Marath, Will of the Wild
Commander / EDH*
SCORE: 5 | 11 COMMENTS | 2059 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS
May 16, 2015
-Xenagos, the Reveler +Xenagos, God of Revels, -Goblin Bombardment +Birthing Pod, -Assemble the Legion +Karmic Guide, -Rampant Growth +Council's Judgment, -Mirari's Wake +Regal Force
VoodooSpecter says... #2
Thanks for the suggestion Vexton! I took a look at your list and we do have a lot of similarities. I bet you enjoy a lot of wins playing Marath!
I used to run Zealous Conscripts but often ran into situations where its ETB would be marginal or useless. I get the whole "steal the board" combo, and it does win games. However, Restoration Angel has been a strong performer for me, even when its a single draw. Resetting a Craterhoof Behemoth or Avenger of Zendikar is backbreaking. The versatility of saving certain key creatures in targeted situations is a plus too. All in all, I think its just a playstyle choice.
Council's Judgment will have to find a slot for me. Very good removal option. I noticed Volcanic Offering wasn't in your list. That card is a windmill slam every time I cast it.
May 15, 2015 10:33 a.m.
VoodooSpecter says... #3
Hey Vexton, which cards did you think were straight meh?
May 15, 2015 11:11 a.m.
LONG COMMENT
Hunter's Prowess - I just dont get it. it seems really weak as a combat trick and even worse as a draw spell considering its combat damage. I often do combat trickery in my deck but I just use maraths graft ability.
Xenagos, the Reveler - This guys is a powerhouse in low budget brews for marath but as your deck gets stronger his plus 1 and 0 become pretty meh as the best way to push your deck to become more powerful is too cut cmc while maintaining power and this guy doesnt do as much as I would have liked once upon a time.
Ivy Lane Denizen - I've never understood the appeal of this guy, people seem to think he's a necessary part of most marath xDoubling Season x Mana Echoes esque combos and he really isnt and as a singleton I find him pretty underwhelming.
Goblin Bombardment - Another personal preference thing when it comes to marath this card is good but it is very rarely required for combos and as a singleton never prooved useful in my deck simply because I went off so fast that pinging down creatures wasnt necessary and doming people would often not be required as marath can do it himself. last but not least the only infinite combo this card improves is the ashnods/mana echoes x Cathars crusade combo and often enough its unnecessary because you can rebuild that boardstate at instant speed for one mana if its wrath'd out
Mana Reflection - with miraris wake already in the list and the fact you already play a lot of mana accelerants makes this card feel really win-more.
Garruk, Primal Hunter - never really interested me as a walker for marath as his original printing offers a bit more power but for your list I wouldnt cut him until you get better draw in the deck.
Impact Tremors - See goblin bombardment except less flexible. Baby purphoros is still baby purphoros but I also dont like that card in marath much even though he is a powerhouse. Too many alt wincons can skew a decks power into very awkward proportions.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - I played this card for months and cut it because it was too good in the wrong ways. Elesh norn was almost always tutored out or cast very rarely and when she was cast or tutored out it was a very winmore strategy and the worst part about her is that she becomes a center piece to your board if shes what you require to win and every player is going to try and take her out. Sh'es just a massive target that doesnt do much of anything for you if you werent already going to win that turn.
Assemble the Legion I play a very fast Marath deck and personally dislike this card just because its an investment and the problems with investments in battlecruiser magic is they rarely last long in a competetive playgroup.
Martyr's Bond - is a really strong but wierd pick that I would never make but I can understand the appeal of it in tokens, I'd rather play a card that enhances the strategy of combo/token aggro instead.
Druid of the Anima Knotvine Mystic Gyre Sage - I love mana dorks as much as the next guy but these three always seem like awkward picks for marath as they often dont do anything until your mana base is already stabilized and would have their slots better filled with utility creatures like Karmic Guide and such. Gyre Sage being the best of these three.
