I've been messing around with tokens in orzhov, because the best Trial is black and the best Cartouche is white, but boros seems like the best choice for go really wide token strategies, especially with valor in Akros.
This is my initial build, where I cut most of the top-end stuff, to focus on speed, but there are plenty of 4 and 5 drops that can work here.


Trials of Valor
Creature(22)
1 x Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 x Sacred Cat
2 x Hanweir Militia Captain
2 x Selfless Spirit
2 x Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
2 x Abbot of Keral Keep
3 x Honored Crop-Champion
2 x Thopter Engineer
2 x Hanweir Garrison
1 x Pia Nalaar
1 x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 x Pia and Kiran Nalaar

Instant(2)
2 x Ride Down

Enchantment(12)
2 x Cartouche of Zeal
1 x Trial of Solidarity
2 x Trial of Zeal
3 x Valor in Akros
4 x Cartouche of Solidarity

Planeswalker(1)
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Artifact(1)
1 x Oketra's Monument

Land(22)
7 x Plains
7 x Mountain
2 x Needle Spires
2 x Stone Quarry
2 x Clifftop Retreat
2 x Hanweir Battlements


To view this deck go to: https://www.magicduelshelper.com/deckli ... 7b538e86f6

Created using Magic Duels Helper: http://www.magicduelshelper.com

Any feedback or ideas are appreciated. Enjoy!

I'm interested in this, but I'm pretty bad at making token decks.

Let's examine the concept :

Valor in Akros is horrible UNLESS it can create a swing the turn it comes down, or a momentous one the turn after. This should be the focal point of the deck if you are going to be running this card.

Cards that contribute particularly well to this that are already included :

Kytheon, Hero of Akros (early presence, can make a t3 walker in the deck as it is currently built)
Honored Crop-Captain (good aggressive 2 drop, but its text only becomes truly great when you have at least 2 other bodies in play, giving it haste after a valor turn can be amazing however)
Hanweir Garrisson
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Abbot of Keral Keep
Thopter Engineer
Pia Nalaar
Selfless Spirit
Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Gideon

Cards included that are very low powerlevel but are very cheap :

Cartouche of Solidarity (very low powerlevel, but does create a body + can enable an attack + synergy with trials.... very debatable card imho)
Sacred Cat (creates early board presence, AND can be used again after valor....interesting)

Situational cards :

Hanweir Militia Captain (can be a must remove if opponent cannot keep the board small, but otherwise pretty bad bear)
Thalia Heretic Cathar (has the obvious upside of making blocking harder for your opponent, but does not feel essential)
Ride Down (situational trick)
Cartouche of Zeal (very low power, but can enable some of the more explosive lines)
Trial of Solidarity (situational finisher)
Trial of Zeal (only removal in the deck, very low power, can however be reach too)
Oketra's monument (slamming this t3 into t4 valor in akros means you have done absolutely nothing for 2 turns, whilst I can see the long term value of this card, it feels like it is still only situationally powerful)

Hanweri Battlements (the deck currently has 13/13 sources, but only of those are untapped, adding grey lands under such circumstances feels like a mistake; having this land out turns many of your lategame topdecks into legitimate threats though, so this is by no means a bad card, keeping in mind turns a 2 drop into a 4 drop !)

Cards that are not included but merit consideration :

Dragon Fodder (2 bodies on t2 and double pump with valor? theoretically this needs to be in right ?)
Aether Chaser (another card that makes 2 bodies for 2 if it gets to attack)
Devoted Crop-mate (can exert to give a valor buff, and there are quite a few good 2 drops to get back with this... situational)
Start // Finish (instant speed 2 bodies, but t3)
Sram's Expertise (expensive, but can repopulate a board immensely after a whipe if you've been sandbagging gas, also almost an overrun effect after valor)
Regal Caracal ( incredible bomb in best case scenario post valor, but also just good on its own)
Angel of Invention (same as above)
Ahn-Crop Crasher (creates a body, has haste, AND makes blocking hard, this is not to be underestimated i think)
Glorybringer (same as above, but massive threat on its own)
Archangel Avacyn (instant speed massive body + board protection)
Smuggler's Copter (cheap easy to crew broken vehicle, synergy with thopter engineer)
Aethersphere Harvester (easy to crew great vehicle, synergy with thopter engineer and aether chaser)
Chandra, Flamecaller (bloody expensive, but this is 10 power haste with valor in play out of nowhere, and just a great card in an agressive midrange deck, if you can reach the CC)

Cards like Valor in Akros, Hanweir Battlements, Abbot of keral Keep, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Gideon.... they all seem to point out that you want to have access to at least a decent amount of mana available as the game progresses. Upping the landcount increases the consistency of working towards a valor turn, and also enables access to a wide selection of 5 drops.


Maybe there are 2 decks here that need to be identified and separated : A very low land aggro deck that does not play valor in akros ; and a midrange token deck that tries to go off.

That's my initial sentiment anyway.

