So I've got a pretty good Mardu manabase, and I don't feel like investing much more on lands. That being said, the deck I have right now is a Jirina Kudro upgraded precon and it sucks. What Mardu deck is the best?
I've heard that Kaalia of the Vast is good, but like a glass cannon. She does extremely well with no interference, but it is pretty easy to interfere, and at that point, you're pretty much screwed.
People keep telling me that Alesha, Who Smiles at Death is a great commander, but I don't really see how. She seems pretty fragile and easy to kill, and she only retrieves one creature per turn, and she can only do so by risking herself in an attack. I get that being able to cheat out cards like Master of Cruelties would be good, but I don't think there are enough cards with 2 or less power to be good.
Mardu has tons of different and fun commanders: Licia, Oros, Syr Gwyn, Zurgo...
No one of them will ever be top tier or anywhere near that.
The strongest ones are Edgar Markov and Kaalia of the Vast. Imho they are also terribly boring.
If you want the best of both worlds your choice should probably be Queen Marchesa
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How i feel about competitive players and casual players in EDH: The competitive are german tourists, the casual are italian tourists, both in a italian beach. The italians asking themselves "why are the germans here?" make a legitimate question, the answer is because the beach is beautiful, no matter the country you came from. The italians wanting to ban the germans are dumb, because if the germans pay for their stay and follow the rules like everyone else, they have the right to be in the beach. Hovewer, if the germans started to ask themselves "why are the italians here?"... they would be dumb as hell.
Just to confirm - is the manabase an upgrade to the precons manabase? If so then how did you upgrade it?
Do keep in mind that while Kaalia is one of the best in her colors, the point of running her is to cheat big stuff out early and quick, so if you're wanting to build mardu off of owning the manabase then make sure it's good enough to guarentee all 3 colors untapped around turn 3 or 4.
There are a tremendous pile of 2-cmc mana rocks that are nice turn-2 plays to allow a turn-3 kaalia, but if your manabase has a compliment of tap-lands and it slows down your ability to push Kaalia out early, then it kinda defeats the point of running Kaalia.
She also benefits from cards like Hall of the Bandit lord which tends to stress on more budget manabase as a colorless source.
So without knowing your exact situation, I'd say if you can consistently see all 3 colors around turn-3 or 4, then anything listed above, but if all colors are not available by then then maybe not kaalia.
In terms of the manabase, it's not too bad. I have 2 of the 3 of the shock lands, 2/3 checks, 3/3 scrys, Prismatic Vista, the Mardu triome. I very rarely get color screwed.
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"Life is a jape. Yours, mine, everyone's."
—Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
Just to confirm - is the manabase an upgrade to the precons manabase? If so then how did you upgrade it?
Do keep in mind that while Kaalia is one of the best in her colors, the point of running her is to cheat big stuff out early and quick, so if you're wanting to build mardu off of owning the manabase then make sure it's good enough to guarentee all 3 colors untapped around turn 3 or 4.
There are a tremendous pile of 2-cmc mana rocks that are nice turn-2 plays to allow a turn-3 kaalia, but if your manabase has a compliment of tap-lands and it slows down your ability to push Kaalia out early, then it kinda defeats the point of running Kaalia.
She also benefits from cards like Hall of the Bandit lord which tends to stress on more budget manabase as a colorless source.
So without knowing your exact situation, I'd say if you can consistently see all 3 colors around turn-3 or 4, then anything listed above, but if all colors are not available by then then maybe not kaalia.
In terms of the manabase, it's not too bad. I have 2 of the 3 of the shock lands, 2/3 checks, 3/3 scrys, Prismatic Vista, the Mardu triome. I very rarely get color screwed.
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"Life is a jape. Yours, mine, everyone's."
—Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
Would Kaalia of the Vast or Edgar Markov be a better deck to make? I was looking for a more budget deck but I'm not opposed to putting out cash for a better deck, as long as it stays good.
Most of the biggies you cheat out in Kaalia are pretty cheap, with a few pricy ones like Avacyn, Archangel of Hope. If you cheat out a good card early, that's pretty much the game, but it seems most people would whack Kaalia with removal as soon as you get her out, driving up the command tax to be pretty much unmanageable.
