Mardu Ascendancy
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Arena Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Gladiator Legal
Highlander Legal
Historic Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Mardu Ascendancy

Enchantment

Whenever a nontoken creature you control attacks, put a 1/1 red goblin creature token onto the battlefield tapped and attacking.

Sacrifice Mardu Ascendancy: Creatures you control get +0/+3 until end of turn.

Master_J on Attack Attack!

3 weeks ago

Out: Solemn Simulacrum, Austere Command, Hellrider, Revenge of Ravens

In: Mardu Ascendancy, Vanquish the Horde, Breena, the Demagogue, Fervent Charge

Bringing my curve lower. Vanquish the Horde is effectively a 2-drop emergency plan. And dropping some 4-drops for 3 drops will hopefully help. Mana doesn't seem to be a big issue with all the rocks I have in the deck (TBD).

Crow_Umbra on Solphim

4 months ago

I think at face value, Caesar, Legion's Emperor will end up using a lot of the same tech that Isshin, Two Heavens as One does. You could probably use more of the token generators that Isshin would, if you want to check out the Isshin token theme EDHREC page.

In looking at your list, I do have a few suggestions, if you're open to them:

  • I think you could probably drop down to at most 38 lands, or 36 at the least.

  • It seems a little counter-intuitive, but I'd recommend replacing some of those land slots with mana rocks like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Orzhov Signet and the others in color in that cycle, or Talisman of Indulgence and the others in this cycle (Talismans of Conviction and Hierarchy). Replacing some land slots can help you ramp out some rocks in your early turns, and reduces your likelihood of mana flooding.

  • Some of these land slots could also be swapped out for more creature token generation. Some of my personal favorites from playing Isshin: Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, Hammers of Moradin, Hanweir Garrison  Meld, Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, and Mardu Ascendancy. I think your deck could benefit from a few more token producers that can get set up before Caesar hits the field, and also takes pressure off him being one of your primary token producers.

  • If you have the budget for it, I'd recommend adding a decent board protection package from stuff like Reconnaissance, Dolmen Gate, Teferi's Protection, Clever Concealment, and Iroas, God of Victory. The more you can protect your board, the more you can maintain momentum down the stretch. In case you're unfamiliar with Reconnaissance, this EDHREC article explains how you can use it as a pseudo-Vigilance anthem to pull your creatures out of combat, after the damage step.

  • Lastly, I'd recommend swapping out some of your creatures that are north of 5 cmc for some of the stuff listed above. Between swapping land slots, and swapping a couple of higher cmc creatures, I think could help the deck be a bit more cohesive.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Down to discuss more if you're up for it. Best of luck

Last_Laugh on Token Legion

4 months ago

Iroas, God of Victory is another dolmen gate effect that gives menace. I also recommend Dolmen Gate. These 2 along with Reconnaissance, which you already run, are a trifecta I can't recommend enough here.

Ogre Battledriver is a nice haste enabler that buffs your tapped and attacking tokens and helps them trade up or survive a lot better in combat.

Mardu Ascendancy can spit out massive amounts of tokens and the toughness boost can come in handy in a pinch.

Hall of Heliod's Generosity would be nice here since you run 19 enchantments and a lot are pretty impactful.

Vault of the Archangel is expensive to activate but effects combat in your favor even if you don't. Just the unspoken threat of potential activation will get small attackers past big blockers. Hold up the mana, be committed to using it if needed, and cast stuff on your 2nd main if your dudes stay unblocked.

Last_Laugh on Isshin, Two Heavens as One

5 months ago

Devilish Valet will one-shot someone out of the game. Just 6 tokens entering (aka 1 time attacking with Adeline in play) makes him 64 power. I've had 22 tokens enter (mainly because of Mardu Ascendancy, which I can't recommend enough.) and had this dude attacking for over 4 million damage.

Crow_Umbra on War crimes

1 year ago

I think a way that you can keep your Exalted theme, but still work around an inherent drawback of the strategy is to retool a bit and run creatures with Myriad or "when this creature attacks, create tokens that are tapped and attacking".

Token creatures that are created from Myriad, or that enter tapped and attacking are never declared as attackers, so Exalted will still trigger as intended. This essentially lets you punch one player with the Exalted creature, and still send stuff at your other opponents. Because Myriad is an attack trigger, you also get an extra Myriad token creature copies attacking your other opponents.

There are 14 cards in Mardu that could work here. A few notable ones:

  • Genasi Enforcers

  • Hammers of Moradin - A personal favorite for my Isshin deck. Hammers could be really helpful to open up attacking lanes for your Exalted creature.

  • Battle Angels of Tyr - Not budget, but also not outright busted. It can help create mana acceleration, draw, and gain life, but in my experience playing Battle Angels, it feels more like playing "catch up".

  • Elturel Survivors

Some fun creatures that create tokens on attack:

None of these cards are inherently optimized, except for maybe Battle Angels, but I think they could all add some extra spice to what you're already trying to accomplish.

Worrad75 on Attack-harmonicon

1 year ago

we back baby, lots of changes:

**Sardian Avenger IN

Ashnod's Altar OUT**

I've had really good experiences so far with Devilish Valet, and so I'm adding another cheap, scaling threat that can really rack up the damage at any stage of the game. It synergizes fantastically with pieces like Shadowspear and Duelist's Heritage, introduces a bit of treasure hate, and even shuts off some combos. I love that it scales with the power level of the table, and I expect it to overperform for 2 mana. On the other hand, Ashnod's has underperformed. Without consistent token producers (of which there are only a handful of in the deck), this often feels like 3 mana do-nothing, and it being one of only a select handful of non-mana artifacts in the deck means its even more likely to eat non-creature removal.

