Marchesa Black-Briar

Commander / EDH UBR (Grixis)

TheBlueTitan

Lands (26)

• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Creeping Tar Pit
• 1x Crumbling Necropolis
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Faerie Conclave
• 1x Ghitu Encampment
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 2x Island
• 1x Lavaclaw Reaches
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Mutavault
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Smoldering Marsh
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 4x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Temple of Malice
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Wandering Fumarole

Politics (13)

• 1x Crosis's Charm
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Cytoplast Manipulator
• 1x Dack Fayden
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Dark Intimations
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Killing Wave
• 1x Oona's Blackguard
• 1x Phantasmal Image
• 1x Puppeteer Clique
• 1x Stubborn Denial
• 1x Terminate

Value Death (10)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Blade of the Bloodchief
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Chasm Skulker
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Flayer of the Hatebound
• 1x Glen Elendra Archmage
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Puppeteer Clique

Life Total Control (21)

• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Flayer of the Hatebound
• 1x Killing Wave
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Olivia Voldaren
• 1x Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Treasonous Ogre
• 1x Unspeakable Symbol
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Gathering Intelligence (13)

• 1x Baleful Strix
• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Dack Fayden
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1x Keeper of Keys
• 1x Military Intelligence
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x River Kelpie
• 1x Sage of Fables
• 1x Shadowmage Infiltrator
• 1x Skullclamp

Sleeper Agents (6)

• 1x Creeping Tar Pit
• 1x Faerie Conclave
• 1x Ghitu Encampment
• 1x Lavaclaw Reaches
• 1x Mutavault
• 1x Wandering Fumarole

Commander (1)

Subjugation (16)

• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dack's Duplicate
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Dark Intimations
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Drana, Liberator of Malakir
• 1x Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
• 1x Fervor
• 1x Legion Loyalist
• 1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Slave of Bolas
• 1x Sneak Attack
• 1x Thraximundar
• 1x Triskelion
• 1x Urabrask the Hidden

Casual and Unthreatening (10)

• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nightscape Familiar
• 1x Pyreheart Wolf
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring

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Intrduction

"The essence of every world, every spell, and every thought is power. Nothing else matters, because nothing else exists." - Nicol Bolas

"Lacks subtlety, but accuracy."- Marchesa

"Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy. Deceit is a poison in its veins." - Edward Kennedy

"I've built up a tolerance."- Marchesa

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Why Marchesa?:

Marchesa came about due to my excitement with there being a Grixis commander with a more subtle gameplan than to bash in brutally and maim one player. I then received a foil Marchesa from a friend as a gift, and before long I was waste deep in Grixis subterfuge.

How to Play/Philosophy of Deck Show

How to Play:
Control your life total. In the first five turns of the game, it is incredibly important to hit your land drops - losing a little life on the way, and get a few permanents (preferably creatures) in play. Do not play any of your " Kill On Site " cards if they are permanents. Your goal is to game the table. Keep as many threats in hand as needed to re-stabilize in case a field Play cards that make you look like you're not a nuke goes off. Do not play cards that set off alarms for players that have played a game of commander before and know how to do basic threat assessment .

Philosophy:
Marchesa is all about deceiving your opponents. This deck doesn't ramp nor actively win in one turn in a combo finish (though it can, with Mike and Trike ). Your goal is to look like one of the crowd, and to purposefully place yourself in a situation where when your opponents look at your board state, life total, and all available information, they do not see you as the main threat. This is counter intuitive, ad exactly how the deck was built.

Your goal is to lie. Be a good liar. You are trying to steal the throne and look nonthreatening. Create friends. Then use them. Play the role of the character and the deck.

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You'll enjoy Marchesa if:

• You enjoy the subtleties of playing the prey but maintaining indirect control


• You understand that both of them were right


• You're a fan of Maven Black-Briar from Skyrim


• You enjoy politics (playing "the game")


• Someone in your playgroup runs Oloro


• You love casting your commander


• You like creating sticky board states that make your opponents groan in regret

You'll hate Marchesa if:

• When you play Civilization, you're always Attila, and you always win through conquest


• You're not good at lying or your friends always think you're lying already due to reasons


• You like to ramp or have huge splashy crazy turns


• You don't like using your life total as a resource


• Your playgroup seems to play only spot-removal that exiles


• You're an angry Selesnya player having an identity crisis (we all go through phases Trostani , just go on a walk, don't change who you are)

The Name of the Deck

The deck name is based off the character Maven Black-Briar from Skyrim. I fet there to be similarities in her art style and the way Maven is portrayed in The Elder Scrolls.

