This is by far my favorite commander deck that I've ever built so I've decided to keep improving it - it will probably become less and less "budget" over time! My plan is to trade/upgrade over time drawing from this list:
I'm completely open to additions/revisions! What do you think this deck needs?
Changes 12/22/14:
- Artifact Mutation Chaos Warp is way more versatile. I'm a little sad about the loss of flavor though =/
- Aura Mutation Aura Shards is a million times better.
- Wurmcalling Never really wanted to cast this. Sorcery that eats up all your mana and leaves you tapped out. Recurable but too expensive even in the late game. Avenger is much better.
- Nature's Claim Good card, I just have enough removal. Actually might still have too much.
- Into the Core Exiling artifacts is nice but overkill with the addition of Aura Shards. Removal was already strong and I'd rather have Witness in case a key card is blown up.
+ Chaos Warp Stolen from the Red Precon solid, versatile removal.
+ Aura Shards Also from a friend. An absolute beating if it sticks. There will be no more artifacts/enchantments after 1 turn!
+ Avenger of Zendikar Excellent late game draw that turns on all additional land drops.
+ Weathered Wayfarer Picked this up from a friend. Really great ramping/fixing, cheap too.
+ Eternal Witness Solid recursion, found a few extra bucks to pick one up.
Changes 12/31/14:
- Anger Sometimes hard to get into a graveyard/keep it there... Costs 4.
- Mountain
- Ogre Battledriver I like that he gives +2/+0 but keeping him alive isn't as easy as keepingg Anger in a 'yard. Double Red is actually a little harder than I thought.
- Condemn New tuck rules make this even more meh than it already was.
+ Anger It's just so ugly though...
+ Outpost Siege Not sure if this will stay in, but it does fit with the enchantment theme I'm trying to give the deck
Changes 4/26/15:
- Weathered Wayfarer Rarely worked in this build because I'm often the one ramping the fastest...
- Increasing Savagery Gives Marath a ton of counters, but also paints an even bigger target on him.
- Hardened Scales I've gone back and forth on this, but I just feel like it's not impactful enough to run.
- Forest
+ Secure the Wastes Super excited to try this out. The card I'm most interested to try from Dragons of Tarkir.
+ Shamanic Revelation I hesitated to run this for a while because it does nothing on an empty board. BUT I really never have an empty board with Marath and card draw has been an issue lately. I hate topdecking.
+ Sterling Grove Latest step towards an enchantment subtheme. Protects important doubling enchantments and/or tutors for them.
+ Mountain Slightly a-proportional, but I have a few cards with double R, and Marath need R too so I think it will help
Changes 5/14/15:
- Kher Keep Township is a lot better.
- Forest
- Hull Breach I run a lot of artifact/enchantment hate already. I'd rather advance my own plan.
+ Gavony Township Can potentially put a lot of power on the board.
+ City of Brass Should improve the consistency by a bit. I really like how it performed in Roon.
+ Spawnwrithe Seems cool because it can really snowball. Should be good in multiplayer when hopefully one person is without a blocker.
+ Garruk, Wildspeaker Should do about the same thing but better. Will hang out here until I make 5 color plainswalker
Changes 7/12/15:
- Forgotten Ancient Decent but vulnerable/predictable.
- Acidic Slime Flexibile but I didn't have many ways to abuse it.
- Rampaging Baloths Never felt like this was worth 6 mana when I drew it.
- Fecundity Sooo much more excited for Pod. So happy it was banned!
- Plains
+ Scavenging Ooze Much needed gravehate which can grow huge!
+ Path to Exile Awesome FNM Promo!
+ Mirror Entity Thank you MM15, very cheap now!
+ Sun Titan Gives me some much needed recursion/late game power.
+ Kessig Wolf Run The new and improved Marath: Now with Trample!
Changes 8/16/15:
- Impact Tremors Great when it worked out but often did nothing. I don't think I want to go deep enough into the enchantment sub-theme enough to really get the payoff.
- Phyrexian Rebirth I would rather go in a more proactive direction and leaving one big dork usually didn't accomplish much.
- Anger Battledriver gives +2/+0, my mana is good enough to run him instead now.
