Thanks for the breakdown! I've been playing Marton Stromglad since the beginning, and I agree that its awesome. Its definitely a 'reader' card, which I really appreciate in my win-conditions. Captivating Crew seems bad, like real bad here. Its basically only good if a. you have Marchesa out b. you don't want to cast other things in your hand c. opponents have creatures that you care about and d. you have a sac outlet. Seems like too much.
Anyways, I love all your suggestions. I think I'm going to have a hybrid build between your list and Solrune's. I love playing creatures in EDH, and this deck will compliment my Maelstrom Wanderer deck nicely (the creatures have entirely opposite purposes). I like playing do-nothing cards likeDire Undercurrents and Whip of Erebos.
Also, the most important reason I'm excited to rebuild Marchesa is that you get to play tons of cards here that are pretty terrible in every other EDH deck. How many decks do you see running around with Alchemist's Apprentice and Sage of Fables?
Any opinion on Dire Fleet Ravager? Seems ok. Very proactive, hard to block, and can block well if necessary.
Since a few people are sharing their different approaches to playing Marchesa I figured I'd share my list, in case anyone is looking for some ideas to incorporate into their own list. I started out trying to build an ultra-fast deck that ended up getting hated out rather quickly, so I pivoted a little bit into a more value-oriented list that doesn't look like the biggest threat at the table immediately. There are a few combos in the list, but I wouldn't say I manage to pull any of them off too frequently and rarely feel the need to look for them deliberately.
Hi tev
I have a habit of roughly grouping decklist by functionality. So I just roughly grouped your listing. Some cards have multiple functions, but I grouped them by their primary function. Lands are excluded from the function, as their primary function is to tapped for mana..
So which cards is put in the wrong group? or which group is wrongly named
Marchesa, the Black Rose tev
Ramp (4)
Sol Ring
Sword of the Animist
Talisman of Dominance
Talisman of Indulgence
Card drawing (13)
Skullclamp
Alchemist's Apprentice
Baleful Strix
Smuggler's Copter
Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Wheel of Fortune
Dark Prophecy
Necropotence
Rhystic Study
Grim Haruspex
Twilight Prophet
Consecrated Sphinx
Sire of Stagnation
Protection (10)
Stubborn Denial
Arcane Denial
Cyclonic Rift
Lightning Greaves
Swiftfoot Boots
Sage of Fables
Metallic Mimic
Unspeakable Symbol
Glen Elendra Archmage
Olivia, Mobilized for War
Hi tev
I have a habit of roughly grouping decklist by functionality. So I just roughly grouped your listing. Some cards have multiple functions, but I grouped them by their primary function. Lands are excluded from the function, as their primary function is to tapped for mana..
So which cards is put in the wrong group? or which group is wrongly named
Marchesa, the Black Rose tev
Ramp (4)
Sol Ring
Sword of the Animist
Talisman of Dominance
Talisman of Indulgence
Card drawing (13)
Skullclamp
Alchemist's Apprentice
Baleful Strix
Smuggler's Copter
Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Wheel of Fortune
Dark Prophecy
Necropotence
Rhystic Study
Grim Haruspex
Twilight Prophet
Consecrated Sphinx
Sire of Stagnation
Protection (10)
Stubborn Denial
Arcane Denial
Cyclonic Rift
Lightning Greaves
Swiftfoot Boots
Sage of Fables
Metallic Mimic
Unspeakable Symbol
Glen Elendra Archmage
Olivia, Mobilized for War
Finisher (3)
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Flayer of the Hatebound
Kokusho, the Evening Star
Life gain (2)
Sangromancer
Whip of Erebos
Misc (1)
Sneak Attack
Lands (38)
3 Island
3 Mountain
6 Swamp
Blood Crypt
City of Brass
Command Tower
Dragonskull Summit
Drowned Catacomb
Exotic Orchard
Grand Coliseum
Graven Cairns
Hanweir Battlements
High Market
Mana Confluence
Miren, the Moaning Well
Opal Palace
Path of Ancestry
Reflecting Pool
Shivan Reef
Smoldering Marsh
Steam Vents
Sunken Hollow
Sulfurous Springs
Tainted Isle
Tainted Peak
Tarnished Citadel
Underground River
Watery Grave
Westvale Abbey
Been busy the last few weeks, sorry for the tardy reply.
I don't see the mana rocks as Ramp; they're there to Control my Life Total. I'm trying to play threats on curve, so a rock doesn't do much for me. Controlling my life total to make sure I'm not on the Throne when I want to swing, that's what I really desire.