**Goblin Motivator and Bloodlust Inciter IN

Ogre Battledriver and Dowsing Dagger  Flip OUT**

I found myself craving more haste enablers in the deck and Ogre Battledriver seems to be too big of a lightning rod, which is fair because it can end games with the right setup. I've opted for cheaper, lower to the ground options that are less likely to eat targeted removal. They won't pump a team of incoming tokens off of Mardu Ascendancy or Hero of Bladehold, but they will come down faster and have impact over many more turns than the ogre would normally be allowed to live. I did enjoy playing with Dowsing Dagger  Flip but it feels counter-intuitive to lean into haste and also give out blockers.

**Battle Angels of Tyr IN

Rabble Rousing OUT**

Myriad is fun, cool, and good. Turns out, its even better when you make twice as many tokens. For 4 mana, you get 26 flying power per turn with Isshin out, and potentially 2 card draws and 2 treasures to top it off (you likely wont get the lifegain trigger). The nail in the coffin for Rabble Rousing is that the tokens don't come in tapped and attacking. That downside combined with the whiff potential means that the card feels clunky at times. It was also overkill for the synergies that it was hoping to lean into for card draw (Welcoming Vampire and Tocasia's Welcome), so overall it only felt like we were unlocking the true potential of this card in magical-christmas-land with Skullclamp and Ashnod's Altar.

**Laelia, the Blade Reforged IN

Welcoming Vampire OUT**

Given that we're downsizing on the overall number of token-focused cards (and adding [battle angels of tyr]), [welcoming vampire] seems like a natural candidate to take out for [Laelia]. A guarenteed 2 cards a turn is better than (maybe) 1 card a turn, even if it means making your creature a lightning rod.

**Skyhunter Strike Force IN

Nadaar, Selfless Paladin OUT**

If I was willing to pay 5 mana to give the whole team melee with Adriana, Captain of the Guard, then I will absolutely double up on the effect on a 2/2 flying body for 3 mana. PSA: instances of melee stack, so Isshin + both of these = +12/+12 to each creature that attacks. Nadaar is a solid value piece, but getting to attack with him twice without him getting killed feels more like a gamble than a guarantee, so he's getting pulled out for the moment. Note that this makes Triumphant Adventurer the sole venture card left in the deck, so if I need space for another 2 drop that might be where I go.

Worrad75 on Attack-harmonicon

1 year ago

Reposting but with proper hyperlinks

IN:

Mardu Ascendancy

As previously mentioned, this card is nuts.

Mother of Runes

double wammy of helping us get in for damage or protecting our key pieces from removal

Swift Reconfiguration

1 mana ultra flexible spell. Protect your piece from a creature removal or board wipe. Blank a single attacker by removing it from combat. If you haven't tried it already, try this card. It will save your ass.

Audacious Thief

Need card draw, its as simple as that.

Azra Oddsmaker

There's usually a card in my hand that I dont mind discarding to draw 2. This deck naturally wants to get through for damage, but if this underperforms I could see it getting cut.

Blessed Hippogriff

Rare example of an innocuous card that impresssed me in draft that I want to try in constructed play. 1 mana protection for a key piece, which then gives you a solid flying body that helps smaller threats stay relevant in the mid- to late-game. 2-for-1 that fits the theme.

Aggravated Assault

This is the best extra combat spell available, and its not close. There's a handful of attack-based treasure token creators in the deck, so this can go infinite/semi infinite with relative ease.

Dowsing Dagger  Flip

I've always thought this card looked sick, so I'm testing it. Not super psyched about giving my opponents blockers, but here we are.

Shadowspear

This deck draws a LOT of ire at the table once it gets going. I have found that the lifegain on Mishra, Claimed by Gix  Meld has been an allstar if I'm racing other aggressive decks, so I want to add another effect that can help. Shadowspear also adds utility as this deck is a bit low on trample, and the hexproof/indestructible silver bullet is bound to come up.

OUT:

Moraug, Fury of Akoum, Port Razer, and Response / Resurgence

I am an extra combats enjoyer. That being said, these particular effects seem clunky after testing. Port Razer needs haste enabling and evasion in order to unlock its full potential, which is a high bar to clear for a 5 drop (and if I have those things ready, I'm probably already in a good position). Moroug is a tougher cut, but this deck just simply isn't built to take full advantage of repeated land ETB. Response//Resurgence was the hardest cut, and might be coming back in the future; the flexibility has been excellent in testing.

Pitiless Plunderer

This was by far my worst card in terms of ceiling-to-floor ratio. High end was having this plus a sac outlet and a ton of tokens. Low end was 4 mana for a 1/4. It feels too reliant on me drawing other specific pieces.

Company Commander + Myrel, Shield of Argive

The soldier tribal dream will live on, just not here. Both of these (in particular Myrel) are 4 drops that feel too slow without external setup

MOVED TO SIDE BOARD:

I have moved 3 cards to sideboard because I don't have the physical cards yet, and therefore haven't gotten to play test them yet:

-> Anger

-> Laelia, the Blade Reforged

-> Cursed Mirror

Crow_Umbra on Attack-harmonicon

1 year ago

I think you could probably swap Mardu Ascendancy in over Duelist's Heritage. I had Duelist's Heritage in one of the earliest versions of my deck. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, but my friends quickly stopped taking up my offers of Double Strike lol.

Ascendancy also has that upside of the defensive buff if needed.

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