Token Chaos Reanimator (Queen Marchesa)

Commander / EDH Aristocrats RBW (Mardu) Reanimator Tokens Tokens

Dot8911

Land (33)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Blackcleave Cliffs
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Gemstone Caverns
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Inspiring Vantage
• 1x Kher Keep
• 1x Lavaclaw Reaches
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 2x Plains
• 1x Plateau
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Rugged Prairie
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Windbrisk Heights

Artifact (6)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring

Instant (17)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Deflecting Palm
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Fracture
• 1x Lapse of Certainty
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Raise the Alarm
• 1x Secure the Wastes
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Terminate
• 1x Tibalt's Trickery
• 1x Zealous Persecution

Creature (14)

• 1x Archon of Cruelty
• 1x Ashen Rider
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Goldspan Dragon
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Imperial Recruiter
• 1x Monastery Mentor
• 1x Myr Battlesphere
• 1x Nantuko Husk
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Young Pyromancer
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
• 1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor

Commander (1)

Sorcery (17)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Burning Inquiry
• 1x Cathartic Reunion
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Exhume
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Innocent Blood
• 1x Lingering Souls
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Past in Flames
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Sign in Blood
• 1x Spectral Procession
• 1x Unburial Rites
• 1x Wheel of Fortune

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Bastion of Remembrance
• 1x Court of Ambition
• 1x Court of Grace
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Honor of the Pure
• 1x Intangible Virtue
• 1x Mana Flare

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Sideboard

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Empty the Warrens
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Vindicate
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Artifact (2)

• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Skullclamp

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Assemble the Legion
• 1x Grand Melee
• 1x Possibility Storm
• 1x Underworld Breach

Instant (2)

• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Land (3)

• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Creature (1)

• 1x Dark Confidant

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion

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Maybeboard

Creature (6)

• 1x Children of Korlis
• 1x Jalum Grifter
• 1x Judith, the Scourge Diva
• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Krovikan Vampire
• 1x Mayhem Devil

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Ajani Vengeant
• 1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1x Liliana, the Last Hope

Instant (6)

• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Kolaghan's Command
• 1x Mardu Charm
• 1x Rakdos Charm
• 1x Seething Song
• 1x Wear / Tear

Artifact (1)

• 1x Spear of Heliod

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Curse of Hospitality
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Phyrexian Arena

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Galvanic Relay
• 1x Recoup

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Token Chaos Reanimator

What am I trying to optimize for?

This deck is intended to balance power and fun in a multiplayer game. It is intended to be good (but not quite cEDH level), interactive, and fun to play against. While many decks simply try to advance their own game plan, this deck actively tries to mess with the game, sometimes at it's own expense.

The First Goal - Tokens & Aristocrats

The nominal goal is to create a bunch of tokens, pump them up with anthems, and attack to win. Alternatively, you can win by making a bunch of tokens and sacrificing them to Nantuko Husk (or Skullclamp in a pinch) with either Zulaport Cutthroat or Bastion of Remembrance out. In my experience this is doable for ~10-15 damage in the late game.

I think there may be some better aristocrats pieces to play. What am I missing? Let me know in the comments.

The Second Goal - CHAOS

The secondary goal is to cause a little bit of chaos. Queen Marchesa and Grand Melee are great at getting players to attack each other, and there's nothing quite like casting a Crackling Doom or Fire Covenant in the middle of someone else's combat step.

Tibalt's Trickery and Lapse of Certainty are nice because they are unexpected counterspells, but aren't total feel-bad blowouts (looking at you Mana Drain). Sometimes I run Possibility Storm if I want to cause some real chaos.

I'm trying out Mana Flare because I think the other players will like the mana boost and it'll lead to some zany games, but it might be too much of a boost as they'll get to take full advantage before I do.

The Third Goal - Reanimate something scary

The other vector that this deck operates on is graveyard synergy.

We have a solid reanimator package with Entomb, Reanimate, and Exhume. I chose Exhume over alternatives (such as Animate Dead) to further encourage fun & chaotic board states. Yawgmoth's Will and Underworld Breach are often cast for value. Burning Inquiry helps us fill the graveyard and is definitely in line with the chaos theme. We have a couple targets for Gamble in either Past in Flames or Unburial Rites if we need to guarantee something out of the yard, or we can just gamble & hope, it's always a laugh when you get hosed.

As far as reanimator targets go Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite synergizes super well, so that's usually going to be the priority target. Grave Titan is a good bet if we have an Anointed Procession out on the field. Goldspan Dragon can be the target in more casual games.

Alternative Builds - Storm

It is also possible to make this a storm deck. I have tried cutting the reanimator cards for more rituals, lotus petal, etc. In theory you could cast a giant Empty the Warrens and then either hope nobody has a sweeper, or win with Nantuko Husk + Zulaport Cutthroat .

Despite how much I love storm, I did not find this to be fun for casual/lightly competitive multiplayer games. Your turns take too long and the deck isn't quite resilient enough to be sure not to fizzle. I was missing a few cards though, so perhaps I'll give it another go in the future, especially if we do cEDH night. I have left in Empty the Warrens (seems fine even at 2 or 3 storm) and Yawgmoth's Will (for late game value) regardless.

TL;DR

In summary, this is one of the most complicated decks I've ever put together, because it's being pulled in four distinct directions:

1. Go-wide with tokens Intangible Virtue + Lingering Souls
2. Aristocrats Nantuko Husk + Zulaport Cutthroat
3. Reanimator & graveyard synergy Dark Ritual + Entomb + Reanimate
4. Chaos & fun for multiplayer Burning Inquiry + Exhume

There are many opportunities for synergy across these four points, which makes this deck complex but fun, often leading to zany plays and crazy board states.

If you've made it this far, consider giving me an upvote!

My questions to you:

• What fun and interesting synergies am I missing? Can you think of any cards that should go in my maybeboard?
• Are there any cards that strike you as particularly weak? What should get cut or upgraded?
• Which of these four directions do you think is the strongest?
• Which do you think is the most fun to play?
• Which do you think is the most fun to play against?

Date added	2 years
Last updated	2 years
Key combos	Dark Ritual + Entomb + Reanimate Intangible Virtue + Lingering Souls Nantuko Husk + Zulaport Cutthroat Burning Inquiry + Exhume
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 3 Mythic Rares 40 - 11 Rares 22 - 3 Uncommons 19 - 1 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.84
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Assassin 1/1 B w/ Haste, Elemental 1/1 R, Emblem Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Emblem Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, Emblem Sorin, Solemn Visitor, Goblin 1/1 R, Human Soldier 1/1 W, Kobolds of Kher Keep 0/1 R, Monk 1/1 W, Myr 1/1 C, Soldier 1/1 RW, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 W, The Monarch, Treasure, Vampire 1/1 B w/ Lifelink, Vampire 2/2 B, Warrior 1/1 W, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	1) Current Decks