Marton isn't a glass cannon; he's a nuclear arsenal made of tissue-paper. He's a four-drop 1/1 without defenses, evasion, or haste. He can be leveraged both offensively and defensively to extreme effect, turning even small quantities of weak creatures into engines of devastation. However, he's someone no-one wants on board for any appreciable length of time, and he's pathetically easy pickings. This deck seeks to keep Marton around, give him enough bodies to hit with, and get him and his friends past enemy defenses.
To play this deck, it's important to pick your moments carefully, and divide attackers wisely between opponents. Marton is better suited to 1v1 play, but this deck is built for four player games. That means it's typically wiser for me to appear unassuming (Marton is considered very low-tier) while putting out a few artifacts and enchantments, as well as some tokens. Then bring Marton out with haste and swing for lethal in one Blaze of Glory.
I'll start with cards I'm considering trading out. If you have an idea for an upgrade/replacement for these, I'm listening. I'm open minded about most cards, really, but I think most of the choices other than these are solid.
Aggravated Assault - Incredible ability, a bit slow/expensive to use. I'm fairly deep in doubling and extra combat steps already, though with Marton the more combat steps the merrier.
Darksteel Ingot - I like the indestructibility, but wonder if another mana rock will work better for me. Chromatic Lantern might be good. A bit counter-intuitive in mono-color, but I have a lost of mana cost in this deck, and a lot of colorless mana generation.
Ancient Stone Idol - This card is undeniably good. I can often cheat it out at low cost or free, granting me a big-ole trampler. He keeps a slightly worse trampler on field after a wipe, and I can use him on enemy turns for a good blocker. He just...doesn't really suit the theme. He sticks out like a sore thumb, and I wonder if I can find something better that's in theme, or if he should be subbed for deeper draw, mana accel, or token generation.
Chancellor of the Forge - He's a great late-game win-con, but only works very well if I've already got most of the pieces I need to win on board. The tokens being hasted and red (my colorless tokens don't benefit from Gauntlet of Might or Caged Sun) is great, but this card really only helps significantly if I can get my damage through and I've got Marton and 3+ buddies on field already. He's a beautiful capstone for a game, but I wonder if I need to build the rest of the bridge better first, or if there is a more 'Definite Win Button' 6-8 drop I can replace him with.
Here's a breakdown by category:
Tactical Warfare - cards that change the nature of combat rounds, usually to my advantage. A lot of these are strange cards that see little play, so opponents probably won't be used to or prepared for dealing with them.
Invasion Plans - this does a lot for me at once, and probably not much for my opponents, since I'll typically end turns with my entire board tapped. It keeps Marton alive, since I won't block him. It lets me kill whichever opposing creatures I need to with my beefed up mooks, and it means the majority of my damage is getting through.
Total War - virtually all of my creatures will be expendable, easily buffed, and their purpose is to attack every turn anyway. This is not true of many opponents. I probably cast this in my second main phase with my board still untapped, such that enemies have to swing at my Marton-buffed defensive board. They probably lose some pieces, and then I swing back next turn.
Fumiko the Lowblood - This deck is all about dealing a ton of damage with creatures, mostly by relentlessly attacking. As a result, Fumiko hitting field makes me almost suicidally vulnerable. However, because this deck is tightly focused around attacker vs. defender creature combat, this will usually be to my opponent's detriment far more than my own. Her lack of haste is a weakness, but she is very well suited to being cast in the post-combat main phase. If I have bodies on field, but am losing the creature race, I can cast her after not attacking with Marton and friends. Enemies are forced to attack, and Marton's ability working defensively will cut a wide swath into opposing populations. When she does attack with Marton and friends, she essentially receives Marton's bonus twice. If I can get her evasion or trampling, she's a one-woman wrecking ball. She also synergizes nicely with Godo, Bandit Warlord. In fact, the two of them together with Marton and a few set pieces like Whispersilk Cloak and Rage Reflection is nearly a win-condition, if an unlikely one. Never play her and Invasion Plans simultaneously, but if you have one in hand and one out, you've got redundancy when the first gets removed from the battlefield.
