"Infiltrating the Boros Legion is not an easy task. Boros loyalists are born skeptical and raised questioning. Not exactly the ideal group to try to go undercover in. But if a Boros Garrison is where a rather expensive Spellbook is housed and a rather generous cabalist is willing to pay hand-over-infected-fist to get his hands on it, well, that's just too good of a situation to pass up. Luckily, I look trustworthy. But unlike some Boros recruiters, I know you can't always judge books by their covers.
I have to say, though, it was a welcome vacation from the norm for me. My days are typically filled with running from the authorities and dealing with Alley Grifters, Arms Dealers, and other less savory characters of Ravnica, and my nights often end in a nap at the bottom of an Elkin Bottle. So the life of the Boros, with their stringent rules and rigorous scheduling, allowed me to rest my brain for a minute. Let them think for me for a while! With my hectic lifestyle, some occasional neatness is nice. It gets boring real quick, but it's nice.
I guess what I'm saying is that it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."
--research notes, journal XXI, page 34
---
Stand at attention! It's Boros Week, and we are celebrating, in a dignified manner of course, all things red-white. This includes the long and storied history of Magic's most aggressive decks, a look back and a look forward at where aggro came from and where it is going, and also the friends-with-benefits keyword battalion! Legion Loyalists joined the ranks on social media to proclaim their pride in the Boros as well:
Good luck to my Wojek peeps today!Let those other guilds taste the fist of #Boros!!!
— Mark Purvis (@WotcPurv) January 26, 2013
For the legion! #mtg #gatecrash @wizards_magic twitter.com/SteveOSmith/st…
— Steve Smith (@SteveOSmith) January 26, 2013
Back from MC5. Enjoyed the first ever prerelease at sea. Boros, punching in international waters! #MTGGTC #prerelease
— Aaron LaCluyze (@lacluyze) January 27, 2013
Is anyone at the WotC Prerelease not playing Boros? (I assume @maro254 is playing Simic, but no pics yet).
— MTG Color Pie (@mtgcolorpie) January 24, 2013
@wizards_magic my buddy fist-bumping before the prerelease: twitter.com/madelmund/stat…
— Mat Adelmund (@madelmund) January 26, 2013
@wizards_magic Too long. But then again that would be the answer unless I was holding my #Boros guild box in my hands #FISTS #PUNCHING
— Chris Lansdell (@lansdellicious) January 25, 2013
First pack of gtc and I get a foil Gideon! twitter.com/agstrauss/stat…
— Andrew Strauss (@agstrauss) January 23, 2013
@misterorange As a representative of the Boros Legion (by way of guild video) I approve.
— Gerry Thompson (@G3RRYT) January 27, 2013
One player got Aurelia, Aurelia's Fury and Gideon all in the same Guild Box. Holy Crap. #mtggtc
— Don Wiggins (@TheSundry) January 26, 2013
Newsflash! Auriella is really good with batallion. Also, with any other creatures. Or by herself. #mythics
— Pat Cox (@wildestnacatl) January 26, 2013
Aurelia leads her forces. Sadly I didn't get a second combat that turn! #becauseiwon #MTGGTC #boros twitter.com/ElaineChase/st…
— Elaine Chase (@ElaineChase) January 25, 2013
I think ball lightning helix might be a thing
— Paul Feudo (@plfeudo) January 26, 2013
Plains are in short supply at the #mtggtc prerelease. #Punching #ThreateningToPunch
— Jason Corrigan (@LochCorrigan) January 26, 2013
twitpic.com/byblsr beat the TO or his son, win a pack. Awesome idea! @helenebergeot
— Chris Lansdell (@lansdellicious) January 26, 2013
Boros sold out within minutes of the store opening at our Prerelease.Lots of everything else left.#MTGGTC
— GeneralDamageControl (@GDCCommander) January 26, 2013
So boros is now clearly 100% better than everything else by a large margin.
— Jon Johnson (@jjflipped) January 26, 2013
8-0, 16-0 on the weekend. #Boros4Life
— Eric Klug (@klug_alters) January 26, 2013
Mike and I both finished 5-2 wit Boros! Aw yeah! #MTGGTC #ohJAM
— Chewie and the dorks (@TheManaPool) January 27, 2013
Only @reidduke can play Boros and still run three 7-drops. Yea, some aggro guild. twitter.com/FoundOmega/sta…
— Joe Spanier (@FoundOmega) January 28, 2013
I didn't realize until the last round that Assemble the Legion's tokens have haste. #protip #BOROS #MTGGTC
— Trick Jarrett (@TrickMTG) January 24, 2013
#MTGRules PSA: In 2HG, Battalion counts both your attacking creatures and your teammates. #MTG
— Arthur Halavais (@ahalavais) January 26, 2013
Final stats for the #MTGGTC prereleases at @scgamecenter! twitter.com/Legenndery/sta…
— Jennifer Dery (@Legenndery) January 28, 2013
Phone is pretty sure I'm playing a Boris deck. Not sure who this Boris guy is.
— Shawn Main (@shawnmain) January 24, 2013
What does it say about #MTGGTC if I'm most excited about an uncommon? #BorosCharmed
— Mateusz Mylicki (@xMiMx) January 16, 2013
@maro254 Can you confirm the flavor legitimacy of this? Cause it looks pretty intentional. i.imgur.com/1O5VsCG.jpg
— Graham Stark (@Graham_LRR) January 27, 2013
You gotta fight! For your right! To Tweeeeeet!
Event Coverage Coordinator and Twitter Admiral for StarCityGames.com
Listen to the @InContention podcast! It's the official podcast of the StarCityGames.com Open Series with @kstube, @affinityforblue, and myself. Listen in at InContentionMagic.com. Our most recent episode, Crashing Out The Gate, can be found here.
About Reuben Bresler
Reuben Bresler is a Coverage Coordinator for SCGLive who lives in Roanoke, VA. When he's not doing coverage, he works on various video projects for StarCityGames.com, like The Newsening.