Been messing around with a Mardu Aristocrats deck on MTGO to some good success but I feel like it could use some help with some fine tuning. Currently it's looking like this:
I saw a video on YouTube the other day playing some thing similar on arena, you should watch his game play
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Used to be on here as Draconek, since the Twitch takeover...who knows...
MTGO: Draconek
Standard: URW Control UB Control
Modern: BRG Living End GR Aggro GW Value
Legacy:
Currently not playing
I'm very interested in this archetype. Some cards that I think are worth discussing:
Conclave Tribunal: I think this should be in the deck over Final Payment. Payment is super flexible but this deck never struggles in having a couple 1/1's on board to play conclave with.
Gruesome Menagerie: If ever there was a deck to play this card successfully, it's this. It's a little slow and feels bad in your opening hand, but if it resolves its very difficult to lose, especially in aggro mirrors.
Pitiless Pontiff: gets damage in or eats blockers, can have lots of cute interactions when Judith is on board.
The Priest of Forgotten Gods/Reassembling Skeleton combo is cute but doesn't strike me as super valuable. I think Priest as a 2-of is good for the deck, because she can eek out a lot of free value if left unchecked, but there are plenty of exile spells in the format that shut her down so quick and reassembling skeleton is really weak otherwise. If you want an effect like that I think Gutterbones can fit nicely, only 1 more mana to recur but hits faster and harder.
I've been thinking of adding either Gutterbones or Footlight Fiend and cutting some 2 drops, because the deck doesn't struggle for 2's. Also think i'll cut the Martyr's for Imperious Oligarch, W/B on turn 2 is trivial because the list only runs 7 red cards.
So, this thread hasn't been bumped in a month but i've been playing this and having a great time. My list looks an awful lot different now - I cut a lot of the garbage-y afterlife effects and kept the good ones.
I tried Footlight Fiend for a while, but he was really inconsistent. Switched to Gutterbones and I think this is a perfect deck for him. You almost always have the ability to get some damage in on board, unless you're so behind that the game's over anyway. I'm back and forth on Priest of Forgotten Gods, especially as a 4-of. In games where it sticks, it's overwhelming. It's also a much needed card draw outlet, as the deck relies very heavily on Midnight Reaper otherwise. I've thought about cutting 1 or 2 for Discovery // Dispersal because the deck doesn't mind sticking dudes in grave, or maybe swapping one for a 3rd Pitiless Pontiff, which is also overwhelming in certain matchups (Sultai especially). I've also thought of going to 3 Gruesome Menagerie which is obviously risky in a 22 land deck, but resolving one is game ending almost universally. The deck is a toolbox of gruesome pairings - grab a witness, tithe taker and plaguecrafter for control matchups (get rid of those pesky teferis), a midnight reaper/priest of forgotten gods and friends to surge ahead against midrange, or judith, gutterbones and oligarch to close out a game quickly
I'm only playing on MTGA BO1s, so I have no idea what a sideboard might look like, but it's not as if these colors dont have options. Probably 4x Tocatli Honor Guard, 2-3x Moment of Craving for burn (one of the decks worst matchups) & Mono U, 1-2x Vraska's Contempt or 1-2x more Plaguecrafter, a couple Baffling Ends, maybe a Settle the Wreckage and an Unbreakable Formation to hold for boardwipes or as an extra heroic reinforcements.
At this point it's almost hard to consider it an aristocrats deck - the only built in sac function is Plaguecrafter. The idea now is that its a very resilient aggro deck that reanimates a TON and draws a lot of cards with reapers and zealots. It's very hard to attack into this deck. The major downside is that a Cry of the Carnarium for 3+ creatures is basically an auto loss, and every creature in the deck can get hit by it. It's early enough in the meta that i'm playing against a lot of jank right now, but I've had a lot of success with the deck so far in gold on MTGA, though its struggling a lot more in plat. I've also been thinking about a Bolas's Citadel version of the deck as an alternative for Gruesome Menagerie, but in my first tests with it it wasn't nearly as good.
Love this archetype. Been playing it since WAR came out on Arena and I've gotten the deck together to bring to my LGS. I managed to win one tournament and come in 3rd in another, still tweaking along the way and stuff.
Some cards that I've tried running but have cut for various reasons are Hero of Precinct One, Hunted Witness, Mayhem Devil, Midnight Reaper, Spark Harvest, and Bolas's Citadel. This list right now, I think, is performing the best in general against most decks. Main gameplan with this list is all-in aggro while using Priest of Forgotten Gods as a card advantage engine. With Judith and/or Footlight Fiend out you can almost always activate Priest and kill multiple things on their side of the board by pinging down their smaller creatures so they have to sacrifice their bigger ones. Or you can just go straight to the face with the damage and end the game outright, especially with Heartfire.