Forcefield - Early game protection, and since I'm usually swinging with all I've got, it gives me the ability to stay alive when the counter-punch comes.
Mana Acceleration:
Caged Sun - The +1/+1s really help too. It's an inferior Gauntlet of might, though it does benefit non-Mountain lands that produce red mana, of which I have four or five, depending on what Vesuva becomes.
Darksteel Ingot
Gauntlet of Might
Ruby Medallion
Sol Ring
Sword of Feast and Famine - the protection from B/G and +2/+2 make this a great way to get Marton through without dying as well. Enemy discard isn't bad. Honestly, my post-combat main phase usually isn't seeing a lot fo love, but this card is a good sum-of-parts. I put it in most decks.
Gauntlet of Power - Better than Caged Sun, not as good as Gauntlet of Might
Ancient Tomb - along with Hall of the Bandit Lord, this can cost me a fair mount of health throughout a game. It makes this deck a bit more 'blaze of glory' than it already was.
Temple of the False God
Card Draw:
Mind's Eye
Infiltration Lens - Helps Marton's glorious death a bit more glorious. Pairs nicely with Invasion Plans.
Sensei's Divining Top - I don't have many ways of protecting my resources, nor access to much scrying in mono-red. A cheap and survivable filter and draw engine is just what the doctor ordered.
The Immortal Sun (the +1/+1 is great for making Marton more survivable, and just helps a lot in this kind of weenie deck. I also despise the entire Planeswalker card type, and find this card very satisfying.)
Skullclamp - Lord knows I'll have the bodies for it.
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
Haste effects:
Anger
Akroma's Memorial - May be the strongest synergizing card in the game for this deck. It is the single best method of getting vigilance in mono-red, and vigilance is unspeakably powerful for Marton. The protection from black and red makes it much easier to find someone Marton can attack without being blocked and killed (as well as protecting him from all manner of burn, -1/-1, and destroy effects he's vulnerable to), and someone he can defend against. That means your same exponential-growth nuclear-offensive line then becomes an Iron Curtain to the opposition. Flying means you're getting past that much more, and your opponents that much less. First strike is a decisive tie-breaker, and trample means not even flyers can chump you. If you have Marton and even a modest number of other creatures on field when you cast this, you are now winning the game. You haven't won yet, but you couldn't be in better position.
Fervor
Hanweir Battlements
Lightning Greaves - is also a nice protection for Marton
Lightning Mauler
Hall of the Bandit Lord
Urabrask the Hidden - enemy critters entering tapped could also be considered evasion
The Boost to Get Through - effects like flying, trample, and menace.
Akroma's Memorial - all purpose
Archetype of Aggression - lets me chump easier, but more importantly gets me past chumps. Other token generation decks can often generate a lot more bodies than I can (especially things like Ghave), so I need ways of getting past them.
Crash Through - cheap, gets me a draw, and means I get to trample for a swing. I call this my 1-mana win-con.
Glaring Spotlight - has a fair amount of utility, but it's biggest boon is its sac ability for me.
Legion Loyalist - a cheap hasted body is a nice base for this in Marton's army. Add onto that trample and getting past all tokens, and this becomes a nice set-piece. First strike is just gravy on top.
Nemesis Mask - kind of expensive to equip, but it lets me make one token into my suicidal distraction while Marton and Co. get through for the whallops
Whispersilk Cloak - making Marton unblockable and untargetable simultaneously is incredible
Eldrazi Monument - flying
Yuan Shao, the Indecisive - Horsemanship means he's basically always getting through himself, and menace will help a lot more of my damage get through
Protection - usually for Marton
Baton of Morale - while banding is usually very weak (and I suspect this card if virtually unheard of in EDH) this works quite nicely for Marton. Let's say Marton is on field with 5 other creatures. I can spend 2 and have Marton band with one of those, and now he has at least six more health the defending player has to get through before I have to let Marton die. If I can spend 4, I can add at least 6 more.
