Hi! I am so excited about that also, and thinking about adding of 2 copies of Vindictive Vampire. Maybe as a replacement of 1 x Revival // Revenge or 1x Seraph of the Scales or 1x Dead Revels

Hi Alexanderius!

I thought of including Vindictive Vampire , but the thing is what to cut for it. Most, or actually all of the sacrifice outlets deal damage or cause to loose life. The main synergy is to sacrifice Hunted Witness or Footlight Fiend to the Priest, get them back with the Dead Revels (for free, because the Priest gives you mana)... That's why I don't like cutting Revival // Revenge or the Dead Revels, they enable so much synergy.

On the other hand, I do think that Seraph of the Scales is much better than the Vampire. I would have to test for it, but I would swear that the Angel can dead much more damage than the Vampire, despite all the drain Triggers, during the game.

But thanks for the suggestion! As I said, I did consider it for this deck. And you might be right, it might be a better include than some of the cards in here. Thanks for commenting! I really appreciate it! :D

I think Demon of Catastrophes fits in this deck. A 6/6 flyer with trample on turn 4 with sac synergy could be fun!

Hi Blackgate!

The Demon of Catastrophes was in here for the very early versions of the deck, but it was a bit heavy on the 4-drop slot. Instead I opted for more bait for the sac outlets. But you talked me back into it! I think I can see cutting 1x Bedevil and 1x Revival / Revenge (specially having Mortify in the sideboard)

Thanks a lot for commenting and the suggestion! :D

I’m not much of a standard player mostly because I don’t like a format that rotates. It’s too expensive to keep up with a lot of the time. That being said, I’d been considering making a Mardu Aristocrats deck for standard ever since Judith, the Scourge Diva and Teysa Karlov were spoiled since I play the original Aristocrats in modern.

I think you’ve got a solid start here. My only gripe is the lack of free sac outlets, but I’m not familiar with standard, so I’m not sure if any are even in rotation. However the sac oilers you do have are decent even if they’re only once a turn. Have you considered Hero of Precinct One ? You have enough multicolored spells to make it worth it, and I think it could easily replace Hunted Witness as a better source of tokens for sac fodder.

Isn’t Find / Finality strictly better than Dead Revels ? I’m just not a fan of using draft commons because there is always something better. I also use Midnight Reaper as a draw engine and it works well to keep the deck going

Hi Abzkaban and Snivy__!

First of all, thank's a lot to both of you for your comments, and I'm sorry to have taken so long to reply.

For the free sac outlets bit, it is true that there's not very many, but I don't think there's very many in Standard in general. Ideally I would include one or two more. Also, there's not very many Blood Artist effects. There's Poison-Tip Archer , but that's adding another color, and I'm not sure that's the best.

Also, I did consider Hero of Precinct One over Hunted Witness , but the thing is the Witness is a one-drop, and you can sac it the very next turn usually. With the hero, I would have to play something else, to sac the token (which does not trigger Judith, the Scourge Diva ). I mean, potentially, the Hero creates a ton of value, because there's a lot of multicolor creatures. But it's slower, which might be the direction to go, depending on the meta. Can't say at the moment. But I definitely keep it in mind.

Finally, Dead Revels totally is strictly worse than Find / Finality , I just forgot the card existed ^^' Thank you for that suggesting it!

Thanks a lot to you both for commenting on the list, and thanks a bunch for the suggestions! I really appreciate it! :D

Hey, consider the fourth Judith? Judith can actually benefit from being played as a 4 of because of the legendary rule. When Judith is already on the battlefield and you play/reanimate another Judith then you get two die triggers (2 damage to any target) from the Judith you must sacrifice due the legendary rule because both Judiths before one has to be saced see each other's abilities. This has nice interaction here with Find, Revival and Menagerie.

First off, love the deck. I don't really have much if anything to change. Maybe Ravenous Chupacabra in either the Mainboard or Sideboard. It's just brutal to be able sac to recur. As far as what you might cut for it, I lean towards Final Payment . Solely because they essentially do the same thing and you can recur Chups.

I love the addition of Demon of Catastrophes . I think it's a great curve-topper to push in the last bit of damage and soak up the removal that would otherwise be targeted at your key pieces. This is the first Aristocrats deck I've seen with him in it, and I think he's gonna be an underrated card that people are gonna start taking notice of when they start to refine their decks.

BTW I also thought of a good name. "Judith's Bloody Good Time".

Hi multimedia and SlackMiller2100!

Thanks to both of you for commenting. I was thinking of adding the 4th Judith, the Scourge Diva , not only because she can benefit for the legendary rule, but also because I feel that she will act as a lightning rod for removal. They'll try to kill her before killing anything else!