+ Greater Good Trying to improve my lategate card draw. Marath can fizzle out sometimes.
+ Evolutionary Leap A much cheaper substitute for Survival, seems good on 1/1 tokens to keep pressure up. Also kinda negates targeted removal.
+ Ogre Battledriver See above.
Regrowth is cheaper than you'd think. Gorgon's Head is nice for more DT. Fertalid can be great fun if you already ramp some, which it looks like you do. Kodama's Reach is another great commander staple.
I really like Perilous Forays in Ghave or Marath builds, as it lets you ramp like no other. Works even better in Marath as you can just use up all the counters, and then cast a bigger Marath with the lands you get.
I'm still looking for ways to aquire all the other excellent suggestions posted here, this is a work in progress!
I'm really struggling to decide how many basics of each color I should add though! Magic Assistant gives me the following data:
White-12
White/Red-3
Green-25
White/Green-8
Red-6
Red/Green-2
White/Green/Red-2
I'm sure there's a thread on how to turn this mathematically into cards, can someone help me find it or help me learn the process/formula? I'm currently at 75 cards including nonbasic lands.
- Artifact Mutation Chaos Warp is way more versatile. I'm a little sad about the loss of flavor though =/
- Aura Mutation Aura Shards is a million times better.
- Wurmcalling Never really wanted to cast this. Sorcery that eats up all your mana and leaves you tapped out. Recurable but too expensive even in the late game. Avenger is much better.
- Nature's Claim Good card, I just have enough removal. Actually might still have too much.
- Into the Core Exiling artifacts is nice but overkill with the addition of Aura Shards. Removal was already strong and I'd rather have Witness in case a key card is blown up.
+ Chaos Warp Stolen from the Red Precon solid, versatile removal.
+ Aura Shards Also from a friend. An absolute beating if it sticks. There will be no more artifacts/enchantments after 1 turn!
+ Avenger of Zendikar Excellent late game draw that turns on all additional land drops.
+ Weathered Wayfarer Picked this up from a friend. Really great ramping/fixing, cheap too.
+ Eternal Witness Solid recursion, found a few extra bucks to pick one up.
I love how quickly this deck ramps up to speed and how versatile Marath is! Still wondering if my land allocation is correct.
Would love suggestions on more rapidly spamming token creatures - wondering if Assemble the Legion is too slow?
Also looking to pick up a copy of Privileged Position as enchantments are a key wincon for my token army.
Regrowth is cheaper than you'd think. Gorgon's Head is nice for more DT. Fertalid can be great fun if you already ramp some, which it looks like you do. Kodama's Reach is another great commander staple.
Regrowth looks solid to me, I'll be looking at it going forward - just have to decide what to cut for it!
I really like Perilous Forays in Ghave or Marath builds, as it lets you ramp like no other. Works even better in Marath as you can just use up all the counters, and then cast a bigger Marath with the lands you get.
Thanks for the Perilous Forays suggestion - I could see trying it out because of the insane ramp potential. Then again, usually I want my ramp to be on the field early and for 5 I might prefer a mana doubler like Mirari's Wake or Mana Echoes. Something to consider though, thanks!
Gaea's Cradle is an essential element of a Marath list. Xenagos is also good. Basilisk Collar, Oracle of Mul Daya, Sylvan Library will also greatly improve the efficiency of your list
While my list is becoming less and less Budget, Gaea's Cradle is $150 so it's probably going to be a while before I pick that one up Sylvan Library is a bit more affordable but will probably still be a while
- Weathered Wayfarer Rarely worked in this build because I'm often the one ramping the fastest...
- Increasing Savagery Gives Marath a ton of counters, but also paints an even bigger target on him.
- Hardened Scales I've gone back and forth on this, but I just feel like it's not impactful enough to run.
- Forest
+ Secure the Wastes Super excited to try this out. The card I'm most interested to try from Dragons of Tarkir.
+ Shamanic Revelation I hesitated to run this for a while because it does nothing on an empty board. BUT I really never have an empty board with Marath and card draw has been an issue lately. I hate topdecking.
+ Sterling Grove Latest step towards an enchantment subtheme. Protects important doubling enchantments and/or tutors for them.