I have also been tinkering around with Orzhov as a more midrange list with Seraph of the Scales, Midnight Reaper, and Oketra - I like that list a lot too but I think Mardu has been performing better in general. This Mardu list, if left unanswered, ends the game by turn 5 pretty much every time, and has the ability to grind a bit later into the game with card advantage and explosive plays from Priest, Sorin, and Bontu.
This deck is particularly really good against Mono Red and other aggro decks, and plays well against midrange decks as well. Against mono red and other aggro, we can match their aggression while getting an advantage through lifegain and trading off our creatures and getting more out of the trades than they do. Against midrange, the deck can either go under it with early aggression and get enough of a lead that they'll have a hard time coming back and then we can hopefully close out the game with a Heartfire or Bontu. Otherwise, the deck can deal with midgame threats decently, especially if Priest of Forgotten Gods sticks. Control is a lot harder for this deck though.
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2x Tithe Taker
3x Priest of Forgotten Gods
4x Reassembling Skeleton
4x Fireblade Artist
4x Ministrant of Obligation
3x Midnight Reaper
3x Judith, the Scourge Diva
3x Teysa Karlov
2x Seraph of the Scales
2x Heroic Reinforcements
I'm curious if I'm better served with Orzhov Enforcer or maybe Imperious Oligarch in place of Fireblade Artist to enable more Afterlife shenanigans. I've also opted to use Reassembling Skeleton over Gutterbones since it can come back immediately. It's FANTASTIC with the Priest. I'm also torn on Seraph vs. something like Elenda, the Dusk Rose
Thoughts on maybe some ideas to mess around with? The deck can be extremely powerful, especially if you can curve out your Judith/Teysa engine.
GWUBAtraxa and Her Superfriends
WUB Oloro, the Life Drain Train
URG Animar, Soul of Elements
WBR Kaalia of the Vast
BWTeysa Karlov, Scion of Orzhov
R Purphoros, Goblins of Pain ($100 Budget Challenge)
U Talrand, Fun Police (Needs updating)
MTGO: Draconek
Standard:
URW Control
UB Control
Modern:
BRG Living End
GR Aggro
GW Value
Legacy:
Currently not playing
Conclave Tribunal: I think this should be in the deck over Final Payment. Payment is super flexible but this deck never struggles in having a couple 1/1's on board to play conclave with.
Gruesome Menagerie: If ever there was a deck to play this card successfully, it's this. It's a little slow and feels bad in your opening hand, but if it resolves its very difficult to lose, especially in aggro mirrors.
Pitiless Pontiff: gets damage in or eats blockers, can have lots of cute interactions when Judith is on board.
The Priest of Forgotten Gods/Reassembling Skeleton combo is cute but doesn't strike me as super valuable. I think Priest as a 2-of is good for the deck, because she can eek out a lot of free value if left unchecked, but there are plenty of exile spells in the format that shut her down so quick and reassembling skeleton is really weak otherwise. If you want an effect like that I think Gutterbones can fit nicely, only 1 more mana to recur but hits faster and harder.
Right now on MTGA I'm playing a list like this
4x Tithe Taker
2x Martyr of Dusk
3x Orzhov Enforcer
2x Priest of Forgotten Gods
3x Pitiless Pontiff
4x Ministrant of Obligation
4x Midnight Reaper
4x Judith, the Scourge Diva
3x Conclave Tribunal
3x Heroic Reinforcements
2x Gruesome Menagerie
I've been thinking of adding either Gutterbones or Footlight Fiend and cutting some 2 drops, because the deck doesn't struggle for 2's. Also think i'll cut the Martyr's for Imperious Oligarch, W/B on turn 2 is trivial because the list only runs 7 red cards.
4x Hunted Witness
3x Gutterbones
4x Tithe Taker
2x Imperious Oligarch
4x Priest of Forgotten Gods
2x Pitiless Pontiff
2x Plaguecrafter
4x Midnight Reaper
4x Judith, the Scourge Diva
4x Conclave Tribunal
3x Heroic Reinforcements
2x Gruesome Menagerie
Lands (22)
3x Blood Crypt
2x Dragonskull Summit
2x Clifftop Retreat
3x Sacred Foundry
4x Isolated Chapel
4x Godless Shrine
1x Swamp
1x Mountain
2x Plains
I tried Footlight Fiend for a while, but he was really inconsistent. Switched to Gutterbones and I think this is a perfect deck for him. You almost always have the ability to get some damage in on board, unless you're so behind that the game's over anyway. I'm back and forth on Priest of Forgotten Gods, especially as a 4-of. In games where it sticks, it's overwhelming. It's also a much needed card draw outlet, as the deck relies very heavily on Midnight Reaper otherwise. I've thought about cutting 1 or 2 for Discovery // Dispersal because the deck doesn't mind sticking dudes in grave, or maybe swapping one for a 3rd Pitiless Pontiff, which is also overwhelming in certain matchups (Sultai especially). I've also thought of going to 3 Gruesome Menagerie which is obviously risky in a 22 land deck, but resolving one is game ending almost universally. The deck is a toolbox of gruesome pairings - grab a witness, tithe taker and plaguecrafter for control matchups (get rid of those pesky teferis), a midnight reaper/priest of forgotten gods and friends to surge ahead against midrange, or judith, gutterbones and oligarch to close out a game quickly
I'm only playing on MTGA BO1s, so I have no idea what a sideboard might look like, but it's not as if these colors dont have options. Probably 4x Tocatli Honor Guard, 2-3x Moment of Craving for burn (one of the decks worst matchups) & Mono U, 1-2x Vraska's Contempt or 1-2x more Plaguecrafter, a couple Baffling Ends, maybe a Settle the Wreckage and an Unbreakable Formation to hold for boardwipes or as an extra heroic reinforcements.