Also, the Ravenous Chupacabra is an interesting suggestion. The "downside" of that card (sort of) is that it's not a valid target for Revival / Revenge , but still it can be always recurred with Find / Finality , which as you say it's great. Another card I wanted to try sometimes is Plaguecrafter , which is not as good as the Chupacabra most of times, but it's easier to cast and recur.

Finally, I'm genuinely surprised not to see the Demon of Catastrophes more often. It's true that it does nothing the turn that it ETBs, but still, it's a free sac outlet, and an undercosted big flying beater! I don't see the downside on that card! :D

Thanks a lot to you both for commenting, and for you suggestions! It's been quite helpful! :D

P.S: I like the name you suggested! More than mine at least, I was trying to make a "tribute" to Blood Artist but don't know how to make it more evident. Still working on it! hahaha

I've been thinking about your deck some more and I think you may want Vindictive Vampire and Midnight Reaper or Rix Maadi Reveler or Theater of Horrors somewhere in either Main or Sideboard. Vampire because its an additional Aristocrat effect that you can have that helps put the game away quicker. Reaper/Reveler/Theater because I think this deck really needs some form of card draw. You can get off to a great start, but then run outta gas because you're only drawing one card per turn. Most decks nowadays are drawing at least 1.5 per turn with Explore/Scry/Surveil and that value grows exponentially over time if your deck can't keep up.

I know it's hard to fit those cards in because this list is pretty tightly packed, but I really think it needs card draw and an extra Aristocrat effect.

Hi SlackMiller2100!

I don't think Vindictive Vampire is that good here although it looks like it, and this is why. The lack of free repeatable sac outlets at will makes this card not as good as in a format as Commander or even Modern. In Modern, you can cast Blood Artist and start sacrificing 2-for-1 creatures, tokens and whatnot to Cartel Aristocrat and drain them for the win. In this format, you cast this for four mana, and the only sac outlet you can use is Priest of the Forgotten Gods , which is good, but not enough. Even with Teysa, and sacrificing two creatures this drains for four, which it will always be less than the damage that Demon of Catastrophes will do. Or any other of the four drops. Also, if the Vampire triggered on itself I would consider it more, but at it stands, unfortunately I think it's a draft all-star, and not a Standard playable.

Now Midnight Reaper on the other hand, that's something else! I think I was biased in a negative way, because this card killed me in the Prerelease by the damage of other creatures dying. And I thought that de damage that would amount in this deck would really add up. However, and giving it a second thought, surely the cards you draw deal more damage to you opponent than the damage it deals to you. I think it might be quite fine, actually. The Theater of Horrors I see it more in a quite Aggro, super low-to-the-ground deck, with a lot of burn. On the other hand, the Rix Maadi Reveler it's much better in a deck than can consistently empty it's hand, just like Rakdos Aggro or Mono-Red. For that reason, I think that the Reaper is quite a good addition to this deck

Once again, thanks a lot for you comment, I think it was a super necessary comment! :D You helped me a bunch brewing this deck!

MurderForBrunch No problem on the help. Mardu-Crats is one of the decks I'm most excited for this season, and I loved your list when I first read it. I get your reasoning behind Vampire. I still worry that without Judith on the board the deck stumbles and I think you want just one or two more draining effects, but at the same time 4 mana for an easily removable drainer might be just too much.

As far as Reaper/Reveler/Theater goes I totally agree that Reaper is the best out of them. I just threw out the other two as options. I think 2 Reapers is the right call, because he's a double edge sword. Like you said he can be a liability if you fall behind, but he can keep your pedal to the metal when your deck is working and help close out the game.

Hi i love that deck probably. But you seriously think can be competitive? Have you feel in the matchups against MonoRed and Hydroid Kasis decks?

Thank's for the work you did!

Hi allexmatex!

I glad you like the deck. I don't have Magic Arena at the moment, and I'm waiting for some cards to arrive, so I haven't done proper testing against those decks. I do think however it will be competitive against those decks. I don't think it will be a Tier 1 deck, but fun to play and competitive at the FNM level at the very least, maybe more than that.

Here's how I see it. Against Mono-Red, the creatures in this deck are quite cheap, I don't think I'll be that slow against it. Also, both the triggers from Judith, the Scourge Diva and Footlight Fiend can hit creatures, and slow down the Mono-Red opponent.

Against the Hydroid Krasis decks I think this deck is also well positioned. Basically Priest of the Forgotten Gods is a repeatable non-targeting removal outlet, in that, makes them sac a creature. If you have Judith out and you sac creatures, you resolve first the Judith triggers, kill the small stuff, and then they have to sac a real creature. After the sideboard, there's also Consecrate / Consume , Tithe Taker and Banefire which are basically great cards to bring in.

