Hitting double-black for Hero's Downfall is going to be problematic with your mana base. There is absolutely no reason to be running 6 mountain in a deck without Chained to the Rocks. I'd start by shaving 2-3 mountains, adding an Urborg and some more R/x mana sources.
I think Utter End can sub-in for one of the Downfalls as it's a great universal answer main board. More than one Erebos also seems like over-kill and you'd be better served simply playing an erase to battle the Whip decks. I recommend a 2nd Elspeth when playing the Anger/End Hostilities post-board.
You have a lot of 3cmc 1:1 removal and I worry that your Jeskai Tokens matchup will be a challenge. I would personally run the full playset of Hordeling Outburst and likely shave 1 Stoke.
Hitting double-black for Hero's Downfall is going to be problematic with your mana base. There is absolutely no reason to be running 6 mountain in a deck without Chained to the Rocks. I'd start by shaving 2-3 mountains, adding an Urborg and some more R/x mana sources.
I think Utter End can sub-in for one of the Downfalls as it's a great universal answer main board. More than one Erebos also seems like over-kill and you'd be better served simply playing an erase to battle the Whip decks. I recommend a 2nd Elspeth when playing the Anger/End Hostilities post-board.
You have a lot of 3cmc 1:1 removal and I worry that your Jeskai Tokens matchup will be a challenge. I would personally run the full playset of Hordeling Outburst and likely shave 1 Stoke.
Thanks. I started pulling the list together last night at like 2am. After ditching Chained I forgot about the extra mountains. Let me tweak this a little now that I'm not exhausted and repost
OK, how about this. More thoughts on maybe adding Doomwake Giant to the SB for token matchups? I also keep flipping between the 1 Stormbreath Dragon vs 1 [card]Wingmate Roc
[/card]
Looks a ton better, just work on your SB plans. Looks like you have the tools necessary as long as your board correctly. I don't love Doomwake personally, you have enough ways to clear the board with 5 sweepers. Stick with Stormbreath, he'll win you games
Looks a ton better, just work on your SB plans. Looks like you have the tools necessary as long as your board correctly. I don't love Doomwake personally, you have enough ways to clear the board with 5 sweepers. Stick with Stormbreath, he'll win you games
Thanks. I'll give this a whirl. I also thought about -1 Anger of the Gods for +1 Arc Lightning for some token control
Coming from playing Boss Sligh, this feels so slow to me LOL. I feel like it's missing either a set of early creatures (1-2cmc) or more early removal. Seems like more often than not you're sitting, doing nothing, waiting to get up to 3-4 lands. With all the tapped lands, it could be turn 4-5 before you can even do something. Would love to add a +4 of Tymaret into this but have no idea what to sacrifice.
Hordeling Outburst Elspeth, Sun's Champion Thoughtseize
Are other numbers i don't care for as they are, so i'd add +1 of each of these, but then you'd be radically changing your list. Personally i don't run rabblemaster or Butcher in favor of more swingy and hard to deal with cards, but that's my list. Also you have a TON of land, i'd cut one or 2 but again, that's a bit radical, and you'd have to change a lot more with the second half of the changes i listed so caveat emptor.
Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I think 2 elspeth is plenty. She's awesome but drawing multiples can be awkward. maybe add a sarkhan chandra or downfall instead. And again, stormbreath is the nuts, i prefer him over brimaz, but brimaz has synergies with butcher that are hard to ignore in a list like yours.
Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
One thing you will note is you have more fetches than things to get with them, as they're only useful if you draw your one urborg once you're all fetched out.. You also look like you'll be taking a TON of damage from your lands.
Edit: there's a plains in there instead of a swamp Edited to fix
After playing Jeskai Tokens for the past 2 and a half weeks, I think I want to come back to Mardu. As bananas as the deck is with Ascendancy in play, it's just so anemic without it. Even with all the burn in the world, games are tough to close out against a lot of matchups. Though with the "tokens" in mind, I changed around some ideas on my old Mardu deck to make it more tokens oriented while still leaving a beefy top end.
