MTG Salvation

I got rather excited after acquiring Tajic, Legion's Edge and Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice at the prerelease, and having them lead me to a 3-0-1 record. Are these cards and others from Guilds of Ravnica enough make Boros viable in French Duel Commander? I see the new mentor mechanic as having some merits and the idea of mixing sort of a white weenie strategy with something like how you'd build Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, just in Boros, or possibly Boros hatebears, something that utilizes mentor more fully with pump spells to make mentor even better, or possibly something more midrange-y as all being options. Or a mix of some of the above. Having access to cards like Lightning Helix and Boros Charm appeals to me a lot. I know I need to really focus to build a good duel deck. I'm looking for something that's pretty competitive, the tournaments I go to are full of very competitive and tuned decks. I consider myself a good player, I usually go 2-1 or 2-0-1 in those tournaments with Kari Zev, and I'd want to build something somewhere in that ballpark in power level. An occasional 3-0 would be nice. My meta is usually Izzet walkers, Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow in a faerie tribal with the odd ninja shell, and U/X control decks. Occasionally we get the odd white weenie, Abzan tempo, Saskia the Unyielding or green ramp/stompy deck. I'd like to use both the new Tajic and the new Aurelia, if at all possible, and I see one of the two being the commander, and the other inside the deck.

What direction do you think would be most fruitful to these ends? I'll keep playing Kari Zev, because she's fun and effective. I've pretty much put the other ideas I've posted pretty far on the back burner, and likely won't build any of them at this point. Any ideas? My deckbuilding skill is questionable, so help would be much appreciated.

Tajic is very pushed, he's much stronger as a commander, although this deck with a three drop commander is gonna be more midrange than Kari Zev. On the upside, w & r gives you a lot of Savannah Lions but where this shines most is blanking pyroclasms...but he comes down the turn after Pyro.

Thanks for helping with my Kari Zev, btw. Runs better now, I feel like I can outrace a little easier. That's one of the strategies I was thinking about. Like white weenie a bit, but with some red creatures, some Boros creatures, and burn. With the white and red I can also add small fliers like Healer's Hawk and Skyknight Legionnaire. Tajic's mentor will make those bigger, and I like the idea of having a little bit of damage in the air, which Boros affords me. Vigilance is also a nice key ability that white and Boros give me. Maybe Swathcutter Giant at the top of my curve? I could also run some damage based wipes, like pyroclasm and anger of the gods. You said it's more midrange, so what should my curve look like? Average CMC something like 3ish? I likely don't want to run anything that costs more than 6. Do I run like 1/1 fliers, savannah lion and friends, and cheap burn in the 1-slot? I've thought also about things like Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Blade Splicer, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Veteran Motorist with Smuggler's Copter or a Heart of Kiran... would Mentor of the Meek be good? I'm thinking I could focus on humans and then get a lot out of a Path of Ancestry and Cavern of Souls. Do I want to maybe throw in 5-6 planeswalkers? Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Ajani, Caller of the Pride, Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, a Gideon or two: possibly Kytheon, Hero of Akros.

You don't want Healer's Hawk or Skyknight Legionnaire, you will want to be more aggressive than that. Swathcutter Giant is too much mana. If you do play five drops in your deck, I think the top of your curve will be Archangel Avacyn, Glorybringer, and Thundermaw Hellkite. I don't think board wipes are worth it unless you're playing in a meta with almost no control. I think you can find some better creatures than the ones you listed. As for planeswalkers, I would try Ajani Vengeant, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and Koth of the Hammer.

Quote from MatthewB »

You don't want Healer's Hawk or Skyknight Legionnaire, you will want to be more aggressive than that. Swathcutter Giant is too much mana. If you do play five drops in your deck, I think the top of your curve will be Archangel Avacyn, Glorybringer, and Thundermaw Hellkite. I don't think board wipes are worth it unless you're playing in a meta with almost no control. I think you can find some better creatures than the ones you listed. As for planeswalkers, I would try Ajani Vengeant, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and Koth of the Hammer.

For this kind of deck (like Kytheon WW), I think the best walker you can play is Ajani, Called of the Pride.

I posted my finished deck in another thread, taking into consideration what you've said. The deck can be found at: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/forum-1-vs-1-duel-commander/799722-tajic-legions-edge-french-duel-commander-deck Thanks 3drinks and MatthewB for you help.