Best creatures for a mardu tokens deck
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 6, 2016, 1:59 p.m. by HavokX
I'm thinking about making another standard deck, but modeled after one of my modern decks: tokens. After looking at all the cards in standard, it seems that running mardu is the way to go. I'm just stuck on the creature base though. I'm currently leaning towards 4 Monastery Mentors and 2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghets, but I could always use some feedback. I've listed some pros and cons of each creature I've taken into consideration, let me know if I've missed anything or if you have some different suggestions I haven't thought about!
Brutal Hordechief
Pros:
- rewards you with life drain for going wide
- ability lets you stack defenders on a single token, letting the rest through
- tokens don't need to survive combat
Cons:
- doesn't help tokens survive combat or take down bigger creatures
- not played at a professional level
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Pros:
- lifelink and a decent body
- repeatable source of tokens
- naturally hoses rally decks and other graveyard based decks
- can buff himself up
Cons:
- ???
Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
Pros:
- buffs up your tokens
- beefy, evasive beater in case the tokens plan falls through
Cons:
- expensive to cast
Mardu Strike Leader
Pros:
- repeatable source of tokens
Cons:
- needs to attack to make tokens
- not played at a professional level
Monastery Mentor
Pros:
- repeatable source of tokens
- can buff himself and his tokens up
Cons:
- ???
Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Pros:
- immediately produces tokens
- built in removal
Cons:
- produces tokens once once
- those tokens are the only artifacts in the deck, so blowing them up seems counterproductive
Wingmate Roc
Pros:
- rewards you with lifegain for going wide
- makes the biggest token in the deck
Cons:
- expensive to cast
- produces token only once or not at all
Can you sell me on Pia and Kiran Nalaar? Is the deal two damage ability twice worth it? And if we are taking removal into account, why would I run it over something like Allied Reinforcements?
February 7, 2016 12:28 a.m.
pumpkinwavy says... #4
Pia and Kiran Nalaar is a fantastic card. The immediate draw is that for one card, you get three bodies. Like Allied Reinforcements, it puts 4 power on the table. The difference is, all three creatures that come from Pia and Kiran Nalaar are impactful. 2/2s are pretty easy to ignore, especially if there is a board stall. The flyers are great, because many decks are weak to them. The real power, though is in the parents themselves. This 2/2 body is one that has to be removed, yet its so bad if a removal spell is used on it. The threat of trading a measly thopter token for an unflipped jace, a Soulfire Grand Master or even a Monastery Mentor is too good to let them have, but using an Ultimate Price on a 2/2, leaving behind two thopters is not a favourable exchange.
Of all these cards, while sometimes they may not end up being SUPER powerful, chandras parents are always consistently a beating. Monastery Mentor and kalitas can die without doing anything, Wingmate Roc is embarrassing without raid, kolaghan and Brutal Hordechief depend on already having a big board, and Mardu Strike Leader is quite simply just a bad card. If you want a card that will predictably put in a lot of work, go for good ol' mom and dad.
February 7, 2016 6:52 p.m.
You're right. After playtesting with Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet for a bit, I've found him to be lacklustre. He'd either get removed and I'd get timewalked, or he'd trade with a creature. I don't think I've ever gotten value out of him, simply because he comes down too late. Monastery Mentor is a powerhouse though, I think that one turn really makes a difference. Anyways I'm definitely going to try your suggestion out, and it'll also be easier on my manabase curving into Pia and Kiran Nalaar from a Hordeling Outburst.
February 8, 2016 11:22 a.m.
HavokX,
Everything pumpkinwavy says about Thopters is true, but if you're going that way, you may want to look at Whirler Rogue instead of Pia and Kiran Nalaar. I think most decks would do better with the Rogue's Unblockable effect than Ma and Pa's relatively costly shock.
February 8, 2016 1:01 p.m.
Never mind, I'm an idiot.
TOTALLY missed the Mardu in your title! Me = derp!
pumpkinwavy says... #2
For a tokens based deck, pia and kiran nalaar, kolaghan, the storm's fury, and wingmate roc seem the best to me. Curving dragon fodder into hordeling outburst into pia and kiran nalaar into kolaghan, the storm's fury is insane.
The cons of both kalitas, traitor of ghet and monastery mentor are their weaknesses to removal, and dodging removal is one of the main draws to token strategies.
If you're looking for overall good creatures, then ignore pretty much everything I said. The best overall creatures are likely pia and kiran nalaar and monastery mentor.
Sorry for not linking any of the cards, there's an issue with my brackets.
February 6, 2016 2:35 p.m.