I understand your disappointment with the Tempest Caller. It's a card with good effect, but the core mechanics Dethrone in our deck always dictate who we will be attacking most of the time.
Regarding most of the non evasive, non ETB effect creatures, unless they get evasion via herald, most will be blocked. I don have much success with Combat Celebrant or Cephalid Constable yet.
I see you ran looter il kor, my kind of creature. can I recommend you to try
Thrummingbird : have evasion pumps the team after battle.
Riftwing cloudskate : extra bounce that compliment your Venser, always suspend
Windfall : I don own wheel of fortune, but I think the deck needs a burst of card drawing and disruption. If u can run both, it's better than rhystic Study IMHO
had a game last night, i turn 2 suspend a riftwing cloudskate, turn 3 spellshock and turn 4 marchesa.... was attacking and sac/ bouncing the riftwing to make the opponent recast their stuff and take more damage from spellshock.
Conclusion - spellshock pretty good for what it does. I also become the arch enemy of the game...never recovered after they colluded to 2 x wrath my board and attacking me to low health
not mass land destuction, i meant you probably need a few cards that slightly disrupt the opponents while u chipped away. mindcensor, thalia or winter orb... smokestack is too slow.
haha, I own a Xenagos deck too, and I am sure your version of Marchesa would pwned my Xenagos deck.
I don't even think I can answer all the questions I wrote in the above thread, but I think it's a good start, if you can ask the hard question, and if you can find the answer, would be great to improve your deck. Sometimes there is no right or wrong in card choice because everyone experiences different results, in totally different Metagames/playgroup and different budget. As for me, I have about a couple of decks to play, and my Marchesa suffers from card plundering where I took alot of cards out from Marchesa to fuel my other decks, and I am testing out too much idea/concept on Marchesa. I sometimes don't know whether I am on the right track or not.
eg, Riftwing Cloudskate is one of the card I put in, when I took out Venser for another deck. I actually like the bounce, because my Meta is full of Gods. When I suggest this card to Tev, he thought I was trolling him I guess, as he sees it as a 5 cc creature only. Riftwing Cloudskate is an example of "high ceiling" card. If you suspend it on turn 2, it comes out exactly on turn 5, that is like Guile dashing forward while after doing a sonic boom. I tested with Greater Gargadon and Windfall along with the Cloudskate, both are equally good
Before Marchesa and After Marchesa is one of the idea I believed dictate how aggressive your Marchesa deck is.
When I was testing Solrune's listing, often if I get a signet hand, I could easily cast Marchesa on turn 3. The only merit is My Marchesa could dodge those pesky counterspells, but you don't get maximum benefits. It is usually better to cast 2 other creatures before Marchesa, better if they have ETB effects. This however correlate to the how aggro my Marchesa deck is...and to fill the cards is not an easy chore.
Hi buddha, I ran a normal version version of marchesa, but not super OP. I do run manic vandal, oxida scrapmelter,torch fiend kolaghan command ... but my meta is full of GY hate, lotsa relic and if you don't wished to be held hostage by these deck... just run some artifact hate. I did test p revoker , and some other cards like coercive portal, sometimes they work. But the artifact hate department makes my listing weaker compared to others as well.
Hi buddha, spellskite can be pretty underwhelming at times. But it's basic function is to keep people from killing Marchesa, and the cards in the protect department is rather small. in meta when there are many wrath effects, spellskite is weak, however when the meta is path heavy... it shines. secondly it's an artifact and this artifact version needs alot of good artifact that is b4 marchesa. so it's definitely an inclusion
well I do some sort of partial mulligan goldfishing for cards eg looter il kor, till i get to 5 lands then I would stop. I would determine how the card interacted, as well as how many time I mulligan for lands etc. usually I am more surprized by looter il kor in actual games then goldfishing.
I think the most important thing we can improve our deck is to briefly describe the deck. if I were to describe Solrune's deck, it would be like " I have here is a toolbox deck at alot of 4 cc creatures and have about 4 to 5 other alternative cards like living death to end the game" Think if you can describe your deck, then you can improve it.
I am sure you have playtested extensively, Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to improve your own deck.
What is aggro and midrange marchesa really?
