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Closer to Death Than Ever (Mardu Shadow Primer)

Modern*

Orzhov0413


Sideboard


Introduction

Hello and Welcome to the newest and best Death's Shadow build around. This version of Death's Shadow is a hyper aggressive version of the deck built to have a definitive win by at latest turn 6 of any given game. Unlike other Death's Shadow lists Mardu Death's Shadow requires an all in strategy revolving around Death's Shadow. This deck is made to be a competitive build that can compete with many top tier decks and consistently win games.

Testing

FNM 05/12/17Jund Death's Shadow: 2-1 W The Increased removal was vital in this matchup as I had very little trouble dealing with his creatures. The 3rd game was really a race to shadow which I won because of being on the play.

U-Tron: 0-2 L I could not resolve a spell this matchup went horribly it was really sad to watch this happen.

Abzan Vizier/Company: 2-1 W multiple discard spells on the early turns of the game allowed me to pretty much stop their combo.

My next event will be a Competitive Modern Tourney at my LGS on 06/02/17. I will post my results as soon as possible.

Mardu over Grixis

One of the most popular variations of Death's Shadow is currently Grixis Death's Shadow. Our Mardu replaces the use of Blue for White. The major reason for this Is the substitution of Card Advantage for superior removal and a more aggressive theme. While card advantage is a great thing in any deck, in a Hyper-aggressive deck like this one, having superior removal in Path to Exile and a Pivotal creature in Ranger of Eos make me feel that White is superior to blue in a Death's Shadow Build.

Mardu over Jund

Another popular variation od Death's Shadow is Jund . Jund lists utilize the power of the incredible Tarmagoyf in a Death's Shadow/Delirium theme deck. So... Why over . Once again the superior removal given to us in White Path to Exile allows for an easier time with an All-In Death's Shadow Build. One major difference between Jund Death's Shadow and our Mardu Death's Shadow is the All-In nature of our deck. Our deck struggles to win without a copy of Death's Shadow on the battlefield which is why White helps us more than Green.

Struggles with the Color choice

As previously noted there are some things that the Mardu colors miss out on, Most notably Tarmagoyf and basic Card Advantage. However, even with the lack of these things Mardu Shadow remains a superb color combination for the Hyper-Aggressive deck we are trying to build.

Wincon's

Death's Shadow: Shadow is the Primary Win Condition of This Deck. As with any Shadow Build the deck is based around making our Shadows very big very fast and quickly destroying our opponent. Shadow can start attacking our opponent as a 5/5 as early at turn 3 making for a very fast and Efficient win. If one of our Early Shadows are Killed you can always use Ranger of Eos to get 2 more.

Gurmag Angler + Tasigur, the Golden Fang: Both Tasigur and Angler are very similar in that they are effectively 1 mana 5/5s. It is important that both of these creatures can be played as early as turn 2 allowing us to quickly pressure our opponent. These 2 cards are our secondary win condition mainly because of their inherently aggressive nature paired along with their great stats.

Liliana of the Veil: Lili is a last resort Win Condition that we only ever rely on when the games is a board stall and we can continue disrupting our opponent with Lili. If Lili is ever your game plan you will tend to be out of gas and in Topdeck mode making her discard ability very effective. If you do get to ultimate Lili it effectively allows you to set your opponent so far back that they will be unable to stop your threats once you get them.

Removal and Discard

One amazing thing about the Mardu version of Death's Shadow is its use of the best spot removal out of all the Shadow Decks.

Path to Exile: Path is probably the only real reason to play White in any Death's Shadow List. Its ability to completely eliminate a threat whether it is a Death's Shadow, Tarmagoyf or even a Griselbrand makes Path effectively the best spot removal in this deck. Yes, it does allow for your Opponent to gain an extra land, however, with the aggressive nature of this deck that land is pretty irrelevant.

Fatal Push: 5 of the most played creatures in modern have 2 similarities. One, they all cost less than 2 mana. Two, Fatal Push kills them. Death's Shadow, Tarmagoyf, Birds of Paradise, Noble Heriarch, and Snapcaster Mage die to Fatal Push. This card is amazing which is part of the reason it's holding at $9 for a mass-produced Uncommon. Crazy.

