Honestly, after looking over my list (pretty similar and based/inspired by MegaMatts), the cuts I would be most likely to make would be cutting a basic land (i find that I rarely have land issues thanks to the card draw provided by monarch & by the deck) or Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts... i've only gotten her in play 1 time, and it's just kind of underwhelming at 7 CMC ... replacing anguished or utter end just doesn't seem like a good idea. A) they both exile instead of destroy. B) they are easier to hard cast with only 2 colored mana instead of 3 colored mana. They both have their own little extra costs (anguish 3 life, and utter end +1 generic mana) but they hit everything and exile which can be important in some cases.

Smothering tithe doesn't provide card advantage, it provides mana ramp... it's basically the rhystic study of treasure tokens haha. Treasures aren't as inherently threatening, but I do feel like this would be at least a medium priority target to get off the table.

Still waiting on more spoilers but there's a good chance as of right now I'm going to -1 basic plains & -Teysa for +bedevil & +revival//revenge.

I like the changes. I want to hear how Xancha does. I have not tried it, and honestly I am skeptical, despite how it looks to do exactly what a political pillow fort wants. The forcing of the behavior is the big problem I see. It often doesn't go the way you want, or think. Let me know your thoughts as you play it.

I've got Xantcha in my deck, but with ~5 games of her in there, I've yet to see her :(

Also, I might be cutting Teysa/Dread... no mercy is a nice effect for 4 mana, but I find myself quite often discarding or not wanting to commit the 6 or 7 mana for these creatures.

JMarostica, Bloodytrailz, and precociousapprentice: thanks for your suggestions and feedback. Here are my thoughts on suggested Ravnica Allegiance cards:

Bedevil is definitely going in. Not as strong as Anguished Unmaking or Utter End but it is another flexible removal spell. Great suggestion.

Smothering Tithe I'm considering. It's obviously a great ramp engine in White. However, what am I ramping into? Would I just be putting an annoying enchantment on the battlefield that attracts too much attention? Also, at 4 CMC it is a bit awkward for a ramp spell. At 4 mana I want to be casting Marchesa or other pillowfort effects. That is why I like ramp to be 3 CMC or less. Having said all that, it is a ramp machine and deserves consideration.

Captive Audience is an incredibly flavourful/fun looking card. Unfortunately as a pseudo-curse, it kinda works against my usual game plan. It incentivizes one opponent to come at me hard in retribution. It doesn't cause discord amongst my opponents which is what I aim to do.

Revival//Revenge wouldn't be optimal in my deck. I don't have a lot of small creatures for the first half. The second half has the problem of not actually killing someone. While more mana-intensive, Torment of Hailfire , Debt to the Deathless , and Exsanguinate can actually kill opponents (sometimes all of them!) Revenge can't do that and only hits one. I'm thinking of putting Torment of Hailfire back in as a late game win con. I've been wrecked by that card even with X being quite modest.

Cards I'm considering cutting:

I agree with the critiques of Teysa. She is just too much at 7 mana. I've had a soft spot for her because I think her design is cool, but she rarely lives up to expectations.

Delaying Shield also hasn't been living up to expectations. The fact that it helps me avoid losing the monarchy is nice, but I have to many pillowfort and fog effects that this shield typically isn't necessary. Again at 4 CMC, I always prefer casting Marchesa than this card.

I kind of agree with delaying shield being high on the potential cut list as well. Without solemnity or phyrexian unlife in the deck to create an unliving scenario it's not as strong on it's own. However, I would argue against this card having a conflict with marchesa at 4 CMC... there isn't much point in having a delaying shield out until the monarchy is in play anyways, so while they might match in CMC, sequentially speaking you will always play marchesa first by defualt.

I have enjoyed delaying shield a lot, it's saved me from losing monarchy many times, but that's a decently big mana investment to protect something i don't necessarily need to protect. I've rarely any qualms if my opponents want to play beat each other up for the pretty crown haha.

The amount of times I have paid mana to reduce the damage is exactly 0, so that part of the card is effectively non existent to me, which further reduces its usefulness.

Dear

First, I apologize to everyone for my mistake in my previous post. When I read the text of the card Smothering Tithe I understood that it was card advantage, rather than mana ramp. I was hasty in my comment.