While Sadistic Hypnotist does give me great reach vs Control, I got it back in because it is a Sac Outlet that had a broken ability attached. There are times I contemplate even worse Creatures just to have a Sac Outlet to Control my board.
I also see Aura Thief as Removal, not as Reach. Most of the time when I want to rush this out to die is because of an obnoxious Enchantment; I'm not that phased by Ghostly Prison anymore because of all of the pingers I've added to the deck. The Thief helps in that case but is not necessary.
Skipping over my lands is also a mistake; I've chosen them for function as well. Painlands to Control my life; sac outlets to protect my Creatures, my life or make serious problems (in the case of Westvale Abbey; Shocklands for typing but also life control again.
Edit: Just saw your question Akroma; to answer I don't want the Dire Fleet Ravager because I'm afraid of dying to crackback.
Imperial Recruiter is going to be absurd in this deck, there are so many incredible Two Power Creatures that I'll be tutor up. The Apprentice Alchemist was an alright addition; it's typing come up more often than I realized so it was easy to Sac for value. It's just doesn't hold a candle to Imperial Recruiter.
Scab-Clan is quite the powerful aggressive piece but there have been times when my opponents have manipulated their life total so that I wouldn't get maximum advantage over attacking them. With that in mind, I've placed in the Oblierator who will certainly cause my opponents to freak out on how to deal with it.
With these changes, I can't think of anywhere to go from here. I'll definitely want the Battlebond Lands but after that? I think the deck would like a Mana Crypt; I'm just not the type to throw that randomly in decks.
Sire was simply too expensive for what he did. Sure, he was great at damning my opponents by deciding whether to hold back on development or give me more gas. The six cost just became too much as I upgrade that slot; he looked a lot less impressive next to a Consecrated Sphinx, Kokusho, the Evening Star and Flayer of the Hateboound. Toothy looks like it will provide me with a lot of gas, plus has the odd benefit of forcing a reshuffle every time he comes into play due to making someone search for Pir.
I decided to cut the Tango Lands in favor of Bond Lands (I think that's what people are calling them, who knows what the consensus is?) due to a stricter requirement. It was these or the checklands like Dragonskull Summit, in the end I think that the checks are easier to pull off than Tangos, even though cutting the Tangos do make the checks worse.
I figured since the price has bottomed out and Demonic Tutor is a good Magic card, I'd get the next best thing. I axed Baleful Strix because I think it is the weakest card in the deck. I was considering axing Strix or Wheel of Fortune. Wheel, so it would go in my Blood Pod deck, or Strix because it was the weakest. In the end, I decided to keep the more powerful card. After that, I don't know what to cut.
Wow, this set is chock full of goodies for a pure Aggro Marchesa.
Loyal Drake is going in, I'm making room for that. It is an evasive card draw engine.
Bloodtracker is stronger than Toothy, Imaginary Friend. The Vampire brings evasion, can self pump and more importantly, can control my life total. There have been times when the deck has stumbled due to not being able to Dethrone after a Wrath because I had too much life. This card corrects that.
Even though I just mentioned the deck stumbling due to being on the Throne, I like Loyal Subordinate because it will just keep cutting opponent's life totals down. The Menace is also helpful for getting in with this low Toughness Creature.
Loyal Apprentice rounds out the cycle and is amazing to boot. The 2/1 for Haste isn't the impressive part, it is continually adding evasive Thopters that my opponents will need to deal with. Better yet, they aren't entering Tapped and Attaking, meaning that these Thopters are going to get +1/+1 if they attack the Throne.
I am even considering Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor. I would create a lot of tokens for my opponents, they're not going to block Varchild and when Varchild dies, which is a frequent occurrence with my Creatures, I gain control of all of these extra tokens. This is more of a fringe pipe dream, but I can see some potential.
Lastly, Forge of Heroes is going in the deck. It's better than Opal Palace because it is any time Marchesa ETBs, which gives her a lot more resilience than On Cast. My mana base is OK, not the best, so I will probably be swapping out Palace for the Forge. I cannot afford too many colorless sources.
Cephalid Constable is getting cut because it was too powerful. Too many players would be caught with their pants down and just lose. I would figure that over the months they would adapt and make sure they can block the Constable. So, if you're going for the most powerful build in an Aggro build, keep the Constable. I didn't mind axing him because then it made room for all of the goodies in this set. Loyal Subordinate kills the table, Menace gets him in and he's an efficient body.
