Standard: Boros Monument - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Originally from Pioneer, Boros Monument made its first appearance in Standard during the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Regional Championships season, where it was one of the most interesting archetypes at the Japan Champions Cup.

The deck combines discard outlets with Monument to Endurance and an efficient beatdown plan with cheap creatures to attack from multiple angles, being a viable and innovative option for the current Metagame.

This variant has almost the same cards as the Boros Monument's Pioneer list. The main exception is Marauding Mako, a creature that synergizes well with our game plan but is too easy a target for This Town Ain’t Big Enough’s effects to invest too many resources into growing it in games—instead, we’re including Screaming Nemesis, which has immediate impact and punishes opponents’ blockers, and we can cast Torch the Tower on it to permanently lock in their life gain.

Another difference between the two is that we have relatively few cards that interact with the graveyard the way Ox of Agonas does in Pioneer, so we’re replacing it with a Reanimate package with Recommission and its interaction with Phyrexian Dragon Engine to keep the resources going, since it doesn’t specify that it has to come from the graveyard through Unearth.

Playing with the Deck

The Boros Monument behaves like an Aggro focused on the interaction between its cards rather than their individual value. The first turns are composed of creating cards that establish the necessary “setup” to start the synergies sequences, preferably with Guardian of New Benalia on the second turn and Monument to Endurance on the third.

With Monument to Endurance in play, our strategy involves extracting the most from it each turn: the artifact does not limit the number of triggers, discarded cards or in which turns they trigger, so we can use Guardian Of New Benalia to discard cards and use the Monument's triggers. If we don't have it in play, we can take advantage of Tersa Lightshatter to trigger a draw and three damage on the ETB, preferably discarding another Tersa or Phyrexian Dragon Engine to come back with Recommission the following turn.

Having more than one Monument on the board is where we start to generate real value since we establish card advantage with the triggers and, consequently, gain more tools to discard and deal damage. Therefore, copying it with The Mycosynth Gardens or finding the second copy may be the priority when stabilizing the board, but we can easily win games without needing it as long as we establish pressure with our creatures and damage spells.

Combined with this plan, we can pressure our opponent with Screaming Nemesis and Tersa Lightshatter while interacting with Torch the Tower and Sheltered by Ghosts, ensuring that we always have the means to advance our board position while also establishing the setup with Monument to Endurance, allowing us to attack from multiple angles as the game unfolds.

The biggest problem with this deck is precisely its lack of focus. By nature, we want to get the most out of a key card, and a considerable portion of the list is made up of tools to make it work, while the other half is made up of spells that are inherently good in the current Metagame — Boros Monument may not be able to do both at the same time, or it may take too many turns setting up in an environment where being too fair might, sometimes, mean being too slow.

Maindeck

Monument to Endurance is the focal point of this list. The way its abilities work means we have very few restrictions on getting value out of it with any card that allows us to discard at any time, guaranteeing six damage every turn cycle, not counting potential combat damage caused by our creatures.

Multiple copies of it stack and easily win the game, so we use The Mycosynth Gardens as numbers 5-8 of Monument to Endurance, despite the relatively high cost required to copy it.

The enablers.

Fear of Missing Out offers cheap looting with an efficient body, and its extra combat ability can be devastating with the right creatures. Plus, since we have several distinct categories of permanents with other copies of it and Phyrexian Dragon Engine, as well as cheap instants and sorceries, it's easy to enable Delirium in this list, which can be leveraged with Tersa Lightshatter.

Tersa Lightshatter, in fact, is the closest thing we have to Fable of the Mirror-Breaker in Standard. With Monument to Endurance, we can take advantage of two abilities with a single ETB that will usually bring the third discard trigger or the tools for another sequence on the following turn. Its 3/3 body with Haste also helps to pressure the board, and it is one of the best targets for Recommission.

Guardian of New Benalia has a low cost and a decent body and can discard cards from hand to protect itself from removal and/or enable Monument to Endurance one or more times per turn without additional costs. It is worth remembering that its discard ability works as an instant and, therefore, we can trigger Monument on the opponent's turns with it.

To take advantage of the cards we discard, we have a package of cheap reanimation with Recommission, which increases the power of the creature when it returns from the graveyard, and Call a Surprise Witness, which gives it evasion and can be essential to finish games.

The interaction continues with Phyrexian Dragon Engine, which, if reanimated with any of these cards, allows discarding the entire hand to draw three cards, probably triggering Monument to Endurance one or more times. Dragon Engine also offers a great target for Sheltered by Ghosts due to its Double Strike.

The interaction.

Sheltered by Ghosts provides a way to protect your creatures, grants Lifelink to hold the clock for decks like Prowess and Mono Red, and deals with any category of permanent, including Cori-Steel Cutter. It is best used against Aggro, but becomes a common side-out against Bounce or Midranges with too many removals.

Torch the Tower is our cheap early game removal that deals with many creatures in the current Metagame and avoids being punished by Heartfire Hero's damage or recurring threats that the opponent can reuse. We can sacrifice the Treasure tokens created by Monument to Endurance to pay the Bargain when we need to deal with Enduring Curiosity.

Get Lost covers most cards with higher cost or more resilient bodies that Sheltered by Ghosts or Torch the Tower don't. Essential for games against Midrange, Control, and Domain Overlords.

We run the full set of duals available in the format today, both untapped like Battlefield Forge and Inspiring Vantage and the combination of Sunbillow Verge and Elegant Parlor to ensure consistency in accessing colors. Elegant Parlor also provides efficient top filtering and helps feed the graveyard for Tersa Lightshatter.

Sideboard

Pyroclasm is the best answer we have to deal with the Izzet Prowess board today without destroying most of our creatures in the process. It also works against other go wide decks like Azorius Bunnicorn or Jeskai Convoke.

Abrade operates as an extra answer against Cori-Steel Cutter, but also plays against Mono Red Aggro and is a viable option in games where we need a few more removals to make efficient trades in the game.

Destroy Evil deals with ptroublesome enchantments and creatures that we can't exile Torch the Tower. It mainly plays in games against Midrange, Domain Overlords and is an option against Esper Bounce.

Lithomantic Barrage resolves Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Abhorrent Oculus and a dozen Planeswalkers and creatures like Shiko, Paragon of the Way or Jace, the Perfected Mind.

The fourth copy of Sheltered by Ghosts provides more consistency in holding off the format's red aggro and offers another answer to Cori-Steel Cutter or Screaming Nemesis.

Loran of the Third Path provides a way to deal with Cori-Steel Cutter and all the format's major enchantments in the same slot. Being a creature means you can reuse it with Recommission if it's destroyed, and its ETB effect makes it a punishing target for Bounce decks.

Ghost Vacuum is the format's best answer to Abhorrent Oculus and the Omniscience combo for decks that need their own graveyard, like our list with Phyrexian Dragon Engine and Recommission, which hinders running Rest in Peace.

Chandra, Spark Hunter triggers Monument to Endurance every turn in a slot that is a bit harder to interact with than our creatures. She can also expand the board with the vehicles she creates and, if we activate her ultimate, Chandra becomes a win condition on her own.

Izzet Prowess

IN

OUT

Mono Red Aggro

IN

OUT

Esper Bounce

IN

OUT

Jeskai Oculus

IN

OUT

Azorius Omniscience

IN

OUT

Jeskai Control

IN

OUT

Mono Black Midrange

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!