Marchesa - Game of Thrones

Commander / EDH* Aikido Control Multiplayer RBW (Mardu)

homemaderum

Lands (35)

• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Forgotten Cave
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 5x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 6x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Secluded Steppe
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Malice
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Temple of Triumph

Cards (9)

• 1x Bloodgift Demon
• 1x Combustible Gearhulk
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Khorvath's Fury
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Stolen Strategy
• 1x The Immortal Sun
• 1x Twilight Prophet

Royal Authority (6)

• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Harsh Mentor
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Kederekt Parasite
• 1x Suture Priest
• 1x Treasure Nabber

Propaganda (12)

• 1x Archfiend of Despair
• 1x Brutal Hordechief
• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 1x Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1x Key to the City
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 1x Sower of Discord
• 1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
• 1x Virtus the Veiled
• 1x Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

Mana (10)

• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip
• 1x Walking Atlas
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Art of War (8)

• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Dawn Charm
• 1x Deflecting Palm
• 1x Disrupt Decorum
• 1x Insurrection
• 1x Master Warcraft
• 1x Selfless Squire
• 1x Settle the Wreckage

Commander (1)

Hate (10)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Cleansing Nova
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Rakdos Charm
• 1x Utter End
• 1x Wear / Tear

Utility (9)

• 1x Chaos Wand
• 1x Kaya, Ghost Assassin
• 1x Sepulchral Primordial
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Sunforger
• 1x Thrilling Encore
• 1x Virtus's Maneuver
• 1x Wild Ricochet
• 1x Wretched Confluence

---

Marchesa's Game of Thrones.

Welcome to my Marchesa multiplayer EDH deck. Queen Marchesa helms a stack of sleeved-up cardboard that seeks to patiently and deviously accrue value while encouraging the other players to beat the hell out of each other. We'll support them along the way with cards that give them fodder to attack with, reward them (and us) for attacking, and ensure that we're not an easy target to fuss with. We've got plenty of shenanigans of our own to win with, and will seek to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with dramatic plays that can swing the game in our favor suddenly. We're royalty. We will send our loyal subjects to do our bidding and avoid getting our hands dirty while making sure we can intervene in any situation if it suits us.

Queen Marchesa

Queen Marchesa is our best option for commander, both mechanically and thematically. Deathtouch allows her to maintain a defensive posture, while simultaneously providing us with a mechanic that can be weaponized easily. Haste allows her to make an impact immediately, and should not be overlooked, particularly later in the game. Monarch is the ability we're most interested in. It can fuel the fight betwixt the other players, and provide us with card advantage until someone works up the nerve to take it from us. Queen Marchesa's relatively low cost and suite of abilities mean we can let her die, or let an otherwise blockable attack land on us, so that another player can sit on the throne. We may want them become a greater target for the others, or may need to help prop up a pawn to suit our needs; we can always take the crown back at our leisure by recasting her. Losing the crown still benefits us, however, as we'll gain hasty deathtouch assassin tokens! Pure. Value.

Strategy

This deck's strategy has been a work in progress for a minute. Originally an Alesha, Who Smiles at Death deck full of weenies and recursion, then became an Edgar Markov tribal battlecruiser, and eventually Queen Marchesa . After a brief stint with Enchantments and Tokens, Combat Control became the strategy of choice and has stuck around for a minute. Cards like Disrupt Decorum , Master Warcraft and Brutal Hordechief are the types of cards we want to be capitalizing on, because they force the board state of the game to advance and encourage an interactive game that doesn't grind on too long. But, other than the vorthos appropriate Insurrection , we're not running any specific game enders. A combination of grind, deadly offensive threats, stunts and combat shenanigans, we should outlast our foes.
Sunforger is her royal majesty's version of Excalibur, granting her the ability to control the game at will. We can exile those cards that turn against us or too heavily slant the board in favor of another player. And we have the absolute best in potency and versatility to control our kingdom - Anguished Unmaking , Merciless Eviction , Wear /Tear, and more. It also lets Marchesa get her hands dirty, slaying another player in 3 hits (or less). Further, her Royal Majesty employs an entire bureaucracy to tax her enemies and prevent them from profiting disproportionately, like Treasure Nabber , Kambal, Consul of Allocation and Suture Priest .
Our royal court is filled with the most deadly warriors, who's mere presence on the battlefield will strike fear into the hearts of our foes. One swing from our Master of Cruelties or the famed Virtus the Veiled can reduce even the staunchest opponent to ashes; Teysa, Orzhov Scion and our Selfless Squire also serve as our elite royal guard, deterring those that would try to usurp the throne and becoming powerful offensive threats at our direction.

Playtesting

The Queen has done well at the table, against a wide variety of foes. Political play has worked well, as answers to threats were frequently on-hand, so favors could be garnered. Patient play is a must, to avoid over-extending and ensuring options are available to play and respond with. Most cards can lean both offensively and defensively, which gives the deck the ability to shift from a defensive posture to a devastating offensive in massive swings.

Power Plays

These are some of the more impactful cards and interactions I've leveraged in the deck so far:
1. Land Tax and Walking Atlas . Lands win games, and an extra land a turn is super strong in Mardu.
2. Austere Command (or any other board-wipe) and Sepulchral Primordial or Thrilling Encore . Massive swing in board state, with the added potential of ETB shenanigans.
3. Virtus the Veiled and Archfiend of Despair . One hit from Virtus halves their life, then Archfiend removes the same amount again. Dead.
4. Suture Priest . This dude does so much damage over the course of the game for his cost.
5. Sunforger and its suite of spells. When the Queen grasps her royal scepter, she is in control.
6. Archfiend of Depravity + Deflecting Palm . Block their damage, turn it back on them, then double it up at the end of turn!

Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.63
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Haste, City's Blessing, Ogre 3/3 R, Spirit 1/1 WB, The Monarch, Treasure
Folders	EDH