Loyal Apprentice spawns bodies that have evasion, this is an incredible addition to Marchesa. If I ran a more mana heavy build, I would be placing this beside Tilonalli's Summoner but my build is just concerned on throughput. Loyal Apprentice just keeps putting bodies on the table, very much like my other favourites: Hanweir Garrison, Goblin Rabblemaster, etc. I cut Aura Thief because it is an Evasive Flyer but over the changes of adding so many incidental pings, its main purpose of stealing Propaganda et. al. became less necessary.
Wheel of Fortune is awesome, no doubt. The Drake just happens to be a 3 CMC card draw engine with evasion. I decided to shuffle a few cards between decks: Wheel goes into Edgar Markov, who then places his Land Tax into Trostani. Loyal Drake isn't as strong as Wheel but I like Drake more in this deck and Wheel/Land Tax in their new homes.
With the low mana curve of this deck, Twilight Prophet actually didn't chunk the table while drawing me cards. In its place, I'm using Bloodtracker due to its card draw nature, Evasive threat that pumps and that it controls my life total.
Phyrexian Obliterator has yet to hit the table; it was just too difficult to cast at Quad Black. I'm a little disappointed. I am placing Sifter of Skulls in its place. I figure to go more wide to compliment the Loyal Apprentice's Thopters. These Eldrazi Scions also can Sac themselves to help power out more expensive, deadlier spells. The Scions can sac themselves on demand to trigger all of my reach: Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Hissing Iguanar, etc. I can toss them onto Skullclamp and just use them as generator fodder. I haven't seen them before in a list, I stumbled across the Sifter. Time to see if this is going to be good for Marchesa.
The mana base is solid but sometimes it hiccups. The Taint Lands make me suspicious, the Obliterator not hitting the table confirms it. I cannot afford more colorless sources so Forge of Heroes replaces instead of compliments Opal Palace.
I feel like I need a better way to kill the table and punish them for messing with me. I don't really need the Flamespeaker anymore, even if I think it is really cool. The Berserker has put the hurt on previously and she is resilient with her Renown Trigger.
With the dissolution of Daxos, my Urborg freed up. Hopefully this will make the Taint Lands better.
I saw Legion Warboss spoiled for Rav 3, I think it would replace my Goblin Rabblemaster. I really like Rabblemaster, as it forces blocks by being big. I think Warboss will be better just to give the deck more resiliency. The best answer is probably to run both, but I'm not sure I could find another cut.
Midnight Reaper will be replacing Dark Prophecy. The Triple Black is occasionally a problem and I rather make it as easy as possible for myself. The Reaper is draw on a body, which is great for me and I can mitigate the lifeloss if it is no longer desirable with Whip of Erebos. I do acknowledge Prophecy is better on the draw, as this deck is using a lot of tokens; however, with the amount of Sacrifice shenanigans the deck has I think the nontoken will just be fine. The floor on Reaper is I draw one card as someone pops it; the ceiling is a steady form of card advantage I don't need to take time off casting Noncreatures and it lowers my life total to make it easier to stay off of the Throne in the Early/Mid Game.
I decided having Warboss and Goblin Rabblemaster made for a wider, more out of control board. I decided to cut Márton Stromgald because while he has an amazing ceiling, he has a relatively big floor. He closes out games you're winning but does nothing for games you're losing. The Warboss can keep Marchea alive, plus all of my other dorks, keep the swinging sideways and he synergizes with the Rabblemaster. Slimming the curve is great; especially as another Creature that can come down before Marchesa and then gain her benefits.
Midnight Reaper for Dark Prophecy as discussed above: an easier to cast body over a difficult to cast non-body that is slightly worse.
it's the "with lesser power" clause on legion warboss that stopped me from preordering the card. granted that in the artifact version i'm running it's another non artifact, i still feel it would be clunky as hell, especially if you expected it to protect marchesa.
midnight reaper i'm trying it as well, grim haruspex breaks games and a copy of the effect is always welcome.
The floor on Legion Warboss is that the 1/1 token it generates is now a 2/2. The ceiling is that he gets big enough to continually slap +1/+1s on Marchesa and keep her alive. In between, I can easily see this Creature give my low power Creature +1/+1s when I'm on the Throne; people then need to block or not, putting damage on themselves or cause many of my low powered guys come back. Creatures I can see him Mentor to great effect are Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Imperial Recruiter, Oona's Blackguard or Dragonmaster Outcast. If he gets another +1/+1 or two, he suddenly protects a lot of my obnoxious 2/2s. His floor is solid, his ceiling is obnoxious and otherwise he's just a solid Creature that synergizes well with my list. My list has deviated enough from Midrange Marchesa, combo Artifice and everything in between; I'm not surprised if people dismiss the Warboss from their builds.
