Not the most powerful Marchesa build but I like all the synergies. It definitely needs a Ghost Quarter at LEAST, and is hurting from the loss of Academy Ruins which I put into my cube, but overall it's a fun deck to play. If anyone hasn't tried Oona's Blackguard already, I suggest you try it.
Haven't tried it since it only targets one player and is very conditional on what they play. I have a funny hunch i'd also get murdered with about 10k+ clones of them straight to my dome with a manabase like mine
The single-target and contingency on an expensive manabase are definitely downsides to the card, but I think there's enough nonbasics being run in my meta to warrant its inclusion. If it does 4+ damage on average each time it comes in, that adds up quickly, especially if you can copy it. I'm not sure if that's good enough, but I'll try it out and see. I think ultimately testing will prove that it's a decent card but not something that would make a final 99 of ultra-tuned Marchesa builds.
Hope you like Grenzo and get results like I do. Now that I run Sneak Attack I'm having my circumstances where I have no use for my mana and he just dumps the bros into the board. His success ratio has been high enough where I had a game the other night people were worried to attack into me because Grenzo could potentially bring more blockers to the table. His ability also hits River Kelpie and Flayer of the Hatebound when they resolve which is just extra icing.
I only have one copy of Sneak Attack and it's in my cube, so I have to do without in my build! I looked through my list and most of my creatures are either 2 or 3 power, so I think he'll hit a lot of stuff. I like that he comes in with a counter at 3 mana to give him some protection if Marchesa is out. I can see it being bad-feels if you whiff with him, but I also run Academy Ruins and Living Death which should mitigate those in the long run.
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Has anyone tested Anathemancer in a Marchesa build? I recently added Grenzo to my list, and replaced Warstorm Surge with the Anathemancer because the Surge has been a little too slow lately.
I figure the Anathemancer is playable albeit unexciting. If you ignore its Unearth (or treat it as an emergency button), it's a 3-mana, 2-power guy so you can get it out early (at least before Marchesa), has a ETB effect that can do some decent damage, and is a Wizard (synergy with Sage of Fables, Voidmage Prodigy, Riptide Laboratory).
I'll see how it does, but I'm wondering if anyone has already tested it and has results to save me some time.
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Opinions on the idea of Alchemist's Apprentice]? Its been a decent cantrip at worst and a Phyrexian Arena at best. Its as good as seeing Pain Seer in opening hand and can sac himself before combat damage if your trying to keep the throne somewhere on the table. My deck plays a lot more casually, but I figured it was worth mentioning.
I think there's so many cards vying for inclusion in Marchesa lists that this one is nowhere close to making the cut. If it cost just U, then maybe, but it is such a low impact card that I would not run this when you have access to Mulldrifter, River Kelpie, Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena, Erebos, God of the Dead, etc. etc. etc.
Having said that, if you want to play Marchesa as Pauper Wizard Tribal then go for it. Just my opinion though.
Ya as I said mine is played more casually as a deck I can use to play against my friends who have made new decks or are relatively new. It's by no means a pauper deck, but I never see a bad deck played in my meta. I was just curious on opinions. So to restate, if you were to defang yourself slightly, how do you feel about it? I just want some draw outlets that aren't insane as Necropotence. It also works well with Dictate of Erebos effects.
I still feel that it is a bad card. Play Impaler Shrike if you want a budget draw option. I'm just a stranger on the Internet though, so I encourage you to test it in your deck for yourself. I think you'll find that it's not worth two mana or a slot in your deck, that's all I'm saying.
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Opinions on the idea of Alchemist's Apprentice]? Its been a decent cantrip at worst and a Phyrexian Arena at best. Its as good as seeing Pain Seer in opening hand and can sac himself before combat damage if your trying to keep the throne somewhere on the table. My deck plays a lot more casually, but I figured it was worth mentioning.
I think there's so many cards vying for inclusion in Marchesa lists that this one is nowhere close to making the cut. If it cost just U, then maybe, but it is such a low impact card that I would not run this when you have access to Mulldrifter, River Kelpie, Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena, Erebos, God of the Dead, etc. etc. etc.
Having said that, if you want to play Marchesa as Pauper Wizard Tribal then go for it. Just my opinion though.
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Finished my deck on saturday and played a bit.
Wondering why you aren't running Necropotence or Volrath's stronghold. They both seem real good, especially necro
I run Necropotence in my build and I can confirm it's very good. It's especially nice as a Devotion enabler for Gary and Erebos. The only downside is it makes Chasm Skulker a lot worse.
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I don't think it makes the cut unless you have lots of global haste effects. The fact that he needs to survive to your next upkeep to do his thing makes him quite vulnerable to removal, so you need to have Unspeakable Symbol / Marchesa / Mikaeus out to protect him. His effect is very powerful, but I'm not sure that it makes up for his fragility. Definitely worth playtesting though. The fact that you can find him with Imperial Recruiter is pretty sweet.
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Sorry if this has been asked before but why do you keep the signets? Wouldn't you rather have chromatic Lantern or something bigger like gilded Lotus?
I'm just gonna jump in here and answer from my own experience with my version of the deck. Solrune's version, as well as my own, runs a lot of 4 cmc spells/creatures. In an aggressive deck, the Signets and Talismans not only help Grixis keep up with Green-based ramp, but they help you cast your 4 drops on turn 3. Chromatic Lantern is too expensive for this deck at 3 mana at too little a benefit, and Gilded Lotus doesn't really solve this problem either. In my opinion, if you want mana fixing / ramp over 2cmc for the deck, look no further than Coalition Relic, although I'd personally play Burnished Hart and Solemn Simulacrum over that.
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Thalakos Deceiver is awesome and I highly recommend it. If you can find room for both, Cytoplast Manipulator does similar things to the deck but in a different way. Each needs a turn before it can do its thing, in the sense that they each tap to use their ability (the former attacking and the latter using the tap symbol). TD has evasion, which is pretty big for the deck, and its virtually unblockable. This means as long as it survives through the combat step, you'll probably get its trigger. The problem is that it's a large window of opportunity for your opponents to deal with it (a whole turn cycle), which is why giving it Haste is pretty key (and why I include Anger). CM has a counter as soon as it comes into play, so if Marchesa is out, it's protected immediately with its Graft ability.
Rambly aside: Oh and hey it's a Wizard! Makes me consider just throwing in Riptide Laboratory and find a copy of Venser and switch my own Deceiver with the Manipulator. Makes Archaeomancer much better too. Hmm..! Maybe a Wizard subtheme would be good to push in the deck. Makes Voidmage Prodigy a lot better too.
Anyway, they each have their strengths and weaknesses, and it seems like it could be a fine plan to jam both into the deck if you like to steal things. I run Helm of Possession already so I feel like two effects is enough for me. I give the nod to the Deceiver because of the evasion and the more manageable casting cost (3U instead of 2UU).
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Just here to report that Chasm Skulker has been testing very well in my build (here).
I have lots of Pandemonium effects, so the damage adds up quickly with the tokens. I especially like it with Purphoros.
Sometimes it does nothing, but I can say that about a lot of creatures on my list. I feel that cards like Chasm Skulker has a high enough ceiling that it's worth the risk. It's awesome with Skullclamp too!
Edit: Just remembered the interaction with Sage of Fables. Draw a card for 2 is decent!
6 Swamp
4 Island
3 Mountain
1 Steam Vents
1 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Command Tower
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 City of Brass
1 Opal Palace
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Sulfurous Springs
1 Underground River
1 Shivan Reef
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Great Furnace
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Crag
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Viscera Seer
1 Oona's Blackguard
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Ashling the Pilgrim
1 Baleful Strix
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 Apprentice Necromancer
1 Goblin Flectomancer
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Trinket Mage
1 Flesh Carver
1 Grim Haruspex
1 Chasm Skulker
1 Sage of Fables
1 Burnished Hart
1 Man-o'-War
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Disciple of Bolas
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Fleshwrither
1 Thalakos Deceiver
1 Cytoplast Manipulator
1 Sakashima the Impostor
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Dack's Duplicate
1 Anger
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Mer-Ek Nightblade
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Marton Stromgald
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Ingot Chewer
1 Mulldrifter
1 River Kelpie
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Flayer of the Hatebound
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Thraximundar
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Sol Ring
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Izzet Signet
1 Dimir Signet
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Talisman of Indulgence
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Helm of Possession
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Crosis's Charm
1 Unspeakable Symbol
1 Necropotence
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Living Death
Not the most powerful Marchesa build but I like all the synergies. It definitely needs a Ghost Quarter at LEAST, and is hurting from the loss of Academy Ruins which I put into my cube, but overall it's a fun deck to play. If anyone hasn't tried Oona's Blackguard already, I suggest you try it.
The single-target and contingency on an expensive manabase are definitely downsides to the card, but I think there's enough nonbasics being run in my meta to warrant its inclusion. If it does 4+ damage on average each time it comes in, that adds up quickly, especially if you can copy it. I'm not sure if that's good enough, but I'll try it out and see. I think ultimately testing will prove that it's a decent card but not something that would make a final 99 of ultra-tuned Marchesa builds.
I only have one copy of Sneak Attack and it's in my cube, so I have to do without in my build! I looked through my list and most of my creatures are either 2 or 3 power, so I think he'll hit a lot of stuff. I like that he comes in with a counter at 3 mana to give him some protection if Marchesa is out. I can see it being bad-feels if you whiff with him, but I also run Academy Ruins and Living Death which should mitigate those in the long run.
I figure the Anathemancer is playable albeit unexciting. If you ignore its Unearth (or treat it as an emergency button), it's a 3-mana, 2-power guy so you can get it out early (at least before Marchesa), has a ETB effect that can do some decent damage, and is a Wizard (synergy with Sage of Fables, Voidmage Prodigy, Riptide Laboratory).
I'll see how it does, but I'm wondering if anyone has already tested it and has results to save me some time.
I still feel that it is a bad card. Play Impaler Shrike if you want a budget draw option. I'm just a stranger on the Internet though, so I encourage you to test it in your deck for yourself. I think you'll find that it's not worth two mana or a slot in your deck, that's all I'm saying.
I think there's so many cards vying for inclusion in Marchesa lists that this one is nowhere close to making the cut. If it cost just U, then maybe, but it is such a low impact card that I would not run this when you have access to Mulldrifter, River Kelpie, Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena, Erebos, God of the Dead, etc. etc. etc.
Having said that, if you want to play Marchesa as Pauper Wizard Tribal then go for it. Just my opinion though.
I run Necropotence in my build and I can confirm it's very good. It's especially nice as a Devotion enabler for Gary and Erebos. The only downside is it makes Chasm Skulker a lot worse.
I don't think it makes the cut unless you have lots of global haste effects. The fact that he needs to survive to your next upkeep to do his thing makes him quite vulnerable to removal, so you need to have Unspeakable Symbol / Marchesa / Mikaeus out to protect him. His effect is very powerful, but I'm not sure that it makes up for his fragility. Definitely worth playtesting though. The fact that you can find him with Imperial Recruiter is pretty sweet.
I'm just gonna jump in here and answer from my own experience with my version of the deck. Solrune's version, as well as my own, runs a lot of 4 cmc spells/creatures. In an aggressive deck, the Signets and Talismans not only help Grixis keep up with Green-based ramp, but they help you cast your 4 drops on turn 3. Chromatic Lantern is too expensive for this deck at 3 mana at too little a benefit, and Gilded Lotus doesn't really solve this problem either. In my opinion, if you want mana fixing / ramp over 2cmc for the deck, look no further than Coalition Relic, although I'd personally play Burnished Hart and Solemn Simulacrum over that.
Rambly aside: Oh and hey it's a Wizard! Makes me consider just throwing in Riptide Laboratory and find a copy of Venser and switch my own Deceiver with the Manipulator. Makes Archaeomancer much better too. Hmm..! Maybe a Wizard subtheme would be good to push in the deck. Makes Voidmage Prodigy a lot better too.
Anyway, they each have their strengths and weaknesses, and it seems like it could be a fine plan to jam both into the deck if you like to steal things. I run Helm of Possession already so I feel like two effects is enough for me. I give the nod to the Deceiver because of the evasion and the more manageable casting cost (3U instead of 2UU).
I have lots of Pandemonium effects, so the damage adds up quickly with the tokens. I especially like it with Purphoros.
Sometimes it does nothing, but I can say that about a lot of creatures on my list. I feel that cards like Chasm Skulker has a high enough ceiling that it's worth the risk. It's awesome with Skullclamp too!
Edit: Just remembered the interaction with Sage of Fables. Draw a card for 2 is decent!