precociousapprentice, that looks like an interesting political card. The one part I don't like about it is that you can choose which creatures attack but not whom they attack. I'll think about it though

MegaMatt13, definitely, but it is just another angle. Could be worth trying, but I hear you.

MagicalHacker, Wizno and precociousapprentice: you helped me a lot before. How do you feel about the recent updates to the deck.

Very good changes. All are right in line with my experiences with this style of deck, and many are cards that I run, for similar reasons. I think you will be happy with them.

Your note on Backlash for opening up attacks is great, and not just for politics. You can tap down a blocker, deal some damage that way, and open up an attack yourself. With the deathtouch creatures, you also can make their choice of blockers harder. But you are right, if someone has a big threat, open up a line of attack against a common enemy, change their assessment of cost/benefit analysis for their attack phase in your favor. Subtle defense and double offense. Perfect.

I had also not noted Pacification Array before. That is something I may consider. It could replace Mystifying Maze as a cheaper alternative. is a lot to keep open for effectively the same effect.

I have thought about Reliquary Tower on multiple occasions, but I am just not sure I want to spare a slot, given it only does one thing, and that thing does not advance my goals, just makes my wealth more satisfying for me. Not sure it will ever appear in my list.

I like a lot of the recent changes you've made to deck MegaMatt13. While I see the value in Backlash, I would say not to rule out Crackling Doom entirely. It has done an amazing amount of work for me in my meta to get around indestructible and hexproof commanders or big threats. It's also a nice finish after swinging in with a Master of Cruelties. I certainly see your point for the swap though and totally support it.

I noticed you incorporated Tainted Remedy into your deck (a card I've considered running myself) and I'm wondering how many lifegain decks you have to deal with in your meta? If it's a substantial number or if they are problematic, I would also consider running Erebos, God of the Dead. He has been an amazing addition and offers another source of card advantage if need be.

I would consider adding in Orzhov Advokist and Darien, King of Kjeldor as well if you would like to add some pressure to the decision of attacking you. Again, the deck looks really solid and I like a lot of the changes you've added.

If I faced more Gods or Eldrazi, Crackling Doom would be in my deck. If your meta has it, it is a nice card. I also consider Erebos, God of the Dead every time I look through my wincons. There is an Omnath, Locus of Mana deck in my meta with several lifegain cards that I don't like, and either of these would be nice additions to my deck. I lean towards the Erebos, God of the Dead over Tainted Remedy due to being a slightly more versatile wincon, and indestructible, but the lower CMC is nice. I am curious how often Tainted Remedy gets played around with only minor inconvenience.

Wizno and precociousapprentice, thanks for the feedback.

I've thought about Erebos, but I don't usually have enough devotion to black to turn him into a win-con creature. Erebos turns off life-gain, Tainted Remedy actively punishes it. Gray Merchant, Exsanguinate, and smaller passive life-gain effects are quite common in my group. Tainted Remedy threatens them with death if they play those cards while Erebos would just neutralize it.

Orzhov Advokist is another one I've considered. Do you find that it is effective in dissuading attacks or do people just pass on the counters? I like that it can buff my own creatures at the very least though. I'll consider it :)

Crackling Doom is still on the edge for me. I may throw it back in if I can find room :)

Orzhov Advokist is a card that I would put in a similar place as Duelist's Heritage, but not as effective at it's job. It encourages attacks to go elsewhere, but it rewards those actions with permanent buffs, it doesn't require them to attack someone else to get the buff, doublestrike until the end of turn is just better for our needs, and an enchantment is more durable. I have not play tested it, but it could be good. Very subtle Pillow Fort card. Worth a trial as it fill a similar role to one of my new favorites, but I would say it may not make the final cut.

Have you played with Orzhov Advokist much yet. I would love to hear your take. I am guessing it is less than you hoped, but I am open to hearing different.

precociousapprentice, actually it's done a bit better than I hoped. It tends to accelerate opponents attacking each other to make use of buffed creatures. Meanwhile I make Marchesa or the advokist itself a big beater with the +1/+1 counters. By the time opponents decline to take the counters I have more pillow fort in place.

I'm not going to argue it's a star but it has been pleasantly surprising. I'm keeping it for now.

I'm surprised no one has recommended Solitary Confinement. It will single handedly pillowfort you to the max, alongside The Monarch emblem. When you have the emblem, play Solitary Confinement ...and thats it. The card draw will offset the discard and keep you safe until someone removes it.

Glacial Chasm can get you through a tough spot.

And lastly Grenzo, Havoc Raiser may be the goblin you're looking for in place of the ones you cut. The Goad effect forces the enemy to attack anyone but you, letting you be aggressive and pillow-forty at the same time.

I'll also leave this here - I spent a lot of thought into my deck and it may give you some ideas. It doesn't have upvotes but it wrecks competitive multiplayer. Cheers!

Queen Marchesa : Queen of the Hill

Solitary Confinement is my best Pillow Fort card in my Queen Marchesa: Politics, Aikido, and Control deck. I agree with this addition, and feel like Solitary Confinement would potentially be the last card I would cut from the deck. Amazing card.

Hey, why doesn't this deck come up in my Queen Marchesa EDH deck search anymore? I am confused why the deck disappeared from this search.

precociousapprentice, really? That's very strange. Tapped out has been odd lately though. It's been telling me that conspiracy 2 cards are illegal for EDH. Perhaps that's part of it?

I also could not get the card tags for Queen Marchesa to work. Strange. Mine is still in the list, though. Not sure what to think. I would make the mods aware if I were you. No point in maintaining a sweet deck if they don't even show it in searches.

precociousapprentice, apparently the "is prototype" option was activated for a lot of my decks. I turned this option off and now my decks don't seem to have any issues. This deck now shows up when searched. Thanks for pointing it out.

I find it fascinating that you cut Rakdos Charm. I would play more if I could. It wins games super often for me.

precociousapprentice, that's interesting. Maybe it's a playgroup thing? Not many people in my group "go wide" with lots of creatures. I may be underestimating the card for it's flexibility though.

No, anti-wide is almost always how it gets used. I often hold it, even when I could use it for something else, just so the anti-wide ability can take out my opponent.

Your deck disappeared again. I keep trying to explore yours as a way to improve mine, and I find it is not on the decksearch, and even when I go to your profile, it does not appear on the list of decks in your profile. I have to look through your decklists in order to find it. Those people who are just exploring Queen Marchesa decks will never find it, and I think that is a huge shame, and keeps them from seeing the full breadth of possible uses of the Queen. I find that the contrast between each optimized Queen Marchesa deck is as informative as each deck list is on it's own.

As another note, my deck often appears further down the list when searched than any of the tracked numbers would indicate it should be. Do you have an idea of why my deck ends up being 4th or further down the list, no matter what search criteria I use? I would like to optimize how my deck appears in searches, and I am just curious how you and the others who are at the top of the list have done this.

precociousapprentice, I just checked and both of our decks show up at the top of the list when looking for Queen Marchesa decks.

Sometimes tappedout is buggy. Perhaps it was just having another bad day? haha

Yeah, very strange. I guess it doesn't matter that much. Just kind of funny that it is a little buggy like that. Sometimes mine is listed lower than it should be, sometimes yours is not listed at all. I guess lower than it should be is better than not listed at all, and I should just not worry about it.

Have you considered Koskun Falls as another pillow effect? I use it in my deck, and it works pretty nicely. Tapping one creature isn't all that bad.

I like all these changes. My deck evolution has shown me that these same changes worked great in my version. I think you will be happy.

I have an Hour of Revelation that I have not yet tried. I may check it out.