One thing to note about Midnight Reaper is that his trigger is damage, so if you have a Whip of Erebos out you take nothing.
Another card from Guilds of Ravnica that I like a lot in this deck is Severed Strands. It's cheap, it destroys any creature and the sac demand is an opportunity. O yes o.k. it's a sorcery.
I wouldn't run that. Most of my Creature removal comes from swinging with a large Creature that my opponent has to block. There's always Grimgrin, Corpse-Born if I wanted specific removal. Hell, Goblin Bombardment can do the job as well and is an overall good card. I have a lot of ways to gain life so I don't want to bank on drawing a Sorcery when I need it, I rather have a card that can gain me life but also give me innate value. Hell, the only 'pure lifegain' I have is Whip of Erebos which still causes my opponents problems if I can Whip an important Creature to swing in.
With the removal of Márton Stromgald, I took another hard look at my four drops. These cards are effectively competing with Marchesa. Sifter feels weak when held up to Herald of Secret Streams, Bloodtracker or Falkenrath Aristocrat. I've put a 3 drop that should help me keep my opponents in check. She's also a Wizard and thus benefits from all of the incidental Wizard fringe benefits.
I realized I had some trouble with Whip of Erebos. I said it did nothing a few posts up and that made really look at it. There have been times when my life total got too high to reliably keep Dethrone going. There are times when I play the Whip because my life is low, my opponents team up and conspire to keep me on the Throne. Suddenly, all of my board can't Turn Sideways without a care. I've also noticed that I've never won with Marchesa through Combat Damage, it is pretty easy to throw a squirrel under the bus to stop her attack. By adding Loxodon Warhammer, I can control whether I want to gain life or not. I can have a single Creature do so instead of the entire board. Being blocked out of lethal is sometimes a problem, the Trample will assist with that whether it is counting to 21 with Marchesa or letting a massive Grimgrin, Corpse-Born through.
I didn't want to really spend $20 on what I recall as a junk rare from back in the day. Sort of like how I still consider Bribery to be the dollar rare it was upon release, not the $20+ juggernaut it is. Anyway, I got tired of Marchesa being messed with, as that is one way to stop the deck and Kira got put in. I struggled for a while and finally decided to axe Sadistic Hypnotist because I find that he frequently makes my board vulnerable to board wipes or that I use him poorly. I couldn't see any obvious three drops, so I started from the top of my curve and when downwards. My six drops are all ridiculous, it was when I measured Sadistic against Grimgrin, Corpse-Born and Gray Merchant of Asphodel that he felt a little lacklustre which helped with my decision.
I like Sangromancer, it helps me re-stabilize and she has evasion. Looking at my other four drops, she can be a little lacklustre but sometimes she saves my bacon. I was looking at Marchesa lists and stumbled across Dross Harvester and saw that he serves a similar function but at 3 CMC instead of 4. This is another Creature I can sneak under Marchesa and have him swing at my opponents; more importantly, the 4 points in the endgame will make sure I keep off of the Throne. He also gains a little less life than the Sangromancer, which also means I don't get into too many situations where my board is gone and I'm at too high of a life to realistically rebuild with +1/+1s. We'll see if the extra power and toughness are worth the evasion loss.
This deck is resilient enough, or manages to get a Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, that I don't think Meteor Crater will be dead. It will also help with the perfect mana that the deck sometimes requires.
So many Stifle-likse effects get aimed at my Commander from returning and the deck crumbles when I am unable to get her back. Graveyard Marshall goes in Grenzo's place as a way to Exile her if she gets stuck in my 'yard, he also provides a body. If I also have a moment or three, he can be used to Exile Creatures Discarded from Smuggler's Copter, in response to Necropotence's trigger or just having my board repeatedly hit until they do not have +1/+1 Counters. At the very worst, if Graveyard Marshall does nothing it is an efficient body. I've been wanting to axe Grenzo for a little while; initially I thought of replacing him with Sheoldred, Whispering One but Sheoldred costs a lot of mana. I do dislike that I am not really abusing my Graveyard in a Black deck. I went with the Marshal's efficiency at resurrecting Marchesa more than anything else. She's still on the docket, there's so many games that devolve into grindfests that I have an unused Graveyard. Grenzo hasn't really shone in a bit, I usually get in and hit hard that the Goad doesn't really do that much - their Creatures die in the Blocks or from my Grave Pact. Which the other option of Goad, using random mana on a random card that may or may not benefit the deck. Here the Marshal shines again, that random mana can be used to put even more pressure on the board.
