By playing outpost or chandra you are making the deck less aggressive which is really what this deck tries to do, curve seeker/grand master into rabblemaster into thunderbreak into stormbreath. If you want to add card draw than this deck needs a more powerful end game like Elspeth or Ugin otherwise it won't be able to compete with "Bigger" midrange deck like Abzan which is gaining popularity again.
I would rather play more utility spells like Utter End or Hero's Downfall. IMHO I think this is what this deck is lacking at the moment. Unfortunately this will strain the mana base especially with multiple Haven of the spirit dragons main deck.
Chandra and outpost are very weak cards in a deck with 5 cmc cards. I agree the slots are better used for utility spells. Somebody said earlier thay the deck is soft to planeswalkers and I agree. I am playing two utter end in side board but I feel that is not enough.
I don't see how soft it is to planeswalkers. If you dont redirect the roar damage, sorin and others will live.Doom will often take out a resolved sorin or others.
2 and 3 damage is only effective in killing a minused sorin, or a xenagost that has only zeroed. Every other walker that pluses, requires you to hit the walker with a creature plus a burn spell.
I don't see how soft it is to planeswalkers. If you dont redirect the roar damage, sorin and others will live.Doom will often take out a resolved sorin or others.
and how about Elspeth? or Ugin? This deck really needs at least a couple of Hero's Downfall main deck. The deck's weakness to planeswalker is also the reason I'm thinking of cutting W entirely and just go with B/R. Cutting W makes it easier to cast downfall, crux and anger. The addition of Hero's downfall also makes foul tonge invocation more effective because we can use invocation early in the game while holding downfall for precision removal.
I been playing red black for last few weeks and just recently added the white. Basically if your meta is polarized all agro and control then red black is what you want. If you meta if full of grindy mid range then mardu is better. Either way these type of decks are meta game dependant in their success.
I been playing red black for last few weeks and just recently added the white. Basically if your meta is polarized all agro and control then red black is what you want. If you meta if full of grindy mid range then mardu is better. Either way these type of decks are meta game dependant in their success.
I have to disagree. I've been playing the Mardu Dragons for 2 weeks now and its weakness is actually against grindy midrange deck that you can't get underneath. The deck lacks card draws to grind it out, basically, especially against abzan midrange.
I see almost all of the lists are running at least one copy of Elspeth, Sun's Champion in the sideboard. When does she come in? I can't say I ever find myself thinking "Elspeth would be great in this matchup".
She is a midrange killer especially against ground midrange deck like abzan, G/x devotion, G/x collected company.
I brought my Elspeth in every matchup, replacing different things. She'd replace a stormbreath against RDW, a Thunderbreaker against Abzan, and a Draconic Roar against Esper. This is done because she isn't better in the aggregate, but is better individually depending on the match-up.
My tournament went:
R1:2-1 Sidisi Whip (w/ raptor & protector)
R2:2-1 4c Company
R3:1-2 mirror.
R4:2-1 MonoRed aggro
R5:2-0 Temur aggro
R6:2-0 Esper Dragons
top8: 2-0 mirror (same guy I played earlier)
top4: 1-2 G/r devotion
Thoughts on deck and matchups.
Commands and Soulfire overperformed for me, but I don't see any reason to go up the numbers on main.
Foul-Tongue was not so good, rarely it hit the creature I needed and they suck in the G/x devotion matchup, maybe I'll try some number of Downfalls on main this weekend (adding 1 urborg MD too) and move the edicts to side.
I think the masteries on SB are a little too much, our matchup is already good against esper and besides the Roars we have no dead cards against them MD.
With the meta moving towards raptor.decs the controls should diminute in numbers, which benefits devotion decks (which I think are one of the thoughest matches for us. If we don't draw removal heavy, he can set a good board, reducing the efience of crackling doom/foul-tongue) I'm considering adding more cheap removal like +1 Murderous Cut or even +1 roast somewhere in the 75.
Please, if you decide to glance at this list, don't be too harsh! I know I'm a little long winded, but I wanted to make all of my decisions in playing this deck apparent and explainable. I enjoy the list so much that I had to share it with everyone here!