+ Mountain Slightly a-proportional, but I have a few cards with double R, and Marath need R too so I think it will help.
This is a deck I've been building for my brother. Marath synergizes most with enchantment cards so you might as well upgrade the enchantment sub theme to a core idea.
Hardened Scales should be a marath auto-include. doubling his power for one mana is amazing.
I don't think it works that way, actually: cast Marath for 3, get 4 counters / for 5, get 6 counters. Each time you cast him it gets a bit worse. If you move counters around I guess it doubles his power but that costs mana too.
I like your enchantress theme - seems like your list could use In the Web of War. How has Mana Echoes performed for you? I'm considering turning the subtheme into a bigger part of the build but I worry it would take away from tokens and make it much more fragile. Let me know how it works out!
oooooo I guess my brother has been playing it wrong, I honestly never really fully read it myself. However, I guess the bigger part to Hardened Scales for Marath is it can be a combo piece with Mana Echoes. Relying on tokens can be a little more "fragile" because there are a lot of ways to abuse killing them since they have a cmc of 0 and die when they're targeted by return to hand. Honestly the build is the most solid variation I've made/played against. Leaving the tokens on Marath until you need them for some greater effect than attacking (Earthcraft, Mana Echoes, Cathar's Crusade, Skullclamp, Basilisk Collar, Instant speed blockers for walkers) allows you to play instant speed responses and leave more mana up to be more threatening. Perhaps turning sideways is effective in your meta but I have learned over time that Naya spilling into the board can walk into a control lock and then find itself top decking. The variation I've made prefers to control board and win with either combos that are formed from already incredibly powerful cards on their own or just the ability to suddenly produce enough tokens end game to just swing without the help from anthems. The enchantress main theme then lets most the deck cantrip for potentially 2+ cards which is devastating in the colors that have the hardest time drawing.
I am definitely having trouble dumping everything onto the field and eating a sweeper and then top decking. I might consider reducing the tokens aspect of my build.
Can you explain how Hardened Scales combos with Mana Echoes and Marath? I see how you can make a ton of mana but what does Scales add?
You remove a counter from Marath and put it back on him so it will double. His ability doesn't say "another creature" so he target himself and the Hardened Scales triggers. So, with mana echoes out, and lets say Marath with 5 tokens and you have one untapped mana. You create a token, adding a colorless mana from Echoes because Marath is an elemental. Now you have one colorless and Marath has 4 tokens. Use the colorless to make another token. (Marath at 3, 2 colorless mana). A third token will put you to 5 colorless and Marath with two counters. Now, using one mana each time, you use Marath's ability to remove a token and place a token on himself. If you did it four times, he will end with 9 counters. Using your last mana, create another token and float four colorless. Earthcraft + any enchantment that makes a land tap for 2 mana + Hardened Scales can do the same thing.
+ Explosive Vegetation I really like ramping up!
+ Mana Echoes Another step towards enchantment theme, ramp,
+ Impact Tremors Although going wide with tokens might be fragile, I really like it. I want to try to make it viable.
+ Jazal Goldmane Anthem seems good if I'm committing to going wide.
Here's a perfect point for me to show you the difference between what the build I linked is and what the standard Marath build will use.
Impact Tremors 2 cmc, damage comes from creature entering and hits each player. Costs no mana afterwards.
Jazal Goldmane 4 cmc, damage comes from a 5 mana activated ability that requires attacking.
If you only could slot in one, which idea sounds better? With a lower cmc, a harder permanent type to target, and a passive effect that will dish out mutual hate instead of having to decide what player to go to war with, Impact Tremors sounds like the safest way to victory. That is what the linked list tries to do. Swinging with board is your last resort, and if the rest of your deck ramps, draws, or has enchantment synergy you will always end up with a big enough army to do the job. Otherwise you will assemble some kind of combo or have the mana to Plea for Guidance and cast the combo same turn. The biggest ones are Hardened Scales, Earthcraft, Mana Echoes, Food ChainCathar's Crusade, (theres a green creature from ravnica that will combo similar to crusade with marath)
Definitely. I think Impact Tremors will be solid in the build, I just also want to be able to be aggressive as well. I really like commander but I've started to shy away from durdly value decks because the game has to end at some point. Jazal might make me the threat but if I hold it back until I have a board presence I'm hoping it will be solid.
