Queen Marchesa: A rattlesnake approach
This deck aims to win out of nowhere, maneuvering through multiplayer games with politics and grace
This deck got heavy inspiration from Rachmiel'sTariel (retired) primer, check it out here!
Why play Queen Marchesa? Let's take a look at what she can do.
A three color 4 mana 3/3. Dies to Lightning Bolt or 6 Little Girls. Hopefully she has something else...
... which she does!
Haste! After casting her you can get swinging away. Also, after a boardwipe, she can get monarchy back relatively easily. I'll talk more about that later.
Deathtouch! Guaranteed to take out some creature whenever she is in combat (barring Indestructibility). That also means Thornbite Staff is a one sided board clear with enough mana...
You become the monarch on ETB! She is THE ONLY commander that brings this mechanic to EDH. Whenever you cast her, you are drawing a card at the end of the turn. After that, you are either drawing an extra card every turn, or getting a 1/1 deathtouch haste black assassin depending on who has the monarchy. While these tokens are useful for getting back the monarchy back without having to risk Marchesa, in this deck we will be holding them back in most circumstances to create a rattlesnake wall.
The Game Plan
1. We want to get Marchesa out as soon as possible. We want the monarch to be going around the board. Play Marchesa, swing at someone, let them take the monarch. Once someone else has the monarchy, the whole table will try to get it from them (who doesn't want free draw???), leaving us some time to set up our defenses and let the others take each other out.
2. Encourage attacking. We play cards to help others get attacks through. We are the Queen, we are the political commander.
3. Create lots of tokens for everyone to use. Hopefully you will have some decent rattlesnakes up so that it is not beneficial to attack you.
4. When it gets down to two players left, let them try to kill you. See how that goes, with cards like Backlash and Rakdos Charm, they will only kill themselves.
Politics
Check out this quote straight from Rachmiel's primer, it describes the politics we are trying to achieve with this deck:
"Surprisingly, I’ve found that a lot of people define politics differently here. The common wisdom is that “politics=power”, but I’m going to have to explain more than that. To me, “good” politics is not tricking your opponent, tactically staying out of a feud between two players, or making alliances and breaking them. Good politics is not Zedruu the Greathearted (Take that, she-goat!). There’s a philosophy in chess that you should never try to trick your opponent because it won’t work if they’re as good as you or better. Instead, you should force them to make moves which are rationally the move that they should make. This is exactly how I view playing good politics in Magic. You should try to create board situations where a truly good player would rationally decide to not attack you and to spend their resources on other players. You shouldn’t be too heavy handed about it though. I don’t like the Vows such as Vow of Duty or Vow of Malice because they don’t fulfill the above condition. Do you see why? It’s the part about a truly good player rationally deciding to attack you or someone else. I’ll mention this again later in the strategy section since it bears repeating. Regardless, this view of politics will shape the strategy and recommended play style of the deck. As a side note, when interacting verbally with other players, feel free to be yourself and have fun for the best results of course."
So let's see the gang! Notice the small advisor theme -- A Queen needs her Council!!
This looks like a very fun list! I can't think of anything to make it actually better, so I'll just say a random card I have in my binder: Crown of Doom. Just another reason to not attack you.
Yeah that's another option. Ill have to see how i like the other cards, its another option that fits the deck well.
