"Mogis' Minotaurs:The Promise of Pain and Death"
by:
Virgilio F. De leon Jr.
Mogis the God of Slaughter has finally emerged in Born of the Gods and with him comes the hope that the Minotaurs as a tribe would again rise to power.They are one of Magics Iconic tribe after all.
I have a decklist that might not be a twist on the usual Chicago Bulls deck but it does look at the great possibilities and downfalls when it comes to making the Minotaur tribe in standard.
Minotaurs: Death and Fire
4 X Temple of Malice
4 X Blood Crypt
10 X Mountains
8 X Swamps
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22 X Lands
4 X Rage Monger
4 X Boros Reckoner
4 X Fellhide Brawler
4 X Deathbellow Raider
4 X Rageblood Shaman
2 X Kragma War Caller
2 X Fanatic of Mogis
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24 Creatures
2 X Mogis , God of Slaughter
4 X Magmajet
4 X Lightning Strike
4 X Mizzium Mortars
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14 spells
Sideboard:
4 X Act of Treason
4 X Bile Blight
4 X Hero's Downfall
Right off the bat and Minotaur deck certainly comes with a lot of Brute Force. You have your 3/3's , Inspired fo 4/3 monstrosities. Magic has enablers here to in the form of Rageblood Shaman which make other Minotaurs have a +1/+1 stat pump and trample. I mean what is the point of all that power without the damage being blocked by a measly 1/1 token right? As if that stat pump is not enough , you also have the Kragma Warcaller which gives a +2/0 and Haste to any Minotaur landing on your side of the battlefield.
The problem with all this power comes at the price of mana. The deck only has 2 creatures at the 2 mana cost slots. They could be aggressive on their own but the deck really shines when all
the other big Nastys are able to land on the battlefield around turn three. Rush decks may have a field day before the big Bulls ever get to see play or get swallowed up by bigger guys like Poly K in the latter turns.
Born of the Gods introduced the Rage Monger which made of Bulls a bit smaller in the mana department. You could cast them for far less and assuming that that the Rage Monger survives you could win by sheer power alone. I mean another Ragemonger would come into play for a measly 1 colorless mana and a Kragma Warcaller , well is just a 3 colorless mana. Big savings on the mana department right?
The real problem though is that since Mana Acceleration is literally none-existent for our Bull tribe the answer comes in great creature removal.Delay the opponents creatures from overwhelming you before you could overwhelm them. When the Mana isn't there yet you simply have to turn to Death and Fire. Burn anything that moves with Mizzium Mortars , Lightning Strike and Magma Jet. If things get much larger then there is always the dependable Hero's Downfall and Bile Blight for all those pesky tokens.
Mogis the God of Slaughter also has a lot to say about this matter. I mean he gives your opponents a choice between Death and Fire as well. 2 Damage or the sacrifice of a creature. If he isn't a creature yet you could just get by with this awesome ability and when he does become Creature Manifest then you could go to town with his 7/5 Indestructible frame. Even if your tribe is wiped out by a well timed Supreme Verdict chances are your opponents will have a hard time recuperating from their loss or even build up a good amount of creatures with Mogis remains in play.
The aggression that the Minotaurs pose may not be as fast the Goblins or Elves of the past but their threat and power is real. Take the deck for a spin and see for yourself. Make your opponents choose from being burned or being gored to death.
