Hey guys, I've been working on my mardu deck on and off for a few months now and try to play it as often as I can. I've pretty much settled on a core 55 cards that I can't imagine changing out and about a 10 card sideboard and I'm looking for suggestions to fill in the last couple slots.
Here are some cards I've tried out and haven't been overly impressed with: Collective Brutality (would rather just run another Kolaghan's Command), Zealous Persecution, Grim Lavamancer (hasn't really done much for me, been running 1), Damnation (probably worth having 1-2 in sideboard but wasn't worth it in mainboard.
Cards I'm contemplating: 3-4 Soulfire Grand Master (I run a fair amount of burn in the deck, 4 bolts and 3 helixs (healing 6 O.O), Kolaghan's Command and 1-2 Crackling Doom.
Also do you think it'd be worthwhile adding 2 Inquistions to sideboard so I can switch out Thoughtseize if needed after game 1? And maybe add another Stony Silence. I really dislike having a 1 of of certain cards, they never show up when you need them.
Personally, I play 4 IoK: 2 TS maindeck. IoK usually hits most cards in the format that we're worried about and it feels pretty bad to Fetch>Shock>Thoughtseize.
Definitely play 2 Stony Silence in the board
Zealous Persecution can be a board wipe against weenie aggro decks, but it's probably not worth running with so few creatures in your deck.
I personally like Terminate over Dreadbore mainboard because I find there are few PWs I can't deal with besides Tron's, especially with our access to burn.
You may want to consider the recently spoiled Fatal Push
I think Myth Realized could be a good card for your deck
I'm curious as to which matchups you'd side in Painful Truths and whether you might like Night's Whisper instead.
I know you said you're pretty set on the main 55, but I think Dark Confidant is overrated (although I've never played him). More often than not, he seems like a "Pay 1B, skip your Turn 2" because he is such a hot removal target.
I think 4 Serum Visions can be too redundant. They're good for digging and smoothing out draws, but sometimes it sucks having multiple SVs in your hand when you could have an answer or a draw spell.
Hey guys, I have what you might call an 'unorthodox' idea for Esper Control. In fact, the only blue necessary is for Negate, Drownyard, and potential sideboarding. I have this perspective from having played Standard Esper Control back around M13/RTR, and from playing Modern BWR Tokens (essentially BW Tokens + Red for Bolt/Helix and sideboard options).
I've found that BWR Tokens does a pretty good job of board/hand control, but sometimes allows opponents to claw their way back into the game (in addition to being terribly vulnerable to combo). That's why I decided to brew this Esper list:
Pros:
Powerful low-costed spells
Consistent mana base
Ghost Quarter
Versatility
Flexible sideboard
Cons:
Potentially (very) long games
Not very proactive
Weak in control mirrors
All feedback is welcome and appreciated
Drownyard seems bad with so many decks caring about getting cards into the graveyard. Don't get me wrong, it was my favorite WinCon during INN-RAV standard (possibly of all time). Reanimator strategies gave me trouble then and I'd imagine that would still be true against Dredge.
Fair point, I had't considered that since my meta is heavy on Infect, Bogles, Tron, Tokens, and aggro. I still think the benefits of Drownyard outweigh the drawbacks with respect to GY decks since we have a lot of GY hate options in the sideboard. Granted, Dredge is a matchup I am pretty unfamiliar with
Hey guys, I have what you might call an 'unorthodox' idea for Esper Control. In fact, the only blue necessary is for Negate, Drownyard, and potential sideboarding. I have this perspective from having played Standard Esper Control back around M13/RTR, and from playing Modern BWR Tokens (essentially BW Tokens + Red for Bolt/Helix and sideboard options).
I've found that BWR Tokens does a pretty good job of board/hand control, but sometimes allows opponents to claw their way back into the game (in addition to being terribly vulnerable to combo). That's why I decided to brew this Esper list:
Game 2 (win):
I had decent a decent amount of discard/removal/tokens and he mulled to 5. Eventually it turned into a topdeck war but I had 2 Shambling Vents out (great card) and he scooped to my inevitability since he was out of gas
Game 3 (win):
Similar to Game 2 except I mulled to Path, Virtue, Souls, and 2 Land. I was worried but was able to handle his early threats and eventually stomped him with Timely Reinforcements into a Sorin.