I was already running two of the effects (Blood Reckoning/Hissing Miasma), and with No Mercy, they all lose synergy. I felt like two of the effects was enough, and once I get the monarchy to someone else, I really don't want to put a target on my head by taking back the monarch. Will have to see how the others play and maybe it is worth a slot. Thanks for the suggestion
Here is my list. It is a slightly out of date list, as looking through it, I don't think I have Commander's Sphere in it anymore, but I am not sure off the top of my head what has replaced it. It's different than yours, but with similar goals. It has a Sunforger package that works very well, and doesn't include the counter donation strategy. My plan of encouraging people to fight over Monarch is not as strong as I thought. I usually just want it back as soon as it is lost. I've been playing this deck as my main deck for about 4 months now. It was a little easier to win when it was new and unexpected, and the out of nowhere wins were surprising, but I still win. I took out Serra Ascendant because I think it is too good, and starting with it in hand is often a run away win if not dealt with immediately. Sulfurous Blast is often a beast of a card, and is searchable with Sunforger. The planeswalkers have been underperforming, and I am thinking about a switch. I feel like I need a few more beaters, so I may put the Serra Ascendant back in, or maybe Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. For some reason, Mind's Eye has underperformed, so I may replace that. Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts is pretty slow, but often ends up being a strong finisher. I could use another Rattlesnake or Pillow Fort card, I could use a splashy wincon, or I could even just replace Mind's Eye with Necropotence or Wheel of Fortune. Reverence could be a good Pillow Fort, but so could Solitary Confinement. I also like Selfless Squire as a good turnaround card, but haven't tried it yet. Mortify or Terminate may add a little defense, and work with Sunforger. Martyr's Bond or Karmic Justice are nice Rattlesnakes. So is False Prophet, but I don't like blowing up my creatures in this deck, which is why Damnation or Wrath of God are not in. Fog effects may be nice for the Rattlesnake effect, as Dawn Charm has pulled some serious weight in play, so Batwing Brume may go back in. I could even lose some subtlety and go with Vow of Duty, Vow of Malice, or Vow of Lightning. This would increase the control, while adding a stronger voltron option. So Anyway, my list could obviously use some tightening, but it works pretty well as is. Hope this is helpful.
Just did a little update after thinking about this overnight. Kaya, Chandra, Commander's Sphere, Mind's Eye, Serra Ascendant, and Marchessa's Decree are out. Aside from Serra Ascendant, they were underperforming, and Serra Ascendant was considered unfair in my meta. Solitary Confinement, Necropotence, Wheel of Fortune, Kazuul, Selfless Squire, and Mortify are in.
I would love to hear how those changes work, keep me updated.
A few cards that I liked from your list: Deflecting Palm - completely forgot about that card, thats probably replacing Boros Fury-Shield Delirium - another card I forgot about Jotun Grunt - really interesting.... I play with a karador in my meta, could be a killer card, but Im a little worried that its on a body... I feel like Relic of Progenitus will get more value Vengeful Pharaoh - im curious how he works for you. He is almost worse than No Mercy and Dread, and their effects don't stack. Hide/Seek - looks fun
I would highly recommend Boros Charm... I saw it in your maybe board, but it is definitely worth a slot. saving all your enchantments from a board wipe is pretty important to not loose tempo, and its tutorable with Sunforger too.
I also think about Spectral Searchlight for the verbal contract aspect of multiplayer politics, but being low key seems to work well with this deck, and that may ruin it. I have on and off played with Boros Charm. It should probably be in a "sometimes" list and not "maybe". I actually used it for it's double strike effect on another player's creature more than a save card. Vengeful Pharaoh is a Deathtouch Rattlesnake on a big recurring body that has a No Mercy effect at times. Given that their effects don't stack, Dread and Vengeful Pharaoh pull weight in combat as well. It is worth a slot. Jotun Grunt is a decent body with an effect that can hose some decks or recur some cards in mine, mostly for tutoring with Sunforger so I get the recurred card right away. I think that it plays more roles than Relic of Progenitus, and can pull weight in combat alone, even if it is just a round or two at the beginning of the game for blocking. Deflecting Palm and Delerium are game winners. I win out of nowhere to great cheers from bystanders, and even handshakes of my opponents all the time. Get them. They are amazing. I understand that my list is for casual play, has no early combo kills, and limited wincons, but it is super fun to play. The turtle deck that looks about to lose to a big and fancy combo or creature attack, but then turns it around and sweeps up the surprise win is just a crazy fun feeling.
By the way, I have high hopes for Selfless Squire. It says "Whenever damage that would be dealt to you is prevented, put that many +1/+1 counters on Selfless Squire." There is a lot of damage prevention in that deck.
