lands that are not also artifacts or enchantments.
Certain cards can also reduce (or remove) the equip cost, which will free up mana for the commander tax, and other uses. Puresteel Paladin makes the equip cost when you control three or more artifacts, and Fighter Class reduces the cost by for one time investment of , which makes the majority of Equipment in the deck equip for free. Sigarda's Aid attaches any Equipment to a creature for free when it enters the battlefield. Stoneforge Mystic doesn't alter the equip cost, but she can get an Equipment onto the battlefield for , which can be cheaper than the Equipement casting cost.
Coup de Grâce
To finish the game, and hopefully win, there are few cards that are the most useful at this stage of the game. Aurelia, the Warleader and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight are both great individually to boost Archangel Avacyn's damage, either by providing an extra combat step or by doubling any damage dealt to your opponents. If you manage to get the Holy Trinity of Legendary Angels onto the battlefield, it should be game over that turn or the next one.The best way to ensure Avacyn can deal combat damage is to make her unblockable, and Rogue's Passage is the best card for this. Protection from colours granted by the Mirran swords also works in most cases, but the swords do not work against artifact and colourless creatures. It would be a shame if a 1/1 Thopter token would stop you from winning. Also, generally speaking, lands are harder to remove, and therefore harder to lose from your side of the board, than artifacts.
The last card I want to mention is Teferi's Protection. This spell is best used in response to a boardwipe, either your own or cast by an opponent. This way you can preserve your boardstate, while setting back your opponents. Which should be enough advantage to finish the game.
Tutoring
The deck's consistency relies on tutors, and during deck crafting it became important to maximize how many cards can be targets for tutors. Because of this the deck often has an answer for any given problem. The drawback is that you can be overwhelmed by choice if you do not know the deck. To help with this, I will first offer a default line of tutor targets, and then discuss the tutor cards separately.
Default Tutoring
The most common tutor effect is for artifact and Equipment. When in doubt, tutor for Swiftfoot Boots for protection and haste, and then Embercleave for attacks. Embercleave is good in almost any scenario, because of flash it can be cast after blockers were declared, and when it enters the battlefield you can equip it for free. Double strike is great at keeping Archangel Avacyn alive during combat and dealing lots of damage. After you have those, next would be either Mithril Coat or one of the Mirran swords; Sword of Feast and Famine is a good default target. Alternatively, if you can, search for Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar to do damage to all opponents at the same time.When you can search for creatures, tutor for Stoneforge Mystic so you can then search for an Equipment. With enchantment tutor, you can't go wrong with searching for Fighter Class that will let you search for an Equipment. See the pattern here? When searching for a land with Weathered Wayfarer, a good default target is Cavern of Souls or Rogue's Passage.
Specific Tutors
The deciding factor for any tutor will be the board state, which is impossible to predict, so I will offer potential tutor targets to give you ideas that hopefully will help you find the right cards in your games.Enlightened Tutor: This is one of the most versatile tutors. In the early game you can search for a mana rock like Sol Ring or Jeweled Lotus, or event artifact lands. Then you can also search for any of the Equipment cards, depending on which one you need. If in doubt about Equipment, follow the default tutoring advice above. Lastly, Esper Sentinel is an artifact creature if you want him for card advantage or to sacrifice. There are a lot fewer enchantment targets. Fighter Class is good if you want it for the second ability, Hyena Umbra is better than nothing if you can't get any of the protective Equipment, Sigarda's Aid is great for casting Equipment at instant speed, and Smothering Tide if you want a mana boost. Lastly, don't forget that Uzra's Saga is an enchantment land.
Steelshaper's Gift, Fighter Class, Relic Seeker, Stoneforge Mystic: These four can only search for Equipment cards. In the early game, I often use them to either search for a ramp Equipment like the Dowsing Dagger, or protective Equipment like Swiftfoot Boots. In the midgame when Avacyn needs a damage boost, I search for Embercleave or Grafted Exoskeleton, depending on how fast I am trying to close the game. To make Avacyn unblockable, you can search for one of the Mirran swords. Then there are card advantage Equipments; Skullclamp and Mask of Memory. Lastly, you can search for combo Equipment; Mortarpod or Basilisk Collar.