Combo is totally legit, it's just not really me. I have Mana Echoes in here (and in fact just made about 300 colorless with it!),and while it is a combo with Cathar's Crusade it's unintentional and won't come up often. I feel like both are good on their own which is not as true for me re: Hardened Scales.
- Kher Keep Township is a lot better.
- Forest
- Hull Breach I run a lot of artifact/enchantment hate already. I'd rather advance my own plan.
+ Gavony Township Can potentially put a lot of power on the board.
+ City of Brass Should improve the consistency by a bit. I really like how it performed in Roon.
+ Spawnwrithe Seems cool because it can really snowball. Should be good in multiplayer when hopefully one person is without a blocker.
For Lands you might want to consider Opal Palace, I'm running it in my Marath deck and offers both fixing as well as boost the counters on your Commander.
For Lands you might want to consider Opal Palace, I'm running it in my Marath deck and offers both fixing as well as boost the counters on your Commander.
Opal Palace is okay if you really need the mana fixing, but it isn't worth the +1/+1 counter if that's your intent. It slows you down a turn, which is fine if you needed a third color, but it isn't worth it to use the ability if you can avoid it (he can get expensive extremely quickly as is). I'd try for a higher concentration of duel lands first, even if it's just something like the Guildgates.
Of course, I do know people that enjoy the land. Unfortunately, the extra mana out tales doesn't count towards Marath's ability which makes it much worse. It is a preference based card though.
Avenger of zendikar and craterhoof behemoth with tooth and nails is really good
True - just not my kind of card! I feel like T&N kind of just ends games but doesn't really fit with the flavor of what I'm going for. The same can be said to a lesser degree of Avenger of Zendikar and Craterhoof Behemoth, but they "do" what my deck is trying to do.
For Lands you might want to consider Opal Palace, I'm running it in my Marath deck and offers both fixing as well as boost the counters on your Commander.
Opal Palace is okay if you really need the mana fixing, but it isn't worth the +1/+1 counter if that's your intent. It slows you down a turn, which is fine if you needed a third color, but it isn't worth it to use the ability if you can avoid it (he can get expensive extremely quickly as is). I'd try for a higher concentration of duel lands first, even if it's just something like the Guildgates.
Of course, I do know people that enjoy the land. Unfortunately, the extra mana out tales doesn't count towards Marath's ability which makes it much worse. It is a preference based card though.
Thanks for the suggestion NimBalor - I considered it initially but it seemed like too small of a benefit for the price. I think I would rather run a basic to be honest! I considered guildgates but honestly with the amount of ramp/fixing (Kodama's Reach and the like) I run this deck doesn't run into many mana issues. On that note:
With the help of the folks on this forum I decided to make a Marath, Will of the Wild Commander deck.