I also think about Spectral Searchlight for the verbal contract aspect of multiplayer politics, but being low key seems to work well with this deck, and that may ruin it. I have on and off played with Boros Charm. It should probably be in a "sometimes" list and not "maybe". I actually used it for it's double strike effect on another player's creature more than a save card. Vengeful Pharaoh is a Deathtouch Rattlesnake on a big recurring body that has a No Mercy effect at times. Given that their effects don't stack, Dread and Vengeful Pharaoh pull weight in combat as well. It is worth a slot. Jotun Grunt is a decent body with an effect that can hose some decks or recur some cards in mine, mostly for tutoring with Sunforger so I get the recurred card right away. I think that it plays more roles than Relic of Progenitus, and can pull weight in combat alone, even if it is just a round or two at the beginning of the game for blocking. Deflecting Palm and Delerium are game winners. I win out of nowhere to great cheers from bystanders, and even handshakes of my opponents all the time. Get them. They are amazing. I understand that my list is for casual play, has no early combo kills, and limited wincons, but it is super fun to play. The turtle deck that looks about to lose to a big and fancy combo or creature attack, but then turns it around and sweeps up the surprise win is just a crazy fun feeling.
By the way, I have high hopes for Selfless Squire. It says "Whenever damage that would be dealt to you is prevented, put that many +1/+1 counters on Selfless Squire." There is a lot of damage prevention in that deck.
Spectral Searchlight is a card i usually just end up using for myself, while we are playing politics, we aren't playing a group hug. I dont want to help someone win, they have to work for it.
Wow, I didn't even realize that Selfless Squire kept getting +1/+1 counters for damage prevention, for some reason I thought it was only the turn you casted it. Interesting for sure...
Yeah, Selfless Squire is crazy good in here. It is a Fog that turns into a wincon, and gets better with other Fogs. I think the Fog theme may be perfectly in line with the strategy of this deck, and may reinforce the fear that attacking me could be overcommitting and a waste their time and resources that would be better spent attacking elsewhere, and potentially just expose them to counterattack. I did a little revamp of the deck after some play testing that proved the worth of Selfless Squire, and some of the included cards should make Selfless Squire even better.
Looking to increase the cards that either discourage attacks against me or come as surprise swings, as well as trim some things that were underperforming.
Out: Assemble the Legion - Too slow. I want turnaround wins. This doesn't do that, and places a target on my head. May need to add another wincon though. Chaos Warp - Finding I don't play it when I have it. Taking away their options is often counter to the strategy of this deck. Leaving them to overcommit or develop, while laying low myself, leads to my opponents taking each other out. My offense is often letting their offense develop and be used against everyone but me. When I do choose to intervene in their development, I want it to be final, with no upside for them. This is counter to that. Oblation - Same as Chaos Warp. Isochron Scepter - Many times a dead draw, and when it comes into play it is less impactful than I want. It also creates too much worry over my board state any time I play it. Counter to my strategy. Abeyance - I had hoped that it would be a semi Timewalk. It was not. Silence - Not the impact I was hoping. Proactive counter does not work the way I wanted. I want turnaround after their deck does what it is supposed to, not just delaying their playing their deck. Wild Ricochet - Many times a dead draw, many times too expensive, rarely as impactful as I wanted. Lapse of Certainty - I often let things through because I want them to be used against my opponents, I don't want a target on my head, and I want to use those things against their controllers. I sit on this card too much. Foreboding Ruins - Almost always an ETB tapped dual with no upside. I can do better. Secluded Steppe - ETB tapped plains that I rarely Cycle. No combos to take advantage of it.
In: Temple of Malice - Upside that Foreboding Ruins didn't have. Temple of Triumph - Replaces Secluded Steppe. Still ETB tapped, but now a dual and with an extra upside of Scry instead of Cycle. Mystifying Maze - Another Maze. Leads to attacking elsewhere or to overcommitting. Encouraging both is exactly what this deck wants. Gossamer Chains - Essentially another Maze. Gift of Estates - Smoothing out the early game, ensuring land drops. Karmic Justice vs. Martyr's Bond - I will cycle both. Redirecting targeted removal at my opponents would be good. Adding the chump block Rattlesnake of Martyr's Bond may or may not make up for the extra cost.
