Ethereal Armor is Still King

The second Standard Pauper tournament kicked off yesterday and when the dust of battle settled, Wilbert "Anton" Torres emerged the champion despite losing in the first round.  He rattled off 3 straight wins with his mono-white Ethereal Armor deck.  The list can be found below:

4 Azorius Arrester

4 Master of Diversion

2 Setesan Battle Priest

4 Wingsteed Rider

4 Hopeful Eidolon

3 Observant Alseid

3 Chosen by Heliod

4 Divine Favor

4 Ethereal Armor

Who needs hexproof? Not me.

4 Pacifism

4 God's Willing

20 Plains

Sideboard

4 Keening Apparition

3 Sundering Growth

4 Riot Control

4 Celestial Flare

With his victory, Anton proved that the number one card to beat in the format is still Ethereal Armor.  Eschewing green completely, he replaced the hexproof plan with God's Willing, which protected his heavily enchanted creatures and helped him scry through his library. Lastly, the spell could also grant a sort of unblockability to his Armored One.

It's pretty clear from the maindeck that he thought of the Boros matchup a lot, hence, the plentiful ways of gaining life via Setesan Battle Priest, Divine Favor, and Hopeful Eidolon.  Coupled with Pacifism, possibly the best removal at common, his defensive deck speed is second to none.  He also has the Hopeful Eidolon + Ethereal Armor combo to race beatdown decks as this combo represents a six-point life swing.

His sideboard is dedicated to similar enchantment heavy decks hence the Keening Apparition, Sundering Growth, and Celestial Flare in multiples.  Riot Control is for fast attack decks, a Fog and a demoralizing lifegain instant spell.

Coming in second place was Virgilio De Leon with Boros Ambulance.  Below is his deck for reference:

4 Gore-House Chainwalker

4 Azorius Arrester

4 Daring Skyjek

4 Wojek Halberdiers

4 Cavalry Pegasus

"I believe I can fly" and kill you.

3 Master of Diversion

4 Skyknight Legionnaire 

4 Shock

4 Lightning Strike

3 Celestial Flare

4 Boros Guildgate

9 Plains

9 Mountain

Even without a sideboard, Virgilio or June as he is known in the SM North Magic community racked up consecutive wins until he ran afoul of Anton in the final round.  His Boros deck featured 29 creatures and 8 burn spells.  The three Celestial Flares main were there for Ethereal Armor decks whether with hexproof or none.  

The deck is terrifyingly simple in its approach.  Summon a Cavalry Pegasus on turn two and put down as many humans as possible afterwards.  The flying horse grants attacking humans flight which avoids a lot of grounded blockers and thus delivers a lot of damage.  The burn spells can either get rid of opposing creatures or finish off the other player.

June could have probably benefited from Pacifism being in his sideboard against Anton.  A fourth Celestial Flare would have gotten around Gods Willing, too.  That said, this is still the speediest and most consistent deck around and should be in anyone's gauntlet.

Another take on everyone's white/red guild was Joey Hernandez's "NPBD" or No Playtest Boros Deck.  Check it out:

4 Hopeful Eidolon
4 Akroan Crusader

This is...Akros!!!

2 Auramancer
4 Wingsteed Rider
4 Skyknight Legionnaire
2 Lightning Strike
2 Martial Glory
2 Massive Raid
2 Rootborn Defenses
2 Pacifism
4 Ethereal Armor
2 Divine Favor
2 Dragon Mantle
2 Knightly Valor
2 Electrickery
4 Boros Guildgate
8 Plains
8 Mountain
Sideboard
2 Ray of Dissolution
2 Celestial Flare
2 Divine Verdict
2 Last Breath
2 Pacifism
1 Martial Glory
2 Lightning Strike
2 Electrickery

Joey incorporated a lot of technology in his version of Boros.  First off, he played with the heroic mechanic.  By casting enchantments on Akroan Crusader and Wingsteed Rider, he buffs them up while producing other effects like getting 1/1 hasty soldiers or +1/+1 counters.  Second, he used Ethereal Armor himself.  Third, he had Electrickery to combat other Boros decks.  There were other little tricks like Massive Raid and Martial Glory that kept his opponents guessing.

While employing less creatures, his build focuses on Akroan Crusader whose token-producing ability can get out of hand quickly.  The 1/1 soldiers can chip away relentlessly and provide blocking fodder instantly if necessary.  Finally, Rootborn Defenses can make everyone indestructible and pop out another 1/1 hasty guy because of populate.

Joey's ingenuity shows off the diverse environment of Standard Pauper even when a lot of people are playing basically the same powerful cards.

Will these decks evolve come next week?  Will new ones surface and wrest the title away from Anton?  Comment below and give your own ideas.

Thank you and see you at the Theros Game Day next Sunday where there will be a side event for this budget-friendly, exciting format.