This is a refinement of the first deck I ever built for Pioneer, just a week or so after the format was originally announced (which, coincidentally, was right when I was getting back into Magic for the first time in a few years). I vaguely remembered pulling Soulfire Grandmaster in a random pack of Fate Reforged back in high school, just went from there, and what resulted was (I think) a really cool sort of anti-aggro aggro deck in colors I've always liked a lot. The first versions of this list are a little rough, since my deckbuilding chops were rusty at best, but this one is nicely tuned and very well-positioned against red and red-green aggro. It falters a little bit against control, but with good sideboarding and a more conservative playstyle it can definitely hold its own in that matchup, too.

The core of this list is just Pioneer RDW stripped down to the barebones: three of Blistercoil Weird and four Monastery Swiftspear, plus a bunch of damage-efficient burn spells. These - specifically the Stomp half of Bonecrusher Giant - are what allows Soulfire Grand Master to merge burn (typically the domain of mono-red) and lifegain (usually best suited to mono-white or Selesnya) into a genuinely cohesive Boros aggro list that's anything but traditional for red/white. Soulfire Grand Master's ability to give your instants and sorceries lifelink is almost completely unique in MTG, printed on only one other card (Firesong and Sunspeaker, which is a nifty six-drop but way, way too slow for aggro). Lifegain is usually not worth running on its own because it's an investment of mana and cards into an effect that has no immediate board presence, but with the Grand Master, you're casting a bear with lifelink (already not terrible) that turns spells like Searing Blood, Electrickery and Deafening Clarion - which are already fantastic burn spells in the format on their own - into absolute backbreakers. This is amazing in the aggro matchup, because it's a significant improvement to the tried-and-true burn spells you'd be running already rather than an investment in different cards that don't work as well. With both Soulfire Grand Master and Angel of Vitality out, you're gonna be gaining obscene amounts of life.

Lifegain on its own is a nice effect to have going for your deck if you don't have to waste cards on it, but without payoffs it's not something to get terribly excited about outside of down-to-the-wire aggro races. Luckily, Dawn of Hope represents some of the best card advantage available in red/white, and Angel of Vitality is a lovely 3-drop that gives you something else to do on turn 3 than cast a Bonecrusher Giant off your turn 2 Stomp. It won't be a 4/4 against aggro terribly often, but it doesn't need to be, and you can certainly manage that kind of efficiency against control and combo a lot of the time. What I really like about the Angel is that it's a control card against aggro and an aggressive card in other matchups, which is the kind of flexibility a deck like this really appreciates. Integrity // Intervention is a sweet combat trick that you can also cast as a grossly overcosted Lightning Helix if you have the mana available, and it's especially nice with Feather, the Redeemed. Feather is a great card on her own - a 3/4 flier for 3 is unbelievably efficient - but she's a bit clunky in this deck if you try to run more than one copy, since her mana cost is demanding and we're not running too many combat tricks or spot protection. That being said, she's fantastic with modal cards like Boros Charm, and you can try shenanigans where you cast, like, Stomp on one of your own creatures with a Soulfire Grand Master out and gain life without losing the spell. Authority of the Consults is a great way to slow your opponent down and trigger your lifegain payoffs at the same time without losing tempo.

What burn especially appreciates from white is a quality sideboard. Silence, Deflecting Palm, and especially Hushbringer are all super nice against combo, and Wear // Tear is great all-purpose removal to go along with the requisite two copies of Abrade. Fry rounds out the suite of extra burn magic, and Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier provides a slower, more powerful win-con than anything in the mainboard that gives some much-needed protection against sweepers. Aurelia's Fury is a super interesting control option from Gatecrash that can pressure midrange decks and disrupt combo, and Hazoret, the Fervent is just a ton of potential damage, and a way to make the list even more aggressive. Most of what's here is available as needed to move the deck from burn into a firmer aggro-control deck space, and don't be afraid to dip heavily into the sideboard.