Some combination of Fogs such as:
- Angelsong - Fog with Cycling
- Awe Strike - Single target Fog with Reverse Damage
- Batwing Brume - Punishing Fog. Perfectly in line with this deck
- Darkness - Black Fog
- Ethereal Haze - Fog not restricted to combat damage
- Holy Day - White Fog
- Kami of False Hope - For on a stick
- Pay No Heed - Single target Fog that also works on non-creature damage
- Pollen Lullaby - Fog with a Sleep effect tacked on
- With a reputation for having these cards, it may encourage attacks elsewhere, and add a level of bluffing into this deck to increase the table politics. Not sure which I will like best, but I plan to cycle through them to see.
May Consider: Academy Rector - Just a simple Rattlesnake tied to a tutor. Would potentially be great. False Prophet - Another Rattlesnake card tied to a boardwipe. May be counter to the strategy, but the Rattlesnake may be worth it.
The cards that I don't have are on order, so I eagerly await their incorporation.
I really like the theme of giving tokens for the other players to beat each other with, then punishing them with cards like Rakdos Charm and Massacre Wurm. A few cards in a similar vein that you may have missed:
Tempt with Vengeance – The more tokens, the better. Repercussion – Effectively gives everyone’s creatures unblockability for the pain, and also turns a card like Fiery Confluence or Arcbond into a ton of damage. Dingus Staff – The same damage on death ability, on more cards. Also stops recursion combos.
I really like the theme of giving tokens for the other players to beat each other with, then punishing them with cards like Rakdos Charm and Massacre Wurm. A few cards in a similar vein that you may have missed:
Tempt with Vengeance – The more tokens, the better. Repercussion – Effectively gives everyone’s creatures unblockability for the pain, and also turns a card like Fiery Confluence or Arcbond into a ton of damage. Dingus Staff – The same damage on death ability, on more cards. Also stops recursion combos.
right? I thought that the token generation helps everyone to attack each other while silently setting up a giant Massacre Wurm would be awesome!!
Tempt with Vengeance is awesome, will have to try it over another token producer.
Dingus Staff is another interesting possibility, i will have to think about that one. not sure what to cut :/
I have often thought of adding a token donation strategy to my deck, but have never quite done it. I think about th Hunted creatures, especially the Hunted Horror. BB is an amazing price for a 7/7. The protection from black tokens are a little scary, though.
Escalation of the level of conflict seems to really work well for Queen Marchesa, since her Monarch ability does exactly that. I love how she turns out really increase strife.
A three color 4 mana 3/3. Dies to Lightning Bolt or 6 Little Girls. Hopefully she has something else...
... which she does!
Haste! After casting her you can get swinging away. Also, after a boardwipe, she can get monarchy back relatively easily. I'll talk more about that later.
Deathtouch! Guaranteed to take out some creature whenever she is in combat (barring Indestructibility). That also means Thornbite Staff is a one sided board clear with enough mana...
You become the monarch on ETB! She is THE ONLY commander that brings this mechanic to EDH. Whenever you cast her, you are drawing a card at the end of the turn. After that, you are either drawing an extra card every turn, or getting a 1/1 deathtouch haste black assassin depending on who has the monarchy. While these tokens are useful for getting back the monarchy back without having to risk Marchesa, in this deck we will be holding them back in most circumstances to create a rattlesnake wall.
2. Encourage attacking. We play cards to help others get attacks through. We are the Queen, we are the political commander.
3. Create lots of tokens for everyone to use. Hopefully you will have some decent rattlesnakes up so that it is not beneficial to attack you.
4. When it gets down to two players left, let them try to kill you. See how that goes, with cards like Backlash and Rakdos Charm, they will only kill themselves.
So let's see the gang! Notice the small advisor theme -- A Queen needs her Council!!