I found that Seeker of the Way dies immediately and all the time. He is ALWAYS a priority kill and rarely lives to see turn 3 or 4. Monastery Swiftspear is still seen as a threat, but not as potent as Seeker, and is usually left alone. Goblin Rabblemaster and Brimaz, King of Oreskos were cut because the 3CMC slot is crowded enough, and they too almost always immediately die. I liked Brimaz more because he was harder to kill, but getting WW reliably on turn 3 also isn't a given. Plus, people expect to see Seeker and Rabblemaster and may "save" their spot removal for them while Swiftspear and tokens get in early beatings. Butcher, Stormbreath, and Sarkhan may still eat removal, but usually get in at least a few hits before checking out. Chained to the Rocks is also long gone. I had no problem casting it, I just had a problem with everyone being able to Erase, Glare of Heresy, or Utter End it away to get whatever I chained back. Given the current meta, it's really hard to play Chained (or Banishing Light for that matter...). I don't think I'll be able to play again till the new year... and I may make more changes once FRF starts getting spoiled, but I like how this looks on paper.
If you're cutting lands i'd DEFINITELY cut an elspeth, probably for another stoke.
I run 24 lands and can have problems from time to time with either specific colors or just drawing lands in general.
I need playing Brimaz and Elspeth for metagame reasons, a lot of people are playing whit tokens so a turn 3 Brimaz its a huge WALL that cant pass, always eat a token + strike/stoke or something, giving me tempo, elspeth its for all the monogreen decks and monters decks that are still playing on my store, polukranos, 7/7 bodies, etc i need -3 of Elspeth for clean the board
also i want to play the sinergic beetween rabble + butcher + hordeling for win
Private Mod Note
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Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
Fair enough, the local meta is as important as any other consideration. Just watch your games for identifiers of the problems i noted above. If you have a lot of G/R monsters (which is my suspicion) G1 isn't so bad with only 2 elspeth, and you get end hostilities post board.
Switched my list around a little on MTGO and have had good results in very limited games. Let's see how it plays out. Might change the +2 Bile Blight for +2 Drown in Sorrow, though.
Switched my list around a little on MTGO and have had good results in very limited games. Let's see how it plays out. Might change the +2 Bile Blight for +2 Drown in Sorrow, though.
List appears solid,do you have any issues with double black downfall and blight?
On another note, schoolwork ended up catching up with me so I wa unable to attend any tournaments from November until now. I was thinking of going to a standard tourney at my LGS on monday, but i do not know if my old deck is cut out for it. I have not played against a reanimator or jeskai tokens list which I know ppl will be running cuz everyone loves to net-deck over there, but over all because I have not gone in while I do not know what to expect.
At the moment which is the most efficient Mardu list for combating the current meta. The Brad Nelson style?, or a more black heavy one with more Thoughtsieze and Blights to combat all of these tokens? I do like how rkjunior's build seems to incorporate both strategies at once.
Switched my list around a little on MTGO and have had good results in very limited games. Let's see how it plays out. Might change the +2 Bile Blight for +2 Drown in Sorrow, though.
List appears solid,do you have any issues with double black downfall and blight?
On another note, schoolwork ended up catching up with me so I wa unable to attend any tournaments from November until now. I was thinking of going to a standard tourney at my LGS on monday, but i do not know if my old deck is cut out for it. I have not played against a reanimator or jeskai tokens list which I know ppl will be running cuz everyone loves to net-deck over there, but over all because I have not gone in while I do not know what to expect.
At the moment which is the most efficient Mardu list for combating the current meta. The Brad Nelson style?, or a more black heavy one with more Thoughtsieze and Blights to combat all of these tokens? I do like how rkjunior's build seems to incorporate both strategies at once.
Every once in a while but overall, the Unborg really helps. Thought about maybe changing out a Triumph for either a Malice or Koilos. Giving it some more playtime, though. I've also been messing with the Mardu Skies list that was posted up on a recent TCG article with a couple adds/deletions..