INFECT (2-0)
Game 1 (win):
I had a two discards and a bolt which was enough to hold him off until I landed Souls/Virtue and drew a Path to finish him.
Game 2 (win):
He kept a no-lander with 2 GitProbes, but I started with 2 discard, bolt, and path and drew another discard.
INFECT (2-1)
Another infect. This was "the infect guy" of the shop.
Game 1 (loss):
Kept a Blood Crypt, 3 discard, and a Bolt but didn't draw anything else quickly enough. I removed his threats from his hand and from the board as he played them, but misplayed by playing Virtue and holding up one for Bolt (he pumped) instead of playing Souls which would've saved me with a block.
Game 2 (win):
Similar deal, except I overwhelmed him with Souls/Virtue this time. I almost lost by taking the wrong card with IoK, but he let me change it when I realized my mistake (which he was later very salty about, understandably so). Note: READ ALL OF YOUR OPPONENT'S CARDS CAREFULLY
Game 3 (win):
By far the most intense game of Magic I've played in a long while.
Started with discard/Bolt/Helix and Soul, but didn't see a third land for a while. Topdeck war of epic proportions in which he kept drawing threats and I kept drawing answers. I got up to 9 infect when I managed to stabilize. He literally played all his creatures but one (which he drew one turn too late), but ultimately Token Inevitability prevailed.
Conclusions:
Creatureless tokens is my preferred build because it nullifies spot removal and has a lot of inevitability. Sorin is devastating for a lot of decks, especially against Infect/Bogles if you can get him to ult.
Bitterblossom, while nice to have, wasn't stellar. Come to think of it, BB has killed me a lot more than it has saved me. I might replace it with Myth Realized
Discard is essential
Shambling Vent is GOAT
I saw a lot of BW Tokens floating around, none of which topped (Top 4 was Me, Infect, Tron, and Bogles). Mardu Tokens is vastly superior in my eyes. All input is welcome!
I'm telling you, guys, test out with pack rat for a few games. Early game, iok/ts to clear removal and make rats. Late game, top deck rats (be sure to hold spare lands in hand after 5 or six on field) drop rats, respond to removal with...wait for it...MORE RATS. Plays exceptionally well with Bob (extra cards you don't need, more rats please) and souls (chuck souls to rats, recast souls, GHOST RATS!) Can quickly outgrow clasm and anger, can be bought back with kommand, provides a 0/6/12 damage clock on an empty field (as long as you kept those spare lands/spells to feed them), seriously y'all. Just watch out for sweepers and engineered explosives, that's where the blowouts come from.
Something to keep in mind with Rat is that Maelstrom Pulse has made a pretty big resurgence. Seems like 2 Maindeck is more common now, since its a good answer to the Eldrazi decks.
Mentor really provides what rat does, expect you get to gain value out of using your removal, rather than paying 3 mana and discarding a card to grow it.
While Pulse kills Rat efficiently, it also kills Mentor albeit less efficiently. Rat is more resilient to almost all other removal. You still need to spend at least 2 cards and mana to protect Mentor from Bolt, and once he is dead you can't make more tokens. Rat can also survive Path.
I'm telling you, guys, test out with pack rat for a few games. Early game, iok/ts to clear removal and make rats. Late game, top deck rats (be sure to hold spare lands in hand after 5 or six on field) drop rats, respond to removal with...wait for it...MORE RATS. Plays exceptionally well with Bob (extra cards you don't need, more rats please) and souls (chuck souls to rats, recast souls, GHOST RATS!) Can quickly outgrow clasm and anger, can be bought back with kommand, provides a 0/6/12 damage clock on an empty field (as long as you kept those spare lands/spells to feed them), seriously y'all. Just watch out for sweepers and engineered explosives, that's where the blowouts come from.
Pack Rat is easily one of my favorite Magic cards. I'm running tokens right now and will try to squeeze him in. Assuming I get a T5 Rat with an Intangible Virtue out, I could potentially be swinging for 19 on T7 with vigilance! How many did you use?