3 Marath, Will of the Wild
Ramp (9):
1 Sol Ring
1 Birds of Paradise
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Farseek
3 Wood Elves
3 Kodama's Reach
3 Cultivate
4 Skyshroud Claim
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
Big Mana (4):
3 Ashnod's Altar
4 Xenagos, the Reveler
5 Mirari's Wake
6 Mana Reflection
Draw (8):
1 Skullclamp
2 Evolutionary Leap
3 Mentor of the Meek
4 Greater Good
4 Outpost Siege
4 Harmonize
5 Reforge the Soul
5 Shamanic Revelation
Tokens (7):
3 Spawnwrithe
4 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
5 Assemble the Legion
6 Secure the Wastes
6 Tempt with Vengeance
7 Trostani's Summoner
7 Avenger of Zendikar
Doublers (2):
4 Parallel Lives
5 Doubling Season
3 Beastmaster Ascension
3 Mirror Entity
4 Jazal Goldmane
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Gahiji, Honored One
8 Craterhoof Behemoth
Haste Enablers (2):
3 Hammer of Purphoros
4 Ogre Battledriver
Deathtouch Enablers (3):
1 Basilisk Collar
2 Nightshade Peddler
3 Bow of Nylea
Removal (8):
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Chaos Warp
3 Krosan Grip
3 Beast Within
3 Aura Shards
4 Return to Dust
Sweepers (2):
5 Rout
5 Hour of Reckoning
Protection (7):
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Boros Charm
2 Sterling Grove
3 Rootborn Defenses
3 Dauntless Escort
5 Eldrazi Monument
5 Requiem Angel
Passive Pressure (2):
2 Suture Priest
4 Purphoros, God of the Forge
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Eternal Witness
4 Glare of Subdual
Land (38):
0 Command Tower
0 City of Brass
0 Jungle Shrine
0 Tarnished Citadel
0 Taiga
0 Savannah
0 Plateau
0 Stomping Ground
0 Sacred Foundry
0 Temple Garden
0 Rootbound Crag
0 Sunpetal Grove
0 Arid Mesa
0 Wooded Foothills
0 Windswept Heath
0 Misty Rainforest
0 Flooded Strand
0 Scalding Tarn
0 Krosan Verge
0 Temple of the False God
0 Flamekin Village
0 Slayers' Stronghold
0 Kessig Wolf Run
0 Gavony Township
5 Mountains
4 Plains
5 Forest
This is by far my favorite commander deck that I've ever built so I've decided to keep improving it - it will probably become less and less "budget" over time! My plan is to trade/upgrade over time drawing from this list:
I'm completely open to additions/revisions! What do you think this deck needs?
- Artifact Mutation Chaos Warp is way more versatile. I'm a little sad about the loss of flavor though =/
- Aura Mutation Aura Shards is a million times better.
- Wurmcalling Never really wanted to cast this. Sorcery that eats up all your mana and leaves you tapped out. Recurable but too expensive even in the late game. Avenger is much better.
- Nature's Claim Good card, I just have enough removal. Actually might still have too much.
- Into the Core Exiling artifacts is nice but overkill with the addition of Aura Shards. Removal was already strong and I'd rather have Witness in case a key card is blown up.
+ Chaos Warp Stolen from the Red Precon
+ Aura Shards Also from a friend. An absolute beating if it sticks. There will be no more artifacts/enchantments after 1 turn!
+ Avenger of Zendikar Excellent late game draw that turns on all additional land drops.
+ Weathered Wayfarer Picked this up from a friend. Really great ramping/fixing, cheap too.
+ Eternal Witness Solid recursion, found a few extra bucks to pick one up.
Changes 12/31/14:
- Anger Sometimes hard to get into a graveyard/keep it there... Costs 4.
- Mountain
+ Hammer of Purphoros Forgot about it actually lol. Costs 3, makes token Golems.
+ Flamekin Village Haste can be nice! Still taps for R.
Changes 2/15/13:
- Fresh Meat Never did much for me.
+ Purphoros, God of the Forge Another wincon for when I can't profitably attack.
Changes 3/28/15:
- Ogre Battledriver I like that he gives +2/+0 but keeping him alive isn't as easy as keepingg Anger in a 'yard. Double Red is actually a little harder than I thought.
- Condemn New tuck rules make this even more meh than it already was.
+ Anger It's just so ugly though...
+ Outpost Siege Not sure if this will stay in, but it does fit with the enchantment theme I'm trying to give the deck
Changes 4/26/15:
- Weathered Wayfarer Rarely worked in this build because I'm often the one ramping the fastest...
- Increasing Savagery Gives Marath a ton of counters, but also paints an even bigger target on him.
- Hardened Scales I've gone back and forth on this, but I just feel like it's not impactful enough to run.
- Forest
+ Secure the Wastes Super excited to try this out. The card I'm most interested to try from Dragons of Tarkir.
+ Shamanic Revelation I hesitated to run this for a while because it does nothing on an empty board. BUT I really never have an empty board with Marath and card draw has been an issue lately. I hate topdecking.
+ Sterling Grove Latest step towards an enchantment subtheme. Protects important doubling enchantments and/or tutors for them.
+ Mountain Slightly a-proportional, but I have a few cards with double R, and Marath need R too so I think it will help
Changes 5/14/15:
- Kher Keep Township is a lot better.
