So I finally had my match this week, and I'm sorry for a slightly delayed report. I've been dealing with a broken heart and stuff, but I truly love Rashmi, and I need to let you guys know how it's treating me.
Week 4: Rashmi vs Keranos
This, along with Ezuri, are matches I expected to lose 100%. I love what I constructed, even though it isn't in peak condition, and this week further proved to be that Rashmi has the chops to push through more than I imagined.
Game 1: Game 1 was by far the longest, clocking in at an hour and ten minutes. Rashmi was cast three times. One thing I do remember is I had a really fast hand with Green Sun for Dryad Arbor, and it pushed me forward at a pace that was able to keep tempo with the heavy sort of control that Keranos packs. By the time the board was packed enough for me to move forward, I got hit by a Wildfire. Some counters later, I had a small presence again and got hit by another sweeper. What helped me win this game--and the ultimate all star, given that once Keranos resolved he got to trigger the three damage almost every upkeeep--was that Garruk was constantly on the field and he focused on my more potent threats like Rashmi, Edric, and other creatures. Garruk kept pumping out 3/3's, and every time I did build a presence, he had ways to remove everything from the board. This came to a peak when he was finally able to wipe the board and hit enough of our land to leave me at three land. However, Garruk was still on the field and I had four mana to work with. At the end of his turn I blew up one of my own mana rocks with a Beast Within for a 3/3, and soon he was looking at two, and then three, without a true answer. He was finally wiffing his Keranos reveals, and I ended up winning.
Game 2: Sideboard for me is interested here, and it's the first match I can say I feel I was well prepared for. I brought in Negate, Spell Pierce, Force of Will, Flusterstorm, and Sword of Fire and Ice. One thing I didn't do was remove Bribery, and that sadly cost me the game later on. I started pretty quickly, but soon ran into heavy counterspells. Although we were on pace with one another, he was able to push through a very early Vendillion Clique that sent my Flusterstorm to the bottom and replaced it with a land. That Clique got me to 15 before I was able to try and handle it, but doing so left me vulnerable. After he resolved Keranos, he cast Jhokullhops, and even though I was hitting land, I had a really hard time being able to get anything resolved. I did cast and use Bribery, but could only nab his own Snapcaster Mage, much to my dismay. I got him down to 13 before a Keranos Trigger and a burn spell killed me.
Game 3: Dismayed, I did end up removing Bribery and hoped for the best. This game started explosive for me again. Turn 1 Green Sun for Arbor will never get old. I quickly got a lead on this game as well. Rashmi resolved, as well as a Venser. Poor Mindsculptor got countered, but by the time he tried casting Earthquake I had him down to 16. His Earthquake I Memory Lapsed, and at the end of his turn I also cast Brainstorm to see what was coming; a land, Flusterstorm, and another important spell. I tried to decide what to do and left Flusterstorm second so I could get it off of a Rashmi Trigger if I needed to. During his turn he attempted to Earthquake again. In response I cast Beast Within targeting my own mana rock, and Rashmi triggered the Flusterstorm to counter that. Despite this huge victory (and getting him super low), he top decked a Wildfire the next turn and we went back to square one. With a Swiftfoot boots on the field, I was forcing counters on every creature or damage would get through. Eventually I got him down to 3, and was able to resolve a Sage of Ancient Lore with three other cards in hand. Being able to swing for game with that was one of the more satisfying things I've ever had happening. All totaled, our matches lasted about two hours and twenty minutes. They were all well played.
I am now undefeated, and my next opponent will most likely be Doran. This is another match where I feel I can fall behind, so wish me luck!
Definitely. I haven't really had any turns where I can't exploit Rashmi's triggers. I'm usually holding on to something, and in most cases even a late dork triggers a desperately needed draw. More often than not casting the spell is only secondary--as long as I have a full hand I feel I'm doing well.
Evacuation and Washout are simply to help exploit some triggers again and to reset a desperate board. Washout especially shined for me against my Ezuri match--forcing him to rebuild a rather large board while I was able to extend the game and find a win out of it. I know that it seems counter intuitive, but for me it can even be a way to get more advantage out of my own built board. I played a match for fun and ended up casting Evacuation just so I could recast Rashmi into an Acidic Slime holding on to countermagic.
Miri's Guile is a card I need to purchase--one of the few cards I don't own at the moment that I really need to. I don't know whether I'd replace Soothsaying at this point, though.
I do appreciate the criticism. I'm going to be making a lot of changes, as mentioned. There are some cards in here that are definitely more fluff and less powerful, although adhering to my original goal of hitting my win conditions.
Ultimately, I decided that I needed to be ramping into Rashmi or other things as quickly as I could; although I do not have the full mana dork suite I use in other decks (Jenara, Thrun, and Marath primarily), I have the basic suite to help get into more efficiency faster. The other side of this thinking was simply that I wanted a win condition that worked along with this sort of ramp strategy; when deciding to ramp, I looked at either creatures, spells, or mana rocks. I decided that spells and rocks were somewhat slow for what I wanted to do, and that creatures could suit the job very well. My next question was how I wanted to win, and with what sort of high end. I figured if I wasn't able to win through tempo with the spells and counterspells, I needed a way to surprise the opponent with my board state. Thus, I decided on running Craterhoof and Decimator.
I wouldn't necessarily call it an elf ball strategy. Rarely do I have more than one dork out, and the rest of the time it's creatures that have proven to be advantageous but not strong enough to win a fight on their own. You'd be surprised how quickly the board develops with 2/1 and 2/2 creatures. Acidic Slime, Venser, and Eternal Witness are the biggest offenders here, haha. Along with Edric, I suppose.
Soothsaying has performed extremely well. I've cast it four times off of a Rashmi Trigger, and I've always been able to utilize the scry to some extent. Depending on what I see, I then need to decide how to order my turn so that I can afford a shuffle--and yes, it's expensive. However, it's literally won me a game, and I appreciate that effect.
You're extremely right about Prophet, and along with Seedborn she's one of my most overwhelming and glaring oversights. I will be making room for her and other things ASAP. Once I can freely edit this list you'll see it changing a bit. I still believe that it leans more towards tempo/control than the likes of the Elfball Rashmi lists I've seen (which are basically Ezuri lists with blue), and don't go overly ham on the expensive, inefficient spells.
So I've been wanting to reply and post in this thread for three weeks now, but have never taken the time to do so. I finally have some time to go over what I've been doing with Rashmi and just how much I love this style of deck.
A brief intro on my part; I'm a longtime French Commander player who loves to try new things and falls in love with crazy commanders. I've played Grand Arbiter, Sydri, Marath, Kaalia, Thrun, Jenara, and Karona competitively, with only the last Commander really failing to impress. The leagues that I play in tend to have 10-20 players, with at least 5 being reliably competitive. With Grand Arbiter being my first love for multiplayer and 1:1, I've always enjoyed card advantage and control. This newest league I was planning on crafting Keranos because I attained a foil one, but the night before decklists needed turned in I ended up pulling Rashmi and falling in absolute love.
Because I crafted her in a single night, I have some absolute gaping holes in my decklist that currently cannot be remedied. However, I plan on keeping her constructed as long as I can, so that I can work towards a more efficient list.
I will be posting a link to my current list, as well as reports for each of my matches throughout the coming weeks and the ones I've already played.