I like Scab-Clan but she can be played around, or has a bad matchup, so I'm going for something far more consistent. Pyreheart Wolf gives my Creatures Menace, meaning they get in easier which is always a problem. The fact that it is a 1/1 means I can Skullclamp for Undying value. Undying also means it can start loops with any and all of my damage drainers; such as Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat and Hissing Igaunar. I've seen the Pyreheart repeatedly suggested on many EDH Rec builds, so I guess it's time for me to test it out especially since my build is an aggro build.
Pact of Negation will let me stop things that need to be stopped when I'm tapped out. I can recall multiple games where I've lost where I tapped out with Arcane Denial in hand, I needed to advance my board to stand a chance and that's when they got me.
The one game I used the Loxodon Warhammer was lacklustre. I'm trying out Dawn of the Dead as an experiment. First, it can get Marchesa out of the Graveyard if she gets stuck in there from all the memetic nonsense. The life loss is good to keep me off of the Throne in the late game. Let's see if it'll be a good late game threat of bringing back my dead Creatures for another round. I'm not sure how successful this will be, but Dawn of the Dead costs a lot less money than Sheoldred, Whispering One.
Fatespinner wasn't very good, it didn't do much and so it gets the axe. A little disappointing but c'est la vie. Kraum goes in as an aggressive card advantage engine that has evasion. Perhaps a better body can go in this slot, but I feel like I need a better punch to my team.
Bloodtracker also performed disappointingly. Unlike Toothy, Imaginary Friend, who grows off of draws and therefore can set up a card advantage engne with a Sac Outlet, Bloodtracker requires the +1/+1s. Essentially, Toothy is frontloaded while Bloodtracker is backloaded and I cannot afford that in my decks. I removed every Sac Outlet that had a mana requirement for a reason: I'm usually too busy for that and so Bloodtracker doesn't do much for me. In his place, I'm trying to stretch out the top of my curve a bit more with Sheoldred. She fetches Marchesa from the 'yard in case there's more meme Stifles, plus many others. She fulfills my expensive drop requirement, as she is large and is evasive with Swampwalk which is a popular colour as well as my Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth confirming the ability.
This deck has moved away from a midrange build, which means I don't need as much value and thus Sword of the Anime can get the axe. I also plan on using a few more nonbasics as the ones I desire got reprinted in Ultimate Masters. In its place is Desecrated Tomb, which makes evasive bodies that I think I'll be able to abuse before I started this shift of finding ways of making my Creatures leave the Graveyard.
Anyways, I love all your suggestions. I think I'm going to have a hybrid build between your list and Solrune's. I love playing creatures in EDH, and this deck will compliment my Maelstrom Wanderer deck nicely (the creatures have entirely opposite purposes). I like playing do-nothing cards likeDire Undercurrents and Whip of Erebos.
Also, the most important reason I'm excited to rebuild Marchesa is that you get to play tons of cards here that are pretty terrible in every other EDH deck. How many decks do you see running around with Alchemist's Apprentice and Sage of Fables?
Any opinion on Dire Fleet Ravager? Seems ok. Very proactive, hard to block, and can block well if necessary.