I'm a longtime lurker and very early adopter/poster in the Mardu Midrange primer. During the first few weeks and states events that Khans was legal, I played Mardu heavily and participated in what became the golden age for us players, only to have it fall away in fire and brimstone as Abzan became the most popular style of deck. For me, what pushed me away from the deck was the move to Chain the Rocks/Hordling Outburst/Seeker. I was a lover of the harder control elements (Despise, Thoughtsieze, Mardu Charm), and although I played the (then) newer versions of the deck, I quickly became disenfranchised from the state of the deck and hopped on the Abzan Aggro choo choo.
A few weeks back I was looking through cards that needed bindered and ran into the collection of cards I had set aside for this deck; Foily Sorins, Mardu Charms, the land base...foil Butchers and Crackling Dooms. I felt a pang of regret for abandoning a deck that I cared about so much, and decided that with a few weeks of tournaments coming up I should redevelop the deck into something I wanted to play and attack the meta from a different direction.
I did just that. I brainstormed what I thought could help the deck more. Obviously, Mardu Dragons is doing better than its predecessors--however, I wasn't entirely happy resigning myself to a Mardu Dragons list. I wanted something different.
Thus, I brewed and brewed and brewed until I came up with an idea I wanted to test at one of my Sunday tournaments. I came to call it a number of things: Marblu. Marxis. Marset. Ultimately, I settled on the name Marjutai.
The deck performed well in testing. I played against Atarka Red, Green White Devotion, Esper/American/UW/UB Control variants, Dragon Control, Jeskai Tokens, and Abzan Aggro. The first tournament I played with it (two weeks ago) I did extremely well, and made some necessary changes. I had a really good match versus U/B Control in my finals, but ultimately lost; even before that, I had extremely close matches with Jeskai Tokens, and was blown out by topdecking a few land too many. It took a lot of fennagling to get the deck to how it is presented above, however I have since made changes due to more experience at a handful of tournaments this week, those being:
Now to go over my choices, possible changes, and how the deck performed overall.
I went 2-0 versus 4Color Company, 2-0 vs Bant Dragon Control, 2-0 vs Atarka Red, 2-1 vs U/R Artifact, and 2-1 vs Temur Company. We broke into top eight and I went 1-2 vs the same Atarka Red Player (this purely because of Virulent Plague, a sideboard choice I made on a whim due to a friend and ended up deeply regretting).
By now you're probably asking, 'Why splash for Narset and Ojutai? Why Dilute the deck?'. My whole goal was two fold: Find a place for Narset to abuse her latent power, and replace Sarkhan, Dragonspeaker with a resilient threat that can't be answered easily.
Narset Transcendant is insane. I focused my early game on hitting Despise and Raise the Alarm, entirely for protection (and, in the earlier version of the deck, assistance for Butcher). Often, I find myself slinging my 3cc spells before I resolve a Narset or Sorin. Once I feel confident, Narset hits the field and immediately ticks up to 7. Things get a lot more fun from here--the opponent either gets rid of her immediately out of necessity, or loses to the power she puts through to the board if not handled. Over the course of the tournament, I recurred 5 Crackling Dooms, 2 Utter Ends, 2 Mardu Charms, 1 Raise the Alarm, 2 Kolaghan's Command, 1 Ultimate Price, 1 Murderous Cut. Every. Single. Activation. Was a gold mine. And that isn't counting hits off of a +1. Overall, I got so much more value out of her over, say...Read the Bones or Chandra, Pyromaster that my faith in her was vested correctly. I look forward to awkward looks when I cast her in the future.
Dragonlord Ojutai is a champion among champions. More often than not, he sat there as a blocker for a small time until I could restrain the board into a suitable position for me to swing. He's a monster when he does hit, with his Anticipate effectively sealing the deal against almost every opponent.
Now for the rest of my choices:
Raise the Alarm: Early blockers and in some cases pressure versus other decks. Originally meant as a body for Butcher or Sorin, the Instant Speed of this card has surprised some opponents and left many non-trampling creatures angry.
Seeker of the Way: An old friend who was originally Valorous Stance, I opted in for the 2x Seekers to supplement Kolaghan's Command and force through some early damage and/or Lifelink. Surprise +1/+1 after a Crackling Doom, Charm, or Alarm is sexy.
Mardu Charm: Absolutely INSANE. I argued for it in my early posts in this thread, and I continue to shout that THIS is the BEST card in the deck. There is never a moment I'm unhappy to see it. All modes are relevant a hundred percent of the time. First Striking Tokens ruin everyones day, and 4 Damage or Duress are not to be trifled with--ESPECIALLY with an active Narset on the field.
