Sideboard


NOTE: This deck is also retired. Please see deck-large:marduu-mentor for what I'm currently playing.

This represents the further evolution of my previous Mardu Nahiri deck, Mardu Harbinger. Much of the basic game plan is the same although the deck has shifted into a more controlling role rather than midrange with a combo finish. The biggest shift, and the one that probably is raising a few eyebrows as people scan the list, is the splash of Blue for Snapcaster Mage. If you're interested in why this splash was added I've included a rambling history of the deck to explain why.

Mardu Nahiri decks win by running some of the best removal their colors provide backed by a sizable amount of discard, Lingering Souls, and the threat of a Nahiri-summoning-Emrakul finish. The danger in this plan is that, unless things are going well for you, there aren't many opportunities to get the kind of 2-for-1's that make this a winning strategy.

Compare the list to Jund, for example. Jund has a bunch of ways of getting two effects from a single card, be it through card draw, forcing chump blocks, aggressively powered manlands, and so on. Our manlands are noticeably weaker - Shambling Vent doesn't begin to compare to Raging Ravine in a vacuum. We don't naturally run as many creatures as many Jund lists do, as Mardu doesn't have the strong selection of beaters provided by Green. Consequently, Dark Confidant is more likely to eat removal as there aren't other targets for it and our Kolaghan's Commands have fewer targets for the Raise Dead modality.

This is what lead me to considering Snapcaster. Even if it immediately eats removal it's given me a second use of one of my spells, and maybe chump blocked something big in the process. Win-win. I didn't dare include more Blue cards than it, though, because that would require stretching the manabase beyond what it could safely handle. As it is, I knew from prior testing that I was unlikely to need Snappy in the first couple of turns so there wouldn't be pressure to find a Blue source ASAP. What I would need, however, are ways to find a Blue source from any of my fetchlands. To this end I'm running both Fountain and Grave, so that no matter what fetch I draw if I need Blue I can access it.

Thanks for asking about that. Marduu is Mardu with u. Or in other words, RWBu.

This is general advice for sideboarding with the deck. It may need to be adapted based on what you see of their deck, but the general reasoning behind choices should be solid.

Against Affinity

OUT: 3 IoK, 3 TS

IN: Anger, Damnation, Finks, Stony, Kalitas, (option)

Final card in can be a second Finks or Kalitas, depending on your read of the matchup. They dump their hand so fast and need little mana to operate, so the hand disruption and mana denial plan isn't that strong. Stony is great but don't go mulliganing to find it; you have more than enough main deck tools to stop anything but an Etched Champion with metalcraft.

Against Jund

  • OUT: 3 IoK, 3 TS

  • IN: 3 Fulminator, 2 Kalitas, RIP

Jund is hurt more than we are by RIP and game 1 they'll see virtually no creatures from us except Souls tokens. Punish their lands and bring in the value creature plan to wrong foot them.

Against Abzan Company

  • OUT: 3 IoK, 3 LotV, Gideon Jura

  • IN: Anger, 2 Kalitas, RIP, 3 Surgical

Our removal can keep them off the beatdown plan so we need to focus on not dying to their combo before Nahiri can do her thing. Aggressively mulligan for Surgical and removal. Since Emmy refreshes our library (assuming no RIP...) we can deck them even with infinite life from the Finks combo, but Redcap is dangerous.

Against Big Kid Abzan

  • OUT: 3 IoK, 3 TS, 3 LotV

  • IN: 3 Fulminator, 2 Kalitas, RIP, Damnation, EE, 1 Finks

Discard isn't important here and they have too much value. Focus on keeping the board clear. EE is for Souls tokens.

Against Dredge

OUT: 3 IoK, 3 TS, 3 LotV

IN: 3 Surgical, RIP, Anger, 2 Finks, 2 Kalitas

Surgical should be prioritized on Bloodghast, Narcomoeba, and Prized Amalgam in roughly that order. These three are their army and core to the engine. Don't snipe their dredge cards; if the deck survives the GGT ban it will be on the strength of these. Snapcaster flashing back a turn 0/1 surgical is virtually game right there so mulligan aggressively.

Against Bant Eldrazi

OUT: 1 Bolt, 3 IoK

IN: Damnation, 3 Fulminator

Reality Smasher is our biggest problem here, no pun intended. The inclusion of Fulminator makes it even easier to activate Revolt so you can Push their TKS.