Darksteel Plate
Dolmen Gate - honestly, no idea why this artifact is only 2-costed
Eldrazi Monument - also counts as evasion, and a bit of a power boost. Saccing is always unpleasant, given that every body gets me deeper into exponential power growth, but it's worth it for the wipe prevention. I can almost always make more tiny mooks.
Maze of Ith - since Marton's ability works when he attacks, untapping him and bringing him back is really no skin off my back
Mimic Vat - if Marton dies while this is on field, I'm probably going to vat him. Other creatures synergize nicely as well, but this is here so that I can consistently use Marton's ability without concern for geometric casting cost growth. I also have a number of creatures with etb effects.
Whispersilk Cloak
Token Generation:
Chancellor of the Forge - potential win con. If I have Marton out with 5 1/1 goblins, those goblins will deal a total of 30 damage. Not bad, but I'm not necessarily knocking anyone off the board. If I cast Chancellor pre-combat, I now represent 132 damage with my tokens. If Chancellor is getting haste from somewhere, that's 28 more for a total of 160.
Karn, Silver Golem - I think Karn works unusually well for this deck. He can live through attacks often, even when there aren't many bodies boosting him. I'm quite artifact rich, and the ability to turn them all into bodies when attacking with Marton could be...kind of obscene actually. Risky, but potent. Since it isn't a tap ability, I can do that the turn he hits field if needed.
Emrakul's Hatcher - four bodies for 5 mana, and potentially some mana back if I absolutely need it.
Goblinslide - Every non-creature gets me a creature, and they have haste to boot. The ability to pay for a 1/1 with haste is an option I'd almost never pass up in this deck.
Hanweir Garrison - this and Marton alone represent a surprising amount of damage. (13 the first round they go, 31 if he gets a second round) I like both this and Hanweird Battlements for different reason, but it's unlikely I'd ever meld them. They're better apart than together for my purposes. Still, if I'm ever desperate for a trampler, I can make a decently sized one.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - An unusually defensive card for this deck, but a solid defensive work-horse than can turn those Ogres around for a lot of damage. Works well against opposing token decks. Marton and Kazuul together are a very potent defense if you need to hole-up for a turn or two and put set-pieces or more bodies on field.
Rapacious One - Trample is what really throws this over the top. Marton can pump this thing to high heaven, and then I get more token bodies for next turn, or some mana if I need it.
Thopter Assembly - Red doesn't do cheap flyers all that well, and this helps maintain some cards in hand.
Siege-Gang Commander - ETB tokens are nice.
Tilonalli's Summoner - This card is outright broken for me. Easy to get on field, somewhat effective on her own (especially if I have some +1/+1 effects on field), and a force of utter devastation with Marton. If played after a wipe in late-game where mana is no object, she and Marton together can clear all opponents.
Warchief Giant - A multiplayer card, definitely. With Marton and this alone, I have a 9/7 going at each opponent in a four-man game. If I have, say, three goblin tokens already, my field then has 4 12/10s and 3 8/8s. That he's guaranteed hasted means I get four bodies in combat immediately for 5 mana. Basically an upgrade of Emrakul's Hatcher.
Tempt with Vengeance - I don't think anyone is stupid enough to spend mana with me on this, but it's still X-1 hasted tokens. If Marton's out, it's a potential win-con.
Flamerush Rider - Not explicitly token generation (well, I suppose it is) but I'll typically be using it to Dash out and spawn a copy of ETB effect creatures, many of which are token generation. Keeps some card advantage, granting at least two bodies in every swing for 4 mana. Incredible with Hannweir Garrison or Chancellor of the Forge.
Kher Keep Bad, expensive tokens, but they're an option. Worth having 1 fewer Mountain...narrowly. It's basically plan C, when your other token generation plans either aren't coming out of the deck or are getting removed before you can really use them. Also keeps Eldrazi Monument around, which is nice.
Wipe Protection:
Ancient Stone Idol - I'll probably cast him for free or close to it, and if I get wiped I keep something on field. Importantly, something with trample. Trample is nearly as good as evasion in this deck.