I have been playing this deck as well. I substituted two Herald of Torment for the two Wingmate Roc and it has been working out well. The bestow ability allows the 8 early ground creatures to remain relevant late game and moves the point at which you can take to the skies up one turn. I have had to rework the land base a little for the BB casting cost, and it is, honestly, still a work in progress, but so far, I am impressed. If I can get the land right, I could also main deck Hero's Downfall plus the 3 Bile Blight and 2 Drown in Sorrow out of the sideboard become a much more reliable proposition. This will give the deck a much better time vs. tokens and other fast and/or wide strategies.
Other than that, I am running Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker instead of Stormbreath Dragon since the -3 to remove a flying blocker and then be a threat next turn is quite useful, although I must admit my sample size is quite small and I do know that Stormy is often the better choice due to the pro-white. I could also see a third Sorin, Solemn Visitor as he is often left vulnerable to the crack back, but the lifegain and power boost is very valuable; just not sure what I would cut for a third.
I really need to spend more time with the deck as I find that my threat analysis is rather poor.
My land base has been surprisingly consistent (so far) but similar to you, I only have a small selection... Maybe 10is matches. Thoughts on maybe Master of the Feast as a early threat even if to sacrifice him for Butcher later on? Hate to give any sort of card advantage, though.
Master of the feast is a very powerful card that represents a fast clock and there for demands an answer from most deckb immediately. The draw back is so much thetr card for your opponent its that he is a bad late game card. If u can play him early and have anything to back him up he is a complete house.
Thoughts on maybe Master of the Feast as a early threat even if to sacrifice him for Butcher later on? Hate to give any sort of card advantage, though.
I have a not insignificant body of experience with Master of the Feast having played mono-black aggro for the better part of 6 months. That deck relies on early pressure and very efficient removal and hand disruption in order to craft a commanding position early in the game. At that point, Master of the Feast is played as a finisher under the assumption that the commanding board position crafted previously with the addition of a 5/5 flier will be able to finish off the game even in the face of card disadvantage. As Master of the Feast dodges nearly all burn, ground blockers and (most importantly for mono-black aggro) the mini sweeper duo of Drown in Sorrow and Anger of the Gods, it plays this role quite effectively.
In the Mardu Skies deck, my impression without any play testing* is that Master of the Feast would be a poor fit. At 3CMC, it is placed just where the deck starts to get going and giving the opponent extra ways to deal with the threats we are looking to play in upcoming turns seems like a very bad idea. I can see how Master would kick start the offensive in some games, but I can foresee more situations where it kick starts the opponent's ability to negate the advantage we get from evasion. The Mardu Skies deck counts on the fact that ground blockers are nearly dead cards. If we give them ways to get past those dead draws, we lose that advantage.
Thoughts on maybe Master of the Feast as a early threat even if to sacrifice him for Butcher later on? Hate to give any sort of card advantage, though.
I have a not insignificant body of experience with Master of the Feast having played mono-black aggro for the better part of 6 months. That deck relies on early pressure and very efficient removal and hand disruption in order to craft a commanding position early in the game. At that point, Master of the Feast is played as a finisher under the assumption that the commanding board position crafted previously with the addition of a 5/5 flier will be able to finish off the game even in the face of card disadvantage. As Master of the Feast dodges nearly all burn, ground blockers and (most importantly for mono-black aggro) the mini sweeper duo of Drown in Sorrow and Anger of the Gods, it plays this role quite effectively.
In the Mardu Skies deck, my impression without any play testing* is that Master of the Feast would be a poor fit. At 3CMC, it is placed just where the deck starts to get going and giving the opponent extra ways to deal with the threats we are looking to play in upcoming turns seems like a very bad idea. I can see how Master would kick start the offensive in some games, but I can foresee more situations where it kick starts the opponent's ability to negate the advantage we get from evasion. The Mardu Skies deck counts on the fact that ground blockers are nearly dead cards. If we give them ways to get past those dead draws, we lose that advantage.
*- IOW ≤2¢
Thanks, that 2 cents reaffirmed what I was thinking.