Imperial Recruiter, Recruiter of the Guard: Almost all creatures can be searched by these two, and with the variety of utility creatures, they can help you smooth out the early game. Most often I end up searching for Stoneforge Mystic so I can then search for an Equipment, or Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar to try to close the game quickly. However, the Recruiters also have search targets for card advantage, mana boost, protection, reanimation, interaction, and graveyard hate. Many of these creatures also double up as sacrificial triggers for Avacyn's transformation. The only difference between the Recruiters in this deck is that the Imperial Recruiter cannot target Cathar Commando, so if you need removal interaction, you'll have to get Recruiter of the Guard first.
Search for Glory: This spell is most often used to search for a legendary card, of which there are few. From Equipments you can get Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus for ramp, or Embercleave for a damage boost. You can also search for planeswalkers, both of which offer different levels of card advantage. Nahiri, the Harbinger also has removal, and Dateri, Scrap Savant has graveyard recursion for artifacts. Among creature options, for dealing extra damage Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar is great in the early game, and Aurelia, the Warleader or Gisela, Blade of Goldnight when you have the mana to cast them. There is also Sram, Senior Edificer for card advantage. Lastly, you can get Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep if you need and/or want first strike for Avacyn. The only snow permanents in the deck are snow-covered basic lands, which you can get if you are in need of colour fixing. Urza's Saga is the only Saga in the deck, useful to get if you have no better target.
Urza's Saga: Often the best use for the Saga's tutor ability is to replace it with a mana rock. This can be Sol Ring, Mana Crypt or Jeweled Lotus. I'd say Sol Ring is the best default target because it doesn't cause damage and isn't one time use. You can also get Skullclamp if you need card advantage, Basilisk Collar to combo with Avacyn's transformation, or Commander's Plate to protect her. Worth noting, you cannot search for Esper Sentinel because it costs , not .
Fetch Lands: Unless it's Prismatic Vista, search for Plateau first, Sacred Foundry second, and after that any basic land will do; with caveat that Plains are generally more useful than Mountains in this deck.
Nahiri, the Harbinger: In the rare scenario that you can use the -8 ability, I recommend getting Aurelia, the Warleader or Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. Either of those will boost Avacyn's damage for the turn, and you should have enough mana to cast them the next turn. Alternatively you can get Embercleave or one of the Mirran swords. I do not recommend Grafted Exoskeleton because it will make you sacrifice the creature it was attached to at the end step, though that might be useful to trigger Avacyn's transformation. Which can combo well with Sigarda's Aid, as you could cast the Exoskeleton before Avacyn transforms and deal 3 infect damage to all opponents.
Weathered Wayfarer: This is one of the most game subjective tutors because there is a high number of utility lands in the deck. To make it easier I've listed his target options in a table:
Needed or wanted effect | Land to tutor |
---|---|
Protection | Cavern of Souls, Homeward Path |
Extra damage | Cathedral of War, Slayers' Stronghold |
Haste | Hanweir Battlements, Slayers' Stronghold |
Sacrifice outlet | High Market |
Mana boost | Ancient Tomb |
Commander tax too high | Command Beacon |
Land removal | Field of Ruin |
Unblockable | Rogue's Passage |
First strike | Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep |
Artifact tutor or token creation | Urza's Saga |
Colour fixing | Plateau, or any colour producing land |
Card Choice Discussion
Creatures
Majority of the creatures in the deck are low mana value utility creatures to synergize with the various tactics of the deck. The only creatures above mana value are two tutors, and two legendary Angels. All creatures should be considered expendable and ready to be sacrificed.
