This is my Mardu Midrange that I have been looking to build recently. Comments are appreciated!
On the topic of card choices, here is my card-by-card:
Creatures:
Hangarback Walker - This card is bananas for controlling the early and late game. The body is great for grindy games, and if you're allowed to get the tokens out, you can just win. It pulls its own removal suite, and although there are counters to it now, they are falling back out of favour again.
Seeker of the Way - Perfect 2 drop for a midrange deck, gains prowess off my spell suite and gives lifelink for completely nullifying life loss from drawing.
Abbot of Keral Keep - Amazing for fishing for lands in the early game or smoothing out in the late to find extra answers. Can get quite big due to the amount of spells in play, combat trickable.
Pia and Kiran Nalaar - Another crazy card, provides us with an instant board on its own, and is often my go to card return off of Kolaghan's Command. The double red is extremely manageable when reaching 4 mana.
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - This guy could increase in amount in this deck, with all the instant speed removal I'm currently running, kill one of your guys, gain a blocker is quite the blowout. Really grindy, amazing to see in some situations, less good in others.
Goblin Dark-Dwellers - Another new card from OGW, the blowout potential of this card is huge. It's a versatile lategame powerhouse, returning removal in Crackling Doom, card draw in Read the Bones or even versatility in Kolaghan's Command. This card is always fun to see.
Instants and Sorceries:
Crackling Doom - This spell is the reason we play Mardu colours. Chip damage and big stuff removal with sac? Yes please. Nothing else needs to be said.
Duress - Discard spells in the main can sometimes be a risk, but with all the removable stuff in the format, taking a high impact spell or just seeing what the opponent has is never a bad thing.
Fiery Impulse - Creature only shock that more often than not is a creature only bolt is great! Perfect removal for small stuff, great combat trick, you can sometimes scare your opponents with one Smoldering Marsh, leaving up both cut and impulse with one land.
Wild Slash - Another shock, more versatile than impulse, required as a one of in my opinion.
Kolaghan's Command - This card is just dumb, choose two of four almost always viable options? Definitely an auto include in any deck running red and black. Amazing early for shocking and discarding, great late for artifact hate and creature recursion. All around powerhouse.
Murderous Cut - With all the cards falling into the graveyard, this card is more often than not destroy target creature for B. That's value.
Painful Truths - First set of drawing cards, I'm playing 2 and 2 because I think take 3 is a very powerful asset. Life loss is nullified by Seeker of the Way and Sorin, Solemn Visitor, and with my colours easily out by turn 3, why wouldn't I want two cards of advantage?
Read the Bones - These were included in my deck with the addition of Goblin Dark-Dwellers. The ability to return this later in the game for a quick hand refill for free is insane. This interaction is the only reason I'm now running 2 and 2.
Planeswalkers:
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - A one of planeswalker that more often than not wins the game by itself. Makes tokens, swings in for a quarter of my opponent's life or anthem up a board full of thopters? All of these are things I want to happen.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor - Sorin is crazy for a token filled board. Just played a Pia and Kiran Nalaar? Drop Sorin on it and deal 7 gain 7 over 3 separate bodies. He even protects himself with tokens and has a good chance of getting to his emblem.