For those using Nahiri, have you considered Thalia, Heretic Cathar? They seem pretty powerful together in the right build. I expect to see her in some CoCo decks but she has potential in our colors IMO
Hey guys, thanks for all your input/advice thus far. Went 2-2 at my first modern event last night. I was missing 2 IoK and most of my sideboard but it was $25 to play modern+prerelease so I YOLO'd
Great! Looks similar to my list. Only change I would personally make is to drop a Painful Truths and try to make room for 1-2 more discard spells. Decks like Boggle and control decks can't handle discard spells from hitting their key pieces and counterspells.
Cool, yeah I used your list for inspiration! I'm going to cut Truths and one Path for 2 IoK. For the sideboard I'm considering:
I personally like a 1 Rakdos Charm and 2 Rest in Peace split. The thing is Rakdos charm can be better with instant speed graveyard removal (e.g Living End, Dredge) but is still available artifact hate in the deck.
I also prefer Lightning Helix over Timely Reinforcement. Again, it's instant speed so it is easier to get around anti-life cards and also removes a threat permanently. At 2 mana, it seems like a better choice in a deck that runs red as well.
Having tested Anguished Unmaking and Crackling Doom, I'm not sure if I am a huge fan. They mostly go 1-for-1 for a substantial amount of mana (and life). In the sideboard, I like to keep specific hate. Bringing in Dreadbore for instance takes care of the bigger BGx creatures while also killing Tron's planeswalkers. Against Boogles, Engineered Explosives is often as good as Crackling Doom but extremely powerful in many other match-ups. Just my two cents.
Hey guys, thanks for all your input/advice thus far. Went 2-2 at my first modern event last night. I was missing 2 IoK and most of my sideboard but it was $25 to play modern+prerelease so I YOLO'd
Round 1: UW Control/Mill: 2-0
This guy was pretty new to modern but a nice guy. I don't think I took a single point of combat damage from this guy. G1 I didn't see a single token generator until a T10 or so Sorin, who sped up my two Shambling Vents. G2 I sided in Dreadbore and
Duress for his Jaces.
Round 2: Bogles: 1-2
I played my friend round 2 so I knew exactly what to expect. I have beaten him handily with proxies before but I didn't have access to the cards I needed. Round 1 he won the roll but I still managed to beat him with discard>Virtue>Souls>Sorin before he got enough momentum. Round 2 I got 2 discards to open but he had 2 Daybreak Coronet and 2 Umbras. I almost stabilized at 1 life but I needed a land to activate my Vault and I drew a fetch. Round 3 he had Leyline to start and I was pretty screwed.
Round 3: Boros Allies 2-0
This was pretty easy as he had no way to deal with fliers aside from targeted removal. I got 2 Virtues both games so even his sided-in Pyroclasm wasn't enough.
Round 4: Grixis Control 0-2
This was the most enjoyable matchup of the night but also the one where I felt most crippled by lack of cards, particularly RiP. Game 1 he took most of my threats with discard. I eventually died to my own Bitterblossom while he kept my stuff from sticking. Had I hit Painful Truths for 2 instead of 3 I might have turned it around as I had a Vault. Game 2 he hit all the sideboard cards he needed. He got a timely Pyroclasm and snapped it back later on, then had an Izzet Staticaster to nuke me.
All in all it was a great night and I got a Shadows Jace in one of my prize packs and played a sweet GW humans deck with Thalia, Heretic Cathar at the prerelease. I think new Thalia might start showing up in Modern as many decks lack basic lands. She's even pretty good against the ones with basics like Merfolk and Elves. Things I took away:
-Lingering Souls is the real MVP
-Bitterblossom is great even in a nontoken build as long as you can put on enough pressure before it kills you. 1 life a turn to chump beaters is worth it.
-Flashing in token blockers is handy, I traded with numerous x/1s including Snapcaster and even got Kalitas/Gurmag Angler with the assistance of Virtue/Burn. Mardu Charm might be something to look at.
-I rarely needed to use Path and often had enough removal that I could save it. It was useless against Bogles and against the UW control deck I preferred not to hit his guys with it as he had trouble getting past 4 lands both games. I think I played it 4 or 5 times, twice in the same turn against the Boros deck. I think 3 might be enough with my removal suite especially after I add in 2 more IoK but will playtest more and see how I feel.