Kolaghan's Command: Originally Hero's Downfall, I decided to test this before my most recent tournament. It became one of the BEST choices I have ever made. My logic was that, although I run few creatures in the deck, getting back a Seeker, Brimaz, Thunderbreak, or Ojutai is always worth it. There are enough creatures in the early game for the 2 Damage to always matter, and the amount of times I saw an opponents face droop in sorrow after the modes 'Discard' and 'Return a dewder' were uttered was disgustingly lavish. I doubt I will be returning to Downfall in the mainboard. Depending on how reliant people become on Planeswalkers in the near future, that might change--however, I'm not too worried about that.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos: I toyed around with him when Mardu began, and fell in love. The Big Cat dies a lot, yes--however, with the Inclusion of Kolaghan's Command and the ability to run into him late game, I am not disappointed with his inclusion. He's won me more games than lost, and when he dies he does so ensuring that I have room clear for other things on the board.
The rest of my choices for the current mainboard are self-explanatory, however after playing this week, I've decided to make some changes in the 75:
Thunderbreak Regent: Quite possibly could become Butcher of the Horde once more. I tested him in lieu of the fact that many of my friends seemed to prefer Thunderbreak over Butcher; when removed, he does damage, and his body isn't something to fret over. However, in playing on Sunday, I never had a huge opportunity to resolve him. He was often the last thing in my hand, and although I could rely on him to drop and close a game out, I felt Butcher would be more relevant.
Drown in Sorrow/Virulent Plague: Originally I had changed from Drown to Plague because I wasn't confident in my BB anymore; I made room for Thunderbreak and Kolaghan's Command by switching out 2x Temple of Deceit for 2x Temple of Epiphany, and 2x BW Tapland for 2x RW Tapland. It didn't occur to me at the moment that Anger of the Gods would be a really good replacement, and that will most likely be changing in the sideboard.
Empty the Pits: Originally I used this in my side to combat control; however, I began thinking about my blue splash and how better to handle the current Dragon Control decks in standard. I settled on Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver. Although I didn't have the opportunity to resolve it against my one control match recently, I have had control playing friends set aback by his inclusion in my 75, not expecting it whatsoever.
Nyx-Fleece Ram: Being removed for either 3x Arashin Cleric or 3x Surge of Righteousness. Don't get me wrong--this card won me games against mono-red and Jeskai Tokens...however after some thoughts on efficiency and wanting to take things down with me when I block, I decided that the Ram would be better replaced by either card. I will be testing into the future; honestly, I'm leaning on Surge.
Despise: An all star card that has a ton of versatility, I rely on it in the mainboard to see an opponents hand and hit larger creatures or Planeswalkers. Often played alongside Thoughtsieze, I ran it before I had Seekers in the board to make up for life loss. However, now that I have Seekers and an tempted to go back to Butchers as well, this will easily become 3x Thoughtsieze. However, before I do make that change, I will most likely be testing Secure the Wastes as the 3x 1CC spell.
Finally, I want to discuss what most people will probably point out; my fractured manabase.
In all my early testing, I found that 4x Bloodstained Mire or 4x Flooded Strand was too much for the deck. I was either flooded in one color or another, and didn't have exactly what I needed at all times. Although it might look imperfect, the 2/2 split with 1x of each basic has been an absolute Godsend. There is not a single game I haven't been able to reliably hit a color. I am definitely open to criticism on the manabase, and will most likely be making small changes myself--those being, most prominently, room for a 4th Monastery.
With that said, I am leaning towards this decklist during my next tournament:
If I do decide to keep Thunderbreaks in the deck, I will most likely be creating room in the 75 for Foul-Tongue Invocation. Currently with Crackling Doom, I am not too horrified by the thought of an Ojutai or Baby Slimurgarger. Some amount of Foul-Tongue would definitely be useful, and I'd like to see how it played out.
Thank you so much to anyone who read through all of that. I typed this up on a whim due to how much I enjoyed the deck and how much I desperately wanted to share it with other people. If anyone decides to test it, PLEASE PM me so that I can hear about your experience! Any suggestions will read and listened to carefully!
I haven't had too much trouble with CiPT lands. Generally, I end up curving out appropriately turn 4, and we have so many good 3cc and 4cc spells that I don't worry about hitting 5CC on time. I've found that against Atarka Red or Abzan Aggro we level out and take over the game.