One thing you'll notice is that our league does include a sideboard. The other is that I have some odd inclusions.
Here are the results from my current games (I'm undefeated at the moment).
Week 1: Rashmi vs Xenagos, God of Revels
I did not enter with Rashmi expecting her to perform half as well as she has--this was a match I did not think would be within grasp of winning.
Game one I had an AMAZING hand and opener; turn 1 Forest, Exploration, Fetch, Mystic. During my turn two I decided not to cast Rashmi and instead dropped a Dryad Arbor and Llanowar Elves. He ended up Earthquaking for 1 and I lost off the back of that. I was greedy and punished for it.
Game two was more interesting; I was playing more slowly, but able to keep his pressure off with counterspells and Rashmi draws. He was ultimately poised to win (I couldn't keep Xenagos off the field and he kept pushing in with a creature I couldn't block) but a well timed Think Twice and Rashmi Trigger drew me into Bribery, which I used to fetch an Atarka and clear his board. He conceded and we moved to Game 3.
The third game was much like the first, wherein I was being pushed hard by a Hanwir Garrison and unable to block profitably because of Xenagod. I eventually ended up stalling the board by casting Venser into Acidic Slime, and proceeded to process triggering Rashmi every turn after that for a total of ten cards drawn. As strange as it was, it was quickly a draw go game as both of us searched for an answer to one anothers board state. His final turn he drew into a Rogues Passage that hit me down to 12 (I had a dustbowl in hand and hoped to utilize that), and at the end of his turn I used Soothsaying to Shuffle and then look at the top 3. I ended up being able to cast a Courser of Kruphix and draw a Craterhoof Behemoth, which when cast gave me enough damage (7 creatures muddying the board) to swing through for game. Thank god for shuffling!
Week 2: Rashmi vs Kruphix
This was a match I expected to win easily because the opponent isn't necessarily a skilled player, nor does he have access to the best cards. Nevertheless, I shall post results:
Game 1: Game one was quick and easy; I countered his largest plays and swung in with Rashmi and crew for game.
Game 2: Game two I kept a very, very scrupulous hand that I should have mulled. A single land, a Maze of Ith, a Dork, and some cards I couldn't play. Because of this our game dragged on and on, and I nearly lost. The early game was a slog for both of us as we tried to establish a mana base, and a couple amazing draws lead to me sifting and drawing. A Rashmi landed early and stayed out the whole game, but he ended up casting Altered Ego on her. I ended up casting Altered Ego on Kruphix, as we both needed tons of mana to operate. The problem was I didn't hit very many reliable counterspells, so I was only able to keep him off tempo for so long; he eventually had the ability to generate 10-20 mana each turn, and it didn't help that he was utilizing his own Rashmi triggers to push ahead. This culminated in him casting a Void Winnower, and if it wasn't for Capsize and Eternal Witness I would have been done for; the deal was that my only legitimate Counterspell the whole game was Desertion, and I had used it to halt an early Garruk. Staring down his Void Winnower, I knew I had to do something soon because I could barely block (Maze of Ith was dedicated to handling a 20/20 Mistcutter Hydra), and I had no true answer. What I ended up doing was Capsizing (after building mana to buyback twice) and then using Witness to fetch Desertion and snag his Winnower. One thing I've learned playing this deck is that Eternal Witness, Torrential Gearhulk, Snapcaster Mage, and Greenwarden of Murasa are invaluable. If not for them, I'd have lost this game and others. After taking his Void Winnower, he only had one viable blocker and I was able organize the top of my library with a Soothsaying to arrange a Decimator of the Provinces for game.
Week 3: Rashmi vs Ezuri
This was not a match I expected to win after listening to players who opposed this deck. Consistent turn four wins horrified my imagination, and I expected to be absolutely trampled. However, that wasn't the case.
Game 1: We both built a steady board, with him being unable to just roll out the Elf brigade for absolute stompage. Utilizing Rashmi triggers, I was able to land a somewhat decent boardstate and stop him from pushing in too hard. There was a single turn where he had Priest of Titani'd to cast Ezuri twice (once after countering), and potentially could have won the game. At that moment I had no actual blockers, and he could have activated Ezuri's ability and swung with at least three creatures--however, he miscounted his mana and passed the turn. This gave me just enough capacity to cast a Craterhoof and swing in overwhelmingly for game. This was a strange match where we both misplayed somewhat (I played a turn 2 Thought Vessel instead of holding up mana for a Condescend) and agreed that it could have gone either way.
Game 2: I was absolutely started with how fast he came out; turn 1 Juraga Treespeaker into a turn 2 Sylvan Fairie thing (the one that has prot. Blue and lets you return a forest to untap a creature). I was holding on to a Cyclonic Rift and Aether Rift, but was ultimately to slow to handle the hoard of creatures he cast. It was a rough and fast loss. There was one cool thing I did, though! I cast a Torrential Gearhulk and revealed an Eternal Witness! It was great, but his Scooze ate the targets
Game 3: This game was strange for both of us. I started off with a Burgeoning that lead to a second land during his turn, and a fetch on my second; he had a lot of land but not much action. Ultimately both of our early games were squandered. I resolved a Rashmi and he had a Wood Elves, and we pushed into the mid game. I ended up casting Arcane Denial to stop an Elvish Harbinger and immediately regretted it; he cast a green spell for free that granted him an extra turn, and drew three cards to really push ahead. At this point all I had on the field was a Rashmi and an Eternal Witness, and he started dumping his hand. I was forced to try and keep things off of the field, so I cast a Mystic Confluence to keep him off of lords and a Scavenging Ooze. I knew I didn't have a lot of time to find true answers, and ultimately ended up casting a Vendillion Clique to get rid of one of his other lords. This didn't stop him from overwhelming me, so I ended up casting a Wash Out to return everything and try and figure out what to do. After recasting Rashmi and Eternal Witness, I ended up drawing into a Bribery and crafting a new game plan; with him a little lower, my choice was to get Mystic Confluence back and stop him from rebuilding while I built up on my side with Rashi, Clique, and Witness. After he rebuilt a third time from getting rid of his board, I finally cast Bribery to steal his Craterhoof and swing for Game.
This is where I learned of one of my own terrible, terrible mistakes; my opponent made me aware of the fact that if I had simply kept casting Wash Out and Eternal Witness, I could have just beat him to death with Clique. Lesson learned--synergy is super important!
Next week my opponent is going to be Keranos. This is another matchup I am not very excited for, as him destroying my lands and creatures will ultimately hamper any gameplan I have. I am going to have to depend on well timed Counterspells and hope I have the ability to protect Rashmi.
Cards I really, desperately need to put in the deck: Voidslime, Cavern of Souls, Teferi (.creature), and Seedborn Muse. There are definitely others, too, and I'm up for questions about my list as well!
Thank you if you read that whole wall of text! I hope my games and list will help us craft an amazing Commander!
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!
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.
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.
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!
Get rid of Countermand. Put in Dissolve or Dissipate or some similar cheaper counterspell. Nullify is really good right now.
The allstar in a deck like this is Hour of Need. Generally, if your walls are doing their job and the game is going late, Hour of Need can blow the opponent out harder than they can imagine.
I played Esper walls at the beginning of Rotation running some very similar cards and it blew a lot of people out of the water. The only deck I couldn't really keep up with was Temur Monsters or G/R monsters, and that was mostly because they could swing past my walls. However, there are better spells now, and honestly I could see this being a decent deck for FNM.
