Marchesa: Queen of Pain (100% Altered)

Commander / EDH* Older20

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Shift of Focus & Musings —Feb. 27, 2018

In the past month or so I have discovered the joys of Xmage - a free online way to play magic. It's far from perfect but it enabled me to playtest the deck against a large variety of decks that I would not normally at my local game store. Decks on Xmage tend to be fairly creature heavy and explosive - everyone is playing dual lands, all the fetches, mana crypts etc. A lot of players run snowball decks where either they win quickly or they get board wiped and spend the rest of the game top-decking in hopes of a miracle card. Also general threat assessment seems lower than usual with people making dubious decisions then abandoning the game if it doesn't go well for them. Having said all that - it is still a good venue to test new cards or ideas.

This extensive play testing has lead me to make a number of changes and a slight shift of focus in my deck. I believe these changes have plugged some holes in the deck and made it a more well-rounded and solid build. I have provided a few points of thought (Read: inane rambling) below:

.. This deck isn't a creature deck.

In the past I've been treading a fine line with the creatures in this deck, where I have wanted to play powerful creatures like Grave Titan to have a creaturely board presence, but win the game with incremental damage. However I've come to embrace the idea that my creatures should be generally cheap and provide great value - I'm not playing a Craterhoof Behemoth deck and the compromise wasn't helping me win. Nowadays most of the game I'll have 1-3 creatures on the field and their sole purpose, for the most part, is to preserve the Monarchy, keep me alive and/or drain my opponents.

However, what few creatures I have should have tools to preserve and enhance them. I added in Sword of War and Peace and Sword of Feast and Famine a while ago and they have been all stars. The protection allows me to regain Monarch and often bypass a clogged board of giant creatures to get those last few points of damage in. I have just added Sunforger to my equipment package to see how it performs. I have held off putting it into the deck for a while due to it being quite expensive mana wise - however I hope the payoff of incredible flexibility will be enough for it to have a home in the deck.

.. Flexibility.

Speaking of which: Sunforger give access to answers and provides instant speed options to virtually every problem. This is an idea that I love and recently have added two cards which assist in this goal. Vampiric Tutor and Mirage Mirror. Vampiric Tutor doesn't need much comment - it gives you access to whatever you want, (virtually) whenever you want it. The only reason I didn't have it in the deck previously was because I didn't own a copy. Mirage Mirror is more interesting. I was playing in a game against a Sram, Senior Edificer and had just tutored for my Sword of Feast and Famine, I played it without thinking and quickly learned the power of the Mirror. My opponent was able to copy the Sword, swing, untap, play a bunch of spells and pull far ahead. Perhaps a simple misplay on my part demonstrated the power of a card that can become the strongest Artifact, Enchantment or Creature on the field each turn and is extremely hard to remove. I threw it into my deck immediately and it has outperformed my expectations.

Mirage Mirror underlines why having options is so valuable. Not only does it provide a more fun way of playing, but there are fewer times where you feel the game is out of your control; you always have an ace up your sleeve.

.. Play your opponents.

I have to admit that I have a strong mental picture of how EDH magic should be played. I like decks that are proactive and earn their victories. By this I mean decks that after a victory they can point to many times in the game where they did something that had a major contribution to their later victory. I also like decks that allow other players to play their own game; no extra turns or controlling another player or infinite combos. In contrast, I love this deck because it can punish other players for playing their decks and capitalises other players' overextensions. Plonk down a 50/50 fatty? Backlash. Have 200 elves? Rakdos Charm.

For a long time I played this deck very aggressively and with more pain cards. However I have come to realise that there should be a balance of aggression & pain and patience & passiveness. This deck will never really win the game outright very early, but it digs it's heels in and can have a stranglehold over the game with Ankh of Mishra, Spellshock, Manabarbs with Exquisite Blood and No Mercy out. Often this will provoke desperation and overcommitment by other players as they get lower and lower. Having a handful of spells such as Deflecting Palm, Arcbond and Teferi's Protection is a fantastic feeling as your opponents' life totals tick lower.

With a lot rattlesnake cards out (Ophiomancer / No Mercy) your opponents will often only swing at you when they are convinced they can kill you. Your play up to that point should ensure that you have an answer for that moment - because that is when you either act or die. Your opponent likewise will probably in the same position - kill Queen Marchesa or die to Twilight Prophet & Wound Reflection. However this deck is built to survive do-or-die scenarios exactly like this - you have forced your opponent to play your game. It is a thrilling way to play.

So these were some random musings - I hope they were interesting or at least comprehensible to those reading. Feedback/comments are always appreciated!