I've thought about Delta over Strand and decided against it because I dropped BB. I haven't had too many issues hitting black, but if it becomes prevalent I would swap Wind-Scarred Crag back to scoured Barens. As for Monestary, I've left it at 3 to mitigate seeing it to much.
Secure a the Wastes is a test card for me that will more than likely become Thoughtseize. However, I did think about running one or two Jeskai Charms in the main to help supplement the underlying token theme. It's modes would always be relevant as well, so I will definitely test it myself.
I will also look at making room for a third Seeker. He definitely over performs in his slot.
Thank you so much for the input. Please, by all means, test the deck with any changes you see suitable. I want this to become a solid lit that Mardu players can rely on.
Edit: I decided against Caves or Battlefield Forge because with the confluences, I was sometimes taking waaay to much damage to rely on them, especially in games where they would become my only source of that specified color.
In regards to a turn 3 Crackle, I've found that since we don't necessarily need our 4 drop to hit on time we can do a fetch or basic on turn 3 if a Crackle is needed immediately. Doing so will usually push us back a turn, but we can use this as a setup to stabilize.
I will definitely make room for a Secure the Wastes somewhere in the main. Whether it is a 1/3 split or just on its own.
For the charms, Kolaghan's command is also a flexible spot to move one or two Jeskai Charms into the deck. Unfortunately I won't make it to FNM tonight to perform any play in a non controlled environment.
I've become leery of painlands. For the longest time, I played a decent number in the Mardu token/aggro list and in some hands, I would end up only having pain for the colors I needed.
However, I am extremely happy to have you play with the list and see if it helps. For me, I've been happy engineering my pays with the mana base in mind.
Well we already have great replacements for stormbreath in Kolaghan and Sarkhan I'll be testing new liliana in place of rabblemaster and hopefully, get a few new tools to work with. Frankly I'd like to see a legitimate two drop come out of origins to push this deck further. That's been this deck achilles for some time. Seeker and soulfire are serviceable but I'd like to see a fleecemane lion level two drop for these colors. We also have Chandra and Gideon to look forward to as well.
Thank you! The mana base is ultimately a custom suite that you can tinker with as you would please. I've come to prefer what I've selected, and have had no problems with it.
In testing, I've played favorably against Abazn. The pressure can be a bit much, but postgame Ashiok has been a surprise house against it, and often I find either of us slinging a slew of very powerful cards. When it comes to topdeck, I personally feel we hold the advantage unless we've gotten ourselves too low, and I've really appreciated the flexibility of Mardu charm in the matchup. I still have yet to look forwards to testing Jeskai Charm, but will get back to everyone once I have!
Please feel free to test, as I'm looking for direct feedback!
I only recently started playing Mardu Dragons. So far I've been playing a pretty vanilla set up, but I've been wondering if it wouldn't be worth putting Anger of the Gods in the main deck. It seems like an absolute bomb against most decks in the meta right now, with the exception of Esper Dragons. If so, what would go out? Gobblin Rabblemaster? Seeker?
Anyone running Anger of the Gods in the main deck? What are your thoughts about that?
I only recently started playing Mardu Dragons. So far I've been playing a pretty vanilla set up, but I've been wondering if it wouldn't be worth putting Anger of the Gods in the main deck. It seems like an absolute bomb against most decks in the meta right now, with the exception of Esper Dragons. If so, what would go out? Gobblin Rabblemaster? Seeker?
Anyone running Anger of the Gods in the main deck? What are your thoughts about that?
How does your local metagame look like? Do you see a lot of raptors, den protectors, caryatids and elvish mystics? Do you see a lot of atarka/mono red decks? If that's the case it's probably very good to main deck anger. What to substitute is not as easy as just swapping them with rabblemasters, though. Mardu dragons rely on grandmasters and seekers for early damage so the dragons could finish the opponents during mid game. Playing anger main deck does make things a bit tricky because you could end up just trading card for card instead of 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 your opponent with anger.
Anyone have any idea for a replacement of soulfire grandmaster. I feel in mardu dragons that it just doesn't do enough. I mean a 2/2 for two is not good with very little upside. Versus mono decks and other aggressive decks where we need the life gain it usually just die's the turn we play it. The buyback is pretty much irrelevant and almost never happens. I just feel there has to be a something else in the two mana spot.
