He Who Makes A Beast Out Of Himself... is what I've been working on

8 Creatures is a small number. UR aggro with delver runs at least 12-15 and you don't always get a creature in your opening hand and when they don't. they have cantrips.

lodestar this deck really was just a rough draft thrown together for the purposes of a discussion. As I believe I mentioned in the description. My thoughts on the deck are utilizing a token base. It's still very rough and I would prefer comments which further discussion not simply point out needless information.

Alright, so...

@ bigguy99 I know I haven't thrown up a sideboard since this was more for the purposes of our discussion on the forum around a mardu midrange deck that utilized the token outlets, but I was considering running Blood Moon in the side to punish Abzan.

I'm running a pretty budget friendly version on purpose, mostly because I need to. But I agree with all your suggestions and have already implemented them in an ideal list which I will be working toward. Except for Phyrexian Arena. It's good, I won't argue that. And faithless looting could be something like Night's Whisper I agree. I was just hoping to fuel the Angler's Delve a bit more, but I am having second thoughts.

I am also going to disagree with a 4x Path to Exile, but agree that maybe 2x Crackling Doom is overdoing it,but i'll have to play test to find out.

Right, so, the first thing I think we need to do is get a tighter land base. Since this looks to be going in the direction of midrange, we definitely want 2-3 Tectonic Edge to deal with opponents man lands. Secondly, six basic's seems somewhat much when we don't have to have them. I'd suggest just going 1 mountain,1 swamp and 2 plains for now, since it looks like white is our most important color at the moment. Also, I think we want a Vault of the Archangel in here. Works well with the tokens, and allows us to get vigilance AND life link on butcher.

This leads us to the creature base. I personally think that Monastery Mentor would work better here than the Young Pyromancer. For one more mana, we have something that is a threat by itself instead of something that just creates fodder for Butcher. The reason Pyromancer works so well in delver decks is because of their tempo plays. We don't have those, and I don't think we want Young Pyro.

As far as Sarkhan is concerned, I think we should go with Ajani Vengeant instead, and as a two of. Everything besides Ooze, Goyf, Rhino and Prim Titan are going to die to his -2.

Gurmag is an interesting creature, but I'm just not sure about it over butcher or something else, though i'm not sure what. Maybe just throwing in Wurmcoil Engine as a two-three of would be good. It's expensive to cast but it's a huge pain to get rid of, and offers great end game.

I also really disagree with 4 Path to Exile. You want to be using it on something you absolutely can't deal with otherwise. Ramping the decks that you need Path in the deck for, more than absolutely necessary, is bad.

I think faithless looting is fine. We do need some kind of card draw. Maybe drop a Crackling Doom and drop down to two Path's, and toss in two Murderous Cut's

I would up the number of Young Pyromancers to 4, throw in 4 Dark Confidant (this is assuming we're no longer going on a budget, and trying to make a tier 1 deck) and also put in 4 Monastery Swiftspear. I might even throw in 2 Murderous Cut to deal with Tarmogoyf and friends. Then I'd take out the Gurmag Anglers, Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker, Faithless Looting, Crackling Doom, and Dismember. I think this would allow the deck to have a brutally efficient first 2 turns, then keep up the pressure with bob and burn spells for long enough to win, with the butcher serving as a prime finisher. Also, the addition of bob and lowering of the curve allows the deck to still compete if the game goes a bit longer. While this is definitely a shift more from midrange to aggro, i think that disruptive aggro is definitely what the mardu colors really support best.

during my testing with Ajani Vengeant, he comes down a little too late, and does too little for 4 mana, I'd recommend Liliana of the Veil in his place

I also really like Kitchen Finks in a this deck, as it gains you quite a bit of life, and you can sac it to Butcher of the Horde for value

I think you could do Sorin, Solemn Visitor or Elspeth, Knight-Errant instead of Ajani. You're not trying to be grindy, you're trying to kill shit dead. They'll do better at it.

I left some more comments in the thread that started this. To sum it up, I actually think Lily would be bad mainboard no matter the deck. Bloom had one in eight of the pro tour (with like 4 people total running the deck to start with, so it had an awesome showing), burn made top eight, abzan made top eight and UR twin made top eight. Lily's terrible against burn and twin and bloom and mediocre against abzan. You don't want to grow their tarmogoyf with a double discard.

Haven't seen the total list of top eight but I don't know if tron or american midrange made it. If they didn't, I wouldn't focus so much on them.

I made some more suggestion in the thread.

