Need help: Mardu Control

Deck Help forum

Posted on Oct. 1, 2014, 7:58 p.m. by JakeHarlow

First of all, here's the link to the deck.

This is a straight-up control list. My win condition is Stormbreath Dragon with Sorin, Solemn Visitor playing a support role.

My main concerns are: Are my win conditions viable? Should I run Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker ? What's the verdict on Banishing Light vs Utter End ? Am I using the best control tools? Should I drop a pair of something to put another win-con on the main, like a pair of Brimaz, King of Oreskos ? Is the deck resilient enough? What is it weak to, and am I using my sideboard effectively?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I just ordered the pieces I don't have and I plan on running this list at FNM this week. And probably many subsequent FNMs. Thanks, T/O peoples.

Logos89 says... #2

Hi! I'm fairly new to the site and am glad you started the discussion, as I myself am building a Mardu control midrange deck as well:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/28-09-14-njO-mardu-control/

I'm not an authority on anything and am actually pretty new to standard (play a lot of EDH), but I've probably put between 20 and 30 hours play testing my deck, taking things out, adding them in, and I too am always looking for advice.

"Are my win conditions viable?"

Your mainboard / sideboard looks kind of like mine in the pool of cards we're playing around with. I personally feel like I'm having a hard time keeping board pressure with a lot of what I try, especially against mono green devotion decks and such.

"Should I run Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker ?"

I like him sideboard against control / midrange decks if you've locked down their threats and can swing away. If you are having a less than optimal hand against an aggro deck however, he's one of the last things I want to draw. Something else of note as well is that since you're playing control, depending on your current match up, his ult may or may not even be useful for you. You may be needing to hold onto cards in your hand for certain things on the field to happen, and the last thing you need to deal with is a forced discard.

"What's the verdict on Banishing Light vs Utter End ?"

I prefer Utter End in my main deck because it's more well rounded, even though it's more expensive mana wise. Some decks are just nicely set up to deal with Banishing Lights. For those that aren't, it's a nice sideboard in and just a cheaper version of utter end.

"Am I using the best control tools?"

Maybe consider running 3 mardu charms / 3 crackling doom. I've lost a couple of games where my buddy played a sphinx or other hexproof thing and I was just wishing I could make him sacrifice his creature. Also hilarious to use on your opponent if he +1's a Sarkhan.

"Should I drop a pair of something to put another win-con on the main"

I worry about you using Sorin maindeck with so few creatures to be honest. Nothing sucks worse than facing a tense board state, with no creatures in hand and you draw Sorin. If I use a plainswalker, I prefer Elspeth as a "threat" since her power ramps the longer she's on field, Sarkhan as a threat / control hybrid, and Sorin as a "game clincher".

"Is the deck resilient enough?"

I feel that against aggro decks, your deck needs more pressure (your sideboard will be good for this). You can run them out of gas pretty easily with your control, but it might take you a while to do something offensive to them and clinch the game, at which time they can regroup and double down again. Mono green devotion is the biggest problem I'm having right now, since cards like Nissa will punish you really really hard for not having a board state.

"What is it weak to, and am I using my sideboard effectively?"

In general I think this color combination is pretty strong against aggro thanks to anger of the gods into end hostilities, with lots of options to deal with targets that need to be exiled rather than just merely killed.

In my playtesting I seem to do pretty well against midrange decks that stall and play 1 or 2 big creatures every turn as their win con, or attack with plainswalkers such as Sarkhan, since we have all the time in the world to respond to his shenanigans.

Where I've seen my deck really really struggle is with two cases:

Control midrange decks with lots of draw, but sideboarding in aggro style as you are could be pretty efficient at dealing with that, I haven't looked too much at my sideboard yet.

Mono green devotion. Nissa especially is a nightmare. Lack of board pressure hurts, lack of blue counter really really hurts. I've toyed with injecting aggro against that matchup but their creature toughness is immense, I've toyed with going hyper control and getting what I don't like out of hand, but Cursor of Kruphix with fetchlands is filter power not to be underestimated.

An ambivalent case I've seen to be a fair enough matchup is Jeskai tempo / burn. I can keep the board, but one thing I've been having trouble with is when I have answers for their board, but no board state of my own, they just burn spell me. I don't run blue, so I can't counter it, and "most" of the lifegain cards in white just aren't worth taking a deck spot (save nyxfleece ram, need to test those sideboard), but one thing I'm experimenting with now is taking out some stormbreath dragons for archangels for the life reset.