Hello all, I've come out of years of lurking to discuss the awesome that is Mardu Midrange. In past seasons I've flip flopped between decks not really having a strong preference for anything but this season I've become enamored with this archetype and have decided to stick with it.
I modified the Alaska winning states list to what I was facing on MTGO. I feel like this MB is very strong, compared to other builds. Stormbreath Dragon is just a beating especially when tag-teamed with the Dragonspeaker himself. In my experience controlling the board with Doom, Charm, then following up with those 2 have ended games in short order. Usually Butcher and Rabblemaster eat whatever spot removal is in my opponents hand, if any.
The only real problem matchup I am having is UB control, which is why the Stain is in the board. What is everyone's experience with that matchup? I have beat it but I think its like 2 out 6 matches or something in their favor.
Versus control our best out of the board card is Empty the Pits. During Gameday, it was what legitimately helped me solidify my games versus Esper control. I need to test versus straight U/B, but I can't imagine it's much farther off. I highly recommend Empty, because it absolutely blows control out of the water when topdecking.
I also LOVE your list. I modeled mine after the Alaska one as well--going into Gameday, that is--and did not regret it at all. Chandra performed well when I drew her, and the one large change I might make is a third Sorin.
As for the discussion on Butcher; he's necessary. Period. No ifs ands or buts. We can not function properly without the pressure he applies, especially with how well he synergizes with every other card in the deck when he sticks.
I played two in my list at States. I was never unhappy to see it. I considered it a flex spot against aggro along with Thoughtseize. I recommend it highly--I just find that with the threat density I have right now (especially with three Sorins) has been large enough to keep me in games.
Several of the lists I looked at had Read the Bones in the sideboard, or were also running it alongside some form of Sign in Blood.
I removed my two Read the Bones for an extra Mardu Charm and 4CC slot--however, I could argue that going back down to 2 Charms and one less 4CC spot is reasonable for two in the deck. I don't like Tormenting Voice--I have just never enjoyed the pitch effect, and I fullheartedly believe that Scry is much better for our deck.
Hushwing Gryff is a narrow card to bring in vs abzan. It only affect 7 cards in there deck,rhino and roc, and those cards will just run over the gryff. Playing narrow cards is not going to make the deck any better.
The singletons and 2 ofs are primarily cards that I don't always want in my opening hand, but I do want in the 75. It's a lot harder to play around a singleton than it is a 4 of. As well, just by the nature of the deck, you force play into the late game where 1ofs and 2ofs pop up and can sway games. To illustrate the reasoning I'm not playing 4 of Seeker, or why I only have a 1 of Utter End, Tom Ross has a brilliantly written article on SCG called Fear The One-of that I think is worth a look if you haven't seen it already.
I have read the article and disagree with your take away from it of "singletons and 2 ofs are primarily cards that I don't always want in my opening hand" I dont think that was his point. While I agree it is hard for your opponents to play around 1 ofs, they also decrease the consistency of your deck. In formats like limited where nearly anything can be a one of this discussion really as no merit, and in external formats with access to tutors, draw spells, hand and library manipulation, then 1 ofs become much more effective. Put 1 ofs in a deck that draws ZERO extra cards makes for inconstant play, why? because chances are that the reason the card is a 1 of is due to it not lining up well with several other decks. Pairing this with a lot of hand disruption only magnifies this as you are placing a premium on putting both players into top deck mode. Not that there is anything wrong with top deck racing but Seeker of the way and Sorin are not top deck racers, they need other cards to be good.
Spear of Heliod was something I wanted to test out. The theory behind it stands, making rabblemaster tokens more threatening, putting dragon and butcher out of range of Stoke the Flames, and killing multiple creatures with one card. It should be noted that spear does act as removal itself, and your opponent will have to play around it.
Leaving mana open for a Spear activation will cause you not to advance your board on your turn(basically time walking yourself)and take a hit from a creature which you opponent will clearly see, and most likely not jam his/her best creature into your "free" removal spell(it still cost mana to activate). Spear making goblin tokens into 2/2 doesn't accomplish much because early played creatures have 3 toughness. Not to mention that you are playing a 3CMC card on turn 4 with the only other options for your leftover mana is a discard spell or chain to the rocks. This is asking for a lot of things to go right and line up from a 1 of. Even when this line of play presents itself this is very much a line of play out of an agro deck.
Chained to the Rocks is fine in a deck with effectively 6 mountains. If anything, it'd be a two of. The way the deck is built, the deck doesn't want to cast it on turn 1-4. It's a cheap removal spell for turns 5 on, where you can play it for 1 mana and then cast a creature the same turn.
This seems like a great idea, only that it wont happen very often because Chain is a 2 of which is fine because it allows you to diversify your removal. There was a reason why Chain only saw play in the sideboards of burn decks as a four of. It was for the very reason you mentioned of casting 2 cards in a turn. However their curve and mana requirements and game plan were different from yours. That said i am not convinced that "6" mountains is the correct way to go about adding chain to the rocks.
Mardu Charm has been very strong in testing. Whether it's an end of turn duress to see if it is safe to play a rabblemaster, or make two first strike 1/1s to stem the bleeding against aggro decks, to shooting down a courser of kruphix or other 4 ass creature. I would actually argue that it's modes are not limited to specific states, and are actually applicable in many game states that the meta tends towards. You only have to duress a dig through time once to know how good this card is.
The charm may appear to offer you flexibility but it does so at a cost to your mana base and your curve as well as pigoen holing your plays. Stoke the flames is the superior 4 damage spell over the charm because you can cast it cheap, convoke, you can damage a player which is valuable in racing, or you can damage a planeswalker and finish them of with something else if it does not kill them. On T3 this deck should be playing a threat or killing a threat. The charm is not a threat and it only kills a certain group of creatures on T3 if you have perfect mana, also it doesn't kill stormbreath dragon.
Seeker of the Way can play both an aggressive and defensive card and being such a small cost for such a large swing is very important. The reactivity of the spells is actually what dramatically increases Seekers effectiveness. Many times you can attack your Seeker of the Way into a courser of kruphix, a sylvan caryatid or any other creature, just because of the potential threat of casting a lightning strike or heros downfall on something else. The lifelink against jeskai burn is also very important, as gaining 6 life against that deck often buys you enough time to win.
I am not sure how you are getting 6 life out of a seeker of the way vs Jeskai burn decks. The possible cards for you to cast on T3 to trigger Seeker are 2 Mardu Charm 4 Crackling Doom 3 Downfall and 1 spear 4 lightening strikes 2 Chain to Rocks and 4 Thoughtsieze very good odds for you to trigger Seeker provide he hits play T2 and is not killed. In your scenario only playing the spear (a 1 of) or a 3 mana removal spell allows you to get through a courser, all of which require main phase play for you to gain 3 life, and all of which require you not playing rabble master on turn 3.
While you argue that sorin is mediocre, you really aren't backing it up with any facts. Yes, playing a sorin defensively is poor. If your opponent is ahead and you only available action is to play sorin and -2, you probably are going to lose that game anyways. That being said, it triggers Seeker of the Way, synergizes incredibly well with goblin rabblemaster, and has an ultimate that not only comes on very quickly but will often put the abzan and jeskai decks out of the game. Basically, sorin is not very good if you're behind (buying you a turn maybe) but will often lock a game for you if you are ahead, or even on board.