Darksteel Plate, eldrazi monument, mimic vat, as mentioned before.
Spawning Pit - If I've got 8 critters that get wiped, I can get 4 back. 4x 2/2s with Marton is nothing to sneeze at, especially after a wipe when folks are likely unprotected.
Ping effects - For when things are in the way
Stalking Vengeance - This might be too expensive to really be worthwhile, but it means losing my bigger creatures isn't a total wash. It can make sacrificing Eldrazi Spawn tokens after combat a more attractive option.
Impact Tremors - makes the job just that little bit easier. I consider 'deal 120 damage' the overally goal of the deck, and this can easily do about a quarter of that over a game. Not bad for 2 mana.
Purphoros, God of the Forge - same as Impact Tremors, but better. I love the indestructibility. Unlikely I ever spend mana on the firebreathing, but there are cases where it could mean the difference between dealing lethal and non-lethal damage, and is a way to spend mana without spending cards.
Siege-Gang Commander - ETB token gen is nice. Unlikely I'll be saccing goblins for two damage, but there are occasions where the option could be very nice. Killing something like Angus Mackenzie, for example.
Spikeshot Elder - Really opens up options. Since it isn't a tap ability, I can do this after declaring attackers (so he'll be buffed by Marton) but before combat damage is dealt. I can even use it before defenders are declared to eliminate one, or kill off something that's blocking Marton before combat damage. This makes it tough to avoid his ping damage, though I probably only get one shot at it.
Doubling Up - additional combat phases, double-strike
Aggravated Assault - A bit slow and expensive, but reuseable, and most folks don't run a lot of enchantment-hate.
Combat Celebrant - Incredible.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - The real reason is to grab a good equipment, but the extra combat phase means if he's been pumped I can get a bit of mileage from him. Also helps his BFF Fumiko of the Lowblood
Rage Reflection - Good old doublestrike. Makes creatures more survivable, and doubles my damage output.
Savage Beating - This is a win condition. An additional combat phase lets Marton's ability stack with itself, and double-strike on top can make even a few gobbies into an existential threat. Four 1/1 goblins become 5/5 double-strikers, and then 9/9 doublestrikers for a total of 56 damage out of a few tokens.
Gratuitous Violence - This method of damage doubling helps ping creatures, and stacks with double-strike and additional combat phases. I suspect the ping damage could be extremely relevant, allowing Spawning Pit + Stalking Vengeance
and/or Spikeshot Elder to end games after I'm done swinging.
Artifact destruction or manipulation
Goblin Welder - A lot of options, cheap, and another body if I need one. Helps me bring back important set pieces like Akroma's Memorial in exchange for less important artifacts, or even thopter tokens.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - Gets me equipment (probably Lightning Greaves, Whispersilk Cloak, or Darksteel Plate, a decent body, and synergizes nicely with Marton and Fumiko.
Buried Ruin - Might get me an important set-piece (most of which are artifacts) back.
Shattering Pulse - Expensive to keep, but helps maintain a hand in late game while taking out threats. Considering swapping it for Shatterspree, considering the fast pace of this deck. I do like the card advantage buyback potentially grants me though.
Vandalblast - Can eliminate a lot of enemy tricks and mana for a fairly modest cost.
Utter BS
Heartless Hidetsugu - This deck is all about dealing a ton of damage. Rather than attacking himself, Hidetsugu will usually hang back as a defender, and in response to defenders being declared can tap if I see that the damage going through is between half the enemy's opposing health and their current total. He's much more potent with haste, which he'll often have. He can often make the game more focused on narrowing health totals, which is where Marton lives. Control types have difficulty with him (especially if hasted), unless they can counter. This deck is a sprinter, and Hidetsugu halves the length of the race. Where Marton never wins marathons, he can take a 500m dash pretty well.
Insurrection - Often a win con without Marton, this very easily ends four man games on turn 7 with him. If there are a total of 11 non-Marton creatures on field when this is cast, I win no matter what those creatures are (basically). 9 or 10 will typically do it.
