Marchesa's mind games base deck

Commander / EDH* RBW (Mardu)

totalnovice

Ramp (9)

• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Oath of Lieges
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence

Removal (2)

• 1x Mages' Contest
• 1x Sudden Spoiling

Selection (2)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Sunforger

Redirection (5)

• 1x Comeuppance
• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Deflecting Palm
• 1x Disrupt Decorum
• 1x Oath of Lieges

Defense (3)

• 1x Liar's Pendulum
• 1x Sudden Spoiling
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Draw (3)

• 1x Liar's Pendulum
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Read the Bones

Other (1)

• 1x Vedalken Orrery

Commander (1)

Reciprocity (1)

• 1x Liar's Pendulum

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Maybeboard

Defense (46)

• 1x Angel's Grace
• 1x Aurification
• 1x Baird, Steward of Argive
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Children of Korlis
• 1x Cho-Arrim Alchemist
• 1x Crawlspace
• 1x Delaying Shield
• 1x Dispeller's Capsule
• 1x Dread
• 1x Executioner's Capsule
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Glacial Chasm
• 1x Guardian of the Gateless
• 1x Island Sanctuary
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Kami of Ancient Law
• 1x Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
• 1x Mystifying Maze
• 1x No Mercy
• 1x Norn's Annex
• 1x Ogre Slumlord
• 1x Ophiomancer
• 1x Reveille Squad
• 1x Righteous Aura
• 1x Royal Assassin
• 1x Seal of Cleansing
• 1x Seal of Doom
• 1x Selfless Squire
• 1x Settle the Wreckage
• 1x Shieldmage Advocate
• 1x Solitary Confinement
• 1x Spurnmage Advocate
• 1x Tainted Sigil
• 1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
• 1x Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip
• 1x Torture
• 1x Vampire Nighthawk
• 1x Wall of Shards
• 1x White Sun's Zenith
• 1x Windborn Muse
• 1x Worship

Draw (15)

• 1x Coercive Portal
• 1x Endless Horizons
• 1x Gift of Estates
• 1x Humble Defector
• 1x Key to the City
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Mindblade Render
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip
• 1x Underworld Connections
• 1x Vampiric Rites
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer
• 1x Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

Recursion (12)

• 1x Beacon of Unrest
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Charmbreaker Devils
• 1x Deliver Unto Evil
• 1x Ill-Gotten Gains
• 1x Magister of Worth
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Pulsemage Advocate
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Shreds of Sanity
• 1x Shrouded Lore
• 1x Underworld Cerberus

Slug (6)

• 1x Dictate of the Twin Gods
• 1x Dire Fleet Ravager
• 1x Goblin Spymaster
• 1x Harsh Mentor
• 1x Heartless Hidetsugu
• 1x War's Toll

Removal (44)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Brutal Hordechief
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Coercive Portal
• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Crush Contraband
• 1x Deadly Designs
• 1x Despark
• 1x Diaochan, Artful Beauty
• 1x Dispeller's Capsule
• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Executioner's Capsule
• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Hallowed Burial
• 1x Head Games
• 1x Hide / Seek
• 1x Kami of Ancient Law
• 1x Lapse of Certainty
• 1x Last One Standing
• 1x Magister of Worth
• 1x Magus of the Disk
• 1x Master Warcraft
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Pyrohemia
• 1x Rakdos Augermage
• 1x Rakdos Charm
• 1x Retribution of the Meek
• 1x Royal Assassin
• 1x Seal of Cleansing
• 1x Seal of Doom
• 1x Settle the Wreckage
• 1x Shivan Harvest
• 1x Spurnmage Advocate
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Utter End
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Viashino Heretic
• 1x Winds of Abandon
• 1x Wrath of God

Redirection (16)

• 1x Backlash
• 1x Bitter Feud
• 1x Curse of Bloodletting
• 1x Curse of Stalked Prey
• 1x Delirium
• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 1x Mathas, Fiend Seeker
• 1x Orzhov Advokist
• 1x Reverberate
• 1x Rite of the Raging Storm
• 1x Spectral Grasp
• 1x Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor
• 1x Wild Ricochet
• 1x Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

Selection (13)

• 1x Beacon of Unrest
• 1x Beseech the Queen
• 1x Brainspoil
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Dimir House Guard
• 1x Dimir Machinations
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Insidious Dreams
• 1x Maralen of the Mornsong
• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x Shred Memory
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Reciprocity (28)

• 1x Deadly Designs
• 1x Deliver Unto Evil
• 1x Diaochan, Artful Beauty
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Head Games
• 1x Humble Defector
• 1x Hunted Dragon
• 1x Hunted Horror
• 1x Hunted Lammasu
• 1x Ill-Gotten Gains
• 1x Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1x Key to the City
• 1x Mathas, Fiend Seeker
• 1x Mindblade Render
• 1x Orzhov Advokist
• 1x Pulsemage Advocate
• 1x Reveille Squad
• 1x Shieldmage Advocate
• 1x Shrouded Lore
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Spectral Searchlight
• 1x Spurnmage Advocate
• 1x Underworld Cerberus
• 1x Underworld Connections
• 1x Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor
• 1x Varchild's War-Riders
• 1x Wall of Shards
• 1x Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

Win condition (17)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Choice of Damnations
• 1x Debt to the Deathless
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Insurrection
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 1x Necrotic Ooze
• 1x Price of Knowledge
• 1x Pyrohemia
• 1x Rakdos Charm
• 1x Revel in Riches
• 1x Rite of the Raging Storm
• 1x Selfless Squire
• 1x Skyline Despot
• 1x Storm Herd
• 1x Tainted Strike
• 1x White Sun's Zenith

Other (15)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
• 1x Glasses of Urza
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Hammer of Nazahn
• 1x Kher Keep
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mirage Mirror
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
• 1x Silence
• 1x Vial Smasher the Fierce
• 1x Wear / Tear

Hate (7)

• 1x Agent of Erebos
• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Hushwing Gryff
• 1x Solemnity
• 1x Underworld Cerberus

Ramp (6)

• 1x Gift of Estates
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Spectral Searchlight
• 1x Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

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Marchesa card pool focused on utilizing opponents' resources without becoming a major threat, i.e. being a political mastermind

Major classes of cards in this list:

• Card selection: tutor, transmute, reanimate...having the right answer at the right time

• Redirection: incentives to attack opponents, goad-like effects, damage reflection ( Deflecting Palm )

• Defense: damage prevention, life gain, deterring attacks via taxes and threat of removal

• Removal: "catch-all" answers to threatening permanents and combos

• Reciprocity: mutually beneficial trade opportunities

Minor classes:

• Cards that expose or otherwise take advantage of hidden information (e.g. Liar's Pendulum , Glasses of Urza , Rakdos Augermage )

• Simple win conditions

• Group slug

• Group hug

Reveille Squad combos: Royal Assassin , Heartless Hidetsugu

Key to the City / Rogue's Passage + Master of Cruelties

Solemnity + Delaying Shield

List of EDH political cards

a cool deck: https://deckstats.net/decks/99377/872612-paliano-man/en

Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Rares 8 - 0 Uncommons 1 - 0 Commons
Cards	22
Avg. CMC	2.50
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Haste, Gold, The Monarch