- Forest
- Hull Breach I run a lot of artifact/enchantment hate already. I'd rather advance my own plan.
+ Gavony Township Can potentially put a lot of power on the board.
+ City of Brass Should improve the consistency by a bit. I really like how it performed in Roon.
+ Spawnwrithe Seems cool because it can really snowball. Should be good in multiplayer when hopefully one person is without a blocker.
Changes 6/11/15:
- Explosive Vegetation
+ Garruk, Wildspeaker Should do about the same thing but better. Will hang out here until I make 5 color plainswalker
Changes 7/12/15:
- Forgotten Ancient Decent but vulnerable/predictable.
- Acidic Slime Flexibile but I didn't have many ways to abuse it.
- Rampaging Baloths Never felt like this was worth 6 mana when I drew it.
- Fecundity Sooo much more excited for Pod. So happy it was banned!
- Plains
+ Scavenging Ooze Much needed gravehate which can grow huge!
+ Path to Exile Awesome FNM Promo!
+ Mirror Entity Thank you MM15, very cheap now!
+ Sun Titan Gives me some much needed recursion/late game power.
+ Kessig Wolf Run The new and improved Marath: Now with Trample!
Changes 8/16/15:
- Impact Tremors Great when it worked out but often did nothing. I don't think I want to go deep enough into the enchantment sub-theme enough to really get the payoff.
- Phyrexian Rebirth I would rather go in a more proactive direction and leaving one big dork usually didn't accomplish much.
- Anger Battledriver gives +2/+0, my mana is good enough to run him instead now.
+ Greater Good Trying to improve my lategate card draw. Marath can fizzle out sometimes.
+ Evolutionary Leap A much cheaper substitute for Survival, seems good on 1/1 tokens to keep pressure up. Also kinda negates targeted removal.
+ Ogre Battledriver See above.
Changes 12/05/15:
- Mountain x2
- Plains x3
- Forest x3
- Sungrass Prairie
- Mossfire Valley
- Grove of the Guardian
- Contested Cliffs
- Primal Vigor Giving my enemies extra things is probably a bad idea.
- Tempt with Vengeance No one is ever tempted and I already run Secure the Wastes.
- Rootborn Defenses Leaving up mana isn't worth it.
- Swiftfoot Boots Equip 1>0.
- Birds of Paradise With my new manabase BoP isn't necessary.
+ Stomping Ground
+ Sacred Foundry
+ Temple Garden
+ Taiga
+ Savannah
+ Plateau
+ Arid Mesa
+ Wooded Foothills
+ Windswept Heath
+ Misty Rainforest
+ Flooded Strand
+ Scalding Tarn
+ Mana Reflection Yay Pucatrade!
+ Basilisk Collar Another way to turn Marath into a machine gun.
+ Lightning Greaves Equip 1>0.
+ Eldrazi Monument Not sure about this, but wrath protection + evasion seems good. Thanks C15!
+ Xenagos, the Reveler With Theros rotating it's gotten cheap. This deck is manahungry and with a doubler out he makes two hasty tokens/turn. We will see if he's worth it, but he seems fun.
Thanks so much in advance!
Joel
Wort, the Raidmother is another cheap card that looks fun and it gives you tokens.
Giving your general deathtouch is like handing him a machine gun. Check out the equipments that give death touch.
--Michael
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
I would look at finding cards like Rampant Growth, Fertalid, Explosive Vegetation, Farhave Elf, and Kodama's Reach. In addition, I would probably take Keeper of Progenitus and Basalt Monolith out. Keeper can backfire and help other people, and is better to have land ramp if you aren't trying to combo off.
Also, here are some cheap token makers that might be more efficient than cards like Tempt with Vengeance, Wurmcalling, and Trostani's Summoner: Jade Mage, Ant Queen, Selesnya Guildmage, Emeria Angel.