Two finks and 4 kor firewalkers in the sideboard seems like a good idea. Our game one matchup doesn't seem terrible with 4 helix and 2 ajani, but doesn't hurt to guarantee it.

@ VampireArmy I'll try it out. I do have some reservations towards Sorin, Solemn Visitor in Modern though. But his +1, at least to me is strictly better than Sorin, Lord of Innistrad's -2 if only for the lifelink

Well you could go for Sword of Feast and Famine instead as an alternative

I really like the deck overall, although the control player in me kinda wants to see the 4th Path to Exile over the 4th Lightning Helix just as a more mana efficient removal spell that can, in a pinch, double as a ramp spell for yourself. Also, have you considered main decking Blood Moon? If the recent showing at the PT was any indication of the format, Junk decks are the next big problem and Blood Moon does a hell of a number against them. There are other decks that it hoses, but that would be the main one.

@ PlattBonnay Firstly, thank you for commenting on the deck despite not needing to. I'll take another look at your Commander deck to return the favour.

Secondly, with what minimal testing I've done I'm sticking with 3x Path to Exile especially with this kind of deck. I'm aiming to out race Abzan to some extent since I know I can't out grind Abzan, this is one of the reasons I've diverged from VampireArmy's build. having more 4x Path to Exile runs the risk of ramping decks too much even though I know Abzan doesn't run many basics. I feel the life gain and burn from Lightning Helix is more significant in the race than sheer removal power. This is also the reason I am running 2x Crackling Doom, it provides a shock and it will either hit Goyf or Rhino.

As of right now I don't feel it appropriate to run Blood Moon MB though if I think it's warranted I will do so.

Thats fair, those are both things that could go either way. The other thought I had was Aven Mindcensor for the sideboard. It is definitely worse now that Pod isnt a deck, although if Scapeshift is as much of a thing in your local metagame as it is in mine, that would be one hell of a sideboard card. So this is more of a metagame choice than anything else.

Also, possibly Leyline of Sanctity in the sideboard? It has applications against burn (which...is definitely popular right now), along with the previously mentioned Scapeshift, as well as Abzan, Storm, Ad Nauseam and Mill (if those are things in your meta), 8 rack, etc. The number of times it will be applicable are kind of ridiculous. If your sideboard is still all up in the air (which, being only 7 cards I'm guessing it is), it would definitely be a good addition. (and with the added bonus of being able to hardcast it, you dont have to do the "mull to leyline" that some decks do)

I think the question that begs to be asked is why go Mardu when Boros is already an established archetype in modern?

Why splash black to complicate things?

Although Dark Confidant is a massive addition to the deck, maybe Outpost Siege may be a better addition to curve out the deck? Since, the deck slows down after turn 3... a 4th - 6th turn Outpost Siege allows you to power forward without losing life... Soulfire Grand Master Definitely deserves a space in the deck to negate all the damage from lands and Dark Confidant.

I think losing discard spells will free up the deck and make it less complicated to pilot. I also think Monastery Swiftspear is compulsory for the deck. Goblin Rabblemaster still triumphs over Monastery Mentor but it is useful as a mid game drop but I kinda prefer Young Pyromancer because its a 2 drop.

Lower casting cost spells allows the Soulfire Grandmaster's buyback easier to use, if the game lasts that long.

But...Boros isn't really that "established" outside of burn. It can't do attrition at all.

@ dezzo

First and foremost, you ask why I run black since Boros is an "established" deck in Modern. Firstly, Boros is not established as a midrange deck. It is a burn deck. I dislike burn. Secondly, the addition of Black gives me access to a variety of tools which include discard, removal and better creatures. You state that this makes it more complicated to pilot, but despite this it makes the deck more resilient against a variety of match-ups. I would also like to stress that this deck is purely experimental because I tire of simply going to the "best deck". I am hoping to challenge the meta by doing the unexpected, I do not expect to succeed, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Please see the linked thread in the description for further discussion on why I chose Mardu.

Next allow me to address your creature suggestions. Firstly, Soulfire Grand Master has no place in this deck. That creature requires a control or tempo shell and that means Blue. It is utterly useless otherwise because of the plethora of removal. You may wonder then, why I am running Monastery Mentor. The simple answer is it requires an immediate answer. Give me a single turn with the Mentor and I will have a better board presence that also can be pumped and requires more resources to be dealt with. Next, Goblin Rabblemaster is utterly useless in Modern unless he curves out an aggro deck. You seem to be under the impression this is an aggro deck. It is not. I am specifically trying to be faster than Abzan because I know for a fact that I cannot match that deck in a game of attrition. For any other deck in the current meta I am simply trying to out match, through various advantages. You suggested Monastery Swiftspear as being "compulsory" but did not explain why. I am dismissing this suggestion until I hear your reasoning.

