Boros Synth deck guide

# Boros Synth deck guide - Top 8 at Pauper Cup MagicCon Vegas 2026 ### [**Decklist (Moxfield)**](https://moxfield.com/decks/gI7eLuPak0i9ikSijZPUTg) ![glint-hawk-art](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJXViCLA-e.jpg =100%x) Boros Synth is off-meta right now and doesn't have much recent online content, so I thought I would post a write-up of my thoughts on the deck! > **Terminology:** > - "birds" means Glint Hawk and Skyfisher > - "trinkets" means Synth, Lembas, and Moxite > > Note that I made some changes from what I registered. [This](https://moxfield.com/decks/YUn-JqeY306AxnrzbHmdZw) is what I played in the tournament if anyone is curious, but I recommend the revised list. ## Boros Synth's position in the meta The deck has mediocre matchups against Terror and Mono-Red Madness, both of which you'll see a lot at top tables. However, Affinity's re-emergence helps. Our answers line up well against their threats, and we usually win the long game against them. It is hard to lose post-board after siding in 4 Dust to Dust + 2 Cast into the Fire. I consider Boros Synth Tier 2 right now. But the Synth/Skyfisher/Glint Hawk engine is uniquely powerful, and I can imagine metas where Boros Synth is Tier 1. In any case, Pauper is balanced enough that Tier 2 decks can spike a tournament, and Boros Synth was my most-practiced deck. It's also incredibly fun :) Its engine doesn't really have a parallel in other formats. It's bizarre and cool that a deck of only 1-mana and 2-mana cards can play such a long game.  ## Strategy ### Heuristic #1: You're not the beatdown! Some players have the misconception that Inspectors + burn spells mean that you are the aggressor. I think that is wrong in almost every match-up. There are only a few exceptions (e.g. Gardens, Fams), and those are bad match-ups — you are not good at being aggressive. You will *pretty reliably* (~80%) win the long game against Terror, Affinity, Jund Wildfire, and that should be your game plan going into all of those match-ups. Each Synth and each bird-bouncing-a-Synth is effectively a draw-three (counting the body as a card). This is the same rate as dispute effects targeting Ichor Wellspring, but Wellspring decks only have 4 draw-threes, and you have 12.  <div style="display: flex; gap: 12px; justify-content: center; flex-wrap: wrap; margin: 20px 0;"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkLVoCLRWl.jpg" width="220" alt="Glint Hawk"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HyBNsA80bg.jpg" width="220" alt="Experimental Synthesizer"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1rEoCIC-e.jpg" width="220" alt="Kor Skyfisher"> </div> ### Heuristic #2: Never cast or bounce Synth unless you have fulfilled the following conditions:  - **(a)** Haven't played a land for turn yet - **(b)** Access to 1 red mana - **\(c)** Access to 1 white mana This isn't always right, but for a newer player it makes sense to always do this, and gradually learn when it makes sense not to. - Can break **(a)** if you have lots of lands in hand/Boros Garrison in hand/know that hitting land drops is no longer important. Hitting land drops is important for longer than you think! This deck can pretty reliably use all of its mana. - Can break **(b)** if you've sided out your burn and a second Synth stranded in exile would be acceptable (say, if you have multiple birds in hand) - Don't break **\(c)**, leaving a bird stranded in exile is really bad. - You can break all rules in desperation scenarios, i.e. you need to get lucky with Synth flips to win. ### Heuristic #3: Only play birds when they bounce trinkets  - Never play Glint Hawk unless you are bouncing a trinket - Never play Kor Skyfisher unless you are bouncing a trinket, or a utility land that matters in the match-up (Radiant Fountain or Bojuka Bog) Note that I'm not considering Clues trinkets! You usually shouldn't bounce them. ## Mulligans - Mulligan all 1-landers - Mulligan all 2-landers unless there is a clear plan for finding your third land (multiple Inspectors, Lembas). Synth flips aren't a plan. - Mulligan hands without a trinket. (You will often break this rule, very match-up dependent.) You will mulligan more often with this deck than with most others. You mulligan well, assuming you can assemble the bird + trinket engine to catch up on cards. ## Card choices   <div style="display: flex; gap: 12px; justify-content: center; flex-wrap: wrap; margin: 16px 0;"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkrVj0I0bx.jpg" width="180" alt="Melded Moxite"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/r1HNi0UC-e.jpg" width="180" alt="Journey to Nowhere"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/H17ViCUCZg.jpg" width="180" alt="Boros Garrison"> </div> <div