Budget Queen Marchesa EDH

Commander / EDH Budget Cruel Control RBW (Mardu)

Borachon

Her Royal Kingdom (38)

• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Bloodfell Caves
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 5x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 7x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
• 5x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Malice
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Temple of Triumph
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Throne of the High City
• 1x Vivid Crag
• 1x Vivid Marsh
• 1x Vivid Meadow
• 1x Wind-Scarred Crag

Her Royal Treasures (9)

• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence

Her Royal Whims (16)

• 1x Akroma's Blessing
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Dawn Charm
• 1x Faith's Reward
• 1x Grab the Reins
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Oblation
• 1x Sulfurous Blast
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Utter End
• 1x Valorous Stance
• 1x Volcanic Fallout
• 1x Wear / Tear
• 1x Wild Ricochet
• 1x Wing Shards

Her Royal Court (9)

• 1x Darien, King of Kjeldor
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1x Odric, Lunarch Marshal
• 1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
• 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
• 1x Zurgo Helmsmasher

Her Royal Commands (6)

• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Divine Reckoning
• 1x Incite Rebellion
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Read the Bones

Commander (1)

Her Loyal Subjects (12)

• 1x Ankle Shanker
• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x Butcher of the Horde
• 1x Custodi Lich
• 1x Hushwing Gryff
• 1x Intrepid Hero
• 1x Protector of the Crown
• 1x Royal Assassin
• 1x Silverblade Paladin
• 1x Skyline Despot
• 1x Spelltithe Enforcer
• 1x Windborn Muse

Her Royal Decrees (7)

• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Fanatical Devotion
• 1x Indestructibility
• 1x Marchesa's Decree
• 1x Rite of the Raging Storm
• 1x Underworld Connections

Her Royal Atire (2)

• 1x Sunforger
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

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We're starting a local budget commander league (commander + $60 budget), and I've been looking for a new commander different from my current decks, which are all primarily in Dimir colors. I was looking for something grindy or controlling, and knew I didn't want something graveyard-based (another player has expressed interest in Anafenza). Something that had a good political angle had appeal, too.

What I've settled on is using Queen Marchesa as my next commander based on a mildly upgraded version of BudgetMTGDecks's very nice Judo-esque Queen Marchesa budget list: Budget Queen Marchesa - EDH / Commander. The list has a nice mix of control and aggro that appeals to me, along with a commander that helps with political and multi-player angles that some of my other decks lack.

The main places I've made upgrades are:

• Adding a little strength to the pillow fort/prohibit effects with Baird, Steward of Argive, Blind Obedience, Darien, King of Kjeldor, and Marchesa's Decree. These provide progressive protection while preserving the deck's general flavor. Marchesa's Decree and Blind Obedience slow the game down initially, and then the larger creatures pillowfort/prohibit creatures (e.g. Baird, Darien, Kazuul, and Teysa) strengthen this while also presenting a threat.
• Upgrading some of the instants and sweepers the deck uses - Dawn Charm provides a combination of fog and counterspell that's too good to pass up, Swords to Plowshares is a straight upgrade from Condemn, Faith's Reward is great for rebuying creatures and sac/draw mana rocks, and Merciless Eviction is both inexpensive and a decent hedge against graveyard decks.
• Tweaking the mana base with better mana rocks and a few specialty lands. Mistveil Plains in particular is perfect in this deck, since it lets you rebuy Sunforger targets, and it dropped in price in anticipation of the upcoming UMA reprint.
• Add in Diabolic Tutor as a cheap way to find our Sunforger in place of Outpost Siege, since we have card draw from the Monarch already.

These upgrades squeezed me in at $59.37 plus the cost of Queen Marchesa and has been fun to goldfish so far.

We get $20 each month to upgrade the decks, and there are lots of places for incremental upgrades, and changes, ranging from the land base to the control package to cheap tutors to the balance between enchantments and creatures.

• Beseech the Queen is particularly flavorful tutor upgrade that fits well into the deck and adds some more consistency, either in place of or in addition to Diabolic Tutor
• Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep will be a great and inexpensive landbase upgrade with all of the legendary creatures and is perfectly on flavor.
• Adding Bojuka Bog in place of a Swamp will let me replace Underworld Cerberus with Aura of Silence, providing some backup slow effects for Kambal and another way to fight enchantments and artifacts.
• Changing to Gisela, Blade of Goldnight from Blazing Archon. There are also a range of other pillow-fort creatures to consider, such as Archangel of Tithes, Dread, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker, and Windborn Muse, though some of which are a bit expensive for our upgrade budget.
• The standard upgrades to budget Commander mana bases, including the scry lands and Chromatic Lantern.
• Anguished Unmaking, Backlash, Comeuppance, and Disrupt Decorum and are all potential changes to the control toolbox along with a wide range of others.
• Ghostly Prison and Sphere of Safety are worth considering given the number of enchantment the deck runs, but they do reduce the aggression available in the deck.
• Xantcha, Sleeper Agent is another option to apply more pressure to opponents, and Mathas, Fiend Seeker has possibilities, too.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 38 - 0 Rares 32 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.58
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Haste, Dragon 5/5 R, Lightning Rager, Ogre 3/3 R, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 WB, The Monarch
Folders	EDH decks i wanna build lol