Boros Free Stuff with New Quintorius in Commander

Posted on June 13, 2023

Hello awesome folks! I hope your day is going to be super mega well today! Today we are doing something special. A new Boros legendary lets you cast stuff for free, and we know how dangerous that is in the Command Zone. But it has lots of brakes on it to keep it from being overly powerful, so I wanna try!

Ready?

Here's muh new leader for this deck! Quintorius Take Two is fun, with his five-drop 3/5 vigilance with a beginning of end step trigger to exile from your graveyard a non-dork and non-land and make a 3/2 Spirit token. Nasty free token making in the color of token making, and that could be it, you could call it there! And then you can swing at one player and then tap with vigilance with three mana to sacrifice a Spirit and then cast an exiled card without a casting cost, and then it's put in your library for future Tutoring. Note that they have a lot of depth here first the exiling, then the 3 mana, then the tapping, so it's just one use per turn. Note that this can be done at instant speed, and you can exile anything from permanents like artifact rocks, enchantments, planeswalkers and spells like sorceries and instants, but not dorks and lands.

Note there is a natural tension here. You'll want to add in Spirits to sacrifice to it so that you don't have to sacrifice a beefier token, but then the more you add in the more you cannot exile because your creature count is high. Also note that red isn't high with Spirit token options, although white has some here and there. As you can see, that's a fun way to push this deck around into the face. Nasty stuff!

Ready for my deep dive into today's deck?

Mana, Ramp, and Lands

Let's start with mana rocks! Since Quintorius costs 5 mana, a three-drop mana rock will drop him on turn 4. I am running a bunch of Manalith stuff like the Sphere. I like the idea of sacrifices for card flow from my non-dork mana rocks so I can recast them over and over again for more cards from our Commander. So, things like Mind Stone and Boros Cluestone were added. Then we have the Crystal a four-drop mana rock that taps for two colorless and can tap with 2 to sacrifice for a card and then exile every other graveyard.

Now let's turn to lands. Geier Reach Sanitarium taps for colorless and can be tapped with two to have everyone draw and then discard. Card flow in land form is great, and then you can stock your graveyard with these goodies to recur. I also am running War Room for card flow.

Slayers' Stronghold taps for colorless and taps with Boros colored mana to give something haste, vigilance and a two boost to power nasty here with my tokens, and giving Quintorius haste means you can tap him on arrival, but you won't have exiled anything else to cast. Also, you can swing for Commander Damage and then tap later.

Mistveil Plains is here to reload the goods like key elements and protect from graveyard exiling, and Roadside Reliquary is a colorless land that can be sacrificed to draw a card if you control artifacts and another if you control enchantments, so it can be two cards for one pretty reliably. Good combo!

The land arrives tapped, but then recurs your dorks when you drop a Plains and you control 7 or more. I am not running many nonbasics to maximize our odds here. The Saga will search out a Plains and then put it into your hand, so it's not ramp but you can discard to build up your graveyard and then return a permanent with a cost of 2 or less from your graveyard taped, which is nice recursion. Then you turn it into the Spirit maker Architect of Restoration that makes those tokens when it attacks or blocks. It's very synergetic here from all angles, and takes up a ramp spot here.

Key Spirits and Tokens to Sacrifice

Now let's turn to key Spirts and token makers to sacrifice. The Drover is a three-drop that gets a +1/+1 counter each time a dork of yours dies if it was a token. Here, that's strong! Then you can pull it off with three mana to make 2 1/1 Spirits with flying. Then the Myojin is a costly 8 drop that arrives with an indestructible counter on it. Pull it off to make a 1/1 Spirit for each permanent you control so that's lands to dorks to tokens. Nasty!

Let's turn to some rare Spirit Knights! Guardian of Faith rocks a 3/2 flash vigilance body that phases out any number of dorks that you need to save them from bouncing, death, or exiling. Nasty! I am also running Selfless Spirit to sacrifice and save the team. Drogskol Cavalry costs a massive 7, and then rocks an underwhelming 4/4 flying body. However, you are going to gain tons of life with that ETBing Spirits into two life each! Then you can spend 4 mana to make a 1/1 flyer with the Spirit type. Strong Spirit token making over time and a way to gain tons of life.