By Card Type:
1x Aysen Bureaucrats
1x Blood Seeker
1x Burnished Hart
1x Demon of Dark Schemes
1x Diaochan, Artful Beauty
1x Doomwake Giant
1x Droning Bureaucrats
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Goblin Spymaster
1x Heliod, God of the Sun
1x Humble Defector
1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1x Masako the Humorless
1x Massacre Wurm
1x Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
1x Netherborn Phalanx
1x Orzhov Advokist
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Spurnmage Advocate
1x Stuffy Doll
1x Suture Priest
1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Sorcery (7)
1x Acidic Soil
1x Alliance of Arms
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Gift of Estates
1x Hallowed Burial
1x Plague of Vermin
1x Repay in Kind
1x Akoum Refuge
1x Ancient Amphitheater
1x Boros Guildgate
1x Buried Ruin
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Forbidden Orchard
6x Mountain
1x Orzhov Guildgate
9x Plains
1x Rakdos Guildgate
1x Reliquary Tower
8x Swamp
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Tresserhorn Sinks
1x Urborg Volcano
1x Vault of the Archangel
Artifact (10)
1x Acorn Catapult
1x Armillary Sphere
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Genesis Chamber
1x Skullclamp
1x Soul Conduit
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Staff of Nin
1x Thornbite Staff
1x Thunderstaff
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1x Kaya, Ghost Assassin
Instant (15)
1x Allay
1x Backlash
1x Batwing Brume
1x Boros Fury-Shield
1x Captain's Maneuver
1x Chaos Warp
1x Divine Deflection
1x Increasing Vengeance
1x Mirror Strike
1x Oblation
1x Rakdos Charm
1x Reflect Damage
1x Shattering Pulse
1x Sudden Impact
1x Sudden Spoiling
Enchantment (6)
1x Authority of the Consuls
1x Blood Reckoning
1x Hissing Miasma
1x No Mercy
1x Reverence
1x Righteous Cause
0 Akoum Refuge
0 Ancient Amphitheater
0 Boros Guildgate
0 Buried Ruin
0 Command Tower
0 Evolving Wilds
0 Forbidden Orchard
0 Mountain
0 Orzhov Guildgate
0 Plains
0 Rakdos Guildgate
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Swamp
0 Terramorphic Expanse
0 Tresserhorn Sinks
0 Urborg Volcano
0 Vault of the Archangel
1 Alliance of Arms
1 Authority of the Consuls
1 Divine Deflection
1 Skullclamp
1 Spurnmage Advocate
2 Allay
2 Armillary Sphere
2 Aysen Bureaucrats
2 Batwing Brume
2 Blood Seeker
2 Captain's Maneuver
2 Genesis Chamber
2 Gift of Estates
2 Humble Defector
2 Increasing Vengeance
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Shattering Pulse
2 Suture Priest
2 Thornbite Staff
3 Backlash
3 Boros Fury-Shield
3 Burnished Hart
3 Chaos Warp
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Goblin Spymaster
3 Hissing Miasma
3 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
3 Masako the Humorless
3 Oblation
3 Orzhov Advokist
3 Spear of Heliod
3 Sudden Spoiling
3 Thunderstaff
4 Acorn Catapult
4 Blood Reckoning
4 Diaochan, Artful Beauty
4 Droning Bureaucrats
4 Heliod, God of the Sun
4 Kaya, Ghost Assassin
4 Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
4 Mirror Strike
4 No Mercy
4 Reverence
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Sudden Impact
5 Hallowed Burial
5 Reflect Damage
5 Righteous Cause
5 Stuffy Doll
6 Demon of Dark Schemes
6 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
6 Massacre Wurm
6 Netherborn Phalanx
6 Soul Conduit
6 Staff of Nin
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
7 Plague of Vermin
7 Repay in Kind
7 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
9 Blasphemous Act
1x Akoum Refuge
1x Ancient Amphitheater
1x Boros Guildgate
1x Buried Ruin
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
6x Mountain
1x Orzhov Guildgate
9x Plains
1x Rakdos Guildgate
1x Reliquary Tower
8x Swamp
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Tresserhorn Sinks
1x Urborg Volcano
Rattlesnake
1x Blood Reckoning
1x Diaochan, Artful Beauty
1x Hissing Miasma
1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1x Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