Against Delver

OUT: 3 TS, Gideon

IN: Anger, 2 Finks, (varies)

If they're Grixis with Tasigur/Angler or RUG with Tarmogoyf/Hooting, board in RIP as the fourth card. If they're on Pyromancer instead bring in EE.

Against Grixis Control

-OUT: 3 Bolt

-IN: 2 Kalitas, RIP

Our mainboard is already pretty good against them. They will likely bring in additional counters to disrupt us and there's not much we can do about it. You might consider shaving the final bolt and a Push for Finks if they seem heavy on negate/countersquall but weak to resolved creatures. Don't bring in Surgical.

Against Burn

OUT: 3 TS, Gideon

IN: 2 Finks, 2 Kalitas

Optionally, for Naya Burn you might be tempted to bring in Fulminator to keep them off splash colors. There are several ways you might accommodate this which depend on their creature density. Shaving Terminates and/or LotV are options here.

Against Death's Shadow / Infect / Bloo

OUT: Gideon, (others)

IN: Varies

These matchups are very favorable. Bring in all 3 Fulminator and Anger versus Death's Shadow as their mana base is extremely fragile, cutting 3 Thoughtseize.

For Infect and Bloo just bring in EE.

Against Tron

OUT: 3 Push, 3 LotV, Gideon

IN: 3 Fulminator, 3 Surgical, Stony

This is by far our worst matchup. Game 1 is almost stone cold unwinnable and games 2/3 are tough. Attack their hand early, put up a board presence, and pretend you're an aggro deck. You won't win the long game even if you can exile one of the Tron lands with Surgical+Fulminator/Ghost Quarter. Be willing to drop a Snap into play T2 just to get a clock going if you don't have a better play.

Against Lantern Control

OUT: 3 Path, 3 Push, 2 Terminate, Gideon

IN: EE, Stony, 3 Surgical, 3 Fulminator, 1 Finks

Dead cards brought out for some real value as well as desperation creature threats that Bridge will likely shut down. Emmy keeps us from being decked so long as she's not exiled, which may happen with Pyxis. Getting EE on 1 to take out a Pyxis and then Surgical it away should probably be your primary goal. If either LotV or Nahiri can land without a Pithing Needle on them we may be able to break out but this matchup is tough. Like Tron and Valakut, if Lantern is common in your expected meta you will need to tweak the sideboard for Wear//Tear, Rakdos Charm, or another copy of Stony Silence.

Against RG Valakut

OUT: 3 Push, Gideon, 3 IoK, 1 Bolt

IN: 3 Fulminator, 3 Surgical, 2 Finks

This is another tough matchup. They go big, and quickly, and we have no ways of interacting with their game plan. Pressure them early, attack their lands, and hope you can snipe Through the Breach or Scapeshift with TS.

Against Ad Nauseam

OUT: 3 Path, 3 Push, 2 Terminate, Gideon

IN: 2 Fulminator, 2 Finks, 3 Surgical, Stony, EE

Disrupt their hand and try to apply early pressure. If you can force them to fog you, Surgical if so they have fewer outs for safely casting a big Ad Nauseam. Fulminator is for (mediocre) beats more than for keeping them off land since they can go off without many lands in play. EE takes out Phyrexian Unlife. If they go off they have more counters than we can throw at LabMan so there's no point to sandbagging Bolts. There's nothing we can do about Lightning Storm, of course.

Suggestions

Updates Add

I believe this list is retired now. I've cut the Nahiri package in favor of Monastery Mentor and other tweaks. The overall game plan is the same - grind your opponent out of resources and then ride a threat to victory.

The difference is that Mentor is an immediate threat that, dropped no earlier than turn 6 and backed by cheap spells, can immediately create 1-2 tokens and swing the following turn for a large chunk of life.

deck-large:marduu-mentor

Comments

Date added 8 years
Last updated 5 years
Splash colors U
Legality

This deck is Modern legal.

Rarity (main - side)

16 - 3 Mythic Rares

17 - 10 Rares

19 - 2 Uncommons

2 - 0 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.46
Tokens Spirit 1/1 W, Zombie 2/2 B
Votes
Ignored suggestions
Shared with
Views