Facts. Sorins' + ability require creatures to be in play to be effective, if you have no creatures in play this ability is only a means to get to his ultimate.. Sorin's - ability doesn't protect himself very well against Mantis Riders, Rhinos, Wingmate Roc, or other large green creatures because they can only chump block and Sorin has to die to make another token. Again here the best line of play for Sorin is with Seeker of the Way or Rabble master into Sorin and hoping your opponent does nothing, because if they do the chances of you setting up the same line of play later in the game is slim at best because your numbers are awkward. So you basically agree with me that unless your playing Sorin into a board where your ahead then he is bad. Your deck is not set up to play ahead on the board very much so Sorin is bad.
So few creatures - This isn't an abzan deck. We aren't casting value creatures with etb abilities and hoping to get there off of ticking away at our opponents life total. We're casting removal, burning up our opponent's advances, and then playing a must answer threat after ripping their hand apart with Mardu Charm and Thoughtseize.
12 creatures in your list. Those are Jeskia burn deck numbers and your list runs half the burn spell that the Jeskai deck does. If your plan is to cast removal, blunt your opponents advances while picking apart their hand, cards like Sorin, Seeker of the Way, Rabble Master, Spear of Heliod, don't accomplish this.
Sarkhan is just worse than Stormbreath dragon for this deck. The Monsters and Temur decks run Sarkhan because those decks are very removal light, and having a removal spell that is also a beater is where they want to be. Stormbreath dragon having protection from white is really what makes it important though. Being able to dodge Abzan Charm, Utter End, Banishing Light, Jeskai Charm and profitably block Wingmate Roc and Seige Rhino are what make Stormbreath just better here in my opinion. The meta would have to shift drastically before I'd want to be playing a Sarkhan over a Stormbreath Dragon.
Sarkhan is exactly what your deck needs more of a hasty flier to close out the game. An evasive hard hitting threat that comes down after you have stripped your opponents hand and killed their creatures. You Probably need more strombreath as well. It is not a question of Sharkan over Stormbreath and this is the point in Tom Ross's article, that it's not 4 of Sarkan 4 of Dragon but a mix to give you reasonable odds of have one in the spot you want them most, which is when you want a hasty fflier to close the game, but both have different strengths in different match ups. The numbers of those come from what you expect from the meta to be like.
While I agree with some of your criticisms when looking at that particular list, Wargoat, I am going to point out what I vehemently disagree with.
Firstly: Sorin is by far one of the best cards for our deck, if not one of the starring champions. You pointed out that he is not good while behind, and that is only half true. If you're playing him too quickly, you're playing him wrong. Our deck focuses on clearing the board, and we can't be overaggressive when it comes to playing our threats. When I'm holding onto a hand that has a threat or two (or I'm drawing into one with a scryland) and I'm also holding on to a Sorin, I play Sorin last--not because he's bad, but because if they deal with my other threats 1 for 1, I have the superior card coming out of my hand after the exchange. He's excellent in topdeck situations, as well. I won two games at my states competition off of a 2/2 Blocker or a Sorin getting lifelink in just long enough for me to hit another threat and swing in for victory. The +1/0 is hyper relevant when we need to get as much damage and lifegain as we possibly can in--and I must repeat. . .we get a 2/2 flying token out of him. He's one of my favorite toys, and he continues to outperform other options.
Secondly: You are highly, highly underestimating the power of Mardu Charm--to the extent that I'm not sure you've properly played it or playtested with it. I have never sided it out; in fact, I've sided out Downfalls before I've sided out Mardu Charm. In my testing my lists went from one Charm, to two, and then to three! Every mode for the card is relevant in the multitude of matchups that we're looking at. Against mono red, I've caught a turn 3 double Foundry Denizen player off guard by having him dump his hand and attack--only into two 1/1 First striking tokens that obliterated them and allowed me to push forward with a Hasty Lifelinking Butcher the next turn. Speaking of two 1/1 creatures, an end of turn Mardu Charm for the Warriors against control always applies an amazing amount of pressure. I've won games off of the backs of these tokens versus Esper in testing. Against Midrange and tempo, the 4 damage is an additional removal spell against almost all important early and mid game creatures. Courser and Mantis both get consumed by the charms flames--and in a pickle, it also applies the last bit of damage to a large creature when I block. Finally, you must not forget about an instant speed Duress. I've gone Thoughtseize into Despise into Mardu Charm to completely destroy a control players answers--forcing them into a long game where my topdecks are simply better. I've picked apart an Ascendancy players carefully selected hand twice at states with the help of a Charm. They end of turn Dig, I charm and rip that Helix or Ascendancy right out of their poor hands.
And the gross thing? You get to choose. You get to choose between all of these things, for three mana. Some argue that the options are very cost ineffective when looking at them as a single card; who would ever pay three for a Duress, or two 1/1 creatures when Raise the Alarm exists? Well I'll tell you one thing--when I'm looking at a Courser on turn three and I see that they're topdecking a Xenagos, I sure as crap can figure out my line of play with a Charm in my hand depending on what else I have--and the fact that it hits both of these really helps. Get used to the fact that this card is simply amazing.
Thirdly: Although I am just starting to test with Seeker of the Way, I am extremely pleased with how aggressive he helps us to be in lew of Bard Nelson's list. To get this out of the way, the quoted poster was only mentioning that he gained 6 life in the long run--not at once. I was looking for away to gain life without Sorin or Whip, and was honestly looking at Seeker as an option. When our deck is removing so much of their board most of the time, the path is clear for a turn 2 Seeker. If they have to kill him, that leaves more room for our Butchers or Rabblemasters. The amount of pressure and synergy applied with this one card will hopefully push my list even further; I wholeheartedly believe he deserves a slot, and I do not think that he deserves to be overlooked in our lists. I originally was scared that he'd just die too much, but then I realized much to my happiness that maybe he needed to die.
Fourthly: Hushwing Gryff, while not tremendously relevant against some of the field, is extreme value in regards to some of the best of the field. Reanimator decks do exist--and I do find that there is a growing appeal to See the Unwritten big stuff decks. Someone at my shop is successfully playtesting a list that ramps into a Seek and hits Hornet Queens and Ashen Riders. We can't ignore this sort of list if it becomes more popular. Furthermore, two of our biggest competitors are running Hornet Queens and Siege Rhinos--and while I have beaten these decks consistently, there are times where I feel siding in a Gryff would give me immense amounts of tempo versus the opponent.
I agree mostly with the rest of your assessments except one ofs. Statistically, most one ofs can seem irrelevant--however, they are massive game changers when they do show up. I am currently running a one of Utter End--and while I can't find space for more, I am certainly happy every time I see it. It could possibly become another card, and that's what I love about one ofs--your deck functions without them but if given the opportunity takes advantage of the fact that they're there. I wont argue for Spear--I'm not a fan of it--but most silver bullets are of the players choice, and can't be argued against as a choice.
One of the things I love about this deck is the shear amount of variety that comes with it and its lists. One of the things that's confusing me is some of the argument over creatures and removal. I don't understand people who aren't running Stormbreath and Butcher alongside one another.
