Mardu Charm...Why No Luv?
Standard forum
Posted on Oct. 23, 2014, 6:02 p.m. by Twanicus
Been brewing Mardu Tokens since I saw Hordeling Outburst spoiled, started to get excited when Mardu Midrange began doing well. However, I've noticed nobody running Mardu Charm , where as I love the card. Are the other 3 drop options THAT much better?
Dalektable says... #3
Personally, I rather like the utility. The first strike clause is amazing when it's relevant, and it can all be good removal. I hardly ever use it for the hand disruption aspect, though. That being said, I run four copies in my mardu tokens build.
October 23, 2014 6:34 p.m.
Nigeltastic says... #4
I think the clan is more about cost economy (aggro nature) rather than card slot economy (a more control focus), which is what the charms give, they're more versatile, but more expensive than their alternatives. Also it's a decent charm, but not as good as the others.
October 23, 2014 6:34 p.m.
I think the card is solid, I mean removal, hand disruption at instant speed (i.e. during the draw step), and blockers/some guys to attack with. Whats not to love?
October 23, 2014 6:37 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #6
Simply that other options are better and/or cheaper.
Thoughtseize hits any nonland card. Mardu Charm doesn't. Also a 1 drop.
Raise the Alarm is better than Mardu Charm for less but Hordeling Outburst provides more P/T with a far more relevant creature type.
Lightning Strike while dealing 1 less also can hit players. It can close games.
October 23, 2014 6:38 p.m.
I tested with it because the 4 damage seemed useful (see Stoke the Flames ) and I liked the option of a instant speed Duress (even if it was 3 mana) in a controlish mardu shell. However, after testing, it was really underwhelming. Crackling Doom and Hero's Downfall are much better for removal and fall into the same mana slot. The 4 damage was ok, but because it can't go to the face like Stoke the Flames there are times when it's just not useful. The token's were ok against aggro decks, but could be removed before blocks and the first strike was even irrelevant most of the time. Honestly, I found the best option was the Duress ability. Being able to do it at the end of my opponents draw step made casting my creatures or planewalkers on my next turn much safer and against green decks running Courser of Kruphix I also would get to see their next draw before I took a card from their hand. in the end after testing with it I found that there was just too many more valuable cards at the 3 drop slot that I wanted over Mardu Charm and it ended up getting cut.
October 23, 2014 6:41 p.m.
Points well taken and greatly appreciated. My three cmc slot is really overcrowded, and this discussion helped finalize my decision. Thank you again.
Epochalyptik says... #2
I don't play Standard, but it just seems there are other spells that do the same things more efficiently. You don't need to staple them together for
when you can just run them more efficiently during your first two turns for 
or 
. Once you get to turn three or higher, you need to be spending your resources building battlefield presence rather than holding up expensive utilities.
October 23, 2014 6:05 p.m.