I agree with you, when I mentioned Bedevil to replace Anguished Unmaking or Utter End , it was a bad idea. But at the same time, I would like to test it, because it's an excellent card. So, I'd like to hear from you, what cards would you remove from the deck to test Bedevil ?

Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts is an excellent creature, but it doen't stop my opponents from taking the Monarch. The cost of 7 mana makes her a creature that enters the battlefield in the late game. At this moment, most of my opponents already have many creatures in play, don't prevent losing the Monarch, forcing me to use other pillowfort to keep Monarch's control. At the same time, it isn't a great kill condiction for a multiplayer game.

I understand that Delaying Shield must remain on the deck, the cost of it is 4 manas, but it isn't a prohibitive cost. It's an excellent tool, in an opportunity I was saved by him, and I could destroy it to simply not lose the game (it was a very fun game).

Curious how you've been feeling about Xantcha. Recently I discovered that if the opponent I give her to dies/concedes she comes back under my own control (meaning her ability deals me damage now). With no way to sacrifice or otherwise get rid of her, she has the potential to be a liability.

When I get her in play it's amazing though I admit.. gives me a great way to filter my superfluous mana into card draw... but with recent deck additions I'm actually concerned about xantcha's place. (Rakdos the Showstopper has made his grand entrance as a group slug deck... my opponent controlling xantcha dying puts me in direct huge risk of dying very shortly after.)

Bloodytrailz, I think that is incorrect...I believe she would just go into exile when the controlling player dies. I don't think there is a game state rule that would switch control back to you. I'm curious where you heard this!

She has been functioning great! She is a subtle punisher card. Because the targeted opponent can draw cards too, she doesn't generate too much animosity until their life total gets really low.

The only card that is problematic is Homeward Path . If your playgroup runs that a lot, you may want to reconsider her.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EDH/comments/92dce8/xantcha_official_ruling/

No homeward paths in meta thankfully but according to this official ruling, she comes back to us after the controller leaves as if she were under a mind control effect.

No Revel in Riches to go with Smothering Tithe ?

Revel in Riches makes you a target, and the last thing this style of deck is trying to do is paint a big red target over it's own head.

Smothering tithe alone gives us ramp and the ability to tap out our mana and hold treasures for instant speed shenanigans if they are needed.

I am trialling both Smothering Tithe and Revel in Riches in mine. Funny thing about my meta is that both are seen as janky, and not powerful. I haven't gotten to play them, but I am hoping to steal some games with it, or at least hold off some board wipes that could eliminate my possibility to win. Not sure Revel will stay, but I figured that it was worth the try.

Archangel227, Smothering Tithe and Revel in Riches certainly combo well together. However the probability of having them both at the same time is low. The cards would need to be great independently to make the cut. Smothering Tithe definitely qualifies as a ramp engine. Revel in Riches seems more situational. It would be great in a "death matters" deck. I may add it to my Yahenni deck that is along those lines. Thanks for your suggestion.

A weekend of testing showed exactly that, MegaMatt13. Already out with Revel.

Im going to copy this coment in both precociousapprentice and MegaMatt13 since both their primers for Queen Marchesa were the inspiration to make my own list and I want as much people as I can who is discussing the archetype to discuss this idea. Also excuse my poor grammar please, Im not really good at english.

First of all, thanks you both for making those primers. This is easily my favourite EDH deck and I always have a lot of fun playing it, and most people enjoy playing against it too. The only thing that bothers me about this deck (the strategy in general, not this specific list) is that I sometimes have a lot of trouble closing out games where I am in a clear leading position, or that my aikido cards, even if they do a ton of damage, sometimes fall short of winning the game and its difficult to trick the same opponent into making the same mistake twice.

But I have seen a few cards in WAR that may be really powerfull in this strategy, and I think they have some synergy with common stuff we are already running.

The first card that sparked my interest is The Wanderer . I firmly believe that this card have some serious potential in Mardu colors because it adds consistency to effects that prevent/halves non-combat damage (or damage in general) like Delaying Shield or Gisela, Blade of Goldnight . But clearly, we are not short on pillowfort effects right? So whats the big deal? I'll be there in a moment.

I think that the card that gave me more wins was good ol Insurrection . And I think that Command the Dreadhorde has the potential to be a virtual second, cheaper and slighly worse copy. Be aware that this can resurrect creatures and planeswalkers from ANY graveyard. The most important drawback is that it can do a lot of damage to you, but with Gisela, Delaying Shield, The Wanderer and similar effects we can negate or minimizate most of the damage.