I'll present my lists and arguments for what I'm doing:
Three weeks ago I started with the list that took 1st at one of the beginning Khans legal Starcity tournaments. While I only had one Sorin, I went in with a list like this:
My reasoning for my choices at States was simple: Rabblemaster wasn't making me happy in the mainboard when facing ramp and midrange. I wanted control over when he went in, and because I was expecting a great deal of midrange and monsters I mainboarded two End Hostilities--a decision that helped me greatly. Another choice was was two Read the Bones, which performed exceptionally well. I beat two versions of Ascendancy Combo, a Mono Green devotion deck, one Temur Midrange Deck, and an Abzan Midrange list. My losses came from Mono Red and Jeskai Tempo. My mono red match saw a loss in the third game to a misplayed block from Mardu charm. My loss in the third game versus Tempo came from not outburning in a race against Keranos (didn't play a Crackling Doom a turn earlier). Our second game was hilarious; I had landed a turn 3 Brimaz and he banishing lighted it after I swung in. My token then got him from 16 to 3 while he was forced to handle my other threats and vice versa. Kitty Token got a gold star ;3
Walking away, I knew a few things: First, I needed to get more Sorin. Second, Mardu Charm overperforms in every respect of the card. Against every midrange and ramp deck I faced, it merced Coursers and Brimaz as well as Rabblemaster and Ascendancy Combo. People DO NOT expect two first striking tokens. Just putting a player who's assuming all you've got is a Downfall or Doom on tilt with them is ludicrous. I instant speed ripped a Retraction Helix out of a combo players hand. I can not overstate how good this card is for us, especially against control where the two 1/1 bodies are supremely relevant, especially when topdecking a Butcher.
Moving into FNM for Yesterday, I knew that I wanted to experiment a little. I had been looking at other lists that took first (primarily the Pennsylvania and Alaska Lists) and tweaked around a little:
As much as I was loving End Hostilities, I wanted to move towards something that gave Tempo and Mono red a few more problems--though I took the wrong direction. My only losses yesterday were to those decks, although in the second game versus Jeskai Tempo he transformed into Jeskai control. I two for oned him with a Herald of Torment bestowed on a Nyx Fleece ram, but he sat at 3 while controlling the board. I never saw a Dragon D=.
Against mono red, Nyx Fleece or Anger never wanted to show their face--so much so I was even contemplating running some amount of Drown in Sorrow. I felt that was the wrong choice, though.
I played fantastic. I beat Mono Green Devotion, went 1-1-1 against Esper control (our games were grindy, and Empty the Pits is a hilarious topdeck when they've been forced to expunge their answers on other threats), 2-0'd a G/R Aggro deck, and a mono red deck.
In the top eight, I dominated a mono black aggro deck, and then lost to the same G/R aggro deck because my list finally threw some rage in regards to the land at my face. It was sad to see my deck flounder after doing so well the past few weeks, but it was bound to happen. Really wanted to walk away with that playmat.
I now have three Sorin, and I will be placing them in the list happily.
I believe some people are forgetting what this deck should be doing: Answering everything and dropping threats that need to be removed until we can grind the match out in a topdeck situation. I playtest quite a bit against tempo and midrange, and our match against them is fair. It's not backbreaking for either deck--it really depends on the amount of removal you decide to stick with. For one thing, I don't understand people NOT running Stormbreath or Wingmate Roc in some form alongside Butcher. We need to be running them. Yes, they'll be removed. Yes, it may suck losing something like that--but the point is to force that to happen until they can't do it anymore and then start winning in tiny increments with the EXTREME value given to us by EVERY card in our deck.
In regards to Seeker of the Way--I've contemplated playing him. He's a fantastic way to get some life back, and with all of our non-creature removal spells and planeswalkers, I feel we get legitimate use out of him; however, I must say that I'm going to test more Sorin in my deck before I throw Seeker in. Now that I have three I will happily slam him and +1.
I'm willing to answer any questions about what I was doing with my lists and why, or the directions I'm going in the future! I think we're all doing well, and I fully support every version of this deck!
Week 4: Rashmi vs Keranos
This, along with Ezuri, are matches I expected to lose 100%. I love what I constructed, even though it isn't in peak condition, and this week further proved to be that Rashmi has the chops to push through more than I imagined.
Game 1: Game 1 was by far the longest, clocking in at an hour and ten minutes. Rashmi was cast three times. One thing I do remember is I had a really fast hand with Green Sun for Dryad Arbor, and it pushed me forward at a pace that was able to keep tempo with the heavy sort of control that Keranos packs. By the time the board was packed enough for me to move forward, I got hit by a Wildfire. Some counters later, I had a small presence again and got hit by another sweeper. What helped me win this game--and the ultimate all star, given that once Keranos resolved he got to trigger the three damage almost every upkeeep--was that Garruk was constantly on the field and he focused on my more potent threats like Rashmi, Edric, and other creatures. Garruk kept pumping out 3/3's, and every time I did build a presence, he had ways to remove everything from the board. This came to a peak when he was finally able to wipe the board and hit enough of our land to leave me at three land. However, Garruk was still on the field and I had four mana to work with. At the end of his turn I blew up one of my own mana rocks with a Beast Within for a 3/3, and soon he was looking at two, and then three, without a true answer. He was finally wiffing his Keranos reveals, and I ended up winning.
Game 2: Sideboard for me is interested here, and it's the first match I can say I feel I was well prepared for. I brought in Negate, Spell Pierce, Force of Will, Flusterstorm, and Sword of Fire and Ice. One thing I didn't do was remove Bribery, and that sadly cost me the game later on. I started pretty quickly, but soon ran into heavy counterspells. Although we were on pace with one another, he was able to push through a very early Vendillion Clique that sent my Flusterstorm to the bottom and replaced it with a land. That Clique got me to 15 before I was able to try and handle it, but doing so left me vulnerable. After he resolved Keranos, he cast Jhokullhops, and even though I was hitting land, I had a really hard time being able to get anything resolved. I did cast and use Bribery, but could only nab his own Snapcaster Mage, much to my dismay. I got him down to 13 before a Keranos Trigger and a burn spell killed me.
Game 3: Dismayed, I did end up removing Bribery and hoped for the best. This game started explosive for me again. Turn 1 Green Sun for Arbor will never get old. I quickly got a lead on this game as well. Rashmi resolved, as well as a Venser. Poor Mindsculptor got countered, but by the time he tried casting Earthquake I had him down to 16. His Earthquake I Memory Lapsed, and at the end of his turn I also cast Brainstorm to see what was coming; a land, Flusterstorm, and another important spell. I tried to decide what to do and left Flusterstorm second so I could get it off of a Rashmi Trigger if I needed to. During his turn he attempted to Earthquake again. In response I cast Beast Within targeting my own mana rock, and Rashmi triggered the Flusterstorm to counter that. Despite this huge victory (and getting him super low), he top decked a Wildfire the next turn and we went back to square one. With a Swiftfoot boots on the field, I was forcing counters on every creature or damage would get through. Eventually I got him down to 3, and was able to resolve a Sage of Ancient Lore with three other cards in hand. Being able to swing for game with that was one of the more satisfying things I've ever had happening. All totaled, our matches lasted about two hours and twenty minutes. They were all well played.
I am now undefeated, and my next opponent will most likely be Doran. This is another match where I feel I can fall behind, so wish me luck!