Cathar Commando: This Cathar provides a lot of utility; for three mana total it can be cast at instant speed to remove a problematic artifact or enchantment, trigger Avacyn's transformation, it can be tutored for because of toughness 1, and because of that it can also be Skullclamped to draw cards.
Dockside Extortionist: The more artifacts and enchantments opponents play, the bigger mana boost you'll get. It is a great value card.
Esper Sentinel: Useful continuous card advantage, especially in the early game where opponents will be unlikely to have one, or more, mana spare to pay the tax.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight: Gisela is a great finisher card, doubling all of the damage dealt to opponents tends to end games quickly. She also shuts down any strategy that deals 1 damage at a time to you.
Imperial Recruiter: Many creatures in the deck can be tutored with this card to smooth out the early game, and find answers in the late game.
Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar: Kediss makes it possible to eliminate all opponents with one attack, especially if Avacyn is equipped with infect damage.
Mother of Runes: Arguably the best creature that grants protection from colours, even to itself. Works as a deterrent against target interaction, and can make Avacyn unblockable.
Puresteel Paladin: Good value for mana card, as it can draw cards and make equip cost with metalcraft, which is easy to achieve in this deck. In the late game it can save a lot of mana when you need to cast Avacyn for or more mana and want to equip her on the same turn.
Recruiter of the Guard: Very similar utility to the Imperial Recruiter.
Relic Seeker: Useful early game tutor on a creature, which in this deck is preferable than sorceries or instances because it can be tutored for, and recurred from the graveyard.
Remorseful Cleric: Excellent card to trigger Avacyn's transformation while also removing a problematic graveyard.
Restoration Specialist: Similar to the Cathar Commando, the Specialist can bring back artifacts and enchantments while also triggering Avacyn's transformation. All for relatively low mana cost.
Sram, Senior Edificer: Sram provides another continuous card advantage effect that synergizes with Equipment cards.
Stoneforge Mystic: Mystic can tutor for any Equipment on entering the battlefield, and is able to put Equipment into play at instant speed for only . Amazing synergy with this deck.
Weathered Wayfarer: The tutor ability is restricted to an opponent having more lands but that happens quite often, so it is rarely an issue. The best part is that you can tutor for any land, which can help out with whatever you are missing as there are a lot of utility lands in the deck.
Planeswalkers
The two planeswalkers were chosen to provide utility that can be tutored for. They are not expected to use their ultimate. If anything, planeswalkers are a distraction for opponents to attack.Nahiri, the Harbinger: Nahiri provides flexible choice between drawing a card, and removing something problematic. She also only needs to be protected for three turns to use her ult, which is great for bringing Aurelia, the Warleader or Gisela, Blade of Goldnight to the battlefield.
Artifacts
All of the artifacts are either low mana value mana rocks, or Equipment, the main synergy card type of the deck. The Equipment is what turns Avacyn into a Voltron, but not all of them provide a power boost. Many Equipment cards have other utility, such as ramp or card advantage.Basilisk Collar: Deathtouch and lifelink is a powerful combination with Avacyn's transformation. Can also be combined with other cards like Mortarpod to deal 1 deathtouch damage.
Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus: In an Equipment deck Bitterthorn is a good ramp card and best of all, it triggers on an attack, not combat damage. The only drawback is the low amount of basic lands in the deck, which limits how many times the ability can be used before it becomes only a stat boosting Equipment. Though at worst, it can at least shuffle the library and provide a Germ token to be sacrificed.
Boros Signet: Good ramp card in Boros colours that provides the colours the deck needs.
Champion's Helm: The great thing about the Helm is the equip cost . This makes it really easy to re-equip, and provides both protection and a stats boost.
Commander's Plate: Very cheap Equipment that provides protection from three colours in this deck, and gives +3/+3. One of the best mana value Equipments for Avacyn.
Dowsing Dagger // Lost Vale: Great Equipment for early game mana boost. The need to do combat damage to a player can be tricky, but more often there is one opponent without blockers, or someone willing to take the damage.