Seeker of the Way is really under-performing, even with Herald of Torment to pick him up and make him part of the Mardu Air Force in the late game. I don't think I want to move away entirely from having a good two drop and am actually considering Nyx-Fleece Ram. Helps with some incremental life gain, is a fantastic blocker and while our dear sheep isn't nearly as good a target to bestow Herald onto, it offsets the Herald life loss so there is some synergy there.
Perhaps it is the fact that I have tested against monsters and aggro a lot, but I feel like a card that can buy us a couple of turns while we get to more removal and starting flying in for the win.
Alternately, I am considering going with a minimal black build that leverages the mana efficiency of Chained to the Rocks. That is probably a bigger rethink than I am willing to commit to at this time but something to keep in mind for the future if I too often find myself playing from behind due to spending a turn's worth of many on a single threat.
What about cutting Seeker for a straight immediate threst like Monastery Swiftspear? I do love the synergy you get when you CA turn 2 Seeker with a turn 3 Charm or Crackling Doom.
I think Utter End can sub-in for one of the Downfalls as it's a great universal answer main board. More than one Erebos also seems like over-kill and you'd be better served simply playing an erase to battle the Whip decks. I recommend a 2nd Elspeth when playing the Anger/End Hostilities post-board.
You have a lot of 3cmc 1:1 removal and I worry that your Jeskai Tokens matchup will be a challenge. I would personally run the full playset of Hordeling Outburst and likely shave 1 Stoke.
Thanks. I started pulling the list together last night at like 2am. After ditching Chained I forgot about the extra mountains. Let me tweak this a little now that I'm not exhausted and repost
OK, how about this. More thoughts on maybe adding Doomwake Giant to the SB for token matchups? I also keep flipping between the 1 Stormbreath Dragon vs 1 [card]Wingmate Roc
[/card]
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
//Creatures
4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Seeker of the Way
1 Stormbreath Dragon
//Spells
4 Crackling Doom
2 Hero's Downfall
4 Hordeling Outburst
3 Stoke the Flames
1 Utter End
3 Thoughtseize
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Caves of Koilos
3 Mountain
4 Nomad Outpost
2 Swamp
1 Temple of Malice
2 Temple of Silence
4 Temple of Triumph
1 Unborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Thoughtseize
1 Utter End
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Anger of the Gods
2 End Hostilities
3 Hushwing Gryff
2 Read the Bones
1 Erase
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
Thanks. I'll give this a whirl. I also thought about -1 Anger of the Gods for +1 Arc Lightning for some token control
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
http://www.starcitygames.com/events/coverage/deck_tech_mardu_midrange_with_.html
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Seeker of the Way
3 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
6 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Nomad Outpost
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Chained to the Rocks
3 Crackling Doom
4 Lightning Strike
4 Stoke the Flames
4 Hordeling Outburst
1 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Banishing Light
1 Crackling Doom
2 Erase
1 Utter End
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Scouring Sands
1 Battlefield Forge
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
Not enough Stormbreath Dragon for starters.
Personally i loathe Seeker of the Way, so i'd cut those and get +3 Stormbreath Dragon
Hordeling Outburst
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Thoughtseize
Are other numbers i don't care for as they are, so i'd add +1 of each of these, but then you'd be radically changing your list. Personally i don't run rabblemaster or Butcher in favor of more swingy and hard to deal with cards, but that's my list. Also you have a TON of land, i'd cut one or 2 but again, that's a bit radical, and you'd have to change a lot more with the second half of the changes i listed so caveat emptor.
4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Brimaz King of Oreskos
3 Seeker of the Way
Instants (11)
3 Heros Downfall
4 Lightning Strike
4 Crackling Doom
4 Hordeling Outburst
Planeswalkers (5)
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1 Chandra Pyromaster
3 Elspeth Sun Champion
Lands (25)
4 Nomad Outpost
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Battlefield Forge
3 Caves of Koilos
2 Mountain
2 Swamp
2 Temple of Silence
2 Temple of Malice
2 Mana Confluence
1 Urborg
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I think 2 elspeth is plenty. She's awesome but drawing multiples can be awkward. maybe add a sarkhan chandra or downfall instead. And again, stormbreath is the nuts, i prefer him over brimaz, but brimaz has synergies with butcher that are hard to ignore in a list like yours.