Hello fans of The Spirit Dragon! How could I not run this walker of the planes for you all? He costs 6 and arrives with 4 loyalty. Then you can drop the cost of your colorless stuff by 2 each, but that's meaningless here, I am not running pricey colorless casts for my free boosts. He here for that +1 to exile the top card of your library face down as a 2/2 Spirit. Then when it leaves play you draw it, so its card flow attached to Spirit crafting! You can also use him as a -3 to Vindicate a permanent under the right circumstances so it's an answer and card flow and Spirit maker in one! Since it's a planeswalker, you can exile and cast it for free from your graveyard after it dies.

Key Things to Cast for Free

Now let's turn to some fun free stuff! Searing Wind is obvious. Normally, it's a 9-mana instant 10 damage to anything, but here if you exiled it from your graveyard you'll cast it for just the three mana needed to tap your Commander. Storm Herd costs 10, and then makes 1/1 flying Pegasus equal to their life total, which with the boosts from Drogskol Cavalry, nasty! Sure, they might not be Spirits, but they'll win the game quickly enough.

The Second Sun is a 7-mana sorcery that gains you 7 life the first time you resolve it, and then wins the second time you resolve it, so that's strong. You tuck it 7th down after resolving it, so all you need to do is wait 7 turns to recast it. Then the Reckoning is a massive 9 cost Sorcery that will return all of your enchantments, artifacts and Ugin from your graveyard to the battlefield ready to be used again! It's very strong recursion here!

Let's finish our big spells section with these two White sorceries. The first will set your life at your deck size, which also works well with Storm Herd to make tons more Pegasuses. It's also great later after you've taken some damage to reset things. The second is a modal spell/land that makes 2 4/4 flying Angels and gives the other stuff indestructible for the turn so you can swing for free or cast a mass removal spell after this for free to sweep and keep your team pumping. Great pair!

Synergies and Winning Conditions:

And now let's turn to synergies. We are not in the color of Black for Demonic Tutor effects. Sorry. But we are in the color of Gamble! This one drop sorcery will Demonic Tutor and then randomly discard one, and that could be what you just searched for! No worries here, just exile it with Quintorius and then cast it later. The Surge costs six, and then you exile an instant or sorcery from your graveyard. You saw how expensive many of these are! Then your stuff gets power boost equal to its mana value, so that can be a load of fun stuff! Then when your stuff deals combat damage to a foe, you can copy it for free. So, you can exile Searing Wind, give your team +9 power, and then copy it a few times, I think you might win that game!

Now let's turn to two five-drop Boros colored legendary dorks from the same set! Quintorius, Field Historian is a 2/4 that gives your Spirits +1 power each for the swinging. So, it's a Lord for this deck with all of the token making. Then when cards leave your graveyard you make, for free, a 3/2 Spirit. Nasty free Spirit making with your New Quintorius that'll exile stuff from your graveyard for free then make another Spirit from this guy too! Then Hofri Ghostforge is a 4/5 that gives your Spirits +1/+1 and the trample and haste, so he's a better Lord than the Field Historian. Then when a nontoken critter you control dies, exile it and make a Spirit copy! Then when it dies, it enters your battlefield for more recursion later. Strong stuff on things like Selfless Spirit.

More synergies commence with this pair of Boros two-drop enchantments! The background is awesome here since when you control your Commander, you'll deal damage equal to the mana value of a card cast from exile to a foe. That's a win con here. Then the non-background will mill a card each of your end steps so that'll get you stuff to exile, for free and at the same time as Quintorius. Did you mill a land? Gain a life! Otherwise, it deals 1 damage to your foes. Then you can exile a dork from your graveyard which cannot be exiled by your Commander anyway to make a 3/2 Spirit tapped token, although that's a pricey 5 mana to do it.