Embercleave: Arguably the best offensive Equipment. It can be cast for as low as , it attaches itself to a creature, and gives +1/+1, double strike and trample. It only gets better with Mirran swords equipped as well. The colour identity can be a drawback when Avacyn has protection from red, it is not a big drawback, but something to look out for.
Grafted Exoskeleton: Game ending Equipment. At worst it makes Avacyn a two-hit eliminator, at best it can eliminate all opponents at once. The sacrifice clause when unequipped rarely matters.
Jeweled Lotus: Black Lotus for commanders. Do I need to say more?
Mana Crypt: Free ramp that allows the deck to have a very quick start. The 3 damage can become problematic, especially with low life, but at least it makes for tense games and a funny story if you die to your own Mana Crypt.
Mask of Memory: The Mask provides a good way to filter cards in hand and gain card advantage. With double strike it triggers twice, which makes it even better. The main benefit is that it is a card advantage card that can be tutored for.
Mind Stone: This mana rock was selected over other mana value rocks because it can draw a card. Which does come in handy when fishing for an answer.
Mithril Coat:The Coat itself is indestructible which makes it quite valuable protection Equipment. To make it even better, it can be cast at instant speed and equipped to Avacyn for free when it enters the battlefield.
Mortarpod: Probably one of the most underrated cards that has great utility in this deck. It can be easily tutored for when it is needed, and when combined with other cards, it can do some amazing things. Most often used to trigger Avacyn's transformation.
Skullclamp: One of the best card draw engine Equipments. The deck doesn't produce a lot of tokens but the Clamp is great to draw cards while triggering Avacyn's transformation. If nothing else, it also draws two cards when Avacyn is inevitably removed from the board.
Sol Ring: A must have in any deck that aims to have explosive early turns, especially if you have limited options to generate mana in the early game, like Boros decks tend to have.
Swiftfoot Boots: Great value for mana, hexproof and haste is exactly what Avacyn needs.
Sword of Body and Mind: Protection from blue is valuable because many fliers are blue, and if any creature has reach, it is green more often than not. The 2/2 Wolf tokens are great to be sacrificed, and milling an opponent for ten cards can be useful. With double strike and Aurelia, the Warleader's extra combat step, it is possible to mill someone out. The likelihood of this is low, but it is an option.
Sword of Feast and Famine: Arguably the most valuable sword. Protection from black is good against removal, and nobody likes to be made to discard a card, but the main benefit is untapping your lands. That ability allows for explosive turns, if you have cards in hand to play.
Sword of Fire and Ice: Protection from red is not ideal, but it can be worked around. The great thing about this sword is drawing a card when dealing combat damage to a player, and dealing damage is the aim of the deck; win-win.
Sword of Light and Shadow: Protection from white is worse because it stops flicker spells in the deck, and cards like Mother of Runes, but it can be worked around and bringing back creatures from the graveyard synergizes well with creatures that sacrifice themselves.
Sword of War and Peace: This sword has the two worst colours to provide protection from, so it is the least used one, but the ability to deal damage equal to cards in an opponent's hand is useful when someone is playing a draw heavy deck. Even more so if they have no maximum hand size and are holding a massive amount of cards.
Talisman of Conviction: Paying 1 life for coloured mana can hurt, but it is better to have the option than not. The number of mana artifacts that can tap for a colour is limited in Boros.
The Irencrag: Mana rock for , and it can turn into Equipment. Great addition to any Equipment Voltron deck.
Enchantments
The few enchantments in the deck either synergize with Equipment, protect Avacyn or provide mana advantage. It is the least synergetic card type in the deck, but these few are too useful not to be used.Hyena Umbra: This is a bit of a pet card, but justifiable because it provides a lot of utility for only mana. First strike is a great keyword in a Voltron deck because even if an opponent blocks, at least Avacyn has a chance to kill the blocker before taking any damage. Totem Armor is like a second life against boardwipes. And on top of that, it provides a small stats boost.