Anyway, best of luck with your deck! I subscribed to this thread so I can hopefully see what kinds of things you find out at FNM! I'm also taking my decklist to my local cardshop this Friday to see what other's experiences have been and take notes, so if I find out some interesting stuff I'll come back and post! :)

October 1, 2014 9:15 p.m.

JakeHarlow says... #3

Logos89: Thanks for the exhaustive reply! I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I think your point about not having a board state is especially relevant. I need more threats on the main. Very often I shut down the board, but I don't get a threat of my own until 2 or 3 turns later, which can really mess up my ability to clinch a game, as you've noted.

Sorin, Solemn Visitor was my walker from the box I opened this Monday, and that's why I'm going with him in the list. I think he'll get better if I put more creatures on the mainboard. Perhaps Brimaz, King of Oreskos will work well. Taking out 3 of the Banishing Light , siding in the 2 Brimaz and one Utter End . Might work well. I think you are right about Crackling Doom , too. I'll probably want an extra one for certain matchups, so I'll put one on the side in the future. I don't think I can in good conscience drop a Mardu Charm , since the abilities are all so deliciously relevant for control.

So:

Main

Side

How do these alterations seem to you? Also, I was wondering what your thoughts are on draw engines for this sort of deck. Erebos, God of the Dead is the only repeatable card for this. Then there's Sign in Blood , which I'm currently running as a 3-of, and Read the Bones . Does this deck even need a draw engine? If it does, which of these three options seem best, and what combination or quantity should be run?

Thanks again for the response. I'll go ahead and follow you and add you as a friend on here! Let's help each other with this build as the Standard metagame develops. I'll be sure to post my results every week.

October 1, 2014 9:52 p.m.

Logos89 says... #4

"How do these alterations seem to you?"

Pretty good, playtest lots Friday and tell me how they seem to you! :)

"Also, I was wondering what your thoughts are on draw engines for this sort of deck. Erebos, God of the Dead is the only repeatable card for this. Then there's Sign in Blood , which I'm currently running as a 3-of, and Read the Bones . Does this deck even need a draw engine? If it does, which of these three options seem best, and what combination or quantity should be run?"

About Erebos, I don't think Erebos is in general terrible. I do feel that, especially in a format of fetch / pain lands / thoughtseize, paying 2 life / mana for a single card feels a bit steep. Since we're not straight aggro / devotion, I also feel that some of erebos' potential may be wasted. My gut tells me Erebos might be safer in a black devotion deck with Gray Merchants, or a deck that runs blue to help deal with rampant burn spells.

I've seen lots of discussions about signed in blood vs read the bones. What it boils down to is a question of if we want to pay the 1 more mana to scry before we draw, and if the 2 black symbols vs 1 black symbol are important to us. After thinking about it some, I feel that read the bones is good against strong early game match ups like aggro red / devotion green, due to its more flexible mana cost and more powerful filtering power (That feeling when you NEED an anger of the gods...).

However in later game, that 1 more mana may hurt more when we have a variety of mana on the field already. We may need something to play and that 1 mana could be the difference between playing it this turn and next turn, which is huge. What I will say is that my deck feels more consistent and "answer-ready" if I run 4 draw cards instead of 2, and as to which ones, I guess I prefer read the bones for aggro, signed in blood for control / midrange.

Unfortunately though, I feel that draw cards don't alter a deck enough to warrant sideboarding in one type over another, taking up valuable spots, and I don't have a magic formula on how many of what kind should be used. Board presence and card draw are actually the two things I'm trying to pin point on for this week's testing. Oh, and Lilliana. I want so bad to try to sneak in a Lilliana.

"Thanks again for the response. I'll go ahead and follow you and add you as a friend on here! Let's help each other with this build as the Standard metagame develops. I'll be sure to post my results every week."

Sure thing! I'm really excited about trying these colors with, and more people to run ideas with makes testing a lot easier! :D

October 1, 2014 10:41 p.m.

LordJello says... #5

Hey Guys!

Please let me know how your decks perform on Friday. I've been brewing a Mardu Control deck as well.

I won't be able to make FNM this week, but I'll update the deck with results as often as I can.

Here's the deck

deck chart

Mardu Problem Solver Playtest

Standard LordJello

SCORE: 0 | 7 COMMENTS | 298 VIEWS

October 2, 2014 4:21 p.m.

JakeHarlow says... #6

Sounds good, LordJello! I'll be sure to post regular updates. :)

October 2, 2014 5:04 p.m.

This discussion has been closed