1x Carrion Feeder
1x Sidisi's Faithful
1x Viscera Seer
1x Baleful Strix
1x Dark Confidant
1x Lightning Mauler
1x Metallic Mimic
1x Nightscape Familiar
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Sage of Hours
1x Spellskite
1x Drana, Liberator of Malakir
1x Fleshbag Marauder
1x Grim Haruspex
1x Matter Reshaper
1x Sage of Fables
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
1x Dack's Duplicate
1x Disciple of Bolas
1x Falkenrath Aristocrat
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Treasonous Ogre
1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x River Kelpie
1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1x Zealous Conscripts
1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1x Scourge of the Throne
1x Sire of Stagnation
1x Rune-Scarred Demon
1x Mark of Mutiny
1x Victimize
1x Windfall
1x Living Death
1x Insurrection
1x Blasphemous Act
Enchantments
1x Dark Tutelage
1x Fervor
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Unspeakable Symbol
1x Sneak Attack
1x Dictate of Erebos
Artifacts
1x Lotus Petal
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Dimir Signet
1x Izzet Signet
1x Jet Medallion
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Rakdos Signet
1x Talisman of Indulgence
1x Ashnod's Altar
1x Bident of Thassa
1x Whip of Erebos
Instant
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Go for the Throat
1x Rakdos Charm
1x Terminate
1x Chaos Warp
1x Clutch of the Undercity
Lands
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Bojuka Bog
1x City of Brass
1x Command Tower
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Flooded Strand
1x Grand Coliseum
1x High Market
3x Island
3x Mountain
1x Polluted Delta
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Shivan Reef
1x Smoldering Marsh
1x Spinerock Knoll
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Sulfurous Springs
1x Sunken Hollow
3x Swamp
1x Tainted Isle
1x Tainted Peak
1x Temple of Deceit
1x Temple of Epiphany
1x Underground River
1x Watery Grave
Since a few people are sharing their different approaches to playing Marchesa I figured I'd share my list, in case anyone is looking for some ideas to incorporate into their own list. I started out trying to build an ultra-fast deck that ended up getting hated out rather quickly, so I pivoted a little bit into a more value-oriented list that doesn't look like the biggest threat at the table immediately. There are a few combos in the list, but I wouldn't say I manage to pull any of them off too frequently and rarely feel the need to look for them deliberately.
I have a habit of roughly grouping decklist by functionality. So I just roughly grouped your listing. Some cards have multiple functions, but I grouped them by their primary function. Lands are excluded from the function, as their primary function is to tapped for mana..
So which cards is put in the wrong group? or which group is wrongly named
Marchesa, the Black Rose tev
Ramp (4)
Sol Ring
Sword of the Animist
Talisman of Dominance
Talisman of Indulgence
Card drawing (13)
Skullclamp
Alchemist's Apprentice
Baleful Strix
Smuggler's Copter
Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Wheel of Fortune
Dark Prophecy
Necropotence
Rhystic Study
Grim Haruspex
Twilight Prophet
Consecrated Sphinx
Sire of Stagnation
Protection (10)
Stubborn Denial
Arcane Denial
Cyclonic Rift
Lightning Greaves
Swiftfoot Boots
Sage of Fables
Metallic Mimic
Unspeakable Symbol
Glen Elendra Archmage
Olivia, Mobilized for War
Sac outlet (8)
Carrion Feeder
Viscera Seer
Spawning Pit
Goblin Bombardment
Bloodflow Connoisseur
Yahenni, Undying Partisan
Falkenrath Aristocrat
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
Low cc High threat (8)
Dragonmaster Outcast
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Drana, Liberator of Malakir
Cephalid Constable
Combat Celebrant
Goblin Rabblemaster
Hanweir Garrison
Márton Stromgald
Reach enabler (8)
Blood Artist
Zulaport Cutthroat
Scab-Clan Berserker
Hissing Iguanar
Aura Thief
Oona's Blackguard
Sadistic Hypnotist
Herald of Secret Streams
Removal (4)
Toxic Deluge
Blasphemous Act
Grave Pact
Chaos Warp
Finisher (3)
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Flayer of the Hatebound
Kokusho, the Evening Star
Life gain (2)
Sangromancer
Whip of Erebos
Misc (1)
Sneak Attack
Lands (38)
3 Island
3 Mountain
6 Swamp
Blood Crypt
City of Brass
Command Tower
Dragonskull Summit
Drowned Catacomb
Exotic Orchard
Grand Coliseum
Graven Cairns
Hanweir Battlements
High Market
Mana Confluence
Miren, the Moaning Well
Opal Palace
Path of Ancestry
Reflecting Pool
Shivan Reef
Smoldering Marsh
Steam Vents
Sunken Hollow
Sulfurous Springs
Tainted Isle
Tainted Peak
Tarnished Citadel
Underground River
Watery Grave
Westvale Abbey
I don't see the mana rocks as Ramp; they're there to Control my Life Total. I'm trying to play threats on curve, so a rock doesn't do much for me. Controlling my life total to make sure I'm not on the Throne when I want to swing, that's what I really desire.
While Sadistic Hypnotist does give me great reach vs Control, I got it back in because it is a Sac Outlet that had a broken ability attached. There are times I contemplate even worse Creatures just to have a Sac Outlet to Control my board.
