Mardu Ascendancy

Enchantment

Whenever a nontoken creature you control attacks, put a 1/1 red goblin creature token onto the battlefield tapped and attacking.

Sacrifice Mardu Ascendancy: Creatures you control get +0/+3 until end of turn.

Combos

• Birds of Paradise + Doran, the Siege Tower + Mardu Ascendancy

Tokens

• Goblin 1/1 R

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (47)

Crow-Umbra on War crimes

2 months ago

I think a way that you can keep your Exalted theme, but still work around an inherent drawback of the strategy is to retool a bit and run creatures with Myriad or "when this creature attacks, create tokens that are tapped and attacking".

Token creatures that are created from Myriad, or that enter tapped and attacking are never declared as attackers, so Exalted will still trigger as intended. This essentially lets you punch one player with the Exalted creature, and still send stuff at your other opponents. Because Myriad is an attack trigger, you also get an extra Myriad token creature copies attacking your other opponents.

There are 14 cards in Mardu that could work here. A few notable ones:

• Genasi Enforcers

• Hammers of Moradin - A personal favorite for my Isshin deck. Hammers could be really helpful to open up attacking lanes for your Exalted creature.

• Battle Angels of Tyr - Not budget, but also not outright busted. It can help create mana acceleration, draw, and gain life, but in my experience playing Battle Angels, it feels more like playing "catch up".

• Elturel Survivors

Some fun creatures that create tokens on attack:

• Skyknight Vanguard

• Hanweir Garrison  ^Meld

• Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin - Exalted will increase his token production

• Mardu Ascendancy

• Squee, Dubious Monarch

None of these cards are inherently optimized, except for maybe Battle Angels, but I think they could all add some extra spice to what you're already trying to accomplish.

Worrad75 on Attack-harmonicon

2 months ago

we back baby, lots of changes:

**Sardian Avenger IN

Ashnod's Altar OUT**

I've had really good experiences so far with Devilish Valet, and so I'm adding another cheap, scaling threat that can really rack up the damage at any stage of the game. It synergizes fantastically with pieces like Shadowspear and Duelist's Heritage, introduces a bit of treasure hate, and even shuts off some combos. I love that it scales with the power level of the table, and I expect it to overperform for 2 mana. On the other hand, Ashnod's has underperformed. Without consistent token producers (of which there are only a handful of in the deck), this often feels like 3 mana do-nothing, and it being one of only a select handful of non-mana artifacts in the deck means its even more likely to eat non-creature removal.

**Goblin Motivator and Bloodlust Inciter IN

Ogre Battledriver and Dowsing Dagger  ^Flip OUT**

I found myself craving more haste enablers in the deck and Ogre Battledriver seems to be too big of a lightning rod, which is fair because it can end games with the right setup. I've opted for cheaper, lower to the ground options that are less likely to eat targeted removal. They won't pump a team of incoming tokens off of Mardu Ascendancy or Hero of Bladehold, but they will come down faster and have impact over many more turns than the ogre would normally be allowed to live. I did enjoy playing with Dowsing Dagger  ^Flip but it feels counter-intuitive to lean into haste and also give out blockers.

**Battle Angels of Tyr IN

Rabble Rousing OUT**

Myriad is fun, cool, and good. Turns out, its even better when you make twice as many tokens. For 4 mana, you get 26 flying power per turn with Isshin out, and potentially 2 card draws and 2 treasures to top it off (you likely wont get the lifegain trigger). The nail in the coffin for Rabble Rousing is that the tokens don't come in tapped and attacking. That downside combined with the whiff potential means that the card feels clunky at times. It was also overkill for the synergies that it was hoping to lean into for card draw (Welcoming Vampire and Tocasia's Welcome), so overall it only felt like we were unlocking the true potential of this card in magical-christmas-land with Skullclamp and Ashnod's Altar.

**Laelia, the Blade Reforged IN

Welcoming Vampire OUT**

Given that we're downsizing on the overall number of token-focused cards (and adding [battle angels of tyr]), [welcoming vampire] seems like a natural candidate to take out for [Laelia]. A guarenteed 2 cards a turn is better than (maybe) 1 card a turn, even if it means making your creature a lightning rod.

**Skyhunter Strike Force IN

Nadaar, Selfless Paladin OUT**

If I was willing to pay 5 mana to give the whole team melee with Adriana, Captain of the Guard, then I will absolutely double up on the effect on a 2/2 flying body for 3 mana. PSA: instances of melee stack, so Isshin + both of these = +12/+12 to each creature that attacks. Nadaar is a solid value piece, but getting to attack with him twice without him getting killed feels more like a gamble than a guarantee, so he's getting pulled out for the moment. Note that this makes Triumphant Adventurer the sole venture card left in the deck, so if I need space for another 2 drop that might be where I go.