Farseek Rampant Growth - very strong ramp cards but its hard to tell what your ramping in to except for more ramp and three or four big threats. I'd try and cut down on the ramp a little bit because a commander like marath doesnt need to hit 8 cmc by turn 4 typically and your list doesnt have the nutzo big creatures that decks that run this much ramp would play.
I'd cut 2-3 lands Just personal preference here I think 36-37 with ramp sources is a very strong mana base that doesnt flood often.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight - I lvoe this card but I dont know if its what you want for yourself in your list. shes deffinitely spooky but the huge cmc coupled with no natural protection in your deck makes her feel like a creature that is a huge investment with a very high likely hood of failure.
Flame-Kin Zealot - the haste is real and I think this card is rather good its just concerning to me because its not the kind of bomb that will kill people everytime you drop it and is a completely dead card if you lack a boardstate. I'd cut it personally but its deffinitely personal opinion on this one.
Tempt with Vengeance - is a pretty fun mana dump but people will get wise and not take your dudes making it pretty mana innefficient. Secure the Wastes - aka white fireball seems better for this job as you can dump them EOT and go straight into a crater on your turn.
May 15, 2015 12:18 p.m.
JUSTIFICATION FOR ZEALOUS AND VOLCANIC OFFERING TALK
The reason I play Zealous Conscripts is primarily because of Birthing Pod, but hey its ability to steal something isnt always amazing but hey free damage is free damage and I can often sack what I steal to high market or an altar the best one of play I did with this was taking a ghaves Cathars' Crusade and going infinite with it.
Zealous Conscripts makes Birthing Pod a very scary and fast win condition as it allows me to untap my pod making any two four drops on my field into a Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker combo with little to no warning. Now the icing on the cake is this requires five mana and two four drops to do and can even be extended to having just cast my Marath will of the wild and a random four drop Podding the four drop for Zealous Conscripts untapping pod to pod marath to search for Restoration Angel targeting Zealous Conscripts untapping pod to pod Restoration Angel for a Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker turning the combo online killing everyone if not stopped. That interaction alone justifys its slot and the theft of any permenant can be a blowout if its not in the middle of comboing off. I think it adds to the tool-boxedness of a deck tremendously and can win games in unpredictable ways.
Volcanic Offering is deffinitely a strong card I've considered but as the problem often comes when you've refined your list for months on end it becomes hard to justify cutting anything for new powerful cards. I believe you that a five mana 4 for 1 is good but its just a little too narrow to be considered stronger than my utility cards and even more so to off focus to contribute heavily to the win. Good card that I personally think is just bad in my deck. My list is built off a lot of tiny synergies interacting in tandem for very big results which kind of locks the deck in to what it can and cant do.
Suggestions for your deck would be:
Card draw like Regal Force Shamanic Revelation Harmonize Wheel of Fortune Sylvan Library etc.
Karmic Guide! nutzo strong recursion on a stick turns my survival of the fittest into a very powerful combo enabler. This bugger even recycles etbs and fixes reassembles boardstates post wrath.
Birthing Pod and the creature curve it back it up!
Blasphemous Act - the foil is pretty and a cheap wrath that kills most things can prove very useful as you can use the mana saved to re-establish your board state immediately.
May 15, 2015 12:35 p.m. Edited.
VoodooSpecter says... #7
You're fine, Vexton. Your comments are precise and coherant. I thank you for all of your suggestions! Some of which I have already begun to think twice about. Regal Force was in until recently, but will probably make a return. I will make amendments to the deck, along with reasons for each of my choices.
Vexton says... #1
I feel like your list has a reakky wonky powerlevel with some cards being very powerful and others being straight meh. i see your kiki combo and raise you one Zealous Conscripts
Birthing Pod is a great way to cycle through your deck and with enough mana you can combo kiki-jiki with marath and a 4 drop in play In one turn. Ive got a list designed for the same combos you can see if you want, its heavily built around birthing pod and aggressively costed creatures.
May 15, 2015 9:32 a.m.