Sigarda's Aid: Another amazing card in Equipment decks that turns all Equipment into a combat trick. More importantly it attaches the Equipment when it enters the battlefield, which is always welcome to save mana.
Smothering Tithe: At worst you get one Treasure from each opponent, but the ceiling is so much higher if opponents are drawing a lot of cards. The mana tax is high enough that many opponents won't pay it.
Sorceries
Most of the sorceries are used for card avantage, either through looting, graveyard recursion or tutoring. They are needed to find what you need, or draw into it. The remaining sorceries are boardwipes because sometimes you need to clear the way for Avacyn to do commander damage.Blasphemous Act: Probably the best way to deal 13 damage to each creature. In this format it is all too easy to cast the Act only for mana. Best of all, there are plenty of ways in the deck to make Avacyn immune to the damage.
Cathartic Reunion: I like this spell because it draws three cards for mana. Discarding two cards to cast it can be tricky at times if you are low on cards in hand, but I found this spell to be worth it more often than not.
Faithless Looting: Great value draw spell because it draws two cards before you discard two cards, so you can see if they are better than the ones you already have in hand. To make it even better, you can discard it with a different red loot spell, and then cast it from the graveyard.
Remember the Fallen: Being able to bring back a creature and an artifact is good value for only mana. The deck sacrifices creatures often, and it is inevitable that artifacts will be destroyed or discarded. I found this to be the best spell with this effect because the casting cost is not demanding with only one coloured pip.
Search for Glory: This tutor spell has a lot of targets in the deck. In the early game it can tutor for a land to fix colours, or Sram, Senior Edificer for card draw, or Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar for extra damage. In the late game it can tutor for one of the two legendary Angels that will help close the game, or even legendary Equipment. It can also gain a little bit of life, which is not unwelcome since life is paid often for mana in this deck.
Steelshaper's Gift: mana spell to tutor for an Equipment. It doesn't get better than that for this deck.
Tormenting Voice: A classic loot spell. mana, discard a card, draw two. What more can you ask for?
Vandalblast: Devastating spell that can put us ahead of opponents by blowing up all of their mana rocks while leaving ours on the board. In the worst case, it can remove one problematic artifact. Too useful not to run it.
Wrath of God: One of the, if not the, cheapest boardwipes with no downside. Regeneration rarely comes into effect, but it is just an added bonus to an already good spell.
Instants
One of the looting spells in an instant, but the rest is split between interaction and protection. The flicker spells can also be used for utility to get extra ETB triggers out of creatures.Enlightened Tutor: Versatile tutor spell for artifacts and enchantments, though instead of hand it places the card on top of the library, so best used just before the draw step. Great for finding lands in the early game.
Ephemerate: Better version of Cloudshift because it has Rebound, which makes it twice the value for the same mana.
Path to Exile: One of the two best removal spells in white, with alternative use of targeting our own creature to get a land into play.
Swords to Plowshares: The second of the two best removal spells. Giving an opponent life is not an issue at all, no matter how much life it is, because commander damage doesn't care about how high the life total gets.
Teferi's Protection: The best protection spell because it can protect the board and our life. Which makes it great defence against life draining spells, and often helps to close the game the turn after because our boardstate was preserved.
Thrill of Possibility: A better version of Tormenting Voice because it can be cast at instant speed.
Wear // Tear: This spell was chosen over all other artifact and enchantment removal because of its flexibility. Ideally you'd want to exile the targets, but there are no exile spells that can hit either type, or both, for the same mana cost.
Lands
Lands play a big part in the performance of the deck. There is a wide range of utility lands, from card advantage, to sacrifice outlet to combat support. Furthermore, some lands were chosen because of the additional type that allows them to be tutored; such as Saga and snow lands. The deck also runs a good number of fetch lands, and lands that tap for either of the two Boros colours without entering tapped.Arid Mesa: Fetch land to make sure the deck has the colours it needs.
Battlefield Forge: It doesn't enter tapped and can generate the needed colours. Ideal land to ensure not being short on colours.