Here is an attempt at the midrange deck :

2 x Selfless Spirit
2 x Abbot of Keral Keep
1 x Thalia's Lieutenant
2 x Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
3 x Aether Chaser
3 x Honored Crop-Captain
2 x Smuggler's Copter
3 x Harnessed Lightning

1 x Devoted Crop-Mate
1 x Pia Nalaar
3 x Thopter Engineer
2 x Hanweir Garrison
2 x Aethersphere Harvester

2 x Pia and Kiran Nalaar
3 x Valor in Akros
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

2 x Regal Caracal
1 x Angel of Invention

6 x Plains
6 x Mountain
3 x Aether Hub
2 x Needle Spires
2 x Clifftop Retreat
3 x Stone Quarry
2 x Hanweir Battlements



not a bad t7 right :

Yep, you're right. My version is nowhere near Explosive enough.
I would play 1 Monument in your version though, the cost reduction can help casting the 5 drops and extra vigilant tokens are always useful.

Still not feeling the monument too much ..... maybe over the pia or the crop mate ?

With the 3 thopter engineers..... Do you guys think it's just BETTER to run sram's expertise over a 5 drop and .... gideon ? Blasphemy right, but seems correct ANYWAY ?
Srams into thopter engineer post valor is 9 + 2 + 3 HASTE !?

Sram's should be in Valor decks. Especially if you're running Thopter Engineers. I'd run them alongside Gideon tho, not replacing him. Gideon offers repeatable Valor triggers along with emblem buff option. Probably pull Regals instead.

I agree with TIMH that if you gonna play jank like Valor in Akros, then the sram's should be there. Thanks for helping me hammer that one home.

Another option is cutting 3 2 drops and going up to 25 land to fit em.

I'm not married to any specific 3 drop (besides the engineers and garrisons), but I do think the deck should have a reliable t3 play, and going below 9 seems like a bad idea. so either you cut 5s or you cut 2s I think. This still leaves devoted crop-mate on the table, because although he's mighty cute and a good lategame combo card post valor after your early crap got removed, but it might just be correct to replace him by yet another pia.

I do think i'm correct with the aethersphere + hubs + chaser + lightning package.... it brings about a number of good things, on multiple levels, so I wouldn't touch that part.

Bear in mind, we're just brewing here, in an archetype I suck at, so i'm grateful for any feedback. It may be that the deck just needs more removal and therefore cannot gain critical mass if we keep weeding, but it's imo always better to start at max combo level; and then trim to be able to survive.

This is what I played to a top 8 finish in the last Fight Club.

2 x Hanweir Militia Captain
2 x Selfless Spirit
2 x Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
2 x Smuggler's Copter
1 x Invigorated Rampage
3 x Harnessed Lightning
2 x Declaration in Stone
2 x Dragon Fodder

2 x Pia Nalaar
2 x Hanweir Garrison
3 x Thopter Engineer
2 x Aethersphere Harvester

2 x Pia and Kiran Nalaar
3 x Valor in Akros
2 x Sram's Expertise
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Chandra, Torch of Defiance

1 x Angel of Invention

1 x Chandra, Flamecaller

7 x Plains
7 x Mountain
2 x Needle Spires
2 x Westvale Abbey
2 x Clifftop Retreat
1 x Hanweir Battlements
3 x Aether Hubs



Harvesters are def worth having in. Having life link on a Valor pumped attack is a big deal - and it's a great freecast option with Sram's.

I didn't run Chasers because I expected to see some twin bolts around due to Mardu Vehicles, but nobody really ended up running them. Kryder did run them in his version that he played a few rounds with in the Steam Showdown (before dropping after another participant did, too keep the total number of players even). They did good work for him in the couple games he played.

In hindsite I wish I had run Stone Quarries instead of Hubs. You really need those double red / double white sources T4. Maybe would have been fine if I had run Chasers for additional energy sources. I def think Westvale Abbey needs to be in Valor lists. That's a huge win con if struggling to find/stick Valors. Hanweir Battlements wasn't really worth it - I put one in just for the fun potential, but I only ended up having one opportunity to flip Garrison with it, in a game I flooded out hard in and would have lost even with the flip.

I like 2x Pia. You generate a bunch of servo/thopters, so being able to pump the flyers or sac to make things not able to block is a big deal. I ended up using her abilities a ton more than P&Ks - she won me a few games, being invaluable in them.

Militia Captains are replaceable and the lone Invigorated Rampage isn't great for the ladder (I added it mostly just to make opps respect open mana on my attacks since decklists were public).

Dragon fodders did work for me in some games (and offers token diversity vs DecStones), but Chasers instead are prob fine and a fill similar roll (better pre Valor, tho I like Fodder better post Valor).

Chandra's were in to increase the overall power level for tourney play. Little Chandra being additional removal and something to draw focus from my lifetotal - also offering a source of card draw, which helps when needing gas. Big Chandra in to give me an out if behind on board, and because she pretty sick with Valor out. Neither are essential I guess, but big Chandra is pretty sexy in Valor decks.

Good post. I'll mull it over.