Soundtrack for the Deck

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Win Conditions

Politics

Your primary goal is to play politics. You aren't group hug and you aren't group slug, you're just here, a player in the game, not at the front of the pack, but not at the end. Don't appear too strong or too weak. You want players to kill each other, and then kill the weakened players and take the throne.

No exact strategy for this one, just practice and the ability to socialize well at the table!

Nicol Bolas

Less of a Win Condition, more of a battle cruiser card that can sometimes run away with the game due to incredible card value if allowed to activate more than once. Card gets better the better the targets.

Redzone

At some point you might have an opportunity to steal a quick kill for the table by alpha-striking the "king" of the game. If you do this correctly, the players at the table will be on your side about this. Make sure you kill the player that everyone else wants dead. Play to the sheeple! No one knows you are a black panther.

With enough power on board, there will be moments that you can alpha strike. Just make sure not to leave yourself open for a crack-back swing, as your life total will likely be questionable from being a self-draining deck trying to play the Dethrone game. This just takes practice.

Redzone w/ Lands

This deck runs 6 lands that attack. They all get bigger from dethrone and keep their counters too! I have won more than one game by damning the field pre combat phase, and then animating my 'roided out land base.

Eat your heart out Zendikar.

Cyclonic Rift

This isn't the most original or inspired win condition.

But hey, neither is assassination. But they've been using that awhile. No one lives to complain about it either.

Mikeaus and Triskelion

This well known infinite combo will kill the board on the spot. Just look it up and read an explanation, no need to reinvent the wheel here!

Help/Suggestions?

1.) If you have Foil Islands like these! for trade, let me know!

2.) Tell me what you think about the deck!

3.) You've tried out the deck yourself, what do you think?

Updates

4.29.17

Cards Removed Show

1x Bloodmark Mentor
1x Burnished Hart
1x Cabal Coffers
1x Expedition Map
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Thought Vessel
1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Cards Added Show

1x Dark Intimations
1x Dictate of Erebos
1x Graven Cairns
1x Legion Loyalist
1x Phyrexian Altar
1x Shadowmage Infiltrator
2x Swamp

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Archived Information

3.26.17 Show

Aesthetics updated, and layout created for future use. Card-by-Card Breakdown for Win Condition cards. Deck Philosophy created as well as explanation of other peripherals.

Card categories created.

Cards Removed Show

1x Armillary Sphere
1x Abyssal Gatekeeper
1x Bite of the Black Rose
1x Bituminous Blast
1x Bloodgift Demon
1x Blood Tyrant
1x Carnival Hellsteed
1x Cruel Ultimatum
1x Crystal Ball
1x Dark Impostor
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Dismember
1x Duskmantle Seer
1x Flame-Wreathed Phoenix
1x Garza Zol, Plague Queen
1x Gem of Becoming
1x Greed
1x Grixis Charm
1x Grixis Grimblade
1x Halimar Depths
1x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Into the Roil
2x Island
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Lim-Dul's Vault
1x Mindclaw Shaman
1x Mizzium Mortars
3x Mountain
1x Mystic Remora
1x Nin, the Pain Artist
1x Obelisk of Grixis
1x Ordeal of Thassa
1x Phyrexian Reclamation
1x Rakdos Guildgate
1x Read the Bones
1x Rupture Spire
1x Sage of Fables
1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
1x Skullclamp
1x Slumbering Dragon
1x Smoldering Marsh
3x Swamp
1x Tezzeret's Gambit
1x Tuktuk the Explorer
1x Urborg
1x Witch Hunt
1x Wrexial, the Risen Deep

Cards Added Show

1x Ashnod's Altar
1x Blade of the Bloodchief
1x Bloodmark Mentor
1x Cabal Coffers
1x Carrion Feeder
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dack Fayden
1x Damnation
> 1x Demonic Tutor
1x Disciple of Bolas
1x Drana, Liberator of Malakir
1x Expedition Map
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Keeper of Keys
F 1x Killing Wave
F (000) 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mana Confluence
1x Military Intelligence 1x Mutavault
1x Myriad Landscape
1x Oona's Blackguard
F 1x Polluted Delta
1x Puppeteer Clique
1x Pyreheart Wolf
1x Rhystic Study
1x Sneak Attack
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stubborn Denial
1x Sulfurous Springs
1x Sunken Hollow
F 1x Thought Vessel
1x Treasonous Ogre
1x Triskelion
1x Underground River
1x Urabrask the Hidden
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Wandering Fumarole
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
1x Wooded Foothills

6.6.14 Show

Deck was first uploaded. Nothing extra done, just the list.

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Date added	11 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 23 - 0 Uncommons 3 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.44
Tokens	Emblem Dack Fayden, Morph 2/2 C, Squid 1/1 U, The Monarch