Mardu Control (Help for Game Day needed!)

Standard Competitive Control Midrange RBW (Mardu)

KarmaWG

Creature (6)

• 3x Goblin Dark-Dwellers
• 2x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 1x Linvala, the Preserver

Planeswalker (5)

• 2x Chandra, Flamecaller
• 2x Nahiri, the Harbinger
• 1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Land (27)

• 2x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 4x Evolving Wilds
• 2x Foreboding Ruins
• 4x Mountain
• 1x Needle Spires
• 2x Plains
• 4x Shambling Vent
• 4x Smoldering Marsh
• 3x Swamp

Instant (9)

• 2x Anguished Unmaking
• 4x Fiery Impulse
• 3x Ultimate Price

Sorcery (13)

• 2x Declaration in Stone
• 2x Languish
• 2x Radiant Flames
• 3x Read the Bones
• 2x Tormenting Voice
• 2x Transgress the Mind

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Sideboard

Creature (3)

• 3x Sin Prodder

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Nahiri, the Harbinger

Enchantment (2)

• 2x Stasis Snare

Instant (4)

• 1x Hallowed Moonlight
• 3x Rending Volley

Sorcery (5)

• 2x Duress
• 1x Roast
• 2x Ruinous Path

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Maybeboard

Creature (1)

• 1x Dragonlord Kolaghan

Land (1)

• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Instant (5)

• 1x Grasp of Darkness
• 1x Hallowed Moonlight
• 1x Kolaghan's Command
• 1x Kozilek's Return
• 1x Secure the Wastes

Sorcery (2)

• 1x Crumble to Dust
• 1x Declaration in Stone

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I've started testing this archetype after I've seen at the PT Madrid Day 1 finishers one Mardu Control deck. As I wanted to start a Dark Jeskai one some time ago and I found it similar in game plan. For now it has been tested against few decks. Please feel write to read and share your thoughts.

Game Plan:

Take a board control in first few turns and keep the gun on the guy's head. Card advantage spells should take you right to the Chandra, Flamecaller, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and/or Goblin Dark-Dwellers. They will settle it up.

First conclusions:Aggro decks always pushes me to dangerous line like 5-6 life, but after all it's not so bad after turn 4 even if opponent has Collected Company. Common game is T1 removal T2 removal T3 Read the Bones and T4 Kalitas - it's just a designed match-up for me.

Control decks - New Standard is hard for Mardu against controls. No Crackling Doom is not the best way to scary Westvale Abbey   and Dragonlord Ojutai and To the Slaughter is all we've got in exchange. Actually I feel like a beat-up baby against Esper. More info below.

Below are my actual match-up reviews Show

R/G werewolf tribe - it's not a very competetive archetype and I haven't lost to it I think even once - but the deck always pushed me to really low life. Dealt to it with mainboard

White and white-black humans - As above, haven't got many problems. Sideboarding not necesarry also.

Esper Control - This matchup I find very hard and this is the reason I'm so scared about this deck (and not sure if I can start making top 8's without getting really lucky match-ups plus great playing. My opponent is running Secure the Wastes and Westvale Abbey   combo, but runs also 2 Dragonlord Ojutai and a Dragonlord Silumgar. In this matchup at first, I need many instant exiling spells like Anguished Unmaking or Stasis Snare to avoid transformed Westvale Abbey  . In mainboard I've got 2 instant-speed exiling, and 3 sorcery-speed: Nahiri, the Harbinger -2 effect that simply won't resolve in any situation and one Declaration in Stone. Even after sideboarding it's not really great. I need to have them and I need to have them more than my opponent has his/her counterspells. My creatures hardly hit the battlefield so I don't have bodies to block tokens - and since the games are long, they can kill me easy if I don't have any of Shambling Vent or mass removal spells - mostly need mass removal + instant-exile. I give my opponent too much time for collecting this combo or getting the Ojutai. After sideboardig 2 Duress, 3 Sin Prodder and 2 Stasis Snare I still have some problems, but the deck is really Mardu Hate and after sb I still got a problems.

Conclusion: Any Esper is probably a Mardu Control enemy. Any Westvale Abbey   deck too. Putting them both in once like above is not a thing you want to get on, but it's, by now, not common. 4-6 drops that are value wincons fits perfectly in the counterspell and (in this list) there are 4 dead cards mainboarded Ultimate Price, Fiery Impulse.Perspective: Most of the games can end in 1-0 termination for Esper. Needs some mainboard changes to be a tier 1. Similar problem may occur with B/G Cryptocrats. Sideboard options are Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Virulent Plague and Stasis Snare, but the first two aren't very effectively in the sideboard. Mainboard suggestion: Declaration in Stone

For now it's that (just few days tested). There is plenty of bad match-ups for this deck, but it fits perfectly in any aggro deck.

Sideboard options I (and you) can consider (to be build up): Show

White:

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - Card advantage, takes attention of mirrors/other controlsSurge of Rightousness - I'm not sure if I want to take sideboard place against red-black aggresives but... you can always keep it in mind.

Red:

Kozilek's Return - One less damage than Radiant Flames, instant speed. It can be a mainboard option too, but it is very unstable.Rending Volley - White-blue humans and Esper Dragons. It can replace some Ultimate Price as against mono-white weenie it's actually a bit cheaper replacement (whenever it's not transformed Hanweir Militia Captain). 2 at least.

Black:

Duress- 2-of in sideboard are like a Swamp in a mainboard. Against any control.Transgress the Mind More than two are good against goggles, other Planeswalker decks, maybe

Date added	8 years
Last updated	8 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 1 Mythic Rares 23 - 6 Rares 5 - 6 Uncommons 13 - 2 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	3.21
Tokens	Angel 3/3 W, Clue, Elemental 3/1 R, Vampire Knight 1/1 B, Zombie 2/2 B