Hey all, I recently came back to Magic and was trying to find a new deck. I like to make decks that are at least a bit different. I wanted to make a deck that could use Throne of the God-Pharaoh. This is what I came up with, and it has been working surprisingly well.


The Iron Throne

Description
A deck built around Throne of the God-Pharaoh that is surprisingly effective.
Creature(26)
2 x Toolcraft Exemplar
3 x Inventor's Apprentice
2 x Selfless Spirit
2 x Glory-Bound Initiate
2 x Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
3 x Veteran Motorist
3 x Honored Crop-Champion
2 x Hanweir Garrison
2 x Pia Nalaar
2 x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 x Depala, Pilot Exemplar
1 x Hazoret the Fervent

Planeswalker(2)
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Artifact(9)
2 x Smuggler's Copter
2 x Throne of the God-Pharaoh
2 x Cultivator's Caravan
2 x Aethersphere Harvester
1 x Skysovereign, Consul Flagship

Land(23)
10 x Plains
2 x Needle Spires
9 x Mountain
2 x Clifftop Retreat


To view this deck go to: https://www.magicduelshelper.com/deckli ... 9bc2f9e395

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

This is mostly a standard Boros deck, but I made choices on things that would work well w/ the Throne. One unusual thing about the deck is it runs no removal. The plan is to get in early damage and use Throne, Planeswalkers or Hazoret to finish the game. Also no Nahiri may seem strange. This deck is pure agro, and when I tested her, I rarely wanted her in hand. The times I did, I was in a defensive position, and already on my way to a loss.

Here is why I have settled on the cards I have (for now)

Creature(26)
Toolcraft Exemplar - A good 1 drop for a deck with a decent amount of artifacts. Also a Dwarf for Depala.
Inventor's Apprentice - Not my favorite card, but I wanted at least 5 1 drops, and she fills a role.

Selfless Spirit - Pretty standard in Boros for good reason
Glory-Bound Initiate - 3 power for 2 mana is good, and the potential lifegain can help in a race. Also, Throne helps minimize the negative of exertion.
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider - Unfortunately, the monkey does not stick around to trigger Throne. Still, 3 power for 2 is decent. Also works well with Crop-Champion.
Veteran Motorist - Standard Boros card. Scry is great
Honored Crop-Champion - A late addition mainly looking for the 3 power. The +1 does work well with Kari and Garrison though, as well as lifelink. Better then I thought for a last card added.

Hanweir Garrison - Powerhouse if it sticks. With throne, 7 damage potential on first swing.
Pia Nalaar - Some combat tricks that can win games.
Thalia, Heretic Cathar - Mainly for agro matchups. She can be a real pain for some deck to deal with.
Depala, Pilot Exemplar - Not as impressive as I had hoped, but only 10 targets for her secondary ability.

Hazoret the Fervent - Wins games, and the curve on the deck is low enough that you don't have to work very hard to keep him active.

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - Closer.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Another closer. These cards must be dealt with, and while they are dealing w/ your Planeswalkers, your guys should be destroying them. Pick your poison.

Artifact(9)
Smuggler's Copter - Always great
Throne of the God-Pharaoh - This may seem like a dead card, but generally, the very least it will do is 1 point a turn with all the creatures. In most games, it does around 6 or so. I have had more then a few games I have closed out by crewing a vehicle w/ 2-4 creatures that could no longer get through. It is a card with some inevitability built in, especially if you have a vehicle on board. (Won a game tonight by having a caravan crew itself to tap it for the last point of damage. I think that is the first time I have ever had a vehicle crew itself.) With a vehicle on board, it gives creatures that are summoning sick the ability to do a point of damage when they come into play. Or two points for Pia. I have been able to sneak in the last few points that way in a few games.

Cultivator's Caravan - I went with this mainly because of the 3 mana cost over other vehicles like Flywheel. Sometimes the mana ability is handy, but mainly a 5/5 for 3 mana.
Aethersphere Harvester - Evasion and lifegain. What's not to love?

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship - Maybe too expensive, but if you make it to 5 mana and have not won already, this should seal the deal.


Anyway, try it out. Pretty straightforward. I haven't gone through the threads, so maybe this is an old idea, but I have yet to see it on the ladder.

Imho If you want hazoret to come out swinging there are too many costly cards. If you want her just for the discard/burn then I think it's fine.

I'd definitely replace Inventor's Apprentice with Bloodlust Inciter. Lots of benefits to haste in this deck.

Very good add. Just played a few games, but makes cards like Garrison and Crop much more deadly. And the tap works well with the throne for damage w/o attacking.

Deck has been fun, but T2 at best imo. I just like winning with unusual cards like Throne

yeah winning with unusual cards is great feel. why chandra torch and gideon then

I figured the crop-captains are the last few cards. They are quite weak in themselves. Deck usually is killed by removals. crop captains don't help much in this case. You must intentionally avoid thopter engineers packs 3 drop slots. I don't have better alternatives than the captains either.

The two Throne Threads here in the Constructed Forum insprired me for a Combo Deck. Pairing it with Rise from the Tides you can win Games out of nowhere. My first build was a Cycling Deck with Drake Haven but many Cycling Cards are too bad on its own. So i build a classic UB Control Deck and it performs pretty well. I play only 3 Cards which aren't Sorceries/Instants: the two Thrones and the Blue Gearhulk. It's fun to play!

Very nice idea! I will try to build it.

Edit: Alright, tried a Uw version but don't like it. Drake Fling is faster and more consistent than Rise Throne, but good idea

rise throne is crazy in 2hg. I cannot think of a single way it loses.

in solo you have to get 20 zombies sometimes more if they have life gain. It's very risky. comparing to that, in 2hg you only need 15 zombies, which is an incredible discount.

I played against that deck when I was tuning a zombie build for the deckbuilder's challenge. My build was control oriented so we got into a standoff where neither of us did much but drop land for the first several turns (I knew you were holding a fist full of counters and wanted to try to push a few spells at once rather than just play into them). I eventually ground you down to a few points of life with a single token. You played Throne and I was like wtf is he running THAT for? Then at 2 life with no blockers you tapped out to dig for and play Rise for 20 zombies and I was like, no bigs, I got Declaration in hand to clear them. Then I realize that they etb tapped, see that Throne and am like oooooooooh! Very cool build!