Magic: The Gathering – Standard Boros Feather is Red/White for jerks!

In a Standard cycle that features both Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Wilderness Reclamation, it might seem hard for an expansion to provide a card that can insight even more fury. However, War of the Spark did just that with a card that breaks the rules of its color combination to provide a smart way to win through card draw and control… as opposed to the usual beatdown Boros gives us.

Feather, the Redeemed…

I’m just pulling your leg. I love this card, and I also pulled it during my War of the Spark pre-release, a day that we will leave forgotten in history. This past weekend, I was trying to rack up a few wins with my Abzan Superfriends deck, and I watched as this flying feather-duster took my all-powerful Planeswalkers apart, piece by piece.

It was like a symphony. A perfectly tuned bit of orchestration that provided them with both an endless supply of cards and free value from casting cheap cantrips.

I’ll try my best to restructure how it all went down.

The Ringer

Here is our deck’s namesake. At its base stats, a 3/4 flyer for three mana is solid, even if it is a bit difficult to cast. For that difficult casting cost though, it also has an engine that all but cures Red/White Boros’ recurring problem… an empty hand after turn-3 or turn -4.

As the text clearly lays out, your obvious tactic is to turn away from typical Red burn spells and focus solely on pump spells. Anything that targets your own creatures is key here because you’ll be able to cast it again… and again… and again… and again. That card advantage created by Feather is absurd, especially when opponents have no way of breaking through opposing blockers or indestructible beasts.

Of course, you need Feather, the Redeemed to make this all work, so a playset is a must. And you’ll also need other creatures since she can’t carry the weight all on her own.

Supporting Cast

In just a few months, we’ll be looking at Adanto Vanguard in the rear-view mirror when it rotates out of Standard. However, until then, we are still blessed with it as one of the absolute best White aggressive creatures in Magic. Nearly impossible to kill, always looking to get strong and be targeted by pump spells, Adanto Vanguard will be the early/late-game threat you need at any point in the game. Pile tokens onto it and watch as opponents shake their head with it charging in every turn.

Because one form of recursion just isn’t enough, Dreadhorde Arcanist has Feather’s back all the way. Granted, you only get one extra use out of your spells with him instead of an infinite loop… and the two don’t play well together since instant and sorcery spells don’t last long in the graveyard with Feather on the board. But still, this cheap Red threat helps keep the theme of our deck flowing, which is casting cheap spells multiple times to gain an advantage.

And yes, the two CAN close a game together if you are blowing an opponent out of the water with three or four instant spells on your last turn.

Another card from War of the Spark that was obviously created to be a partner in crime with Feather. Tenth District finally pulled itself together to produce a decent card after two lame commons in the last two set. A two-mana 2/2 haste creature is already sweet, again, even with that tough casting cost.

And again, we get a little extra from that casting cost with a card that gets bigger each time it is targeted, making it possibly better than Adanto Vanguard. This is the card that put away my Superfriends deck seeing that it was a 10/9 the last time it charged in… wasn’t pretty. When it is being targeted each and every turn by a cheap cantrip, the Legionnaire gets out of hand really quickly.

No, you can’t steal an opponent’s card with Dire Fleet Daredevil and then put it into your own hand. Feather’s ability only works when the instant or sorcery spell would be put into your graveyard, whereas an instant or sorcery spell owned by an opponent will always be put into their graveyard, making it an illegal target.

Nevermind that little trick not working though because this is still a legit card to cast early or cast late. Not a “four of” but still enough power to turn the tide in your favor if your opponent has already cast something you’re salivating over.

Because who doesn’t love FREE Goblins? Feather’s ability doesn’t work if you don’t have creatures to target, and the warboss here assures that you’ll always have some fodder to target.

Because you can’t kill him. Because if you target him as a creature, you get Feather’s bonuses. Because he is broken beyond all fixing. Gideon obviously has a place in our deck as a win condition, a rank and file three-drop creature, as a removal spell, as a way to get life back against burn decks, as a way to leave defenses up against aggressive decks, and maybe even a way to simply get our opponents to scoop on the spot.

He’s powerful, he’s White, and he’s a creature. He’s an easy inclusion.

And also… Ajani, because he is awesome. You might not get to ultimate him, but those counters are a big help when beating an opponent down!