-Strong sideboard is crucial
Once I improve my list/sideboard I expect to be able to consistently go 3-1/4-0. Another guy there was playing Mardu midrange/control. My Bogles friend beat him and said he used Confidant/Finks/Lili/Ajani. I think the guy went either 2-2 or 1-3. Cheers lads
Great! Looks similar to my list. Only change I would personally make is to drop a Painful Truths and try to make room for 1-2 more discard spells. Decks like Boggle and control decks can't handle discard spells from hitting their key pieces and counterspells.
Cool, yeah I used your list for inspiration! I'm going to cut Truths and one Path for 2 IoK. For the sideboard I'm considering:
MWM:
Pros: 2 1/1s on T2
Cons: No flying
BB:
Pros: Inevitability, fliers
Cons: Life loss, no impact until T3, vulnerable to hate
Another card I've been considering is Extricator of Sin
Personally, I play 4 IoK: 2 TS maindeck. IoK usually hits most cards in the format that we're worried about and it feels pretty bad to Fetch>Shock>Thoughtseize.
Definitely play 2 Stony Silence in the board
Zealous Persecution can be a board wipe against weenie aggro decks, but it's probably not worth running with so few creatures in your deck.
I personally like Terminate over Dreadbore mainboard because I find there are few PWs I can't deal with besides Tron's, especially with our access to burn.
You may want to consider the recently spoiled Fatal Push
I think Myth Realized could be a good card for your deck
I'm curious as to which matchups you'd side in Painful Truths and whether you might like Night's Whisper instead.
I know you said you're pretty set on the main 55, but I think Dark Confidant is overrated (although I've never played him). More often than not, he seems like a "Pay 1B, skip your Turn 2" because he is such a hot removal target.
Fair point, I had't considered that since my meta is heavy on Infect, Bogles, Tron, Tokens, and aggro. I still think the benefits of Drownyard outweigh the drawbacks with respect to GY decks since we have a lot of GY hate options in the sideboard. Granted, Dredge is a matchup I am pretty unfamiliar with
I've found that BWR Tokens does a pretty good job of board/hand control, but sometimes allows opponents to claw their way back into the game (in addition to being terribly vulnerable to combo). That's why I decided to brew this Esper list:
Non-land (36):
4x Myth Realized
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Thoughtseize
4x Path to Exile
3x Fatal Push
3x Negate
3x Night's Whisper
4x Lingering Souls
4x Wall of Omens
3x Wrath of God
2x Gideon Jura
Land (24):
3x Polluted Delta
3x Flooded Strand
3x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
3x Shambling Vent
1x Plains
1x Island
1x Swamp
4x Ghost Quarter
3x Nephalia Drownyard
The idea is to prevent anything scary from sticking, and eventually finish with either Myth, Souls, Gideon, or, if all else fails, Drownyard. I figure there's plenty of creature removal so the only counterspell necessary in the main board is Negate. Sideboard considerations are Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Liliana of the Veil, Leyline of Sanctity, Ghostly Prison, Aven Mindcensor, Damnation and counterspells, among others.
Pros:
Powerful low-costed spells
Consistent mana base
Ghost Quarter
Versatility
Flexible sideboard
Cons:
Potentially (very) long games
Not very proactive
Weak in control mirrors
All feedback is welcome and appreciated
Removal/Discard (18)
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Thoughtseize
3x Path to Exile
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
1x Dismember
Token Generators (11)
1x Timely Reinforcements
3x Bitterblossom
4x Lingering Souls
2x Raise the Alarm
2x Midnight Haunting
Token Helpers (8)
4x Intangible Virtue
3x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Zealous Persecution
Lands (23)
3x Godless Shrine
2x Sacred Foundry
2x Blood Crypt
2x Polluted Delta
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Shambling Vent
1x Battlefield Forge
1x Plains
1x Mountain
1x Swamp
2x Vault of the Archangel
Sideboard
2x Stony Silence
1x Crackling Doom
3x Rest In Peace
2x Crumble to Dust
1x Zealous Persecution
1x Rakdos Charm
1x Bitterblossom
1x Timely Reinforcements
2x Raise the Alarm
1x Midnight Haunting
Matchups:
GOBLIN TRIBAL (2-1)
Game 1 (loss):
He came out too quickly for me to handle with the hand I kept. I almost stabilized but wasn't quick enough.