Dismember: This cards strength in the deck comes with its ability to remove most creatures for the low cost of 1 mana while reducing our Life Totals to make shadow stronger. The card is really good which is why we are running 3 of them. Note: You can cast it for 1, 2, or 3 Mana depending on your Life Total and the current board state. Never take Life if you are feeling in a very bad position.

Lightning Bolt: 1 Mana 3 Damage. Enough said. In some cases, you can even Bolt yourself to make your Shadows Stronger.

Kolaghan's Command: Kommand is amazing. Its ability to bring back and creature from our Graveyard is really helpful against removal Heavy decks. In addition, it kills Artifacts. Chalice of the Void stopping you from playing 1 drops. Destroy it. Aether Vial is making your opponent's deck too fast. Destroy it. It's situational flexibility makes this card one of the best spells in the deck.

Thoughtseize: The ability to forcefully remove cards from an opponent's hand is amazing. The knowledge you get from looking at their hand also Amazing. The low cost of 1 mana makes this card perfect. While there is the Downside of the Life loss, our deck wants and needs that Life loss to happen. Seize may be the best and most consistent card in this deck.

Life Loss

Really the main way we lose life in this deck is through the cracking of fetch-lands for shock-lands. However, we do have 4 copies of Street Wraith for some added life loss.

The first few turns are crucial to the later success of the deck for the rest of the game. It is important to remember that you are playing a very aggressive deck, this means that you can never play the beginning of the game in a defensive manner.

Turn 1

On Turn 1 you need to play a discard spell if you can. You are running 7 1-mana discard spells that are very helpful in identifying your Opponents deck and game plan. In addition, you want to begin your life loss to set up your Death's Shadow's. By the end of turn 1 you want to be anywhere from 13-15 Life. This can be done by cracking a Fetchland into getting a Shockland. Casting a Thoughtseize. And the Cycling of a Street Wraith.

Turn 2

Turn 2 is about setting an aggressive game plan by playing out your first copy of Death's Shadow. Ideally this Shadow will be a 3/3 to 5/5, however even if you have a 1/1 or 2/2 it is still worth playing. If you would like you could leave up mana for a removal spell if your opponent is also very aggressive. Even though this deck is very aggressive it also has some of the best removal in the format for a reason. If You Need to use it, Then Do it.

Turn 3

Turn 3 is the time you start attacking. Your shadow will be well sized by now probably in the 5/5-7/7 range which poses a very large threat for your opponent. Turn 3 is also the perfect Turn to delve out either a Gurmag Angler or Tasigur, the Golden Fang this will once again continue to create a board presence that is hard to deal with. This turn also is built to leave up mana to remove any pesky creatures that are giving you a hard time.

Turn 4

Turn 4 is once again about getting in more damage and casting your "Tutor" Ranger of Eos. Once you resolve a copy of Ranger you are in a very good position for the rest of the game. The rest of the game is about removing your opponent's creatures and attacking with your own.

Opening Hand. What to Keep and What to Mull.

For an Opening hand to be keepable you look for 3 things. 1. 5-7 Points of Life loss to lower you into Death's Shadow range. 2. At least 2 Lands. This is Non-Negotiable the deck is unable to run at the speed it hopes to do without at least 2 lands. 3. Hand Disruption or Death's Shadow. In order for a hand to be keepable, you must have either a piece of Hand Disruption such as Thoughtseize or Shadow. These 3 things are non-negotiable except for 3-4 points of life loss at the lowest.

Be Careful With your Life Total

While the deck is built around having a low life total you still need to pay attention to your life total. This deck will put you in very stressful Life situations at time being at 5-6 Life on turn 3. This is vital to the play of the deck. Remember you can't cast Death Shadow if your life total is above 13, but also remember that it's hard to win a game stuck at 1 life early on.

Thank You

If you've made it all the way here I would like to thank yours for taking the time to look at my deck. If you have any suggestions it would mean the world to me If you could comment them down below. And please Upvote the deck if you like it, it tells me a lot about the decks I build with the Community's Reactions and they are always nice to see.

Yours Truly, Orzhov 0413

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Date added 6 years
Last updated 6 years
Legality

This deck is Modern legal.

Rarity (main - side)

2 - 0 Mythic Rares

32 - 12 Rares

20 - 1 Uncommons

3 - 2 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.56
Folders death's shadow
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