Evacuation and Washout are simply to help exploit some triggers again and to reset a desperate board. Washout especially shined for me against my Ezuri match--forcing him to rebuild a rather large board while I was able to extend the game and find a win out of it. I know that it seems counter intuitive, but for me it can even be a way to get more advantage out of my own built board. I played a match for fun and ended up casting Evacuation just so I could recast Rashmi into an Acidic Slime holding on to countermagic.
Miri's Guile is a card I need to purchase--one of the few cards I don't own at the moment that I really need to. I don't know whether I'd replace Soothsaying at this point, though.
I do appreciate the criticism. I'm going to be making a lot of changes, as mentioned. There are some cards in here that are definitely more fluff and less powerful, although adhering to my original goal of hitting my win conditions.
I wouldn't necessarily call it an elf ball strategy. Rarely do I have more than one dork out, and the rest of the time it's creatures that have proven to be advantageous but not strong enough to win a fight on their own. You'd be surprised how quickly the board develops with 2/1 and 2/2 creatures. Acidic Slime, Venser, and Eternal Witness are the biggest offenders here, haha. Along with Edric, I suppose.
Soothsaying has performed extremely well. I've cast it four times off of a Rashmi Trigger, and I've always been able to utilize the scry to some extent. Depending on what I see, I then need to decide how to order my turn so that I can afford a shuffle--and yes, it's expensive. However, it's literally won me a game, and I appreciate that effect.
You're extremely right about Prophet, and along with Seedborn she's one of my most overwhelming and glaring oversights. I will be making room for her and other things ASAP. Once I can freely edit this list you'll see it changing a bit. I still believe that it leans more towards tempo/control than the likes of the Elfball Rashmi lists I've seen (which are basically Ezuri lists with blue), and don't go overly ham on the expensive, inefficient spells.
Thanks!
A brief intro on my part; I'm a longtime French Commander player who loves to try new things and falls in love with crazy commanders. I've played Grand Arbiter, Sydri, Marath, Kaalia, Thrun, Jenara, and Karona competitively, with only the last Commander really failing to impress. The leagues that I play in tend to have 10-20 players, with at least 5 being reliably competitive. With Grand Arbiter being my first love for multiplayer and 1:1, I've always enjoyed card advantage and control. This newest league I was planning on crafting Keranos because I attained a foil one, but the night before decklists needed turned in I ended up pulling Rashmi and falling in absolute love.
Because I crafted her in a single night, I have some absolute gaping holes in my decklist that currently cannot be remedied. However, I plan on keeping her constructed as long as I can, so that I can work towards a more efficient list.
I will be posting a link to my current list, as well as reports for each of my matches throughout the coming weeks and the ones I've already played.
List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/02-10-16-Apw-rashmi/
One thing you'll notice is that our league does include a sideboard. The other is that I have some odd inclusions.
Here are the results from my current games (I'm undefeated at the moment).
Week 1: Rashmi vs Xenagos, God of Revels
I did not enter with Rashmi expecting her to perform half as well as she has--this was a match I did not think would be within grasp of winning.
Game one I had an AMAZING hand and opener; turn 1 Forest, Exploration, Fetch, Mystic. During my turn two I decided not to cast Rashmi and instead dropped a Dryad Arbor and Llanowar Elves. He ended up Earthquaking for 1 and I lost off the back of that. I was greedy and punished for it.
Game two was more interesting; I was playing more slowly, but able to keep his pressure off with counterspells and Rashmi draws. He was ultimately poised to win (I couldn't keep Xenagos off the field and he kept pushing in with a creature I couldn't block) but a well timed Think Twice and Rashmi Trigger drew me into Bribery, which I used to fetch an Atarka and clear his board. He conceded and we moved to Game 3.
The third game was much like the first, wherein I was being pushed hard by a Hanwir Garrison and unable to block profitably because of Xenagod. I eventually ended up stalling the board by casting Venser into Acidic Slime, and proceeded to process triggering Rashmi every turn after that for a total of ten cards drawn. As strange as it was, it was quickly a draw go game as both of us searched for an answer to one anothers board state. His final turn he drew into a Rogues Passage that hit me down to 12 (I had a dustbowl in hand and hoped to utilize that), and at the end of his turn I used Soothsaying to Shuffle and then look at the top 3. I ended up being able to cast a Courser of Kruphix and draw a Craterhoof Behemoth, which when cast gave me enough damage (7 creatures muddying the board) to swing through for game. Thank god for shuffling!
Week 2: Rashmi vs Kruphix
This was a match I expected to win easily because the opponent isn't necessarily a skilled player, nor does he have access to the best cards. Nevertheless, I shall post results:
Game 1: Game one was quick and easy; I countered his largest plays and swung in with Rashmi and crew for game.
Game 2: Game two I kept a very, very scrupulous hand that I should have mulled. A single land, a Maze of Ith, a Dork, and some cards I couldn't play. Because of this our game dragged on and on, and I nearly lost. The early game was a slog for both of us as we tried to establish a mana base, and a couple amazing draws lead to me sifting and drawing. A Rashmi landed early and stayed out the whole game, but he ended up casting Altered Ego on her. I ended up casting Altered Ego on Kruphix, as we both needed tons of mana to operate. The problem was I didn't hit very many reliable counterspells, so I was only able to keep him off tempo for so long; he eventually had the ability to generate 10-20 mana each turn, and it didn't help that he was utilizing his own Rashmi triggers to push ahead. This culminated in him casting a Void Winnower, and if it wasn't for Capsize and Eternal Witness I would have been done for; the deal was that my only legitimate Counterspell the whole game was Desertion, and I had used it to halt an early Garruk. Staring down his Void Winnower, I knew I had to do something soon because I could barely block (Maze of Ith was dedicated to handling a 20/20 Mistcutter Hydra), and I had no true answer. What I ended up doing was Capsizing (after building mana to buyback twice) and then using Witness to fetch Desertion and snag his Winnower. One thing I've learned playing this deck is that Eternal Witness, Torrential Gearhulk, Snapcaster Mage, and Greenwarden of Murasa are invaluable. If not for them, I'd have lost this game and others. After taking his Void Winnower, he only had one viable blocker and I was able organize the top of my library with a Soothsaying to arrange a Decimator of the Provinces for game.
Week 3: Rashmi vs Ezuri
This was not a match I expected to win after listening to players who opposed this deck. Consistent turn four wins horrified my imagination, and I expected to be absolutely trampled. However, that wasn't the case.
Game 1: We both built a steady board, with him being unable to just roll out the Elf brigade for absolute stompage. Utilizing Rashmi triggers, I was able to land a somewhat decent boardstate and stop him from pushing in too hard. There was a single turn where he had Priest of Titani'd to cast Ezuri twice (once after countering), and potentially could have won the game. At that moment I had no actual blockers, and he could have activated Ezuri's ability and swung with at least three creatures--however, he miscounted his mana and passed the turn. This gave me just enough capacity to cast a Craterhoof and swing in overwhelmingly for game. This was a strange match where we both misplayed somewhat (I played a turn 2 Thought Vessel instead of holding up mana for a Condescend) and agreed that it could have gone either way.