This also opens to run cards like Personal Sanctuary and being able to use mass burn cards like Price of Progress or Molten Disaster or Rolling Earthquake , this last two also double as board wipes.

And it may also open up for fun sheanigans with cards like Arcbond or Repercussion without risking killing ourselves.

I think I will try to adapt my deck to this burn subtheme while trying to keep the political/aikido main theme, but I would love to hear what everyone thinks on this. Thank you for reading!

Have you thought about running Helm of Obedience It pairs quite well with Rest in Peace

Love the deck MegaMatt! Any updates and or changes with Modern Horizons?

Also, are there any cards that you specifically don't include in your list due to price or specific meta bans? Sol ring would come to mind as I don't see it in your list.

Gloks, thanks for your comment. Yes, Sol Ring is banned in my regular playgroup. You won't find it in any of my decks. There aren't any cards from Modern Horizons I'm considering for this deck though other decks are definitely benefiting from the set.

islandwalks, thanks for the suggestion. I tend to avoid infinite combos in my decks. I find I get bored of my decks when they turn into combo...just not my personal style.

Dear, I look forward to hearing from you about some of the new Commander 2019 cards. There are cards with good potential: Bloodthirsty Blade Mandate of Peace Pendant of Prosperity

Thanks a lot for inspiring me to make my own Queen Marchesa deck! It has brought me lots of fun and it's fair, which is important for me.

I wanted to mention a card I pulled from a booster a few weeks ago: Scheming Symmetry . It's basically a one-drop Vampiric Tutor at sorcery speed and without life loss. The thing that stands out is that it stays on theme in that you can play politics with who you choose to benefit from the draw. I chose to run Aven Mindcensor so I can also mitigate the cost that way if I need.

Has there been any notable new cards ever since war of the spark? I just found out this gem of a commender deck (and read precociousapprentice's primer as well), gosh, I'll never look at commander in quite the same way. I did want to make some political-ish sort of deck with sphinxes and riddles and pillowforts / redirection stuff, felt like a nice theme, sphinxes and riddles (aka, politics and decision making), but its nowhere near as good as an archetype as what I'm seeing in yours and the other one's deck, I'm sold.

What do you think about

1-Crown of Doom how is it as a card to make enemies waste time / mana and to help redirect attackers elsewhere? too unreliable? it seems very fun and in the theme, so I assume the issue is reliability?

2-Coercive Portal too expenssive for draw even if it works over many turns? / unreliable when the board state seems too good for opponenets? or since it kills creatures, it doesnt redirect them to enemies?

3-Azor's Gateway  ^Flip filtering into potential mana ramp for x cost spells?

4-Lithoform Engine it seem like it does a lot of nice things for reasonable cost. anything it could potentially replace?

5-Act of Authority as an enchantment and artifact removal? doesn't look like your list has things that would be high priority target, so, is it because of the speed and / or that it destroy stuff and might target you as well, as unlikely as it is?

6-Isolated Watchtower and Detection Tower/Arcane Lighthouse as utility lands?

Good to see you updating this deck! I've been wanting to get back into EDH and I've been eyeing this deck for quite a while :) Do you have any cards in Commander Legends that you're eyeing for the deck?

Mickyplays, thanks for your comment! Yes, there are quite a few I'm going to test out. Court of Grace, Court of Ambition, and Emberwilde Captain are all going to be tried. I like that Court of Grace and Emberwilde Captain help protect the Monarch as well as giving you the Monarch. They synergize with the pillowfort theme. Court of Ambition doesn't protect the Monarch but does give the deck a grinding win condition. It may focus too much attention though.

Court of Ire is just too expensive at 5 mana I think. Only doing 2 damage when you're not the monarch isn't impactful enough.

Any news from playtesting the court cards?

Also, did you ever test Archon of Coronation ? It seem like it helps protect the monarch a bit since it negates their whole attack in a way. They get the monarch, but no damage got done. This means that if they attack with too few, they'll just lose their cards to the deathtouch, and with too many, we just let them all go through for no damage and kill those that gives the most trouble with the deathtouch as needed.

I might be overevaluating it somewhat, since an opponent might as well just remove the archon at instant speed to make us lose that life instead, but it did look pretty strong in general.