3 Seeker of the Way
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
3 Brimaz King of Orekos
5 PW
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1 Chandra Pyromaster
3 Elspeth Sun Champion
3 Heros Downfall
4 Lightning Strike
2 Stoke the Flames
4 Crackling Doom
4 Hordeling Outburst
24 lands
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Caves of Koilos
2 Mountain
4 Nomad Outpost
1 Swamp
2 Temple of Silence
2 Temple of Malice
1 Urborg
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
I run 24 lands and can have problems from time to time with either specific colors or just drawing lands in general.
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Crackling Doom
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Mardu Charm
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Thoughtseize
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Mana Confluence
3 Mountain
3 Swamp
2 Temple of Malice
2 Temple of Triumph
2 Temple of Silence
1 Plains
4 Nomad Outpost
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Erebos, God of the Dead
2 Hushwing Gryff
2 Mogis, God of Slaughter
2 Erase
2 Utter End
3 Anger of the Gods
2 End Hostilities
One thing you will note is you have more fetches than things to get with them, as they're only useful if you draw your one urborg once you're all fetched out.. You also look like you'll be taking a TON of damage from your lands.
Edit: there's a plains in there instead of a swamp Edited to fix
I found that Seeker of the Way dies immediately and all the time. He is ALWAYS a priority kill and rarely lives to see turn 3 or 4. Monastery Swiftspear is still seen as a threat, but not as potent as Seeker, and is usually left alone. Goblin Rabblemaster and Brimaz, King of Oreskos were cut because the 3CMC slot is crowded enough, and they too almost always immediately die. I liked Brimaz more because he was harder to kill, but getting WW reliably on turn 3 also isn't a given. Plus, people expect to see Seeker and Rabblemaster and may "save" their spot removal for them while Swiftspear and tokens get in early beatings. Butcher, Stormbreath, and Sarkhan may still eat removal, but usually get in at least a few hits before checking out. Chained to the Rocks is also long gone. I had no problem casting it, I just had a problem with everyone being able to Erase, Glare of Heresy, or Utter End it away to get whatever I chained back. Given the current meta, it's really hard to play Chained (or Banishing Light for that matter...). I don't think I'll be able to play again till the new year... and I may make more changes once FRF starts getting spoiled, but I like how this looks on paper.
4x Hordeling Outburst
Instant (18)
3x Crackling Doom
4x Lightning Strike
2x Magma Jet
1x Murderous Cut
4x Raise the Alarm
3x Stoke the Flames
1x Utter End
Creature (9)
4x Butcher of the Horde
4x Monastery Swiftspear
1x Stormbreath Dragon
1x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Land (25)
4x Battlefield Forge
4x Bloodstained Mire
2x Caves of Koilos
1x Mana Confluence
4x Mountain
4x Nomad Outpost
1x Swamp
1x Temple of Malice
2x Temple of Silence
2x Temple of Triumph
2x Anger of the Gods
1x Banishing Light
2x End Hostilities
2x Erase
2x Glare of Heresy
2x Read the Bones
3x Thoughtseize
1x Utter End
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
I need playing Brimaz and Elspeth for metagame reasons, a lot of people are playing whit tokens so a turn 3 Brimaz its a huge WALL that cant pass, always eat a token + strike/stoke or something, giving me tempo, elspeth its for all the monogreen decks and monters decks that are still playing on my store, polukranos, 7/7 bodies, etc i need -3 of Elspeth for clean the board
also i want to play the sinergic beetween rabble + butcher + hordeling for win
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
Just food for thought.