I also see Aura Thief as Removal, not as Reach. Most of the time when I want to rush this out to die is because of an obnoxious Enchantment; I'm not that phased by Ghostly Prison anymore because of all of the pingers I've added to the deck. The Thief helps in that case but is not necessary.
Skipping over my lands is also a mistake; I've chosen them for function as well. Painlands to Control my life; sac outlets to protect my Creatures, my life or make serious problems (in the case of Westvale Abbey; Shocklands for typing but also life control again.
Edit: Just saw your question Akroma; to answer I don't want the Dire Fleet Ravager because I'm afraid of dying to crackback.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Phyrexian Obliterator
1 Apprentice Alchemist
1 Scab-Clan Berserker
Scab-Clan is quite the powerful aggressive piece but there have been times when my opponents have manipulated their life total so that I wouldn't get maximum advantage over attacking them. With that in mind, I've placed in the Oblierator who will certainly cause my opponents to freak out on how to deal with it.
With these changes, I can't think of anywhere to go from here. I'll definitely want the Battlebond Lands but after that? I think the deck would like a Mana Crypt; I'm just not the type to throw that randomly in decks.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Toothy, Imaginary Friend
1 Morphic Pool
1 Luxury Suite
1 Sire of Stagnation
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Smoldering Marsh
I decided to cut the Tango Lands in favor of Bond Lands (I think that's what people are calling them, who knows what the consensus is?) due to a stricter requirement. It was these or the checklands like Dragonskull Summit, in the end I think that the checks are easier to pull off than Tangos, even though cutting the Tangos do make the checks worse.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Baleful Strix
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Loyal Drake is going in, I'm making room for that. It is an evasive card draw engine.
Bloodtracker is stronger than Toothy, Imaginary Friend. The Vampire brings evasion, can self pump and more importantly, can control my life total. There have been times when the deck has stumbled due to not being able to Dethrone after a Wrath because I had too much life. This card corrects that.
Even though I just mentioned the deck stumbling due to being on the Throne, I like Loyal Subordinate because it will just keep cutting opponent's life totals down. The Menace is also helpful for getting in with this low Toughness Creature.
Loyal Apprentice rounds out the cycle and is amazing to boot. The 2/1 for Haste isn't the impressive part, it is continually adding evasive Thopters that my opponents will need to deal with. Better yet, they aren't entering Tapped and Attaking, meaning that these Thopters are going to get +1/+1 if they attack the Throne.
I am even considering Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor. I would create a lot of tokens for my opponents, they're not going to block Varchild and when Varchild dies, which is a frequent occurrence with my Creatures, I gain control of all of these extra tokens. This is more of a fringe pipe dream, but I can see some potential.
Lastly, Forge of Heroes is going in the deck. It's better than Opal Palace because it is any time Marchesa ETBs, which gives her a lot more resilience than On Cast. My mana base is OK, not the best, so I will probably be swapping out Palace for the Forge. I cannot afford too many colorless sources.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Loyal Subordinate
1 Loyal Apprentice
1 Loyal Drake
1 Bloodtracker
1 Sifter of Skulls
1 Forge of Heroes
1 Cephalid Constable
1 Aura Thief
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Twilight Prophet
1 Phyrexian Obliterator
1 Opal Palace
Loyal Apprentice spawns bodies that have evasion, this is an incredible addition to Marchesa. If I ran a more mana heavy build, I would be placing this beside Tilonalli's Summoner but my build is just concerned on throughput. Loyal Apprentice just keeps putting bodies on the table, very much like my other favourites: Hanweir Garrison, Goblin Rabblemaster, etc. I cut Aura Thief because it is an Evasive Flyer but over the changes of adding so many incidental pings, its main purpose of stealing Propaganda et. al. became less necessary.
Wheel of Fortune is awesome, no doubt. The Drake just happens to be a 3 CMC card draw engine with evasion. I decided to shuffle a few cards between decks: Wheel goes into Edgar Markov, who then places his Land Tax into Trostani. Loyal Drake isn't as strong as Wheel but I like Drake more in this deck and Wheel/Land Tax in their new homes.
With the low mana curve of this deck, Twilight Prophet actually didn't chunk the table while drawing me cards. In its place, I'm using Bloodtracker due to its card draw nature, Evasive threat that pumps and that it controls my life total.