Heres my new decklist
4x Hunted Witness
3x Footlight Fiend
3x Tithe Taker
3x Dusk Legion Zealot
4x Cruel Celebrant
3x Plaguecrafter
4x Midnight Reaper
4x Judith, the Scourge Diva
4x Conclave Tribunal
2x Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord
3x Gruesome Menagerie
Lands (23)
4x Blood Crypt
2x Dragonskull Summit
2x Clifftop Retreat
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Isolated Chapel
4x Godless Shrine
1x Swamp
2x Plains
At this point it's almost hard to consider it an aristocrats deck - the only built in sac function is Plaguecrafter. The idea now is that its a very resilient aggro deck that reanimates a TON and draws a lot of cards with reapers and zealots. It's very hard to attack into this deck. The major downside is that a Cry of the Carnarium for 3+ creatures is basically an auto loss, and every creature in the deck can get hit by it. It's early enough in the meta that i'm playing against a lot of jank right now, but I've had a lot of success with the deck so far in gold on MTGA, though its struggling a lot more in plat. I've also been thinking about a Bolas's Citadel version of the deck as an alternative for Gruesome Menagerie, but in my first tests with it it wasn't nearly as good.
2 Plains
4 Blood Crypt
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Clifftop Retreat
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Godless Shrine
3 Mountain
3 Dragonskull Summit
4 Footlight Fiend
3 God-Eternal Bontu
2 Tithe Taker
3 Teysa Karlov
4 Priest of Forgotten Gods
4 Hero of Precinct One
4 Judith, the Scourge Diva
1 Seraph of the Scales
1 Revival // Revenge
3 Tibalt, Rakish Instigator
I'm currently experimenting with this deck, I think there might be room for siege gang commander somewhere in there.
Here's my current list:
4 Footlight Fiend
4 Gutterbones
2 Grim Initiate
4 Dreadhorde Butcher
4 Priest of Forgotten Gods
4 Cruel Celebrant
4 Judith, the Scourge Diva
4 Plaguecrafter
2 God-Eternal Bontu
3 Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord
3 Heartfire
Lands - 22
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Blood Crypt
4 Godless Shrine
4 Sacred Foundry
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Swamp
3 Tibalt, Rakish Instigator
2 Kaya's Wrath
4 Tithe Taker
3 Tocatli Honor Guard
3 Orzhov Enforcer
Some cards that I've tried running but have cut for various reasons are Hero of Precinct One, Hunted Witness, Mayhem Devil, Midnight Reaper, Spark Harvest, and Bolas's Citadel. This list right now, I think, is performing the best in general against most decks. Main gameplan with this list is all-in aggro while using Priest of Forgotten Gods as a card advantage engine. With Judith and/or Footlight Fiend out you can almost always activate Priest and kill multiple things on their side of the board by pinging down their smaller creatures so they have to sacrifice their bigger ones. Or you can just go straight to the face with the damage and end the game outright, especially with Heartfire.
I have also been tinkering around with Orzhov as a more midrange list with Seraph of the Scales, Midnight Reaper, and Oketra - I like that list a lot too but I think Mardu has been performing better in general. This Mardu list, if left unanswered, ends the game by turn 5 pretty much every time, and has the ability to grind a bit later into the game with card advantage and explosive plays from Priest, Sorin, and Bontu.
This deck is particularly really good against Mono Red and other aggro decks, and plays well against midrange decks as well. Against mono red and other aggro, we can match their aggression while getting an advantage through lifegain and trading off our creatures and getting more out of the trades than they do. Against midrange, the deck can either go under it with early aggression and get enough of a lead that they'll have a hard time coming back and then we can hopefully close out the game with a Heartfire or Bontu. Otherwise, the deck can deal with midgame threats decently, especially if Priest of Forgotten Gods sticks. Control is a lot harder for this deck though.