“Life has a way of punishing you for the mistakes you make.“
Art:Craig Boone, Novac Guard
by Pierre Raveneau
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
From the Novac Dinosaur to a table near you, Craig Boone is one of my favorite characters from the Fallout franchise and is a very strong commander. This card is not only fun to build around but a flavor win as well. Craig is extremely strong as a commander, and damaging/killing opponents’ creatures and having the option to hit them in the face with the damage is a great trade-off for us and is a win-win from our perspective. This deck features the typical strengths and weaknesses of both Boros and Aggro strategies but still makes for an absolute blast of a deck that I am very excited to show off today. Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
Click here to copy full decklist to your clipboard!
Craig Boone, Novac Guard Aggro!
Buy This Deck!
Buy this deck using our TCGPlayer Affiliate Link: Craig Boone, Novac Guard Aggro Pauper EDH
Why Craig Boone, Novac Guard?
Craig Boone is a huge part of our deck and is a card that we are fully built around. While there are not a ton of proliferation effects in Boros, there are still a few, and more importantly, we are as aggressive as we can be to get more and more quest counters on Craig, allowing us to kill creatures or, if they are of high value to our opponents we can deal a ton of damage to our opponents face and put a ton of pressure on them. Craig is a huge part of the deck and should be cast as soon as we can.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! I also highlighted some of my favorite cards in the deck!
Creatures:
Akki Drillmaster
is an amazing card that allows us to be quite hasty and makes it much easier to trigger Craig. For some of our aggressive creatures, we have Monastery Swiftspear
, Thraben Inspector
, and Tin Street Dodger
, which are great ways to hit for some early damage on the first turn. Since we have so many early-game creatures and typically have a pretty full board, we can get a ton of advantage out of Crusader of Odric
, which can be a huge attacker/blocker for the deck. We have a ton of creatures that have the same trigger as Craig, like Bomber Corps
, which can be a great source of extra damage to any target, Boros Elite
, which is an extremely aggressive creature and Daring Skyjek
which is nice and evasive. Since we are an aggressive deck and have a ton of creatures within the deck, I love Celebrity Fencer
, which can get out of hand very quickly. Disciple of the Sun
is quite expensive but allows us to get any of our more aggressive creatures back, and the lifelink can make a difference if we are against other aggressive decks. Warded Battlements
is another great creature that makes all of the creatures in the deck better, and besides removal, there is no way to deal with them since they will never be in combat. Erdwal Ripper
is a great creature that just keeps getting better and better as we continue to hit our opponents; after a few combats, this can get out of hand quite quickly.
Instants:
Rally the Peasants
is a strong buff effect, and in the late game, we can easily cast it and flash it back to maximize our damage on a single turn. Unbounded Potential
not only buffs up a creature but the proliferation is great for Craig and the deck as well, because of the decently low cost to entwine we easily can in the mid-late game. Big Score
and Unexpected Windfall
give us both supplemental card draw and additional mana production, which is quite strong for only four mana and a card. We have quite a bit of removal at instant speed, with some of the best being Generous Gift
, Abrade
, and Lightning Bolt
all of these are effective at taking out creatures/commanders and generous gift is special because it can take out anything.
Sorceries:
Wanderer's Strike
is an expensive removal spell, but since we can proliferate the quest counters on Craig, it is absolutely worth it. Beyond that, we have a ton of buffs for our creatures like Silverflame Ritual
, Inspiring Roar
, and Kytheon's Tactics
which are great ways to make our creatures better in combat and put additional pressure on our opponents. Battle Screech
is a very cheap card, especially when we flash it back, and the creatures it creates are perfect for triggering Craig or just having some additional attackers/blockers as needed.
Artifacts:
Arcane Signet
, Bonder's Ornament
, and both on-color diamonds provide extra mana for the deck and allow us to get Craig out faster as well as cast more on our turns. Wedding Invitation
is a strong piece of supplemental card draw and the unblockable can be a nice way to guarantee some damage. Last but certainly not least, has my vote for one of the best cards in the format in Greatsword of Tyr
, which gives our creature a buff and taps down an opponent’s creature, making combat quite tough for our opponents.
Enchantments:
Impact Tremors
and Raid Bombardment
are two amazing ways to deal non-combat damage to our opponents and since we are running quite heavy on creatures at thirty-six we are able to deal a ton of damage with both of these. Makeshift Munitions
is a card I mostly use in response to removal to turn that targeted creature into additional damage to either a creature or player. Goblin War Drums
rounds out our enchantment package and is a great way to make combat a nightmare for our opponents since all of our creatures will have menace.
Land Base:
Our landbase is pretty typical, mostly consisting of basics, and we also have some strong sources of supplemental card draw like The Fair Basilica
and The Autonomous Furnace
as well as some cycling lands and both on-color deserts. Even though we are quite aggressive, I think thirty-five lands is the right number for this deck, and I have not had any issues with flooding or droughts in my testing.
Strengths of the Deck:
- We are aggressive in the early game, allowing us to pressure our opponents from as early as the first turn.
- We have quite a few supplemental card draws that allow us to refill our hands and address one of the biggest weaknesses in Boros.
- We actually have quite a bit of removal in the deck, which allows us to compete with many decks in the format that are heavy on removal; while many of our creatures may get removed, we can still fight back with removal of our own.
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- We can sometimes struggle with late-game combats, especially against decks that have huge creatures in the late game.
- Generally weak to creature hate.
- We are pretty weak into control strategies.
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops within the deck. We are a combat deck through and through, and since we have quite a bit of one-mana creatures, we are quite aggressive and put pressure and damage on our opponents as early as the first turn. Craig Boone is a great source of damage as well, whether they are taking out creatures or commanders or hitting our opponents directly. Craig is awesome!
Conclusion:
Craig Boone is one of my favorite characters from the Fallout games, so when they got a card in my favorite format, it was a no-brainer that we had to feature Craig in Fallout Week. I have been having a ton of fun with this one and who doesn’t love Boros Aggro, at least for me this feels like classic magic. If you have a Craig build id love to see it, hit us up on our socials and share your list! Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!