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Marchesa EDH

Commander / EDH Combo Multiplayer Theme/Gimmick UBR (Grixis)

Kylanyx

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Creature (28)

Sorcery (5)

Land (33)

Instant (10)

Planeswalker (1)

Commander (1)

Commander: Marchesa, the Black Rose

Artifact (18)

Enchantment (4)

Maybeboard

Enchantment (5)

Instant (2)

Artifact (3)

Creature (2)

Sorcery (3)

Land (1)

Hello, and welcome.

The moment I saw Marchesa, the Black Rose; I started brewing. Now, I wanted to stay within the realms of the legal EDH cards, while still making use of some of the more expensive, powerful cards I have copies of laying around(looking at you, Mana Crypt). My goal for this deck is to flood the board with creatures and have them recur due to Marchesa's ability, or to win via several synergies that allow me to do direct damage or simply aggro someone into the dirt. My few play tests with this deck have ran very well, and I'm continuing to search for problems. If anyone has any suggestions as to replacements to cards, please do tell.

This deck isn't afraid of removal. Board wipes are welcomed, more so because of a lot of ETB effects that my creatures possess. As it stands, I have sacrifice outlets that can fizzle out most targeted removal abilities. At worst, with Marchesa on the board, it will be a 2 or even 3 for one. I'll take those odds.
I'm toying around with this idea, truthfully. While I do have things like Undying and Unleash alongside Marchesa's ability, I think reanimation would end up being almost dead. More often than not, my graveyard remains fairly empty of creatures. The biggest issue I think I would run into, like most decks with creature recursion, is something like Rest in Peace - it shuts down everything I do. However, it would be a one of, and I'm not totally reliant on Marchesa's ability.
Most of my cards are in the two to four drop range, which include plenty of ramp cards. Approx 30% of my cards are lands, which has, through playtesting, has so far been enough. I do need to find myself the missing Shock and Fetchlands, as well as look to acquiring some of the old dual lands; Volcanic Island, Underground Sea, and Badlands. They're a bit pricey though. Perhaps I'll ask my playgroup if I'm allowed to proxy them, provided I give everyone a copy of the proxy.

Lets get into the nitty gritty, yes?

My mana ramp cards are simple, the usual EDH ramp staples with two that provide other utility.

So, like most decks, your Sol Ring, Fellwar Stone, and Darksteel Ingot are present. These are your cheaper, efficient mana rocks that won't break your bank. I had a copy of Mana Crypt already, bought a Lotus Petal(which is on the chopping block now), and have proxied Grim Monolith with my playgroup's permission. These cards have one job, and one job only; Provide Mana.

Now, I have four cards in my ramp that have alternative uses. Commander's Sphere and Hedron Archive provide card advantage by drawing one or two cards respectively, whereas Unstable Obelisk is a form of removal. Finally, a card I think is vastly underused is Sword of the Animist, which allows me to pump a creature slightly, search for a land on attack, as well as providing me a way to shuffle after a bad Brainstorm or Divining Top.

Ah, the fun of card draw and discard. Two for ones and tutors. Here I've chosen to run some of the more expensive or punishing card draw spells, such as something like Opportunity over Divination. Six mana doesn't exactly break the bank in EDH considering the amount of ramp in the format, more so because Opportunity is instant speed. This allows me to pull some really efficient end of turn Snapcaster Mage shenanigans, or main phase Kess, dissident mage if necessary.

Skullclamp, coupled with The Locust God, allows for an insane amount of card draw in a single turn, but I can use the Clamps on something like a Baleful Strix to essentially make it a 3 mana for 3 card draw, at the cost of losing a 1/1 Flying Deathtouch if necessary. Nin, the Pain Artist works in a similar way, with the difference being that I can choose how many cards I draw without having to worry about permanently removing one of my own creatures thanks to Marchesa's ability.

Brainstorm is obviously a good card, allowing you to set up Search for azcanta to flip or simply filter something out of your hand to shuffle it away. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is another, more vulnerable way to do this, but comes with his own insane advantages. Last but not least in this section is Sensei's Divining Top, which has its own tricks by stacking its triggers.

Due to the recursion from Marchesa, I'm not averse to sacrificing some creatures for the greater good. So a card like Altar's Reap is easily a 2 mana draw 2 at instant speed, which has the upside of allowing me to pull janky maneuvers like sacrificing Kess, dissident mage , having her come back at end step due to Marchesa, and then getting to cast Altar's Reap again on the same end step by holding priority due to Kess being a 'new copy' due to ruling. Spicy.

Finally, I only have one tutor and one discard spell in the entire deck, those being Trophy Mage for 3 cost artifacts, and Vindictive Lich for choosing an opponent to discard. The Lich, with the recursion from Marchesa, ends up generating quite a bit of value, as I'm not afraid to swing at whoever has the highest life total. Trophy Mage, however, is a 3 mana tutor for many of my mana rocks, but also a few of my equipment. I chose Trophy Mage over Trinket Mage because of the amount of 3 drop artifacts in my deck, however Trinket Mage is still on the maybe-board. I'm playing around with the idea of Mystical Tutor, but it will likely be added when I aquire a copy.

The obvious spotlight here is Marchesa, the Black Rose. A 3/3 for that gives the Dethrone keyword. Provided I can swing at someone with high life total, all of the attacking creatures are given +1/+1 counters, which directly affects them due to her second ability. This allows for some really efficient ETB cards to continue to provide worth after they're cast, as well as allowing me to block however I please with them in order to generate said value.

Body Double + Jalira, Master Polymorphist generate value due to the ability to sacrifice a creature that either I own, that I've stolen with Hostage Taker, Clone Legion, Zealous Conscripts, or Grave Betrayal, or cards that have died on board due to other effects(Body Double). And, provided I can place a +1/+1 counter on stolen cards, such as using Rage Forger they can be used as cannon fodder or chump blockers and will return to my board at the next end step under my control.

If I have a hand full of creatures, Deathrender can allow for some really quick board fills with the use of sacrifice outlets such as Yahenni, Undying Partisan(in the maybeboard at the moment)), Falkenrath Aristocrat, Tymaret, the Murder King, or even using Nin, the Pain Artist to draw more card and place down a Sac outlet.

Maybe you should give 'em the clamps, Clamps!

Gee... you think!? You think that maybe I should use these clamps that I use at every day, at every opportunity? You're a freakin' genius, you idiot!

Skullclamp + The Locust God is an obvious combo, allowing you to draw essentially your deck with enough mana. It's for this reason I include Reliquary Tower, Ashnod's Altar, and Black Market in the maybe-board. You can very quickly build a massive force of hasted fliers that have the ability to swing for lethal, with or without the use of Marchesa's Dethrone.

Not even failing to mention Impact Tremors, which can allow you to ping down opponents over the course of the game using Marchesa's ability and the CLAMPS on Insect tokens. Another, more powerful creature in this deck is Flayer of the Hatebound, which when paired with Marchesa, allows for not only himself to be returned with and without +1/+1 counters, but allows he and any other creatures that come into the battlefield from the graveyard to deal damage. If you stack the return triggers from Marchesa with Flayer coming back first... well, you can see why board wipes are welcome at times. The Flayer is exile bait, so ensure you have a way to sacrifice it in response.

Ashnod's Altar + Marchesa, the Black Rose and any ETB card, Ashnod's Altar + Skullclamp + The Locust God , and Ashnod's Altar + Flayer of the Hatebound + Marchesa, the Black Rose are all fantastic combos, so this maybe is pushing towards the 'added' end of the spectrum, I simply need to decide what to cut. If I add this card, I'll likely add Black Market

Enter the Infinite + Omniscience is a very obvious combo that allows you to essentially play your entire deck. I'm leaning towards yes for the jank, but no because I don't have a huge amount of haste creatures, and I'd prefer to not deck myself out of the game when I have no way to shuffle my graveyard into my library aside from Jace, the Mind Sculptor's ultimate.

Sword of Feast and Famine is a very powerful card that can be tutored with Trophy Mage. It's a viable contender to replace Sword of Vengeance.

Barrage of Expendables. With Ashnod's Alter as a sacrificial outlet that generates mana, the red mana cost for this enchantment becomes a lot less easier to swallow.

Yahenni, Undying Partisan is a powerful sacrifical outlet that can dodge destroy effects with the Indestructible, which also allows for the janky play of sacrificing Flayer two to three times a turn. However, he does fall a bit flat if only because of his lack of offensive power. I personally love this card, and will likely include him due to the sac outlet over the card:Aetherborn Vampire. Just need to find my copy.

Vedalken Orrery is a consideration because it is simply that powerful. There's nothing like draw, play land, attack, pass and still have the ability to cast any spell I want. If I owned a copy, it would probably already be in the deck, but as of now I wonder if I even need the card - most of my spells and abilities are at instant speed.

Mystical Tutor is a card I'm on the fence of. This card is a lot less viable as a one of in my opinion. If I think I can cut a creature or three to make room for it, I'll add this as well as Demonic Tutor. Other, more budget options are Diabolic Tutor and Mastermind's Acquisition.

Demon of Dark Schemes. At first glance, this card is very useful as a board clear, however I'm not completely sold on the ETB effect with the use of Marchesa, as well as how little 2/2 creatures you'll find outside of a token deck on commander. However, I can stack return triggers so that THIS demon hits the board before anything else and keeps from re-exploding my board if necessary. With no other use for in this deck, however, I'm leaning towards no.

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Date added 6 years
Last updated 3 years
Key combos
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

9 - 0 Mythic Rares

36 - 0 Rares

31 - 0 Uncommons

8 - 0 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.52
Tokens Copy Clone, Insect 1/1 UR
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