Cathedral of War: The only land that always enters tapped, which is not ideal, but it is a passive boost to Avacyn's stats when she attacks alone, therefore I have found it to be worth it.
Cavern of Souls: Best land to prevent Avacyn from being countered. Control decks hate this land, and I love it.
City of Brass: A land that doesn't come in tapped and can generate whatever colour is needed. Taking 1 damage for the mana is worth it. If Gisela is on the board, it doesn't do any damage.
Command Beacon: This is sort of an insurance policy. Main use is when commander tax gets really high, but it can also stop certain spells that take your commander from the command zone.
Command Tower: It generates any colour in the commander's colour identity and doesn't enter tapped, what more is there to be said.
Field of Ruin: It took one game against Glacial Chasm to decide that some land removal is necessary. I like the Field over other similar cards because it gives everyone a basic land, so I don't feel bad about destroying a land, and it can help someone out, making them more likely to help you.
Hanweir Battlements: This land is a great haste provider. The meld ability is irrelevant since the deck doesn't run the other card.
High Market: Sacrifice outlet on a land is always useful in this deck because it rarely gets removed from the board, and it doesn't have any mana cost to use.
Homeward Path: This land was added to the deck after I died to my own commander too many times.
Mana Confluence: A land that doesn't come in tapped and can generate whatever colour is needed. Paying 1 life for the mana is worth it.
Marsh Flats: Fetch land to make sure the deck has the colours it needs.
Plateau: OG dual land, it just doesn't get better than this.
Prismatic Vista: Fetch land for basic lands to make sure the deck has the colours it needs. What makes this better than other fetch lands is that it brings the basic land untapped.
Rogue's Passage: It makes Avacyn unblockable, which is exactly what the deck wants to do. It can also target opponents' creatures, so it can be used politically too.
Rugged Prairie: Another land that doesn't enter tapped and can filter one colour into any combination of the Boros colours. Which makes it quite useful if the deck ends up with too many colourless mana lands on the board.
Sacred Foundry: The second best Boros land because it has an option to enter untapped, and can be tutored by the fetch lands.
Scalding Tarn: Fetch land to make sure the deck has the colours it needs.
Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep: This land is included purely as a block deterrent, or ensuring that Avacyn can survive being blocked by a creature that could trade with her. Additionally, it can be tutored by Search for Glory.
Slayers' Stronghold: This land provides so much value for only mana; vigilance, haste and a +2 power boost! It becomes most useful when Avacyn transforms into the Purifier because she loses vigilance.
Spectator Seating: Ideal land for the Commander format. It only comes in tapped when there is one opponent left, and at that point in the game it doesn't matter.
Sunbaked Canyon: Another land that doesn't come in tapped and can produce the needed colours. It also has card draw ability when you really need to draw one card.
Urza's Saga: This land ticks so many boxes for this deck. As an enchantment Saga it can be tutored for and recurred from the graveyard. The token creation is the least useful ability but if there is nothing better to do, it does provide a creature to be sacrificed. The tutor effect has at least five targets in the deck, from Equipment to mana rocks.
War Room: mana and two life is not the best value for one card, but it is better than nothing. Unlike other lands that draw cards, you don't have to sacrifice it or discard a card.
Snow-Covered Mountain, Snow-Covered Plains: The snow-covered basic lands were chosen because of Search for Glory, so they can be tutored for. There is no other benefit to them being snow type. It is more of a personal preference.
Exclusions, Alternatives & Considerations
If you think there are cards that should be in the deck or at least good alternatives, let me know and I can add them to exclusions, alternatives or considerations section, thanks!Land Tax: Also used to be part of the deck but outlived its usefulness and was replaced by Jeweled Lotus. It came down to which card I'd rather have as the first player in my opening hand.
Avacyn, Angel of Hope: It would be on theme and she would be great for the late game, but I don't think this Avacyn really supports the fast Voltron strategy. She just gives you more time in longer games to find answers. Plus I already play this Avacyn in a number of other decks, so I didn't feel the need to include her in this one.