style="display: flex; gap: 12px; justify-content: center; flex-wrap: wrap; margin: 16px 0;"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Skc5b1vAWg.jpg" width="180" alt="Bojuka Bog"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1RW-yDC-g.jpg" width="180" alt="Radiant Fountain"> </div>     - **1x Melded Moxite** - It's much worse than Lembas. Both the draw effect and the sacrifice effect are meaningful steps down. That said, I stand by 1x - you want 9 trinkets. A frequent reason for losses with this deck is having birds in hand without trinkets on board. The problem is exacerbated by sharp blue players that will aggressively counter not only your Synths but also your Lembases/Moxites. I am closer to adding a second Melded Moxite than I am to taking it out.   - **2x Journey to Nowhere** - This is important whenever Chrysalis and Terror decks are a meaningful portion of the meta. Your control gameplan is untenable if you can't find unconditional removal for those creatures. Gal blast + Inspector works to kill those creatures in a pinch, which is why I'm comfortable with 2x instead of 4x.   - **2x Boros Garrison** - These are essential to the deck and I would not consider cutting them. They are built-in card advantage, and let you replay Bogs/Radiant Fountains. - **1x Bojuka Bog, 1x Radiant Fountain** - I think these are essential to the deck and I would not consider cutting them from the main. - You should always cut Bojuka Bog after sideboard if it's not relevant in the match-up. You should sometimes cut Radiant Fountain after sideboard if you're not playing against an aggressive deck. ## Why not 3-color birds? <div style="display: flex; gap: 12px; justify-content: center; flex-wrap: wrap; margin: 16px 0;"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1HVo0U0Zl.jpg" width="180" alt="Novice Inspector"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/r1HNi0UC-e.jpg" width="180" alt="Journey to Nowhere"> <img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkYl71D0Wg.jpg" width="180" alt="Dust to Dust"> </div> The main reasons to play Boros over 3-color bird decks are:  - **8x Inspectors.** Included in this is the ability to reliably use Thraben Charm as removal. There are some metas where it makes sense to trim Inspectors. However, if you are in such a meta, this deck loses its unique advantage, and you're better off playing a 3-color bird deck. - **4x Dust to Dust.** One of the best sideboard cards in Pauper, and the deck can reliably cast it on turn 3. - **Journey to Nowhere** is much closer to Cast Down than people give it credit for. Yes, it's sorcery speed, but you will often be Casting Down on your turn anyway (off a Synth flip, or to avoid countermagic/a dispute effect). It is actually better than Cast Down against Terror, since you don't need to pay the ward cost up-front (i.e. before it gets countered). Of course, you lose out on Refurbished Familiar, one of the best cards in Pauper. This is a compelling reason to go 3-color, so I consider 2-color versus 3-color a meta call on the relevance of Dust to Dust and Inspectors. ## Miscellaneous notes - **Journey to Nowhere targeting**: if you play Journey, and they sacrifice/bounce their creature such that they have no creatures, you have to target one of your creatures if you have any! Depending on the board state, this is often fine to play into (e.g. if they sac a Chrysalis, you're usually happy). You can also bounce the Journey with Skyfisher to get your creature back + reuse the Journey - **Play quickly**: this deck takes many game actions per turn. Additionally, turning the corner is often slow (your threats only deal 1 or 2 damage, you should almost always use your burn spells as removal). Obviously, ties are bad in tournament Magic in general, but especially for Boros Synth. It has bad match-ups against the types of decks that get into the draw brackets (Fams, Gardens). ## Sideboard guide > **Legend:** 🟢 favored · 🟡 even · 🔴 unfavored ### 🟡 [Jund Wildfire](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-jund-wildfire#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 4x Lightning Bolt | 4x Dust to Dust | | 1x Makeshift Munitions | 2x Thraben Charm | | 1x Radiant Fountain | | **Notes:** - I ran hypergeometric calculator for the number of artifacts they're running: - 10x artifact lands - 4x Ichor Wellspring - 4x Refurbished Familiar - 3x Nihil Spellbomb (counting as 0.5x — they take it out post-board, and they'll often crack it immediately after playing) - 0.5x Blood Fountain (only some lists run it) - Treating that as 19 targets, expect them to draw 2–5 artifacts in the first 4 turns (seeing 12 cards), and 4–8 over the course of a game (seeing 19 cards). So I side in the full 4 Dust to Dust — the first and second