1x No Mercy
1x Soul Conduit
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Spurnmage Advocate
1x Staff of Nin
1x Stuffy Doll
1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
1x Thornbite Staff
1x Thunderstaff
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Authority of the Consuls
1x Aysen Bureaucrats
1x Droning Bureaucrats
1x Orzhov Advokist
1x Reverence
1x Righteous Cause
Removal
1x Allay
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Chaos Warp
1x Doomwake Giant
1x Hallowed Burial
1x Kaya, Ghost Assassin
1x Oblation
1x Shattering Pulse
Ramp/Card Advantage
1x Armillary Sphere
1x Burnished Hart
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Gift of Estates
1x Humble Defector
1x Skullclamp
1x Solemn Simulacrum
Token Producers/Strategy
1x Acorn Catapult
1x Alliance of Arms
1x Blood Seeker
1x Demon of Dark Schemes
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1x Forbidden Orchard
1x Genesis Chamber
1x Goblin Spymaster
1x Heliod, God of the Sun
1x Masako the Humorless
1x Plague of Vermin
1x Suture Priest
1x Acidic Soil
1x Backlash
1x Batwing Brume
1x Boros Fury-Shield
1x Captain's Maneuver
1x Divine Deflection
1x Increasing Vengeance
1x Massacre Wurm
1x Mirror Strike
1x Netherborn Phalanx
1x Rakdos Charm
1x Reflect Damage
1x Repay in Kind
1x Sudden Impact
1x Sudden Spoiling
Blood Reckoning - Pretty big deterrent, crazy good against token decks
Daochan, Artful Beauty - Queen's Advisor. You can attack me, but I'll blow up your commander and have the other guy blow up your Terastodon next turn
Hissing Miasma - See Blood Reckoning
Increasing Vengeance - Copy a wincon
Kambal, Consul of Allocation - Advisor. Slow life drain
Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker - Advisor. Why hit me?
No Mercy - See Michiko
Soul Conduit - Multiplayer fun
Spear of Heliod - Pumps our tokens and is a deterrent
Spurnmage Advocate - Removal
Staff of Nin - damage where needed and draw
Stuffy Doll - Deterrent, alternate wincon
Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts - Deterrent
Thornbite Staff - Murder with Marchesa for 2 colorless
Thunderstaff - Attack someone else please
Vault of the Archangel - make our tokens have abilities
Pillowfort
Authority of the Consuls - lifegain from the tokens we give everyone
Aysen Bureaucrats - Advisor. Taps down other utility creatures
Droning Bureaucrats - Advisor. Has chance of hitting a bunch of things.
Orzhov Advokist - Advisor, helps to have others attack each other
Reverence - Makes sure that the tokens we give out don't hurt us.
Righteous Cause - Lots of Lifegain!
Removal
Allay - Repeated Removal
Blasphemous Act - Cheap board wipe
Chaos Warp - Removal
Doomwake Giant - Testing out
Hallowed Burial - If things get bad
Kaya, Ghost Assassin - Marchesa's Assassin of choice
Oblation - Nice removal
Shattering Pulse - Repeated Removal
Ramp/Card Advantage
Armillary Sphere - Non-green ramp
Burnished Hart - Ramp on a body
Chromatic Lantern - Color Fixer + ramper
Gift of Estates - One time Land tax
Humble Defector - Decent draw that helps politically
Skullclamp - draw with tokens
Solemn Simulacrum - draw and ramp
Token Producers/Strategy
Acorn Catapult - Damage and tokens
Alliance of Arms - Tokens for all!
Blood Seeker - Life tapping
Demon of Dark Schemes - Lots of energy with tokens
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - Pump our tokens when ready to go aggresive
Elspeth, Sun's Champion - tokens and board clear
Forbidden Orchard - mana and tokens
Genesis Chamber - tokens for all
Goblin Spymaster - tokens for all
Heliod, God of the Sun - tokens for skllclamp, doomwake giant
Masako the Humorless - Flash shenaigans
Plague of Vermin - tokens for all
Suture Priest - token life tapping
Wincons
Acidic Soil - Loads o' damage
Backlash - For big creatures
Batwing Brume - For large armies
Boros Fury-Shield - For big creatures
Captain's Maneuver - For big finishes
Divine Deflection - For big finishes
Massacre Wurm - give them tokens, finish with this!
