Queen Marchesa - Group Shove

Commander / EDH Group Slug Lifegain Multiplayer

ccmunkey1980

Land (36)

• 1x Akoum Refuge
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Bloodfell Caves
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Boros Garrison
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Icatian Store
• 1x Kabira Crossroads
• 1x Leechridden Swamp
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 1x Nomad Stadium
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 4x Plains
• 1x Radiant Fountain
• 1x Rakdos Carnarium
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 1x Shivan Gorge
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Temple of Triumph
• 1x Throne of the High City
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip
• 1x Wind-Scarred Crag
• 1x Windbrisk Heights

Planeswalker (4)

• 1x Ajani, Caller of the Pride
• 1x Kaya, Ghost Assassin
• 1x Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
• 1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Creature (29)

• 1x Adriana, Captain of the Guard
• 1x Archangel of Tithes
• 1x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
• 1x Banshee of the Dread Choir
• 1x Brutal Hordechief
• 1x Cliffhaven Vampire
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Custodi Lich
• 1x Drana's Emissary
• 1x Garrulous Sycophant
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Grenzo's Ruffians
• 1x Iroas, God of Victory
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Karlov of the Ghost Council
• 1x Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1x Knights of the Black Rose
• 1x Lightning Reaver
• 1x Odric, Master Tactician
• 1x Orzhov Advokist
• 1x Palace Jailer
• 1x Protector of the Crown
• 1x Skyline Despot
• 1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
• 1x Thorn of the Black Rose
• 1x Vizkopa Guildmage
• 1x Windborn Muse
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Artifact (7)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Blade of Selves
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Norn's Annex
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Whip of Erebos

Commander (1)

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Boon Reflection
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Felidar Umbra
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Karmic Justice
• 1x Marchesa's Decree
• 1x Palace Siege
• 1x Retreat to Hagra
• 1x True Conviction
• 1x Wound Reflection

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Beseech the Queen
• 1x Debt to the Deathless
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Sublime Exhalation
• 1x Vindicate
• 1x Wrath of God

Instant (5)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Utter End

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Maybeboard

Creature (16)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Custodi Soulcaller
• 1x Exquisite Archangel
• 1x Kheru Bloodsucker
• 1x Mardu Shadowspear
• 1x Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
• 1x Rhox Faithmender
• 1x Scholar of Athreos
• 1x Serra Avatar
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Suture Priest
• 1x Treasury Thrull
• 1x Victory's Herald

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Celestial Mantle
• 1x Grasp of Fate
• 1x Path of Bravery
• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Tainted Remedy

Artifact (1)

• 1x Crown of Doom

Land (2)

• 1x Miren, the Moaning Well
• 1x Sejiri Steppe

Instant (1)

• 1x Enlightened Tutor

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Vandalblast

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Group Shove is a play on the Group Hug type decks. Instead of playing nice and helping everyone (only to stab them in the back later), this deck is aggressive towards all opponents simultaneously and equally. This deck shines in large multiplayer games (4+) by focusing on group life steal and group aggro. Since this will single the player out as an informal "archenemy" it also includes sub-theme mechanics to give incentives to attack other players and increase cost to attack you.

Queen Marchesa gives us the monarch mechanic which in turn gives a free card draw at upkeep and if you do lose monarch status then someone else will be a target for combat. The hasty deathtouch assassin tokens generated by her when not monarch will give good value as well. Her low casting cost means she can come out reliably and often.

I've focused on group life steal effects as the main theme with cards that amplify this effect. Shadowmoor block "doubling cycle" cards like Boon Reflection and Wound Reflection speed things up nicely and Exquisite Blood combos with Cliffhaven Vampire or Vizkopa Guildmage. In a multiplayer game (my playgroup usually plays 4-6 player free-for-all) this can quickly get you tons of life. It won't perform as quickly in 1v1 or 1v1v1.

Sub-theme mechanics such as myriad will allow you to attack everyone at once and melee will pump your attackers when you attack multiple opponents. Sadly, myriad tokens don't effect melee bonuses since they came into play AFTER the declare blockers step, BUT the myriad tokens' comes-into-play abilities DO trigger. Multiple token generators like Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath and Skyline Despot give you beat sticks for melee pumping.

Another sub-theme is making it more costly to attack you. Ghostly Prison and Norn's Annex type effects will make it costly to attack you. Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts and Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs will also make you opponents think twice before attacking.

What do we do with all this life? Aetherflux Reservoir can one-shot most individual opponents at this point (even if they've been gaining life of their own). Sorin, Grim Nemesis can make ridiculous amounts of lifelink vampire tokens and Ajani, Caller of the Pride makes us as many cats. Most opponents' life totals will be so low at this point that you'll have multiple options for killing everyone in a single attack phase or a pumpable sorcery like Debt to the Deathless.

I've got a large Maybeboard for this deck and would love some advice on specific cards from THAT list that should have been main decked and which cards to take out to make room.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	6 years
Exclude colors	UG
Splash colors	R
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 47 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.91
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Haste, Cat 2/2 W, Copy Clone, Demon 5/5 B, Dragon 5/5 R, Emblem Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Ogre 3/3 R, Spirit 1/1 WB, Monarch Emblem, Vampire Knight 1/1 B