Phyrexian Obliterator has yet to hit the table; it was just too difficult to cast at Quad Black. I'm a little disappointed. I am placing Sifter of Skulls in its place. I figure to go more wide to compliment the Loyal Apprentice's Thopters. These Eldrazi Scions also can Sac themselves to help power out more expensive, deadlier spells. The Scions can sac themselves on demand to trigger all of my reach: Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Hissing Iguanar, etc. I can toss them onto Skullclamp and just use them as generator fodder. I haven't seen them before in a list, I stumbled across the Sifter. Time to see if this is going to be good for Marchesa.
The mana base is solid but sometimes it hiccups. The Taint Lands make me suspicious, the Obliterator not hitting the table confirms it. I cannot afford more colorless sources so Forge of Heroes replaces instead of compliments Opal Palace.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Scab-Clan Berserker
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Prophetic Flamespeaker
1 Swamp
With the dissolution of Daxos, my Urborg freed up. Hopefully this will make the Taint Lands better.
I saw Legion Warboss spoiled for Rav 3, I think it would replace my Goblin Rabblemaster. I really like Rabblemaster, as it forces blocks by being big. I think Warboss will be better just to give the deck more resiliency. The best answer is probably to run both, but I'm not sure I could find another cut.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Legion Warboss
1 Midnight Reaper
1 Márton Stromgald
1 Dark Prophecy
Midnight Reaper for Dark Prophecy as discussed above: an easier to cast body over a difficult to cast non-body that is slightly worse.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
midnight reaper i'm trying it as well, grim haruspex breaks games and a copy of the effect is always welcome.
One thing to note about Midnight Reaper is that his trigger is damage, so if you have a Whip of Erebos out you take nothing.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Fatespinner
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Sifter of Skulls
1 Whip of Erebos
I realized I had some trouble with Whip of Erebos. I said it did nothing a few posts up and that made really look at it. There have been times when my life total got too high to reliably keep Dethrone going. There are times when I play the Whip because my life is low, my opponents team up and conspire to keep me on the Throne. Suddenly, all of my board can't Turn Sideways without a care. I've also noticed that I've never won with Marchesa through Combat Damage, it is pretty easy to throw a squirrel under the bus to stop her attack. By adding Loxodon Warhammer, I can control whether I want to gain life or not. I can have a single Creature do so instead of the entire board. Being blocked out of lethal is sometimes a problem, the Trample will assist with that whether it is counting to 21 with Marchesa or letting a massive Grimgrin, Corpse-Born through.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1 Sadistic Hypnotist
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Mana Crypt
1 Talisman of Indulgence
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Dross Harvester
1 Sangromancer
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Meteor Crater
1 Swamp
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Graveyard Marshal
1 Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Pyreheart Wolf
1 Pact of Negation
1 Dawn of the Dead
1 Scab-Clan Berserker
1 Arcane Denial
1 Loxodon Warhammer
Pact of Negation will let me stop things that need to be stopped when I'm tapped out. I can recall multiple games where I've lost where I tapped out with Arcane Denial in hand, I needed to advance my board to stand a chance and that's when they got me.
The one game I used the Loxodon Warhammer was lacklustre. I'm trying out Dawn of the Dead as an experiment. First, it can get Marchesa out of the Graveyard if she gets stuck in there from all the memetic nonsense. The life loss is good to keep me off of the Throne in the late game. Let's see if it'll be a good late game threat of bringing back my dead Creatures for another round. I'm not sure how successful this will be, but Dawn of the Dead costs a lot less money than Sheoldred, Whispering One.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Desecrated Tomb
1 Fatespinner
1 Bloodtracker
1 Sword of the Animist
Bloodtracker also performed disappointingly. Unlike Toothy, Imaginary Friend, who grows off of draws and therefore can set up a card advantage engne with a Sac Outlet, Bloodtracker requires the +1/+1s. Essentially, Toothy is frontloaded while Bloodtracker is backloaded and I cannot afford that in my decks. I removed every Sac Outlet that had a mana requirement for a reason: I'm usually too busy for that and so Bloodtracker doesn't do much for me. In his place, I'm trying to stretch out the top of my curve a bit more with Sheoldred. She fetches Marchesa from the 'yard in case there's more meme Stifles, plus many others. She fulfills my expensive drop requirement, as she is large and is evasive with Swampwalk which is a popular colour as well as my Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth confirming the ability.
This deck has moved away from a midrange build, which means I don't need as much value and thus Sword of the Anime can get the axe. I also plan on using a few more nonbasics as the ones I desire got reprinted in Ultimate Masters. In its place is Desecrated Tomb, which makes evasive bodies that I think I'll be able to abuse before I started this shift of finding ways of making my Creatures leave the Graveyard.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs