Marath Not-ZOO TL

Tiny Leaders

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Creature (12)

• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Courser of Kruphix
• 1x Hangarback Walker
• 1x Knight of the Reliquary
• 1x Lotus Cobra
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Sylvan Caryatid

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Domri Rade
• 1x Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

Land (20)

• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dark Depths
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 3x Forest
• 1x Gaea's Cradle
• 1x Grove of the Burnwillows
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Taiga
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Exploration
• 1x Song of the Dryads
• 1x Sylvan Library
• 1x Utopia Sprawl
• 1x Wild Growth

Artifact (3)

• 1x Basilisk Collar
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine

Instant (3)

• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Punishing Fire
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Life from the Loam
• 1x Nature's Lore

Commander (1)

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Sideboard

Land (1)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Choke
• 1x Terra Eternal

Artifact (1)

• 1x Ensnaring Bridge

Instant (3)

• 1x Destructive Revelry
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Wing Shards

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Gleeful Sabotage
• 1x Sudden Demise

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This is my own Marath Tiny Leaders brew. It's been tested in maybe a hundred games or so, as it slowly evolved into this build. I opted to go midrange instead of Zoo. I don't think there is any reason to go with a Zoo build when Marath will always be better than any vanilla aggro creature you could cast if you had the mana. It will also stand up far better against sweepers and take over a board state by itself.

The plan is simple: get the mana out, start cleaning up the board, then stomp the opponent. This deck can outgrind and outvalue any other deck in the format with its reusable removal (Marath, Domri, Punishing Fire) and incredible card advantage (Sylvan Lib, Walkers, Courser, Crucible, Loam, Marath!). It is capable of racing mill strategies just by getting Marath to 5/5 and attacking. The card quality is also difficult to beat - the deck plays just about the best cards in the colors. There are so many little synergies between these cards, and they often add up to become game-winning. The deck is not dependent on any single card or combo to carry games.

So far, I have lost less than 20 games with this build. I am not exaggerating.

Losses have been to Geist "bogles", Xira Land destruction, Alesha "vampires" (took out Ooze from the maindeck for this day, ugh!), and Maralen MBC. I still have a positive record against all these decks, though, so I wouldn't consider these terrible matchups.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	8 years
Legality	This deck is Tiny Leaders legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 1 Mythic Rares 30 - 3 Rares 5 - 5 Uncommons 6 - 1 Commons
Cards	50
Avg. CMC	1.93
Tokens	Elemental X/X G, Emblem Domri Rade, Marit Lage, Plant 0/1 G, Thopter 1/1 C