4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Seeker of the Way
2 Stormbreath Dragon
//Planeswalkers
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
//Spells
4 Crackling Doom
4 Hordeling Outburst
3 Stoke the Flames
2 Thoughtseize
2 Hero's Downfall
1 Bile Blight
1 Murderous Cut
2 Swamp
3 Mountain
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Temple of Malice
2 Temple of Silence
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Nomad Outpost
2 Caves of Koilos
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 End Hostilities
3 Hushwing Gryff
3 Erase
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
2 Bile Blight
1 Murderous Cut
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
On another note, schoolwork ended up catching up with me so I wa unable to attend any tournaments from November until now. I was thinking of going to a standard tourney at my LGS on monday, but i do not know if my old deck is cut out for it. I have not played against a reanimator or jeskai tokens list which I know ppl will be running cuz everyone loves to net-deck over there, but over all because I have not gone in while I do not know what to expect.
At the moment which is the most efficient Mardu list for combating the current meta. The Brad Nelson style?, or a more black heavy one with more Thoughtsieze and Blights to combat all of these tokens? I do like how rkjunior's build seems to incorporate both strategies at once.
Every once in a while but overall, the Unborg really helps. Thought about maybe changing out a Triumph for either a Malice or Koilos. Giving it some more playtime, though. I've also been messing with the Mardu Skies list that was posted up on a recent TCG article with a couple adds/deletions..
4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Hushwing Gryff
4 Seeker of the Way
2 Wingmate Roc
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
1 Stormbreath Dragon
//Planeswalkers
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
//Spells
4 Crackling Doom
2 Mardu Charm
2 Murderous Cut
4 Thoughtseize
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Nomad Outpost
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Mountain
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Arc Lightning
3 Bile Blight
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Hero's Downfall
3 Erase
2 Glare of Heresy
1 Banishing Light
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
I have been playing this deck as well. I substituted two Herald of Torment for the two Wingmate Roc and it has been working out well. The bestow ability allows the 8 early ground creatures to remain relevant late game and moves the point at which you can take to the skies up one turn. I have had to rework the land base a little for the BB casting cost, and it is, honestly, still a work in progress, but so far, I am impressed. If I can get the land right, I could also main deck Hero's Downfall plus the 3 Bile Blight and 2 Drown in Sorrow out of the sideboard become a much more reliable proposition. This will give the deck a much better time vs. tokens and other fast and/or wide strategies.
Other than that, I am running Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker instead of Stormbreath Dragon since the -3 to remove a flying blocker and then be a threat next turn is quite useful, although I must admit my sample size is quite small and I do know that Stormy is often the better choice due to the pro-white. I could also see a third Sorin, Solemn Visitor as he is often left vulnerable to the crack back, but the lifegain and power boost is very valuable; just not sure what I would cut for a third.
I really need to spend more time with the deck as I find that my threat analysis is rather poor.
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
I have a not insignificant body of experience with Master of the Feast having played mono-black aggro for the better part of 6 months. That deck relies on early pressure and very efficient removal and hand disruption in order to craft a commanding position early in the game. At that point, Master of the Feast is played as a finisher under the assumption that the commanding board position crafted previously with the addition of a 5/5 flier will be able to finish off the game even in the face of card disadvantage. As Master of the Feast dodges nearly all burn, ground blockers and (most importantly for mono-black aggro) the mini sweeper duo of Drown in Sorrow and Anger of the Gods, it plays this role quite effectively.
In the Mardu Skies deck, my impression without any play testing* is that Master of the Feast would be a poor fit. At 3CMC, it is placed just where the deck starts to get going and giving the opponent extra ways to deal with the threats we are looking to play in upcoming turns seems like a very bad idea. I can see how Master would kick start the offensive in some games, but I can foresee more situations where it kick starts the opponent's ability to negate the advantage we get from evasion. The Mardu Skies deck counts on the fact that ground blockers are nearly dead cards. If we give them ways to get past those dead draws, we lose that advantage.
*- IOW ≤2¢
Thanks, that 2 cents reaffirmed what I was thinking.
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
Perhaps it is the fact that I have tested against monsters and aggro a lot, but I feel like a card that can buy us a couple of turns while we get to more removal and starting flying in for the win.
Alternately, I am considering going with a minimal black build that leverages the mana efficiency of Chained to the Rocks. That is probably a bigger rethink than I am willing to commit to at this time but something to keep in mind for the future if I too often find myself playing from behind due to spending a turn's worth of many on a single threat.
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)