Lastly, let's talk about Outpost Siege. It is a good card for Standard, it is not a good card for Modern. If I wanted to use Outpost Siege I would run Chandra, Pyromaster. I am still debating on Chandra as I have yet to vigorously test this deck.

Also, please explain how my deck stalls out at T3 when I run a series of 4 drops that provide value with lasting impact?

@ CanadianShinobi:

I apologise if I didn't elaborate at length over certain things as I truly thought certain things were already universally understood. Also I was keen to throw in my 2 cents but was trying very hard not for it to be wall of text.

"It is a burn deck. I dislike burn"

I would think 1/4 - 1/5 of the deck would be burn (or a type of burn)? Lightning bolt, Lightning Helix and even Crackling Doom (to an extend) are all burn.

But then again, direct damage is really flexible both as spot removal and game enders.

"I would also like to stress that this deck is purely experimental because I tire of simply going to the "best deck". "

Yes I know.

"That creature requires a control or tempo shell and that means Blue."

If we are trying to midrange a Mardu, aren't all midrange decks a control AND tempo archetype?

Monastery Mentor's application is pretty much discussed ad nauseam. We pretty much have to see how well this card performs over time. Its strong in Standard but I have no idea how it does in MDN as I only worked with Young Pyromancer.

"Next, Goblin Rabblemaster is utterly useless in Modern unless he curves out an aggro deck. You seem to be under the impression this is an aggro deck. It is not."

Nope, I wasn't.

Midrange decks tend to perform better when they push out early threats (insert Monastery Swiftspear here) as this forces the opponent to react rather than keep to their usual game plan and wait for you to fluff your draws.

Unfortunately, Good 'O Rabble is a bottom choice as a 3 drop in aggressive MDN decks that feature red. He is played in many fringe decks (like Goblin Burn) which are YOLO but not as hyper aggressive as Infect / Burn because of their over emphasis on creatures.

"Lastly, let's talk about Outpost Siege. It is a good card for Standard, it is not a good card for Modern. If I wanted to use Outpost Siege I would run Chandra, PyromasterMTG Card: Chandra, Pyromaster. I am still debating on Chandra as I have yet to vigorously test this deck."

Have you tried Outpost Siege? I did, its rad. The one red requirement makes it easy to cast too. In an ideal situation, you should run both and its a windmill slam on T4 - T6 when your opponent has an empty board.

"Also, please explain how my deck stalls out at T3 when I run a series of 4 drops that provide value with lasting impact?"

Aggressive Midrange Decks (like Mardu) have a tendency to lose steam after turn 3 when they

a) lost all their early aggression to removal and/or

b) run out of removal when facing a hyper aggro deck

c) have no answers in the first game against non interaction decks

I think Mardu would be better overall as a R/B/W token deck using Young Pyromancer, Monastery Mentor (a big maybe here), Goblin Rabblemaster (another big maybe here) and Lingering Souls.

Butcher of the Horde would probably lose its place in the deck and Sorin being the only 4 drop in the deck but its so good because it can feed of the tokens to provide you the crucial lifelink after losing all the life to lands and Dark Confidant.

I always felt that Dark Confidant has negative synergy in a deck that runs 4 CC and over spells without much ways to get "free life gain".

Maybe Auriok Champion allows better synergy with the token production to offset all the damage being taken as an early drop (it is also quite resistant to removal) but its WW... then again it will also contribute more pieces to the puzzle.

Just as a disclaimer, I love Mardu, I play Mardu but at times I feel that it tries to do too much (because of the wealth of spells in its dictionary) and should just be a tad selfish and be more aggressive.

Generating tokens is great passive aggressiveness and I think it should be the mainstay of the deck.

Another inspired by VampireArmy :3.. Hehe.

You got a lot of teh good stuffz, however the Blood Moon is iffy in a 3 color deck.

Also like the Sorin. He should trigger the prowess Im sure. XD

@ dezzo I will test Outpost Siege but in all honesty I feel that Chandra would be better. I don't think that Mardu tries to do too much, I feel that it doesn't have a proper creature base to support what it wants to do. This is why I've opted for tokens. I really don't want to remove Butcher, because then the deck loses a great deal of punch. One of the ways I've attempted to negate Dark Confidant is to use cards like Butcher and Sorin. Sorin's +1 is invaluable because it ends on the opponent's end step and not mine.