Like I said, it looks pretty good, these are just some cheap options to consider.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
I was able to trade around for a few more staples/goodies so my deck ended up looking like this:
1 Marath, Will of the Wild
Ramp:
1 Wood Elves
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Cultivate
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Krosan Verge
1 Temple of the False God
1 Farseek
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Sol Ring
1 Kodama's Reach
Tokens:
1 Kher Keep
1 Wurmcalling
1 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
1 Cathars' Crusade
1 Assemble the Legion
1 Trostani's Summoner
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Tempt with Vengeance
Removal:
1 Nature's Claim
1 Aura Mutation
1 Artifact Mutation
1 Condemn
1 Krosan Grip
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Acidic Slime
1 Into the Core
1 Hull Breach
1 Return to Dust
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Sundering Growth
1 Beast Within
1 Aurelia's Fury
1 Wear // Tear (Tear)
1 Glare of Subdual
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Suture Priest
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Nightshade Peddler
1 Anger
1 Ogre Battledriver
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Gahiji, Honored One
1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
Draw:
1 Harmonize
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Fecundity
1 Mentor of the Meek
1 Skullclamp
Counters:
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Increasing Savagery
1 Hardened Scales
Doublers:
1 Primal Vigor
1 Parallel Lives
1 Mirari's Wake
Sweeper:
1 Rout
1 Phyrexian Rebirth
1 Hour of Reckoning
1 Dauntless Escort
1 Fresh Meat
1 Rootborn Defenses
1 Requiem Angel
1 Boros Charm
Land:
1 Mossfire Valley
1 Sungrass Prairie
1 Tarnished Citadel
1 Contested Cliffs
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Command Tower
1 Grove of the Guardian
I'm still looking for ways to aquire all the other excellent suggestions posted here, this is a work in progress!
I'm really struggling to decide how many basics of each color I should add though! Magic Assistant gives me the following data:
White-12
White/Red-3
Green-25
White/Green-8
Red-6
Red/Green-2
White/Green/Red-2
I'm sure there's a thread on how to turn this mathematically into cards, can someone help me find it or help me learn the process/formula? I'm currently at 75 cards including nonbasic lands.
- Artifact Mutation Chaos Warp is way more versatile. I'm a little sad about the loss of flavor though =/
- Aura Mutation Aura Shards is a million times better.
- Wurmcalling Never really wanted to cast this. Sorcery that eats up all your mana and leaves you tapped out. Recurable but too expensive even in the late game. Avenger is much better.
- Nature's Claim Good card, I just have enough removal. Actually might still have too much.
- Into the Core Exiling artifacts is nice but overkill with the addition of Aura Shards. Removal was already strong and I'd rather have Witness in case a key card is blown up.
+ Chaos Warp Stolen from the Red Precon
+ Aura Shards Also from a friend. An absolute beating if it sticks. There will be no more artifacts/enchantments after 1 turn!
+ Avenger of Zendikar Excellent late game draw that turns on all additional land drops.
+ Weathered Wayfarer Picked this up from a friend. Really great ramping/fixing, cheap too.
+ Eternal Witness Solid recursion, found a few extra bucks to pick one up.
I love how quickly this deck ramps up to speed and how versatile Marath is! Still wondering if my land allocation is correct.
Would love suggestions on more rapidly spamming token creatures - wondering if Assemble the Legion is too slow?
Also looking to pick up a copy of Privileged Position as enchantments are a key wincon for my token army.
Regrowth looks solid to me, I'll be looking at it going forward - just have to decide what to cut for it!
In the Web of War might replace Ogre Battledriver because it would be harder to hit, especially if I can pick up a copy of Privileged Position! Thanks!
Thanks for the Perilous Forays suggestion - I could see trying it out because of the insane ramp potential. Then again, usually I want my ramp to be on the field early and for 5 I might prefer a mana doubler like Mirari's Wake or Mana Echoes. Something to consider though, thanks!
- Anger Sometimes hard to get into a graveyard/keep it there... Costs 4.
- Mountain
+ Hammer of Purphoros Forgot about it actually lol. Costs 3, makes token Golems.
+ Flamekin Village Haste can be nice! Still taps for R.
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
Xenagos, the Reveler, Oracle of Mul Daya (and perhaps Courser of Kruphix), and Basilisk Collar are all on my want list!
Thanks for the excellent suggestions!
- Weathered Wayfarer Rarely worked in this build because I'm often the one ramping the fastest...