99 cards- 37 lands = 62 cards. What % of creatures I use in the 62 cards have to be creature?
60% creatures = 37 creatures ? 70% creatures = 43 creatures?
How many creatures are before Marchesa and How many creatures are after Marchesa?
How long can my Marchesa stay on board?
How many other ways can I win if Marchesa is down?
How many "High ground" and how many "high ceiling" cards I am running?
Hi last laugh, yup sometimes shadowmage is underwhelming. When it does it job, it's still not that bad. lol, if I owned a Dark Confidant, i would play it here.
Unfortunately, goldfishing and playing usually yield very different results, so it will probably take awhile to know whether your gearhulk is viable or not.
It also a good idea to do a listing by functions in your opening. That helps alot when you are looking for cards to cut. eg you do run too much clones..and mass removal IMHO. But listing in function does take up alot of time and sometimes some cards have fuzzy function.
AS for Razaketh, the Foulblooded, I don believe you will be casting it soon. probably with Sneak attack or reanimate. you might wanna consider having your entomb back.
Hi last laugh, I don't own sneak attack and those expensive cards, so I am just commenting based on my own experiences.
Noxious Gearhulk 's role would be similar to gray merchant/ kokusho/ wurmcoil in your deck, that is to gain life while u go attacking and losing alot of life, so it can be a sustainable strategy. But gearhulk is 6 cc, sitting at the high end of your curve, without sneak attack , it's usually very clunky. But that is usually the problem with listings centering sneak attack too.
As for Rhystic Study,it's a good card obviously, but I chose not to run it in my build, instead I ran Shadowmage inflitrator and Windfall. Shadowmage Inflitrator is a creature that you can give dethrone counter if you cast Marchesa on turn 4. As for Windfall, if I don't have land drop on turn 4, I would just cast it to get another hand. most of the time I would cast everything before casting Windfall and get a quick refill.( better if you have Wheel of fortune)
Dinrova Horror?
That card is terrible. haha, to think you even name it
I think we started to moved toward lower casting cost cards from Solrune listing as the deck clunked alot on 4 mana stuff, so when I have to remove my Venser for my other deck, I found Riftwing Cloudskate a suitable replacement for the effect.
Riftwing Cloudskate - as my Meta have alot of gods. It is just a good answer. I always considered it a "high ceiling" card, where if you have it in your starting hand and you suspended it on turn 2. it come out exactly on turn 5, which is great, because Marchesa just came out a turn earlier, undo a permanent and have flying , and a dethrone bonus. Having 4 creatures attacking with dethrone on turn 5 is just fun, if you get that Suspend hand.
I don't usually considered it as a 5 drop, but normally a 2 drop, but sometimes I am just glad to cast it as a 5 drop too.
As for looter, I am still running Anger, living death and Wonder.. looter il kor is godsent actually.
in fact there was a time, I like looting so much that I removed all the mana rocks for more lands and 2 more wizard looters.
I understand your disappointment with the Tempest Caller. It's a card with good effect, but the core mechanics Dethrone in our deck always dictate who we will be attacking most of the time.
Regarding most of the non evasive, non ETB effect creatures, unless they get evasion via herald, most will be blocked. I don have much success with Combat Celebrant or Cephalid Constable yet.
I see you ran looter il kor, my kind of creature. can I recommend you to try
Thrummingbird : have evasion pumps the team after battle.
Riftwing cloudskate : extra bounce that compliment your Venser, always suspend
Windfall : I don own wheel of fortune, but I think the deck needs a burst of card drawing and disruption. If u can run both, it's better than rhystic Study IMHO
Conclusion - spellshock pretty good for what it does. I also become the arch enemy of the game...never recovered after they colluded to 2 x wrath my board and attacking me to low health
It's really hard to make aggressive edh deck.
Small fast aggro don't usually cut it. perhaps some think like winter orb or contamination might help to destabalise the opponents.