Game 2: I was absolutely started with how fast he came out; turn 1 Juraga Treespeaker into a turn 2 Sylvan Fairie thing (the one that has prot. Blue and lets you return a forest to untap a creature). I was holding on to a Cyclonic Rift and Aether Rift, but was ultimately to slow to handle the hoard of creatures he cast. It was a rough and fast loss. There was one cool thing I did, though! I cast a Torrential Gearhulk and revealed an Eternal Witness! It was great, but his Scooze ate the targets
Game 3: This game was strange for both of us. I started off with a Burgeoning that lead to a second land during his turn, and a fetch on my second; he had a lot of land but not much action. Ultimately both of our early games were squandered. I resolved a Rashmi and he had a Wood Elves, and we pushed into the mid game. I ended up casting Arcane Denial to stop an Elvish Harbinger and immediately regretted it; he cast a green spell for free that granted him an extra turn, and drew three cards to really push ahead. At this point all I had on the field was a Rashmi and an Eternal Witness, and he started dumping his hand. I was forced to try and keep things off of the field, so I cast a Mystic Confluence to keep him off of lords and a Scavenging Ooze. I knew I didn't have a lot of time to find true answers, and ultimately ended up casting a Vendillion Clique to get rid of one of his other lords. This didn't stop him from overwhelming me, so I ended up casting a Wash Out to return everything and try and figure out what to do. After recasting Rashmi and Eternal Witness, I ended up drawing into a Bribery and crafting a new game plan; with him a little lower, my choice was to get Mystic Confluence back and stop him from rebuilding while I built up on my side with Rashi, Clique, and Witness. After he rebuilt a third time from getting rid of his board, I finally cast Bribery to steal his Craterhoof and swing for Game.
This is where I learned of one of my own terrible, terrible mistakes; my opponent made me aware of the fact that if I had simply kept casting Wash Out and Eternal Witness, I could have just beat him to death with Clique. Lesson learned--synergy is super important!
Next week my opponent is going to be Keranos. This is another matchup I am not very excited for, as him destroying my lands and creatures will ultimately hamper any gameplan I have. I am going to have to depend on well timed Counterspells and hope I have the ability to protect Rashmi.
Cards I really, desperately need to put in the deck: Voidslime, Cavern of Souls, Teferi (.creature), and Seedborn Muse. There are definitely others, too, and I'm up for questions about my list as well!
Thank you if you read that whole wall of text! I hope my games and list will help us craft an amazing Commander!
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 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!
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.
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!
The allstar in a deck like this is Hour of Need. Generally, if your walls are doing their job and the game is going late, Hour of Need can blow the opponent out harder than they can imagine.
I played Esper walls at the beginning of Rotation running some very similar cards and it blew a lot of people out of the water. The only deck I couldn't really keep up with was Temur Monsters or G/R monsters, and that was mostly because they could swing past my walls. However, there are better spells now, and honestly I could see this being a decent deck for FNM.
Versus control our best out of the board card is Empty the Pits. During Gameday, it was what legitimately helped me solidify my games versus Esper control. I need to test versus straight U/B, but I can't imagine it's much farther off. I highly recommend Empty, because it absolutely blows control out of the water when topdecking.
I also LOVE your list. I modeled mine after the Alaska one as well--going into Gameday, that is--and did not regret it at all. Chandra performed well when I drew her, and the one large change I might make is a third Sorin.
As for the discussion on Butcher; he's necessary. Period. No ifs ands or buts. We can not function properly without the pressure he applies, especially with how well he synergizes with every other card in the deck when he sticks.
Several of the lists I looked at had Read the Bones in the sideboard, or were also running it alongside some form of Sign in Blood.
I removed my two Read the Bones for an extra Mardu Charm and 4CC slot--however, I could argue that going back down to 2 Charms and one less 4CC spot is reasonable for two in the deck. I don't like Tormenting Voice--I have just never enjoyed the pitch effect, and I fullheartedly believe that Scry is much better for our deck.
On that note, who has tested Magma Jet?
While I agree with some of your criticisms when looking at that particular list, Wargoat, I am going to point out what I vehemently disagree with.
Firstly: Sorin is by far one of the best cards for our deck, if not one of the starring champions. You pointed out that he is not good while behind, and that is only half true. If you're playing him too quickly, you're playing him wrong. Our deck focuses on clearing the board, and we can't be overaggressive when it comes to playing our threats. When I'm holding onto a hand that has a threat or two (or I'm drawing into one with a scryland) and I'm also holding on to a Sorin, I play Sorin last--not because he's bad, but because if they deal with my other threats 1 for 1, I have the superior card coming out of my hand after the exchange. He's excellent in topdeck situations, as well. I won two games at my states competition off of a 2/2 Blocker or a Sorin getting lifelink in just long enough for me to hit another threat and swing in for victory. The +1/0 is hyper relevant when we need to get as much damage and lifegain as we possibly can in--and I must repeat. . .we get a 2/2 flying token out of him. He's one of my favorite toys, and he continues to outperform other options.
Secondly: You are highly, highly underestimating the power of Mardu Charm--to the extent that I'm not sure you've properly played it or playtested with it. I have never sided it out; in fact, I've sided out Downfalls before I've sided out Mardu Charm. In my testing my lists went from one Charm, to two, and then to three! Every mode for the card is relevant in the multitude of matchups that we're looking at. Against mono red, I've caught a turn 3 double Foundry Denizen player off guard by having him dump his hand and attack--only into two 1/1 First striking tokens that obliterated them and allowed me to push forward with a Hasty Lifelinking Butcher the next turn. Speaking of two 1/1 creatures, an end of turn Mardu Charm for the Warriors against control always applies an amazing amount of pressure. I've won games off of the backs of these tokens versus Esper in testing. Against Midrange and tempo, the 4 damage is an additional removal spell against almost all important early and mid game creatures. Courser and Mantis both get consumed by the charms flames--and in a pickle, it also applies the last bit of damage to a large creature when I block. Finally, you must not forget about an instant speed Duress. I've gone Thoughtseize into Despise into Mardu Charm to completely destroy a control players answers--forcing them into a long game where my topdecks are simply better. I've picked apart an Ascendancy players carefully selected hand twice at states with the help of a Charm. They end of turn Dig, I charm and rip that Helix or Ascendancy right out of their poor hands.
And the gross thing? You get to choose. You get to choose between all of these things, for three mana. Some argue that the options are very cost ineffective when looking at them as a single card; who would ever pay three for a Duress, or two 1/1 creatures when Raise the Alarm exists? Well I'll tell you one thing--when I'm looking at a Courser on turn three and I see that they're topdecking a Xenagos, I sure as crap can figure out my line of play with a Charm in my hand depending on what else I have--and the fact that it hits both of these really helps. Get used to the fact that this card is simply amazing.
Thirdly: Although I am just starting to test with Seeker of the Way, I am extremely pleased with how aggressive he helps us to be in lew of Bard Nelson's list. To get this out of the way, the quoted poster was only mentioning that he gained 6 life in the long run--not at once. I was looking for away to gain life without Sorin or Whip, and was honestly looking at Seeker as an option. When our deck is removing so much of their board most of the time, the path is clear for a turn 2 Seeker. If they have to kill him, that leaves more room for our Butchers or Rabblemasters. The amount of pressure and synergy applied with this one card will hopefully push my list even further; I wholeheartedly believe he deserves a slot, and I do not think that he deserves to be overlooked in our lists. I originally was scared that he'd just die too much, but then I realized much to my happiness that maybe he needed to die.