Anyone have any idea for a replacement of soulfire grandmaster. I feel in mardu dragons that it just doesn't do enough. I mean a 2/2 for two is not good with very little upside. Versus mono decks and other aggressive decks where we need the life gain it usually just die's the turn we play it. The buyback is pretty much irrelevant and almost never happens. I just feel there has to be a something else in the two mana spot.
I've been wondering the same thing. Especially if the meta has very strong green devotion/megamorph decks, Anger of the Gods in main would be great. At that point, I'd be tempted to get rid of all Soulmasters and Seekers and replace them with something red or black. That would cut white requirements to just Crackling Doom, and would make our mana base better (easier to cast Cruxes and Hero's Downfalls). I don't know which creatures I would add, but Birmaz is a 3-drop and double white, so it's probably not a great choice. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this too.
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I would rather play more utility spells like Utter End or Hero's Downfall. IMHO I think this is what this deck is lacking at the moment. Unfortunately this will strain the mana base especially with multiple Haven of the spirit dragons main deck.
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Curse PremiumThis is my list:
4x thunderbreak regent
4x stormbreath dragon
4x goblin rabblemaster
3x soulfire grand master
3x seeker of the way
2x kolaghan, the storm's fury
Spells:
4x crackling doom
3x draconic roar
2x foul-tongue invocation
2x kolaghan's command
1x murderous cut
3x thoughtseize
3x mountain
1x swamp
4x bloodstained mire
4x caves of koilos
4x nomad outpost
3x temple of triumph
1x temple of malice
1x temple of silence
2x battlefield forge
2x haven of the spirit dragon
2x crux of fate
2x mastery of the unseen
1x ultimate price
1x utter end
2x outpost siege
1x thoughtseize
1x sorin, solem visitor
1x glare of heresy
My tournament went:
R1:2-1 Sidisi Whip (w/ raptor & protector)
R2:2-1 4c Company
R3:1-2 mirror.
R4:2-1 MonoRed aggro
R5:2-0 Temur aggro
R6:2-0 Esper Dragons
top8: 2-0 mirror (same guy I played earlier)
top4: 1-2 G/r devotion
Thoughts on deck and matchups.
Commands and Soulfire overperformed for me, but I don't see any reason to go up the numbers on main.
Foul-Tongue was not so good, rarely it hit the creature I needed and they suck in the G/x devotion matchup, maybe I'll try some number of Downfalls on main this weekend (adding 1 urborg MD too) and move the edicts to side.
I think the masteries on SB are a little too much, our matchup is already good against esper and besides the Roars we have no dead cards against them MD.
With the meta moving towards raptor.decs the controls should diminute in numbers, which benefits devotion decks (which I think are one of the thoughest matches for us. If we don't draw removal heavy, he can set a good board, reducing the efience of crackling doom/foul-tongue) I'm considering adding more cheap removal like +1 Murderous Cut or even +1 roast somewhere in the 75.
Please, if you decide to glance at this list, don't be too harsh! I know I'm a little long winded, but I wanted to make all of my decisions in playing this deck apparent and explainable. I enjoy the list so much that I had to share it with everyone here!
I'm a longtime lurker and very early adopter/poster in the Mardu Midrange primer. During the first few weeks and states events that Khans was legal, I played Mardu heavily and participated in what became the golden age for us players, only to have it fall away in fire and brimstone as Abzan became the most popular style of deck. For me, what pushed me away from the deck was the move to Chain the Rocks/Hordling Outburst/Seeker. I was a lover of the harder control elements (Despise, Thoughtsieze, Mardu Charm), and although I played the (then) newer versions of the deck, I quickly became disenfranchised from the state of the deck and hopped on the Abzan Aggro choo choo.
A few weeks back I was looking through cards that needed bindered and ran into the collection of cards I had set aside for this deck; Foily Sorins, Mardu Charms, the land base...foil Butchers and Crackling Dooms. I felt a pang of regret for abandoning a deck that I cared about so much, and decided that with a few weeks of tournaments coming up I should redevelop the deck into something I wanted to play and attack the meta from a different direction.
I did just that. I brainstormed what I thought could help the deck more. Obviously, Mardu Dragons is doing better than its predecessors--however, I wasn't entirely happy resigning myself to a Mardu Dragons list. I wanted something different.