SIDEBOARD: Coudlnt' afford lifeloss
OUT: 3 BB and 2 Thoughtseize
IN: Timely Reinforcements, Rakdos Charm, Zealous Persecution, Raise the Alarm, Midnight Haunting
Game 2 (win):
I had decent a decent amount of discard/removal/tokens and he mulled to 5. Eventually it turned into a topdeck war but I had 2 Shambling Vents out (great card) and he scooped to my inevitability since he was out of gas
Game 3 (win):
Similar to Game 2 except I mulled to Path, Virtue, Souls, and 2 Land. I was worried but was able to handle his early threats and eventually stomped him with Timely Reinforcements into a Sorin.
INFECT (2-0)
Game 1 (win):
I had a two discards and a bolt which was enough to hold him off until I landed Souls/Virtue and drew a Path to finish him.
SIDEBOARD:
OUT: 3 BB, 1 Timely Reinforcements
IN: 1 Zealous Persecution, 2 Crumble to Dust, 1 Crackling Doom
Game 2 (win):
He kept a no-lander with 2 GitProbes, but I started with 2 discard, bolt, and path and drew another discard.
INFECT (2-1)
Another infect. This was "the infect guy" of the shop.
Game 1 (loss):
Kept a Blood Crypt, 3 discard, and a Bolt but didn't draw anything else quickly enough. I removed his threats from his hand and from the board as he played them, but misplayed by playing Virtue and holding up one for Bolt (he pumped) instead of playing Souls which would've saved me with a block.
SIDEBOARD:
OUT: 3 BB, 1 Timely Reinforcements
IN: 1 Zealous Persecution, 2 Crumble to Dust, 1 Crackling Doom
Game 2 (win):
Similar deal, except I overwhelmed him with Souls/Virtue this time. I almost lost by taking the wrong card with IoK, but he let me change it when I realized my mistake (which he was later very salty about, understandably so). Note: READ ALL OF YOUR OPPONENT'S CARDS CAREFULLY
Game 3 (win):
By far the most intense game of Magic I've played in a long while.
Started with discard/Bolt/Helix and Soul, but didn't see a third land for a while. Topdeck war of epic proportions in which he kept drawing threats and I kept drawing answers. I got up to 9 infect when I managed to stabilize. He literally played all his creatures but one (which he drew one turn too late), but ultimately Token Inevitability prevailed.
Conclusions:
Creatureless tokens is my preferred build because it nullifies spot removal and has a lot of inevitability. Sorin is devastating for a lot of decks, especially against Infect/Bogles if you can get him to ult.
Crackling Doom is the real deal
Fulminator Mage is a necessity over Crumble to Dust. I got lucky that I didn't need it and that I didn't run into Tron.
Bitterblossom, while nice to have, wasn't stellar. Come to think of it, BB has killed me a lot more than it has saved me. I might replace it with Myth Realized
Discard is essential
Shambling Vent is GOAT
I saw a lot of BW Tokens floating around, none of which topped (Top 4 was Me, Infect, Tron, and Bogles). Mardu Tokens is vastly superior in my eyes. All input is welcome!
While Pulse kills Rat efficiently, it also kills Mentor albeit less efficiently. Rat is more resilient to almost all other removal. You still need to spend at least 2 cards and mana to protect Mentor from Bolt, and once he is dead you can't make more tokens. Rat can also survive Path.
Pack Rat is easily one of my favorite Magic cards. I'm running tokens right now and will try to squeeze him in. Assuming I get a T5 Rat with an Intangible Virtue out, I could potentially be swinging for 19 on T7 with vigilance! How many did you use?
Most people would rather play Jund or Jeskai. Mardu hasn't put up many good results (yet)
Thanks, appreciate it
Cool, yeah I used your list for inspiration! I'm going to cut Truths and one Path for 2 IoK. For the sideboard I'm considering:
1x Anguished Unmaking
1x Crackling Doom
2x Crumble to Dust
2x Stony Silence
3x Rest in Peace
2x Hide/Seek
2x Zealous Persecution
2x Timely Reinforcements