Theros Heroic Weenie

[Terentius]

Theros feels like the most straightforward set I've ever played. I wonder how this deck would fare in Standard? It's also Block and Tribal.

Creatures: 15
4x Hero of Iroas
4x Fabled Hero
4x Nyxborn Shieldmate
2x Celestial Archon
1x Anax and Cymede

Auras: 20
4x Ordeal of Heliod
4x Mortal Obstinancy
4x Ordeal of Purphoros
4x Chained to the Rocks
4x Gift of Immortality

Gods: 3
2x Iroas, God of Victory
1x Heliod, God of the Sun

Planeswalkers: 1
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion

Lands: 21
10x Plains
9x Mountain
2x Temple of Triumph


Akroan Crusader + Phalanx Leader is boss. If I get a Crusader, a targeting spell, and Hoplite from the jump, I can win by turn 5, maybe 4. The main thing that sucks about this deck is I have to use deck space on Auras and Instants to trigger Heroic, and sometimes I wish I could get out more creatures. Everything else is solid enough; I have a strong and fast attack, and a fair amount of defense with Chained to the Rocks, Divine Verdict, and Spear of Heliod, the latter two pulling double duty. How would you compare these Heroic guys to other soldiers/weenies in Modern?

 

[Oversoul]

I don't really know Standard, but my reaction is to think that you should try this at FNM or something, because it seems solid. The best decks in Standard right now are Azorius Control, Orzhov Midrange, and Gruul Aggro, but I have no idea if this deck could stand against those. I suspect that it would have trouble, but you could try it and see. RtR Block and M14 have some pretty powerful rares that Standard decks utilize, so you're potentially going up against a very strong opponent with your Block Constructed deck.

Modern's another story altogether. While I hate to post anything about Modern that isn't lambasting the format's banned list, I'll confidently say that competitive Modern decks would beat this thing up and take its lunch money.

 

[Terentius]

I don't really know Standard, but my reaction is to think that you should try this at FNM or something, because it seems solid. The best decks in Standard right now are Azorius Control, Orzhov Midrange, and Gruul Aggro, but I have no idea if this deck could stand against those. I suspect that it would have trouble, but you could try it and see. RtR Block and M14 have some pretty powerful rares that Standard decks utilize, so you're potentially going up against a very strong opponent with your Block Constructed deck.

It'd be a good test, but I'm apprehensive about attending public Magic events.

Modern's another story altogether. While I hate to post anything about Modern that isn't lambasting the format's banned list, I'll confidently say that competitive Modern decks would beat this thing up and take its lunch money.

Not the deck as a whole in a Modern competition, just the creatures that are in it. I mean, they're not on the same level as Preeminent Captain, but I guess I'm asking if you think Phalanx Leader and Akroan Crusader are good enough to ever see play outside of their time in Standard?

 

[Oversoul]

Ah, that's a more interesting question. Most of Theros block probably won't see much use once it rotates out of Standard, and I'd go one step further and say that the exceptions will be utility like Destructive Revelry or Searing Blood, not big, important mechanics like the "heroic" creatures. There's a veritable wasteland of mechanics like "heroic" that were perfectly good in Standard, which fell out of use once the sets they were in rotated out of Standard. Phalanx Leader and Akroan Crusader appear to be poised to join that club. They certainly haven't made a splash in non-rotating formats so far. But there's still a lot of time for things to change. Maybe everything will get banned in Modern again, and Phalanx Leader will start to look like a good option.

 

[Terentius]

(soldiers groan)

Maybe I should make the deck Pauper instead.

 

[Oversoul]

On an unrelated note, your name change still has me confused.

 

[Terentius]

Yeah sorry, Tsi is a weenie name that 14-year-old me thought was cool. Maybe it is cool. But Terentius is the main alias I go by.

 

[Oversoul]

Hey, that's a pretty good excuse. I think Oversoul was a name 16-year-old me picked because he had to write something about Ralph Waldo Emerson for some English class, and said, "That'll work" when he was trying to think of a username somewhere. I guess I used it on a few Magic sites instead of other names I'd been using, and this was the last one, but also the only one that I stuck around on.

On the upside, Shadowmoor acknowledged my existence and my shield is pretty good...

Not too crazy about the color combination, though. Selesnya is my least favorite. Even Boros would be better...

 

[Terentius]

Split to Pauper and Elites.

Changelog for the latter (also modified in original post):
-4 Akroan Crusader
-4 Phalanx Leader
-3 Akroan Hoplite
+2 Fabled Hero
-1 Labyrinth Champion
+4 Hero of Iroas - This card's a little too good. Dropped instants and upped Aura count for him.
+4 Nyxborn Shieldmate
+2 Celestial Archon - Sitting in my binder. Benefits Hero of Iroas, and solid on its own.

+2 Ordeal of Purphoros
+2 Chained to the Rocks
-4 Chosen By Heliod
+4 Mortal Obstinancy
+4 Gift of Immorality
+2 Iroas, God of Victory - Truly strong, especially at 4 CMC. He's gotta be in the top 3 of all Theros block Gods.
+1 Heliod, God of the Sun

+1 Plains

The main weakness that nags me now is that Gift of Immortality protects against kill spells, but not exile or disabling effects, nor the Auras attached to the creatures, of which I have many and very much need for devotion. Other than that, it's straight up speed and power.


Pauper Theros Block Heroic Soldier Weenies

Creatures: 16
4x Akroan Crusader
4x Phalanx Leader
2x Akroan Hoplite
1x God-Favored General
4x Favored Hoplite
1x Akroan Skyguard

Auras: 8
4x Ordeal of Heliod
4x Ordeal of Purphoros

Instants/Sorceries: 16
2x Divine Verdict
2x Excoriate
4x Coordinated Strike
4x Titan's Strength
4x Reprisal

Lands: 20
8x Plains
8x Mountain
4x Unknown Shores
-----------------------------------------
60 cards

I had mentioned this previously, but for sure in this iteration the foundation of the deck is Akroan Crusader + Phalanx Leader, coupled with super cheap instant spells for Heroic and combat tricks. Particularly Coordinated Strike; I'd pay one mana just for a spell that targets two Heroic guys, but a power boost and First Strike? Shieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

How do you think these guys would fare in Pauper*?

EDIT: *fared if there was a Pauper Standard format.