Thus, I brewed and brewed and brewed until I came up with an idea I wanted to test at one of my Sunday tournaments. I came to call it a number of things: Marblu. Marxis. Marset. Ultimately, I settled on the name Marjutai.
4x Raise the Alarm
2x Valorous Stance
4x Crackling Doom
3x Hero's Downfall
4x Mardu Charm
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3x Narset Transcendant
3x Butcher of the Horde
2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Utter End
2x Dragonlord Ojutai
1x Murderous Cut
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2x Flooded Strand
2x Bloodstained Mire
4x Nomad Outpost
3x Mystic Monestary
3x Temple of Silence
2x Temple of Deceit
2x Scoured Barens
2x Mana Confluence
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Plains
1x Island
1x Swamp
1x Mountain
3x Thoughtsieze
2x Ultimate Price
3x Nyx-Fleece Ram
1x Utter End
2x End Hostilities
1x Empty the Pits
The deck performed well in testing. I played against Atarka Red, Green White Devotion, Esper/American/UW/UB Control variants, Dragon Control, Jeskai Tokens, and Abzan Aggro. The first tournament I played with it (two weeks ago) I did extremely well, and made some necessary changes. I had a really good match versus U/B Control in my finals, but ultimately lost; even before that, I had extremely close matches with Jeskai Tokens, and was blown out by topdecking a few land too many. It took a lot of fennagling to get the deck to how it is presented above, however I have since made changes due to more experience at a handful of tournaments this week, those being:
4x Raise the Alarm
2x Seeker of the Way
4x Crackling Doom
3x Kolaghan's Command
4x Mardu Charm
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3x Narset Transcendant
3x Thunderbreak Regent
2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Utter End
2x Dragonlord Ojutai
1x Murderous Cut
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2x Flooded Strand
2x Bloodstained Mire
4x Nomad Outpost
3x Mystic Monestary
3x Temple of Silence
2x Temple of Epiphany
2x Wind-scarred crag
2x Mana Confluence
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Plains
1x Island
1x Swamp
1x Mountain
3x Thoughtsieze
2x Ultimate Price
3x Nyx-Fleece Ram
1x Utter End
1x End Hostilities
2x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
Now to go over my choices, possible changes, and how the deck performed overall.
I went 2-0 versus 4Color Company, 2-0 vs Bant Dragon Control, 2-0 vs Atarka Red, 2-1 vs U/R Artifact, and 2-1 vs Temur Company. We broke into top eight and I went 1-2 vs the same Atarka Red Player (this purely because of Virulent Plague, a sideboard choice I made on a whim due to a friend and ended up deeply regretting).
By now you're probably asking, 'Why splash for Narset and Ojutai? Why Dilute the deck?'. My whole goal was two fold: Find a place for Narset to abuse her latent power, and replace Sarkhan, Dragonspeaker with a resilient threat that can't be answered easily.
Narset Transcendant is insane. I focused my early game on hitting Despise and Raise the Alarm, entirely for protection (and, in the earlier version of the deck, assistance for Butcher). Often, I find myself slinging my 3cc spells before I resolve a Narset or Sorin. Once I feel confident, Narset hits the field and immediately ticks up to 7. Things get a lot more fun from here--the opponent either gets rid of her immediately out of necessity, or loses to the power she puts through to the board if not handled. Over the course of the tournament, I recurred 5 Crackling Dooms, 2 Utter Ends, 2 Mardu Charms, 1 Raise the Alarm, 2 Kolaghan's Command, 1 Ultimate Price, 1 Murderous Cut. Every. Single. Activation. Was a gold mine. And that isn't counting hits off of a +1. Overall, I got so much more value out of her over, say...Read the Bones or Chandra, Pyromaster that my faith in her was vested correctly. I look forward to awkward looks when I cast her in the future.
Dragonlord Ojutai is a champion among champions. More often than not, he sat there as a blocker for a small time until I could restrain the board into a suitable position for me to swing. He's a monster when he does hit, with his Anticipate effectively sealing the deal against almost every opponent.
Now for the rest of my choices:
Raise the Alarm: Early blockers and in some cases pressure versus other decks. Originally meant as a body for Butcher or Sorin, the Instant Speed of this card has surprised some opponents and left many non-trampling creatures angry.
