~One can only hold in his emotions for so long before they explode into a storm greater than the might of any dragon.~
The Mardu are all about fast-paced play, aggro, and burn. Being the defiant little rebel I am, I just had to make a deck that wasn't anywhere near aggro. This deck focuses on destroying opposing creatures and buffing up your
Seeker of the Way
until your dragons hit the field and start destroying stuff. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, as are +1's if you enjoyed the deck.
Creatures
Dragonlord Kolaghan: This card is so under-represented. Most decks tend to run multiples of anything they can. By the time Kolaghan gets out, your opponent will probably be under 10 life. This completely locks them out of any card they've already played, allowing you to swing with your creatures relentlessly. Giving our Thunderbreak Regents haste doesn't hurt either.
Thunderbreak Regent: This card is overall awesome. It punishes your opponent for trying to get rid of it, and only gets worse with more of them on the board. The second your opponent misplays against this card, you've won.
Seeker of the Way
: Seeker is great in all stages of the game, but its purpose here is more of the early game. Its lifelink helps protect us from aggro, and it gets stronger as we cast our myriad of burn and removal spells.
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Planeswalkers
Elspeth, Sun's Champion: This is possibly one of the best control planeswalkers in standard. She protects herself, wipes the board, and turns all of our tokens and Seekers into mini-dragons. A great win-con to go along with the rest of the deck.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
: Dragons, dragons, and more dragons. This guy isn't dying any time soon, as his indestructibility dodges most forms of removal while he bashes your opponent in the face for 4 in the air every turn. He has a built-in burn for 4, which is absolutely great. Icefall Regent and Thunderbreak Regent aren't going to be protecting themselves against that one.
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Other Spells
Outpost Siege
: Seeing as we're not playing blue, we need some form of draw power. This card essentially doubles our draws every turn, allowing us to dig through our deck even faster to find what we need.
Crux of Fate: A versatile board wipe. This card is really good against many decks, as it allows you to keep your dragons on the board while you bash their faces in.
Duress: Your main problem in this deck will be with spells that are not creatures. Duress helps you take out anything your opponent may have to disrupt your plans, and gives you knowledge of the rest of their hand.
Crackling Doom: One of the many forms of creature control in the deck. Doubling as a direct burn spell, this card gets rid of your opponent's biggest threats without targetting them. It gets past cards with protection from that such as Icefall Regent or an untapped Dragonlord Ojutai.
Lightning Strike: The format's generic burn for 3. Simple, efficient, and gets the job done right.
Utter End: Without Hero's Downfall, we do need a method of interacting with planeswalkers. This card gives us just that, a great overall package. It also deals with recurring creatures such as
Deathmist Raptor
, and weird effects like Athreos, God of Passage.
Foul-Tongue Invocation: Untargetted removal with a potential lifegain. In a format like this one, that lifegain is very relevant, and dodging hexproof is an awesome upside to the spell.
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Other Options
Soulfire Grand Master: With a myriad of burn spells being common across Mardu decks, this card can easily contribute to your long term survival.
Wild Slash: Speaking of burn spells, this one's the only viable one we have with 1 CMC. It gets the job done efficiently, and can proc
Seeker of the Way
and have room for another spell right after.
Magma Jet: In a deck like this, scry is insanely helpful. This card helps make sure that you have what you need when you need it while burning your opponent's face off.
End Hostilities: Maybe Crux of Fate just isn't working out for you. In that case, try this card out. It gets rid of any equipped artifacts or bestow enchantments in the process of exploding the board.
Stormbreath Dragon: Personally, I'm not willing to drop $15 for a single card that's rotating out of standard soon. However, if you feel like doing so, this card is absolutely amazing. Prot white is very relevant with all the control and Abzan stuff running around, and being a late-game mana sink doesn't hurt either. This card overall is awesome.
Dragonlord's Servant: We don't really run enough dragons to make this card worthwhile, but if you add in more, this becomes a little more viable.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor: Everyone needs a little Sorin in their lives. Like Elspeth, he provides protection for himself while buffing your creatures with the ever-relevant lifelink and power bump. His ultimate is the reason most children cry themselves to sleep. It's scary.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Ugin becomes a win-condition the second he hits the board. With the ability to blow up literally anything he wants AND burn whenever, this not-technically-a-dragon planeswalker is easily one of the best cards in the block. His ultimate is almost impossible to survive, especially if you have the luck of getting 4 Thunderbreak Regents onto the field along side a Dragonlord Kolaghan and a couple Stormbreath Dragons.
Goblin Rabblemaster: Most people seem to like this card. I pretty much hate him, not only because he costs way too much right now, but because he's a bit underwhelming for my taste. He is vulnerable to removal, but you can make that argument towards any card. His merits include a nice offensive presence that forces your opponent to deal with it, and it goes on every turn.
Murderous Cut: As a 1-of, this card is great. Any more than 2, and we won't have the fuel to feed it.
Hero's Downfall/Thoughtseize: Both expensive cards, both rotating out of standard soon. If you have them, run them, as they're both really good. However, I wouldn't make the investment on either right now for standard play.
Haven of the Spirit Dragon: We don't run THAT many dragons, but this does give us a good way to make sure we have the mana to play them, as well as grab them back when they die.
Bile Blight/Drown in Sorrow: Board wipes. These work very efficiently, and the scry from the latter is a welcome addition. Against any sort of aggro or midrange deck, these spells are very likely to help you in some way.
This deck has been really fun to play around with since I made it. Give it a spin, and see how it works for you. Feedback is greatly appreciated, as long as it's constructive. I love hearing other peoples' opinions, as it helps me become a better deck builder myself.