- Increasing Savagery Gives Marath a ton of counters, but also paints an even bigger target on him.
- Hardened Scales I've gone back and forth on this, but I just feel like it's not impactful enough to run.
- Forest
+ Secure the Wastes Super excited to try this out. The card I'm most interested to try from Dragons of Tarkir.
+ Shamanic Revelation I hesitated to run this for a while because it does nothing on an empty board. BUT I really never have an empty board with Marath and card draw has been an issue lately. I hate topdecking.
+ Sterling Grove Latest step towards an enchantment subtheme. Protects important doubling enchantments and/or tutors for them.
+ Mountain Slightly a-proportional, but I have a few cards with double R, and Marath need R too so I think it will help.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/main-deck-naya/
This is a deck I've been building for my brother. Marath synergizes most with enchantment cards so you might as well upgrade the enchantment sub theme to a core idea.
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
I don't think it works that way, actually: cast Marath for 3, get 4 counters / for 5, get 6 counters. Each time you cast him it gets a bit worse. If you move counters around I guess it doubles his power but that costs mana too.
I like your enchantress theme - seems like your list could use In the Web of War. How has Mana Echoes performed for you? I'm considering turning the subtheme into a bigger part of the build but I worry it would take away from tokens and make it much more fragile. Let me know how it works out!
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
Can you explain how Hardened Scales combos with Mana Echoes and Marath? I see how you can make a ton of mana but what does Scales add?
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
Changes 5/3/15:
- Sundering Growth I have enough artifact/enchantment hate already.
- Wear // Tear Ditto above.
- Wild Ricochet Often a dead draw, plus Marath is kindof his own protection.
- Aurelia's Fury Never did much.
+ Explosive Vegetation I really like ramping up!
+ Mana Echoes Another step towards enchantment theme, ramp,
+ Impact Tremors Although going wide with tokens might be fragile, I really like it. I want to try to make it viable.
+ Jazal Goldmane Anthem seems good if I'm committing to going wide.
Impact Tremors 2 cmc, damage comes from creature entering and hits each player. Costs no mana afterwards.
Jazal Goldmane 4 cmc, damage comes from a 5 mana activated ability that requires attacking.
If you only could slot in one, which idea sounds better? With a lower cmc, a harder permanent type to target, and a passive effect that will dish out mutual hate instead of having to decide what player to go to war with, Impact Tremors sounds like the safest way to victory. That is what the linked list tries to do. Swinging with board is your last resort, and if the rest of your deck ramps, draws, or has enchantment synergy you will always end up with a big enough army to do the job. Otherwise you will assemble some kind of combo or have the mana to Plea for Guidance and cast the combo same turn. The biggest ones are Hardened Scales, Earthcraft, Mana Echoes, Food Chain Cathar's Crusade, (theres a green creature from ravnica that will combo similar to crusade with marath)
URXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
URGWKynaios and Tiro's Multiplayer MenagerieWGRU
Combo is totally legit, it's just not really me. I have Mana Echoes in here (and in fact just made about 300 colorless with it!),and while it is a combo with Cathar's Crusade it's unintentional and won't come up often. I feel like both are good on their own which is not as true for me re: Hardened Scales.
- Kher Keep Township is a lot better.
- Forest
- Hull Breach I run a lot of artifact/enchantment hate already. I'd rather advance my own plan.
+ Gavony Township Can potentially put a lot of power on the board.
+ City of Brass Should improve the consistency by a bit. I really like how it performed in Roon.
+ Spawnwrithe Seems cool because it can really snowball. Should be good in multiplayer when hopefully one person is without a blocker.
Of course, I do know people that enjoy the land. Unfortunately, the extra mana out tales doesn't count towards Marath's ability which makes it much worse. It is a preference based card though.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Thanks for the suggestion NimBalor - I considered it initially but it seemed like too small of a benefit for the price. I think I would rather run a basic to be honest! I considered guildgates but honestly with the amount of ramp/fixing (Kodama's Reach and the like) I run this deck doesn't run into many mana issues. On that note:
Changes 6/11/15:
- Explosive Vegetation
+ Garruk, Wildspeaker Should do about the same thing but better. Will hang out here until I make 5 color plainswalker