Seeker of the Way: An old friend who was originally Valorous Stance, I opted in for the 2x Seekers to supplement Kolaghan's Command and force through some early damage and/or Lifelink. Surprise +1/+1 after a Crackling Doom, Charm, or Alarm is sexy.
Mardu Charm: Absolutely INSANE. I argued for it in my early posts in this thread, and I continue to shout that THIS is the BEST card in the deck. There is never a moment I'm unhappy to see it. All modes are relevant a hundred percent of the time. First Striking Tokens ruin everyones day, and 4 Damage or Duress are not to be trifled with--ESPECIALLY with an active Narset on the field.
Kolaghan's Command: Originally Hero's Downfall, I decided to test this before my most recent tournament. It became one of the BEST choices I have ever made. My logic was that, although I run few creatures in the deck, getting back a Seeker, Brimaz, Thunderbreak, or Ojutai is always worth it. There are enough creatures in the early game for the 2 Damage to always matter, and the amount of times I saw an opponents face droop in sorrow after the modes 'Discard' and 'Return a dewder' were uttered was disgustingly lavish. I doubt I will be returning to Downfall in the mainboard. Depending on how reliant people become on Planeswalkers in the near future, that might change--however, I'm not too worried about that.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos: I toyed around with him when Mardu began, and fell in love. The Big Cat dies a lot, yes--however, with the Inclusion of Kolaghan's Command and the ability to run into him late game, I am not disappointed with his inclusion. He's won me more games than lost, and when he dies he does so ensuring that I have room clear for other things on the board.
The rest of my choices for the current mainboard are self-explanatory, however after playing this week, I've decided to make some changes in the 75:
Thunderbreak Regent: Quite possibly could become Butcher of the Horde once more. I tested him in lieu of the fact that many of my friends seemed to prefer Thunderbreak over Butcher; when removed, he does damage, and his body isn't something to fret over. However, in playing on Sunday, I never had a huge opportunity to resolve him. He was often the last thing in my hand, and although I could rely on him to drop and close a game out, I felt Butcher would be more relevant.
Drown in Sorrow/Virulent Plague: Originally I had changed from Drown to Plague because I wasn't confident in my BB anymore; I made room for Thunderbreak and Kolaghan's Command by switching out 2x Temple of Deceit for 2x Temple of Epiphany, and 2x BW Tapland for 2x RW Tapland. It didn't occur to me at the moment that Anger of the Gods would be a really good replacement, and that will most likely be changing in the sideboard.
Empty the Pits: Originally I used this in my side to combat control; however, I began thinking about my blue splash and how better to handle the current Dragon Control decks in standard. I settled on Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver. Although I didn't have the opportunity to resolve it against my one control match recently, I have had control playing friends set aback by his inclusion in my 75, not expecting it whatsoever.
Nyx-Fleece Ram: Being removed for either 3x Arashin Cleric or 3x Surge of Righteousness. Don't get me wrong--this card won me games against mono-red and Jeskai Tokens...however after some thoughts on efficiency and wanting to take things down with me when I block, I decided that the Ram would be better replaced by either card. I will be testing into the future; honestly, I'm leaning on Surge.
Despise: An all star card that has a ton of versatility, I rely on it in the mainboard to see an opponents hand and hit larger creatures or Planeswalkers. Often played alongside Thoughtsieze, I ran it before I had Seekers in the board to make up for life loss. However, now that I have Seekers and an tempted to go back to Butchers as well, this will easily become 3x Thoughtsieze. However, before I do make that change, I will most likely be testing Secure the Wastes as the 3x 1CC spell.
Finally, I want to discuss what most people will probably point out; my fractured manabase.
In all my early testing, I found that 4x Bloodstained Mire or 4x Flooded Strand was too much for the deck. I was either flooded in one color or another, and didn't have exactly what I needed at all times. Although it might look imperfect, the 2/2 split with 1x of each basic has been an absolute Godsend. There is not a single game I haven't been able to reliably hit a color. I am definitely open to criticism on the manabase, and will most likely be making small changes myself--those being, most prominently, room for a 4th Monastery.