Mirror Strike - Right back at ya
Netherborn Phalanx - give them tokens, finish with this!
Rakdos Charm - give them tokens, finish with this!
Reflect Damage - Mirror strike + non creatures
Repay in Kind - Knocking everyone down
Sudden Impact - For big hands
Sudden Spoiling - For guys with effects
Help me make it better!
Let me know what you think!
Cards considering:
[EDH In Development] Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Queen Marchesa | Ruhan of the Fomori | Yahenni, Undying Partisan
[EDH Retired] Ertai, The Corrupted | Sigarda, Host of Herons | Tariel, Reckoner of Souls | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
[Modern] Stuffy Doll Combo Burn | Demigod of Revenge
old thread
old thread
old thread
R Zada Arcane Storm
RBU Marchesa
GWU Estrid
GWR Samut?
URB Kess
(R/W)(U/B) Akiri & Silas
BWR Alesha
R Neheb Dragons
G Nylea Wurms
W Darien
U Tetsuko
Yeah that's another option. Ill have to see how i like the other cards, its another option that fits the deck well.
I was already running two of the effects (Blood Reckoning/Hissing Miasma), and with No Mercy, they all lose synergy. I felt like two of the effects was enough, and once I get the monarchy to someone else, I really don't want to put a target on my head by taking back the monarch. Will have to see how the others play and maybe it is worth a slot. Thanks for the suggestion
[EDH In Development] Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Queen Marchesa | Ruhan of the Fomori | Yahenni, Undying Partisan
[EDH Retired] Ertai, The Corrupted | Sigarda, Host of Herons | Tariel, Reckoner of Souls | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
[Modern] Stuffy Doll Combo Burn | Demigod of Revenge
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
A few cards that I liked from your list:
Deflecting Palm - completely forgot about that card, thats probably replacing Boros Fury-Shield
Delirium - another card I forgot about
Jotun Grunt - really interesting.... I play with a karador in my meta, could be a killer card, but Im a little worried that its on a body... I feel like Relic of Progenitus will get more value
Vengeful Pharaoh - im curious how he works for you. He is almost worse than No Mercy and Dread, and their effects don't stack.
Hide/Seek - looks fun
I would highly recommend Boros Charm... I saw it in your maybe board, but it is definitely worth a slot. saving all your enchantments from a board wipe is pretty important to not loose tempo, and its tutorable with Sunforger too.
[EDH In Development] Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Queen Marchesa | Ruhan of the Fomori | Yahenni, Undying Partisan
[EDH Retired] Ertai, The Corrupted | Sigarda, Host of Herons | Tariel, Reckoner of Souls | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
[Modern] Stuffy Doll Combo Burn | Demigod of Revenge
By the way, I have high hopes for Selfless Squire. It says "Whenever damage that would be dealt to you is prevented, put that many +1/+1 counters on Selfless Squire." There is a lot of damage prevention in that deck.
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
Spectral Searchlight is a card i usually just end up using for myself, while we are playing politics, we aren't playing a group hug. I dont want to help someone win, they have to work for it.
Ill have to add Delirium to my buy list, I know I have a Deflecting Palm somewhere.
Wow, I didn't even realize that Selfless Squire kept getting +1/+1 counters for damage prevention, for some reason I thought it was only the turn you casted it. Interesting for sure...
[EDH In Development] Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Queen Marchesa | Ruhan of the Fomori | Yahenni, Undying Partisan
[EDH Retired] Ertai, The Corrupted | Sigarda, Host of Herons | Tariel, Reckoner of Souls | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
[Modern] Stuffy Doll Combo Burn | Demigod of Revenge
New Decklist
Looking to increase the cards that either discourage attacks against me or come as surprise swings, as well as trim some things that were underperforming.
