Queen Marchesa: Politics, Aikido, and Control

Commander / EDH* precociousapprentice

SCORE: 742 | 914 COMMENTS | 201517 VIEWS | IN 405 FOLDERS

Rivals of Ixalan first thoughts, and some changes. —Jan. 16, 2018

First, I am pretty excited about Rivals of Ixalan. There are several cool cards in this set. After review, probably the only card that will for sure be trialled in this deck is Mastermind's Acquisition. That card is perfect for this deck. It is both a tutor and access to the wishboard. Awesome. The only question is, with the addition of another tutor, do I really need Diabolic Tutor in the wishboard? We shall see. I think I have used the Diabolic Tutor once, instead choosing another card in the wishboard. This points to the fact that the wishboard has the answers that I need for the most part. That being said, I have never used the Morningtide or Oketra's Last Mercy in the wishboard, so there is probably room. With the addition of Mastermind's Acquisition, I could expand to card types other than Sorceries as well. Maybe a bomb creature wincon or something.

Second, I have been contemplating adding another way to use my opponents' decks against them. It came to me when I was about to win the game by stealing a Liege of the Tangle with Act of Aggression when it was suddenly Putrefy'd. I realized that if I had an Animate Dead or Reanimate, I could win anyway. I started paying attention, and was pleasantly surprised how often I could really change the game with either the Animate Dead or the Reanimate by taking someone's stuff. I also realized that my game would change with a little reanimation. Selfless Squire, Kazuul, Gisela, and Master of Cruelties are all basically just about as good from the graveyard even with a -1/0 adjustment, and each of those are serious targets for removal. Being able to reuse them or even cheat them into play could be extremely useful. I think I want to add these in to see how it goes.

After considering a suggestion by BX223Hunter, I think I am going to revisit Grab the Reins. It would add the possibility of sacrificing my Academy Rector to proactively use it as a tutor instead of mostly just threatening the chump block for value. It is slightly more expensive, but I frequently pay 4-5 for Act of Aggression anyway, so this is not much of a change, and adds a little flexibility.

I have also realized that I have limited ability to take out problem lands. I think I am going to add back in my Strip Mine.

There are also a couple of cards that are not paying off like I had hoped. Ogre Slumlord occasionally pumps out a couple of 1/1 deathtouch rats, but it is often slow, the Slumlord himself is pretty fragile, and after removal of the Slumlord, those rats are just chump blockers without deathtouch. It is just ok. Treasure Map is relatively slow, and while it gives you something to do with an occasional untapped mana, it was not very impactful. Last, Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion rarely gets used. I think I would get more mileage out of another utility land, or potentially even some other multicolored land.

Finally, I am revisiting the wishboard cards some. Exsanguinate and Insurrection make for great creature based and noncreature wincons. Austere Command and Hour of Revelation are boardwipes beyond compare, and Vindicate is surgical removal. Yawgmoth's Will and Wheel of Fortune give a lot of game utility. Oketra's Last Mercy is a saving grace that seems great, but I have never used it. Morningtide looks less useful given some of the other deck changes. Diabolic Tutor is less useful after I have basically added it into the main deck in the form of Mastermind's Acquisition. I could also use another wincon or two that would come out of nowhere and that does not depend on combat or large mana to pull off.

So now the changes:

Treasure Map -> Mastermind's Acquisition

Ogre Slumlord -> Animate Dead

Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion -> Scavenger Grounds (suggested by Suns_Champion)

Act of Aggression -> Grab the Reins (suggested by BX223Hunter)

Swamp -> Strip Mine

Morningtide -> Reanimate

Oketra's Last Mercy -> Approach of the Second Sun

Diabolic Tutor -> Twilight Prophet

These changes deepen my access to the wishboard and strengthen my protection vs graveyard antics, patch a hole that I realized I have, add another modal spell, add another draw spell to the wishboard, all while adding another alternative wincon and a couple of ways to take other people's stuff and kill them with it. Seems very productive. I will let you know how these all turn out.