With that said, I am leaning towards this decklist during my next tournament:
4x Raise the Alarm
2x Seeker of the Way
4x Crackling Doom
3x Kolaghan's Command
4x Mardu Charm
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3x Narset Transcendant
3x Butcher of the Horde
2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Utter End
2x Dragonlord Ojutai
1x Murderous Cut
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2x Flooded Strand
2x Bloodstained Mire
4x Nomad Outpost
3x Mystic Monestary
3x Temple of Silence
2x Temple of Epiphany
2x Wind-scarred crag
2x Mana Confluence
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Plains
1x Island
1x Swamp
1x Mountain
3x Thoughtsieze
2x Ultimate Price
3x Surge of Righteousness
1x Utter End
1x End Hostilities
2x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
If I do decide to keep Thunderbreaks in the deck, I will most likely be creating room in the 75 for Foul-Tongue Invocation. Currently with Crackling Doom, I am not too horrified by the thought of an Ojutai or Baby Slimurgarger. Some amount of Foul-Tongue would definitely be useful, and I'd like to see how it played out.
Thank you so much to anyone who read through all of that. I typed this up on a whim due to how much I enjoyed the deck and how much I desperately wanted to share it with other people. If anyone decides to test it, PLEASE PM me so that I can hear about your experience! Any suggestions will read and listened to carefully!
I've thought about Delta over Strand and decided against it because I dropped BB. I haven't had too many issues hitting black, but if it becomes prevalent I would swap Wind-Scarred Crag back to scoured Barens. As for Monestary, I've left it at 3 to mitigate seeing it to much.
Secure a the Wastes is a test card for me that will more than likely become Thoughtseize. However, I did think about running one or two Jeskai Charms in the main to help supplement the underlying token theme. It's modes would always be relevant as well, so I will definitely test it myself.
I will also look at making room for a third Seeker. He definitely over performs in his slot.
Thank you so much for the input. Please, by all means, test the deck with any changes you see suitable. I want this to become a solid lit that Mardu players can rely on.
Edit: I decided against Caves or Battlefield Forge because with the confluences, I was sometimes taking waaay to much damage to rely on them, especially in games where they would become my only source of that specified color.
I will definitely make room for a Secure the Wastes somewhere in the main. Whether it is a 1/3 split or just on its own.
For the charms, Kolaghan's command is also a flexible spot to move one or two Jeskai Charms into the deck. Unfortunately I won't make it to FNM tonight to perform any play in a non controlled environment.
I've become leery of painlands. For the longest time, I played a decent number in the Mardu token/aggro list and in some hands, I would end up only having pain for the colors I needed.
However, I am extremely happy to have you play with the list and see if it helps. For me, I've been happy engineering my pays with the mana base in mind.
Again, your input is extremely appreciated!
How good of a choice is this deck going forward? Including what parts will rotate, how the meta will adapt to it, etc. Seems fun.
Modern
UBR Grixis Control
U Merfolk
Pauper
U Mono U Delver
Ancestral Visions is freed
In testing, I've played favorably against Abazn. The pressure can be a bit much, but postgame Ashiok has been a surprise house against it, and often I find either of us slinging a slew of very powerful cards. When it comes to topdeck, I personally feel we hold the advantage unless we've gotten ourselves too low, and I've really appreciated the flexibility of Mardu charm in the matchup. I still have yet to look forwards to testing Jeskai Charm, but will get back to everyone once I have!
Please feel free to test, as I'm looking for direct feedback!
Anyone running Anger of the Gods in the main deck? What are your thoughts about that?
How does your local metagame look like? Do you see a lot of raptors, den protectors, caryatids and elvish mystics? Do you see a lot of atarka/mono red decks? If that's the case it's probably very good to main deck anger. What to substitute is not as easy as just swapping them with rabblemasters, though. Mardu dragons rely on grandmasters and seekers for early damage so the dragons could finish the opponents during mid game. Playing anger main deck does make things a bit tricky because you could end up just trading card for card instead of 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 your opponent with anger.
I'm trying out hoogland's list tonight. I don't like playing Mardu with haven of the spirit dragon. The manabase is too messed up.
Or remove them all and add maybe anger of the gods and brimaz?
I've been wondering the same thing. Especially if the meta has very strong green devotion/megamorph decks, Anger of the Gods in main would be great. At that point, I'd be tempted to get rid of all Soulmasters and Seekers and replace them with something red or black. That would cut white requirements to just Crackling Doom, and would make our mana base better (easier to cast Cruxes and Hero's Downfalls). I don't know which creatures I would add, but Birmaz is a 3-drop and double white, so it's probably not a great choice. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this too.