Edgar Markov himself is about $20, but the deck you build around him is pretty cheap, with Bloodghast being the most expensive vampire at $10, with most being under $2. Also, Edgar is very black-mana-heavy, so you end up running a lot of basic swamps.
Edgar is a very aggro deck, but it seems kinda hard whittling down someone who starts 40 life with a bunch of 2/1s and 1/1s, much less three other people. Especially if you're trying to race against a turn 3 Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation combo. Hopefully that bull***** gets banned soon, but combo decks will always be around.
Queen Marchesa is usually a stax commander, but most of the stax cards like Smothering Tithe are pretty hefty. Plus, in a multiplayer game, running stax instantly paints a bulls-eye on your chest.
I like 60-card more than commander anyways, so I could just make a $50 Edgar deck that'd be fun to play, even if it loses often.
Also, do most local game stores have 1v1 commander, or 4-player playgroups? I play modern all the time but I've never tried commander.
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"Life is a jape. Yours, mine, everyone's."
—Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
Definitely avoid Kaalia, she gets expensive really quickly and lends herself to a lot of non-games. Edgar specifically has issues against wrath-heavy metagames, but can drop the table to the teens pretty quickly. Kaalia can too, but she's vulnerable to literally any removal spell, counterspell, most blockers, and your own manabase, while Edgar requires them to have wraths. The trick is finding the last few points of damage or protecting your board from wraths (cards like Blood Artist, Boros Charm, and the like are premium).
You're going to have a bad time playing against top-tier decks with Thassa's Oracle regardless in these colors, so I would either not worry about it or go heavy stax/mass land destruction.
I would also reiterate Kaalia or Edgar. Kaalia in my opinion is only mentioned if you are playing mass land destruction tactics so if you aren't doing that, its Edgar and not even close.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
I've heard that Kaalia of the Vast is good, but like a glass cannon. She does extremely well with no interference, but it is pretty easy to interfere, and at that point, you're pretty much screwed.
People keep telling me that Alesha, Who Smiles at Death is a great commander, but I don't really see how. She seems pretty fragile and easy to kill, and she only retrieves one creature per turn, and she can only do so by risking herself in an attack. I get that being able to cheat out cards like Master of Cruelties would be good, but I don't think there are enough cards with 2 or less power to be good.
I could make a deck that's fun but bad, like Zurgo Helmsmasher.
Maybe I should throw in the towel and make a Kess, Dissident Mage deck, but that's a last resort.
Any ideas? Any suggestions are appreciated.
"Life is a jape. Yours, mine, everyone's."
—Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
The 1&2-drop version specifically is ban-worthy in 1v1.
My last version of the deck before I took it apart for reference, which is super cheap aside from the manabase for the most part:
1x Ayara, First of Locthwain
1x Blood Artist
1x Bloodcrazed Paladin
1x Bloodghast
1x Captivating Vampire
1x Changeling Outcast
1x Cordial Vampire
1x Cruel Celebrant
1x Dockside Extortionist
1x Dusk Legion Zealot
1x Forerunner of the Legion
1x Gifted Aetherborn
1x Guul Draz Assassin
1x Guul Draz Vampire
1x Indulgent Aristocrat
1x Kalastria Highborn
1x Knight of the Ebon Legion
1x Legion Lieutenant
1x Metallic Mimic
1x Mirror Entity
1x Olivia's Bloodsworn
1x Pulse Tracker
1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
1x Quag Vampires
1x Shadow Alley Denizen
1x Stromkirk Captain
1x Stromkirk Condemned
1x Tithe Drinker
1x Vampire Cutthroat
1x Vampire Hexmage
1x Vampire Interloper
1x Vampire Lacerator
1x Vampire of the Dire Moon
1x Vicious Conquistador
1x Viscera Seer
1x Badlands
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Command Tower
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Flooded Strand
1x Godless Shrine
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Marsh Flats
1x Plateau
1x Polluted Delta
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Scrubland
1x Snow-Covered Mountain
1x Snow-Covered Plains
13x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Windswept Heath
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Arcane Signet
1x Arcum's Astrolabe
1x Bolas's Citadel
1x Obelisk of Urd
1x Skullclamp
1x Throne of the God-Pharaoh
1x Impact Tremors
1x Necropotence
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Shared Animosity
1x Cabal Ritual
1x Culling the Weak
1x Dark Ritual
1x Defile
1x Dismember
1x Fire Covenant
1x Flawless Maneuver
1x Go for the Throat
1x Nameless Inversion
1x Path to Exile
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Terminate
1x Unbreakable Formation
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Intent
1x Night's Whisper
1x Sevinne's Reclamation
1x Sign in Blood
1x Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
Don't build Kaalia, she only does two things: 1) End the game immediately, 2) Absolutely nothing.