Helm of the Host: This would be an easy swap with Grafted Exoskeleton and would provide lots of utility with ETB creatures, and infinite combo wincon with Aurelia, the Warleader. Which is why I don't play it. To me it would take the deck in a direction I don't want, but it is a great option if you don't want to play infect.
Sword of the Animist: Great ramp card for any Equipment deck, but in this deck it was redundant to have this Sword and Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus, though the two are more or less interchangeable if you prefer the Sword. More detailed explanation of this swap can be found here.
Call a Surprise Witness, Delney, Streetwise Lookout: If I don't include the above combo, I want to consider these two cards instead to see if I can make more use of the utility creatures in this deck over the two Planeswalkers.
Archivist of Oghma, Deep Gnome Terramancer: I was optimistic about these two but every time I had them on hand they both made me feel reactive rather than proactive, which does not fit the mindset of how to play this deck. More detailed explanation can be found here.
Sword of Truth and Justice: Getting at least two +1/+1 counters each time you do combat damage is not terrible, but it is not great either. There are faster ways to increase Avacyn's damage. This Sword would be more useful in a deck with a lot of counters, which is not this deck.
Sword of Hearth and Home: This Sword could be useful because there are quite few creatures in the deck with an ETB trigger, and an additional ramp is always useful. This Sword could be a good alternative to Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus if you prefer it. I wouldn't run both for the same reason I don't run Sword of the Animist, there isn't enough basic lands in the deck in my opinion.
Sword of Forge and Frontier: I do like this Sword because it provides card and mana advantage. The only drawback is that you have to play the exiled two cards this turn, and since this triggers from combat damage it requires you to keep your mana open for the post-combat main phase. Not a massive disadvantage, just something to consider if you are going to play this Sword.
Sword of Once and Future: Probably the least useful Sword for this deck because the deck does not focus on instant or sorceries. That said, most of those spells in the deck are mana value or less so it could be functional. However, in my opinion the Sword would be more useful in a deck with more focus on the graveyard and low mana value instant or sorcery spells.
Credits & Thanks
Thank you,
Primer Committee for the primer guide, and the template. I am also thankful to BlackbirdPlaysMTG for their Sythis Enchantress Primer, which was a big inspiration to write my own. The Sythis Primer is how I found this forum, and the first one I've read. Other primers have also been an inspiration and great references.Change Log
Primer History
4th of September, in the year of the Archangel 2023Added Kellan, the Fae-Blooded as an alternative commander, and removed Velomachus Lorehold from that list. Added four cards to the Considerations.
28th of June, in the year of the Archangel 2023
Added Nahiri, Forged in Fury and Éowyn, Fearless Knight as an alternative commander, and removed Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer from that list.
4th of June, in the year of the Archangel 2023
Reworked of the Consideration, Alternatives & Exclusions section to reflect the first change to the deck since this primer was posted.
16th of April, in the year of the Archangel 2023
Update of the primer to address feedback from the Primer Committee. Most significant updates were to the budget, and game stages sections. To do - March of the Machine set review.
8th of February, in the year of the Archangel 2023
The first version of the primer attempt has been posted, with the current decklist. Waiting for feedback and the time requirement to submit a primer application a month from now. To do - add more images to the post.
Change Log
Blackblade Reforged > Commander's Plate
Darksteel Plate > Mithril Coat
Great Furnace > Snow-Covered Mountain
Needleverge Pathway > Sunbaked Canyon
Thought Vessel > The Irencrag
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Set Reviews
Outlaws of Thunder JunctionGo to post
Fallout
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Murders at Karlov Manor
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Doctor Who
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Wilds of Eldraine
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Commander Masters
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Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
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March of the Machine: The Aftermath
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March of the Machine
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Phyrexia: All Will Be One
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New Print Highlights
Secret Lair: From Cute to BruteGo to post