I don't even think I can answer all the questions I wrote in the above thread, but I think it's a good start, if you can ask the hard question, and if you can find the answer, would be great to improve your deck. Sometimes there is no right or wrong in card choice because everyone experiences different results, in totally different Metagames/playgroup and different budget. As for me, I have about a couple of decks to play, and my Marchesa suffers from card plundering where I took alot of cards out from Marchesa to fuel my other decks, and I am testing out too much idea/concept on Marchesa. I sometimes don't know whether I am on the right track or not.
eg, Riftwing Cloudskate is one of the card I put in, when I took out Venser for another deck. I actually like the bounce, because my Meta is full of Gods. When I suggest this card to Tev, he thought I was trolling him I guess, as he sees it as a 5 cc creature only. Riftwing Cloudskate is an example of "high ceiling" card. If you suspend it on turn 2, it comes out exactly on turn 5, that is like Guile dashing forward while after doing a sonic boom.
Before Marchesa and After Marchesa is one of the idea I believed dictate how aggressive your Marchesa deck is.
When I was testing Solrune's listing, often if I get a signet hand, I could easily cast Marchesa on turn 3. The only merit is My Marchesa could dodge those pesky counterspells, but you don't get maximum benefits. It is usually better to cast 2 other creatures before Marchesa, better if they have ETB effects. This however correlate to the how aggro my Marchesa deck is...and to fill the cards is not an easy chore.
I think the most important thing we can improve our deck is to briefly describe the deck. if I were to describe Solrune's deck, it would be like " I have here is a toolbox deck at alot of 4 cc creatures and have about 4 to 5 other alternative cards like living death to end the game" Think if you can describe your deck, then you can improve it.
I am sure you have playtested extensively, Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to improve your own deck.
What is aggro and midrange marchesa really?
99 cards- 37 lands = 62 cards. What % of creatures I use in the 62 cards have to be creature?
60% creatures = 37 creatures ? 70% creatures = 43 creatures?
How many creatures are before Marchesa and How many creatures are after Marchesa?
How long can my Marchesa stay on board?
How many other ways can I win if Marchesa is down?
How many "High ground" and how many "high ceiling" cards I am running?
Unfortunately, goldfishing and playing usually yield very different results, so it will probably take awhile to know whether your gearhulk is viable or not.
It also a good idea to do a listing by functions in your opening. That helps alot when you are looking for cards to cut. eg you do run too much clones..and mass removal IMHO. But listing in function does take up alot of time and sometimes some cards have fuzzy function.
AS for Razaketh, the Foulblooded, I don believe you will be casting it soon. probably with Sneak attack or reanimate. you might wanna consider having your entomb back.
Noxious Gearhulk 's role would be similar to gray merchant/ kokusho/ wurmcoil in your deck, that is to gain life while u go attacking and losing alot of life, so it can be a sustainable strategy. But gearhulk is 6 cc, sitting at the high end of your curve, without sneak attack , it's usually very clunky. But that is usually the problem with listings centering sneak attack too.
As for Rhystic Study,it's a good card obviously, but I chose not to run it in my build, instead I ran Shadowmage inflitrator and Windfall. Shadowmage Inflitrator is a creature that you can give dethrone counter if you cast Marchesa on turn 4. As for Windfall, if I don't have land drop on turn 4, I would just cast it to get another hand. most of the time I would cast everything before casting Windfall and get a quick refill.( better if you have Wheel of fortune)
That card is terrible. haha, to think you even name it
I think we started to moved toward lower casting cost cards from Solrune listing as the deck clunked alot on 4 mana stuff, so when I have to remove my Venser for my other deck, I found Riftwing Cloudskate a suitable replacement for the effect.
Riftwing Cloudskate - as my Meta have alot of gods. It is just a good answer. I always considered it a "high ceiling" card, where if you have it in your starting hand and you suspended it on turn 2. it come out exactly on turn 5, which is great, because Marchesa just came out a turn earlier, undo a permanent and have flying , and a dethrone bonus. Having 4 creatures attacking with dethrone on turn 5 is just fun, if you get that Suspend hand.
I don't usually considered it as a 5 drop, but normally a 2 drop, but sometimes I am just glad to cast it as a 5 drop too.
As for looter, I am still running Anger, living death and Wonder.. looter il kor is godsent actually.
in fact there was a time, I like looting so much that I removed all the mana rocks for more lands and 2 more wizard looters.