No one of them will ever be top tier or anywhere near that.
The strongest ones are Edgar Markov and Kaalia of the Vast. Imho they are also terribly boring.
If you want the best of both worlds your choice should probably be Queen Marchesa
Do keep in mind that while Kaalia is one of the best in her colors, the point of running her is to cheat big stuff out early and quick, so if you're wanting to build mardu off of owning the manabase then make sure it's good enough to guarentee all 3 colors untapped around turn 3 or 4.
There are a tremendous pile of 2-cmc mana rocks that are nice turn-2 plays to allow a turn-3 kaalia, but if your manabase has a compliment of tap-lands and it slows down your ability to push Kaalia out early, then it kinda defeats the point of running Kaalia.
She also benefits from cards like Hall of the Bandit lord which tends to stress on more budget manabase as a colorless source.
So without knowing your exact situation, I'd say if you can consistently see all 3 colors around turn-3 or 4, then anything listed above, but if all colors are not available by then then maybe not kaalia.
Links to my most current deck lists;
Primary EDH; Rakka Mar Token Perfection, Crosis Mnemonic Betrayal, Cromat Villainous, Judith Gravestorm, Rakdos Empty Storm, Exava Artifacts, Bant Trash, & Fumiko Voltron!
EDH kept at home; Ruzzian Isset & Rakdos LoR!
EDH (nostalgic/pimp/retired) in storage;
Latulla Burns, Akroma Smash, Jeska Voltron, Rakdos Storm, Bladewing Darghans, Lyzolda Worldgorger, Xantcha Steals your Heart, Jori Storm, Wydwen Permission, Gwendlyn Paradox, Jeleva Warps, & Sigarda Brick!
Legacy Showanimator and High Tide!
"Life is a jape. Yours, mine, everyone's."
—Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
In terms of the manabase, it's not too bad. I have 2 of the 3 of the shock lands, 2/3 checks, 3/3 scrys, Prismatic Vista, the Mardu triome. I very rarely get color screwed.
"Life is a jape. Yours, mine, everyone's."
—Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
Most of the biggies you cheat out in Kaalia are pretty cheap, with a few pricy ones like Avacyn, Archangel of Hope. If you cheat out a good card early, that's pretty much the game, but it seems most people would whack Kaalia with removal as soon as you get her out, driving up the command tax to be pretty much unmanageable.
Edgar Markov himself is about $20, but the deck you build around him is pretty cheap, with Bloodghast being the most expensive vampire at $10, with most being under $2. Also, Edgar is very black-mana-heavy, so you end up running a lot of basic swamps.
Edgar is a very aggro deck, but it seems kinda hard whittling down someone who starts 40 life with a bunch of 2/1s and 1/1s, much less three other people. Especially if you're trying to race against a turn 3 Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation combo. Hopefully that bull***** gets banned soon, but combo decks will always be around.
Queen Marchesa is usually a stax commander, but most of the stax cards like Smothering Tithe are pretty hefty. Plus, in a multiplayer game, running stax instantly paints a bulls-eye on your chest.
I like 60-card more than commander anyways, so I could just make a $50 Edgar deck that'd be fun to play, even if it loses often.
Also, do most local game stores have 1v1 commander, or 4-player playgroups? I play modern all the time but I've never tried commander.
"Life is a jape. Yours, mine, everyone's."
—Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
You're going to have a bad time playing against top-tier decks with Thassa's Oracle regardless in these colors, so I would either not worry about it or go heavy stax/mass land destruction.
YMMV but most people play 4-player EDH.
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