Fourthly: Hushwing Gryff, while not tremendously relevant against some of the field, is extreme value in regards to some of the best of the field. Reanimator decks do exist--and I do find that there is a growing appeal to See the Unwritten big stuff decks. Someone at my shop is successfully playtesting a list that ramps into a Seek and hits Hornet Queens and Ashen Riders. We can't ignore this sort of list if it becomes more popular. Furthermore, two of our biggest competitors are running Hornet Queens and Siege Rhinos--and while I have beaten these decks consistently, there are times where I feel siding in a Gryff would give me immense amounts of tempo versus the opponent.
I agree mostly with the rest of your assessments except one ofs. Statistically, most one ofs can seem irrelevant--however, they are massive game changers when they do show up. I am currently running a one of Utter End--and while I can't find space for more, I am certainly happy every time I see it. It could possibly become another card, and that's what I love about one ofs--your deck functions without them but if given the opportunity takes advantage of the fact that they're there. I wont argue for Spear--I'm not a fan of it--but most silver bullets are of the players choice, and can't be argued against as a choice.
I'll present my lists and arguments for what I'm doing:
Three weeks ago I started with the list that took 1st at one of the beginning Khans legal Starcity tournaments. While I only had one Sorin, I went in with a list like this:
1x Despise
3x Lightning Strike
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4x Crackling Doom
4x Hero's Downfall
1x Mardu Charm
4x Butcher of the Horde
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Ajani Steadfast
2x Sarkhan,the Dragonmaster
2x Stormbreath Dragon
2x Wingmate Roc
2x Battlefield Forge
2x Caves of Coilos
3x Temple of Silence
2x Temple of Malice
1x Temple of Triumph
1x Mana Confluence
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Bloodstained Mire
3x Swamp
2x Mountain
I made some changes going into the SCG States here in Nebraska, and took 9th (just barely missing out on top 8) with this list:
2x Thoughtseize
3x Lightning Strike
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Read the Bones
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Crackling Doom
2x Mardu Charm
4x Butcher of the Horde
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Ajani Steadfast
2x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3x Stormbreath Dragon
2x Endless Hostilities
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
2x Elspeth, Suns Champion
3x Anger of the Gods
2x Nyx-Fleece Ram
2x Thoughtseize
My reasoning for my choices at States was simple: Rabblemaster wasn't making me happy in the mainboard when facing ramp and midrange. I wanted control over when he went in, and because I was expecting a great deal of midrange and monsters I mainboarded two End Hostilities--a decision that helped me greatly. Another choice was was two Read the Bones, which performed exceptionally well. I beat two versions of Ascendancy Combo, a Mono Green devotion deck, one Temur Midrange Deck, and an Abzan Midrange list. My losses came from Mono Red and Jeskai Tempo. My mono red match saw a loss in the third game to a misplayed block from Mardu charm. My loss in the third game versus Tempo came from not outburning in a race against Keranos (didn't play a Crackling Doom a turn earlier). Our second game was hilarious; I had landed a turn 3 Brimaz and he banishing lighted it after I swung in. My token then got him from 16 to 3 while he was forced to handle my other threats and vice versa. Kitty Token got a gold star ;3
Walking away, I knew a few things: First, I needed to get more Sorin. Second, Mardu Charm overperforms in every respect of the card. Against every midrange and ramp deck I faced, it merced Coursers and Brimaz as well as Rabblemaster and Ascendancy Combo. People DO NOT expect two first striking tokens. Just putting a player who's assuming all you've got is a Downfall or Doom on tilt with them is ludicrous. I instant speed ripped a Retraction Helix out of a combo players hand. I can not overstate how good this card is for us, especially against control where the two 1/1 bodies are supremely relevant, especially when topdecking a Butcher.
Moving into FNM for Yesterday, I knew that I wanted to experiment a little. I had been looking at other lists that took first (primarily the Pennsylvania and Alaska Lists) and tweaked around a little:
2x Thoughtseize
2x Lightning Strike
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Herald of Torment
2x Goblin Rabblemaster
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Crackling Doom
3x Mardu Charm
4x Butcher of the Horde
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Ajani Steadfast
2x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3x Stormbreath Dragon
2x Goblin Rabblemaster
2x Elspeth, Suns Champion
3x Anger of the Gods
3x Nyx-Fleece Ram
1x Thoughtseize
2x End Hostilities
As much as I was loving End Hostilities, I wanted to move towards something that gave Tempo and Mono red a few more problems--though I took the wrong direction. My only losses yesterday were to those decks, although in the second game versus Jeskai Tempo he transformed into Jeskai control. I two for oned him with a Herald of Torment bestowed on a Nyx Fleece ram, but he sat at 3 while controlling the board. I never saw a Dragon D=.
Against mono red, Nyx Fleece or Anger never wanted to show their face--so much so I was even contemplating running some amount of Drown in Sorrow. I felt that was the wrong choice, though.
So, that brings me to today.
I took third at Game Day today running this list:
2x Thoughtseize
1x Lightning Strike
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Crackling Doom
3x Mardu Charm
4x Butcher of the Horde
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Ajani Steadfast
2x Chandra, Pyromaster
1x Utter End
2x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3x Stormbreath Dragon
4x Nomad's Outpost
3x Temple of Malice
2x Temple of Silence
1x Temple of Triumph
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Cave of Coilos
2x Battlfield Forge
4x Bloodstained Mire
3x Swamp
2x Mountain
1x Mana Confluence
2x Endless Hostilities
2x Elspeth, Suns Champion
3x Anger of the Gods
2x Nyx-Fleece Ram
1x Thoughtseize
1x Lightning Strike
2x Empty the Pits
I played fantastic. I beat Mono Green Devotion, went 1-1-1 against Esper control (our games were grindy, and Empty the Pits is a hilarious topdeck when they've been forced to expunge their answers on other threats), 2-0'd a G/R Aggro deck, and a mono red deck.
In the top eight, I dominated a mono black aggro deck, and then lost to the same G/R aggro deck because my list finally threw some rage in regards to the land at my face. It was sad to see my deck flounder after doing so well the past few weeks, but it was bound to happen. Really wanted to walk away with that playmat.
I now have three Sorin, and I will be placing them in the list happily.
I believe some people are forgetting what this deck should be doing: Answering everything and dropping threats that need to be removed until we can grind the match out in a topdeck situation. I playtest quite a bit against tempo and midrange, and our match against them is fair. It's not backbreaking for either deck--it really depends on the amount of removal you decide to stick with. For one thing, I don't understand people NOT running Stormbreath or Wingmate Roc in some form alongside Butcher. We need to be running them. Yes, they'll be removed. Yes, it may suck losing something like that--but the point is to force that to happen until they can't do it anymore and then start winning in tiny increments with the EXTREME value given to us by EVERY card in our deck.
In regards to Seeker of the Way--I've contemplated playing him. He's a fantastic way to get some life back, and with all of our non-creature removal spells and planeswalkers, I feel we get legitimate use out of him; however, I must say that I'm going to test more Sorin in my deck before I throw Seeker in. Now that I have three I will happily slam him and +1.
I'm willing to answer any questions about what I was doing with my lists and why, or the directions I'm going in the future! I think we're all doing well, and I fully support every version of this deck!