Out:
Assemble the Legion - Too slow. I want turnaround wins. This doesn't do that, and places a target on my head. May need to add another wincon though.
Chaos Warp - Finding I don't play it when I have it. Taking away their options is often counter to the strategy of this deck. Leaving them to overcommit or develop, while laying low myself, leads to my opponents taking each other out. My offense is often letting their offense develop and be used against everyone but me. When I do choose to intervene in their development, I want it to be final, with no upside for them. This is counter to that.
Oblation - Same as Chaos Warp.
Isochron Scepter - Many times a dead draw, and when it comes into play it is less impactful than I want. It also creates too much worry over my board state any time I play it. Counter to my strategy.
Abeyance - I had hoped that it would be a semi Timewalk. It was not.
Silence - Not the impact I was hoping. Proactive counter does not work the way I wanted. I want turnaround after their deck does what it is supposed to, not just delaying their playing their deck.
Wild Ricochet - Many times a dead draw, many times too expensive, rarely as impactful as I wanted.
Lapse of Certainty - I often let things through because I want them to be used against my opponents, I don't want a target on my head, and I want to use those things against their controllers. I sit on this card too much.
Foreboding Ruins - Almost always an ETB tapped dual with no upside. I can do better.
Secluded Steppe - ETB tapped plains that I rarely Cycle. No combos to take advantage of it.
In:
Temple of Malice - Upside that Foreboding Ruins didn't have.
Temple of Triumph - Replaces Secluded Steppe. Still ETB tapped, but now a dual and with an extra upside of Scry instead of Cycle.
Mystifying Maze - Another Maze. Leads to attacking elsewhere or to overcommitting. Encouraging both is exactly what this deck wants.
Gossamer Chains - Essentially another Maze.
Gift of Estates - Smoothing out the early game, ensuring land drops.
Karmic Justice vs. Martyr's Bond - I will cycle both. Redirecting targeted removal at my opponents would be good. Adding the chump block Rattlesnake of Martyr's Bond may or may not make up for the extra cost.
Some combination of Fogs such as:
- Angelsong - Fog with Cycling
- Awe Strike - Single target Fog with Reverse Damage
- Batwing Brume - Punishing Fog. Perfectly in line with this deck
- Darkness - Black Fog
- Ethereal Haze - Fog not restricted to combat damage
- Holy Day - White Fog
- Kami of False Hope - For on a stick
- Pay No Heed - Single target Fog that also works on non-creature damage
- Pollen Lullaby - Fog with a Sleep effect tacked on
- With a reputation for having these cards, it may encourage attacks elsewhere, and add a level of bluffing into this deck to increase the table politics. Not sure which I will like best, but I plan to cycle through them to see.
May Consider:
Academy Rector - Just a simple Rattlesnake tied to a tutor. Would potentially be great.
False Prophet - Another Rattlesnake card tied to a boardwipe. May be counter to the strategy, but the Rattlesnake may be worth it.
The cards that I don't have are on order, so I eagerly await their incorporation.
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
Tempt with Vengeance – The more tokens, the better.
Repercussion – Effectively gives everyone’s creatures unblockability for the pain, and also turns a card like Fiery Confluence or Arcbond into a ton of damage.
Dingus Staff – The same damage on death ability, on more cards. Also stops recursion combos.
right? I thought that the token generation helps everyone to attack each other while silently setting up a giant Massacre Wurm would be awesome!!
Tempt with Vengeance is awesome, will have to try it over another token producer.
Dingus Staff is another interesting possibility, i will have to think about that one. not sure what to cut :/
[EDH In Development] Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Queen Marchesa | Ruhan of the Fomori | Yahenni, Undying Partisan
[EDH Retired] Ertai, The Corrupted | Sigarda, Host of Herons | Tariel, Reckoner of Souls | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
[Modern] Stuffy Doll Combo Burn | Demigod of Revenge
Escalation of the level of conflict seems to really work well for Queen Marchesa, since her Monarch ability does exactly that. I love how she turns out really increase strife.
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!