Fuming Effigy costs four, has a sizeable 4/3 body for beatings, and then when your stuff leaves your graveyard, you ting your foes for a damage each. That's very synergetic with your Commander and other exiling from your graveyard stuff. Battlemage's Bracers cost 3, equip for 2 and is valuable with a hasty commander. When you activate its ability then you can spend a mana to copy it and get another. Netting another sacrifice on a 1/1 Spirit token to cast another free spell and reload your library with it is strong here. I am also running Illusionist's Bracers which are both better since they are colorless and don't require a mana to use, and worse since they don't give haste.

Answers

We'll start with answers to answers. The first instant costs three, and then your stuff will all phase out this turn, and then your life total cannot change and you get protection from all stuff this turn. This is the best answer to answers ever printed, and in a going wide brew like this, it's ideal since it also helps you stay alive after phasing out your stuff. The third best answer to an answer ever printed is the Maneuver. (The second best is in Green called Heroic Intervention). It also costs three, usually, but it's free if you control your Commander so you can tap out and still have room to cast it. It gives your creatures indestructible for the turn, and you can use it with your mass removal to keep your team alive for free. Also don't forget Selfless Spirit and Guardian of Faith in my creature base.

Now let's turn to mass removal. Winds of Abandon is awesome here with overload for 6. I also have Mizzium Mortars for mass removal of opposing stuff off of overload. And don't forget Kirtar's Wrath, the six-drop that destroys all dorks and then if you have at least 7 stuff in your graveyard, you'll make a pair of 1/1 flying Spirits for your later sacrifice. That's pretty likely here, by the time you get to 6 mana.

The instant costs three, can be foretold and then cast later for six. If cast normally it'll deal 2 damage to each opposing dork and foe, so your stuff is safe. Then if you cast it from exile, it'll deal 5 damage instead. Note that that "cast from exile" clause works with casting from casting it from exile with a Quintorius, and then you can cast that for a load. The sorcery costs 7, but has convoke so you can tap your stuff to cast it earlier than turn 7. Then it'll destroy everything but tokens. It'll keep your Spirit tokens, and Angels and Pegasuses too and then only kill the rest! I only have 14 non-Commanders here, so that's not a problem there either.

Card Flow

Let's finish with card flow! Since we need to discard to get our stuff working from our Commander's self-exile, most of my card draw is red's discard to draw which is called "rummaging." The two cost discards two, and draws three on the second turn, so you can make sure that happens, and don't sleep on the life gain either here. The one cost draws two first, and then discards two, so it's card disadvantage, but it flashes back so you will have added 4 cards to your graveyard from its casting. I am also running the four discard to draw and Treasure makers like Big Score here as well.

I have two exile from your library and cast them this turn card flow cards in my deck since they have added synergies as well as the card flow. Campus Renovation costs five, returns one artifact or enchantment to the battlefield from my graveyard like a Zombify for those types, and then exiles two and you can cast them until the end of your next turn, so you have two turns to play them. If you did, this was a three for one, and the side recursion here is pretty strong for types we care about.

Showdown of the Skalds costs four, exiles four, and then you can play them until the end of next turn, again, playing into the same two turns timeline to play them. Then on chapters 2 and 3, you can put +1/+1 counters on your team when you cast a spell, so that'll grow your stuff. I love a Saga here since you can copy it with your Quintorius and then get a free cast and since they are temporary, no one wants to take them out.

Let's finish with this pair! The Lesson costs four on a sorcery, and then you can discard any number or draw that many, so that's card disadvantage but great card flow and loading up your graveyard. If you have threshold (likely) make that 3/2 Spirt token, so it keeps up the board presence while also adding to your card flow. The miracle one costs 5 normally, two if you cast it that way. It's a Wheel of Fortune that everyone can discard their hand and draw 7, but only your 14 dorks and lands cannot be exiled and cast with your Commander, so they are strong here! Then I am also running Magus of the Wheel to give you a cheaper on the secondary market option for another draw 7 for everyone. The original Wheel would be here if it didn't cost so much.

Anyways, ready for the decklist?