In general, yes, I think this deck can be competitive. Thanks for commenting! :)

Hi againg allexmatex!

I just thought you might be referring to Sultai Hydroid Krasis. I thought you meant Bant Control with Wilderness Reclamation and Hydroid Krasis as a finisher. I just saw that the other day. For the Sultai list, I think this deck is at the same level or even a bit favoured, with all the removal and sacrifice effects.

As for the Red matchups, I thought of including Elenda, the Dusk Rose . After seeing an MTGGoldfish stream, and some consideration, I think she can deliver at least as many tokens as the Seraph, and is a huge Lifelink threat.

Again, thanks for commenting! :)

I personally don't agree with Demon of Catastrophes . The additional cost of sacrificing a creature is a major downside, even with sacrifice synergy. If a control player counters it then you've fallen way behind. If a Sultai player Vraska's Contempt's or even Cast Down's it then it is also a 2-for-1 in their favor. I have been utilizing Seraph of the Scales and I think it is a much better 4-drop. It comes down and starts beating hard. Give it vigilance to help stall out their attacks, and sacrifice it to get two tokens. I also don't see Ministrant of Obligation in your list. I play it as a 3-drop alongside Judith to maximize the potential of my curve. Opponents don't want to swing into it because they'll have to deal with some 1/1 flyers afterward. I think you can cut down on some 1-drops; 10 is probably too many for what the deck wants to accomplish. I cut Hunted Witness first because overall it isn't as powerful as Gutterbones or Footlight Fiend , and the Fiend is much easier to cast on turn 1. Another card worth testing is Hero of Precinct One . Your deck is made up of mostly multi-colored cards, and Hero provides a steady stream of 1/1s to help you attack, block, and sacrifice.

Also this could just be me, but I have splashed green for Journey to Eternity  ^Flip. Standard has the perfect shock-check manabase, so I have been tweaking up my lands to curve into a turn 4 or 5 Journey. Drop it on a creature that you want to die, such as Gutterbones , Elenda, or any creature for that matter. If your opponent wants to swing, let them swing, and in return you get constant reanimation.

Hi Snivy__!

Actually I just updated the list yesterday taking out the Demon of Catastrophes just for the reasons you say. I would see it perfectly in any deck that has some protection in form of counterspells or protection spells, but that's certainly not the case here.

As for the Seraph of the Scales I took it out for Elenda, the Dusk Rose . I believe she has a lot more synergy with the deck, and can leave at least as many tokens as the Seraph. A common case, I imagine, will be casting her on turn 4, activating the Priest of Forgotten Gods and boom! That's already 3 +1/+1 counters on Elenda! :D

I considered Hero of Precinct One as a replacement for Hunted Witness . I'll definitely test for it, because despite being slower, the upside on the Hero is quite astounding.

Finally, I also considered a Green splash, not only for Journey to Eternity  ^Flip but also for Poison-Tip Archer which is pretty effective Blood Artist effect. I will definitely consider it more, and test for it now that you've mentioned it as well.

Thanks a lot for commenting and for your suggestions! :D

Love to see Elenda join this list! Absolutely want to run this at FNM now. Teysa and Elenda can be exponential if on the board together.

Hi, cool deck.

Do you find not having 4 of's ever causing issues for consistent play?

Hi Geo67!

I'm glad you like the deck! The deck is actually pretty consistent. It has 4 of's Judith, Gutterbones, Pitiless Pontiff and the Pries of Forgotten Gods, which are the main pieces of the deck. Also 3 of's Footlight Fiend and Mortify, as well as the Hero of Precinct One. Other cards, are average in most situation, and awesome in some other specific situations!

Have you thought about Dreadhorde Invasion ? A token to sac every turn sounds pretty good.

Hi musicman3310!

I thought of adding that card, it is quite reminiscent of Bitterblossom . The problem I see is that Dreadhorde Invasion does give you one creature, and then it grows it, or it gives you one token to sacrifice it every turn. But in this deck you really want to accumulate several creatures as fodder, and sac them all to God-Eternal Bontu or some of them to the Priest of Forgotten Gods .

However, I want to try that card so bad! I might put together a Grixis Midrange Army deck or something like that!

Thanks for commenting! :D

Hi!

First of all, I'm glad to see people interested in Mardu Aristocrats decks in Standard! I believe that Cruel Celebrant is going to allow that kind of deck with War of the Spark, and that is great news.

I have a question, why you consider Gutterbones a better cannon fodder than Reassembling Skeleton ? Gutterbones needs 3 mana in total to come back from the graveyard to the battlefield, while Reassembling Skeleton only needs 2 mana and as an instant.