copies will reliably be good. I'm not siding in Cast into the Fire since it's only high-impact against their lands; 2 mana to kill a Wellspring/Nihil/Blood Fountain is pretty bad. - Leaving in Bojuka Bog. If they have Blood Fountain, that's an amazing card for them — getting back 2x Chrysalis often loses you the game. If you haven't seen Blood Fountain in Game 1 or 2, you can take Bojuka out. ### 🔴 [Mono-Blue Terror](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-blue-terror-2b4f6710-ccb2-4660-b5f9-ea85c8875ec5#paper) / [Dimir Terror](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-dimir-terror#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 4x Lightning Bolt | 4x Pyroblast | | 1x Makeshift Munitions | 3x Relic of Progenitus | | 1x Radiant Fountain | 2x Thraben Charm | | 1x Melded Moxite | | | 2x Galvanic Blast | | **Notes:** - A common scenario is racing them by chumping with Inspectors while hitting them in the air with your birds. However in most cases I'd still recommend using your remaining burn (Gal Blasts) to kill their creatures instead of saving it for face. Unless you've resolved a lot of birds, you'll usually lose the race. - You play a better long game than them! Their only sources of card advantage are Lorien Revealed and Deep Analysis (which your grave hate often exiles). The issue is you'll usually get killed by Terrors and Serpents before you have time for your engine to draw enough removal to handle their creatures. - In general, use Thraben Charms to kill their creatures, not to exile their graveyard. They refill it so quickly that it's typically not worth it. ### 🔴 [Mono-Red Madness](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-mono-red-madness#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 2x Journey to Nowhere | 3x Relic of Progenitus | | 1x Makeshift Munitions | 2x Thraben Charm | | 1x Melded Moxite | | | 1x Thraben Inspector | | **Notes:** - Kill Guttersnipe/Kessig Flamebreather in response to a Lava Dart from hand — stops them from getting the creature trigger on the flashback. ### 🟢 [Grixis Affinity](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-grixis-affinity#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 4x Lightning Bolt | 4x Dust to Dust | | 1x Makeshift Munitions | 2x Cast into the Fire | | 1x Radiant Fountain | 2x Thraben Charm | | 1x Relic of Progenitus | | | 1x Melded Moxite | | **Notes:** - Maybe keep a Lightning Bolt or two if you're confident they have 4x Utrom Monitor. That said, you have plenty of ways to deal with it anyway. ### 🟡 [Spy](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-spy-combo#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 1x Makeshift Munitions | 3x Relic of Progenitus | | 1x Bojuka Bog | 2x Thraben Charm | | 1x Radiant Fountain | | | 2x Thraben Inspector | | ### 🟢 [Mono-Blue Faeries](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-mono-blue-faeries-f7d232c7-2c3c-4459-b219-f3e8d9abbec6#paper) / [Dimir Faeries](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-dimir-faeries-625747e4-1ba6-4401-af7b-5c8033a12c6c#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 4x Journey to Nowhere | 4x Pyroblast | | 1x Bojuka Bog | 2x Cast into the Fire | | 1x Relic of Progenitus | | **Notes:** - Cast a burn spell in response to Spellstutter Sprite to make their counter not work. ### 🟡 [Elves](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/elves-67156d3a-d400-4269-8400-3a0258a274b3#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 1x Bojuka Bog | 2x Thraben Charm | | 2x Thraben Inspector | 2x Cast into the Fire | | 1x Relic of Progenitus | | **Notes:** - Try to save Thraben Charm for their Nyxborn. ### 🟢 [White Weenie](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-white-aggro#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 1x Bojuka Bog | 2x Thraben Charm | | 1x Relic of Progenitus | | ### 🟢 [Black Sac](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-black-sacrifice#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 1x Bojuka Bog | 2x Cast into the Fire | | 1x Relic of Progenitus | | ### 🔴 [Gardens](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-golgari-gardens#paper) | Out | In | |---|---| | 2x Journey to Nowhere | 4x Dust to Dust | | 2x Thraben Charm | 2x Cast into the Fire | | 1x Relic of Progenitus | | | 1x Radiant Fountain | | **Notes:** - Bring in artifact removal for their Campfires. Literally all of it. It seems excessive, but if they stick a Campfire, you lose. - Your win con: - Early game, stick whatever creatures you can and get in some damage. - Cast 4–8 burn spells + Makeshift Munitions your entire board, and pray it's enough damage. - You can also hope they misplay and play an initiative/monarch creature when they don't have full board control.