Worrad75 on Attack-harmonicon

3 months ago

Reposting but with proper hyperlinks

IN:

Mardu Ascendancy

As previously mentioned, this card is nuts.

Mother of Runes

double wammy of helping us get in for damage or protecting our key pieces from removal

Swift Reconfiguration

1 mana ultra flexible spell. Protect your piece from a creature removal or board wipe. Blank a single attacker by removing it from combat. If you haven't tried it already, try this card. It will save your ass.

Audacious Thief

Need card draw, its as simple as that.

Azra Oddsmaker

There's usually a card in my hand that I dont mind discarding to draw 2. This deck naturally wants to get through for damage, but if this underperforms I could see it getting cut.

Blessed Hippogriff

Rare example of an innocuous card that impresssed me in draft that I want to try in constructed play. 1 mana protection for a key piece, which then gives you a solid flying body that helps smaller threats stay relevant in the mid- to late-game. 2-for-1 that fits the theme.

Aggravated Assault

This is the best extra combat spell available, and its not close. There's a handful of attack-based treasure token creators in the deck, so this can go infinite/semi infinite with relative ease.

Dowsing Dagger  ^Flip

I've always thought this card looked sick, so I'm testing it. Not super psyched about giving my opponents blockers, but here we are.

Shadowspear

This deck draws a LOT of ire at the table once it gets going. I have found that the lifegain on Mishra, Claimed by Gix  ^Meld has been an allstar if I'm racing other aggressive decks, so I want to add another effect that can help. Shadowspear also adds utility as this deck is a bit low on trample, and the hexproof/indestructible silver bullet is bound to come up.

OUT:

Moraug, Fury of Akoum, Port Razer, and Response / Resurgence

I am an extra combats enjoyer. That being said, these particular effects seem clunky after testing. Port Razer needs haste enabling and evasion in order to unlock its full potential, which is a high bar to clear for a 5 drop (and if I have those things ready, I'm probably already in a good position). Moroug is a tougher cut, but this deck just simply isn't built to take full advantage of repeated land ETB. Response//Resurgence was the hardest cut, and might be coming back in the future; the flexibility has been excellent in testing.

Pitiless Plunderer

This was by far my worst card in terms of ceiling-to-floor ratio. High end was having this plus a sac outlet and a ton of tokens. Low end was 4 mana for a 1/4. It feels too reliant on me drawing other specific pieces.

Company Commander + Myrel, Shield of Argive

The soldier tribal dream will live on, just not here. Both of these (in particular Myrel) are 4 drops that feel too slow without external setup

MOVED TO SIDE BOARD:

I have moved 3 cards to sideboard because I don't have the physical cards yet, and therefore haven't gotten to play test them yet:

-> Anger

-> Laelia, the Blade Reforged

-> Cursed Mirror

Crow-Umbra on Attack-harmonicon

4 months ago

I think you could probably swap Mardu Ascendancy in over Duelist's Heritage. I had Duelist's Heritage in one of the earliest versions of my deck. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, but my friends quickly stopped taking up my offers of Double Strike lol.

Ascendancy also has that upside of the defensive buff if needed.

Worrad75 on Attack-harmonicon

4 months ago

OUT: Tibalt's Trickery

Good card, wrong deck for the moment. Could possibly slide back in if the deck feels powerful and I start playing against more powerful strategies.

Duke Ulder Ravengard

such fun, much cmc. Gleeock was right; its too expensive.

IN: Myrel, Shield of Argive

Pulled one recently, and I think I'm going to refocus the build slightly on token creation. The Grand Abolisher effect is gravy. pairs well with Company Commander

Skyknight Vanguard

One of our better cheap creature token creators, and the flying makes the floor significantly higher than at first glance

CONSIDERING:

Mardu Ascendancy

This has gotta be amazing in a tokens build. The sac is a sneakily strong instant-speed effect (likely to go unnoticed), and it can be recurred with Sun Titan. Just not sure what to take out for it; hit me with some suggestions! My initial thought is Duelist's Heritage, which is sad because I love that card.

Last_Laugh on Isshin - Tokens

5 months ago

Mardu Ascendancy is probably the best token production for this deck.

Adeline, Resplendent Cathar spits out 6 tokens at once.

Squee, Dubious Monarch is weaker token production but is immediate thanks to built in haste.

Captain's Claws is another good token producer here.

Plumb the Forbidden and Emberwilde Captain are both excellent budget friendly card draw here. The rest of draw in these colors can be a bit pricier (unless you go the Read the Bones route which is budget friendly but much weaker draw), but I'd recommend a few like Mangara, the Diplomat and Cunning Rhetoric.

Feel free to check out my list for ideas. Upvotes on any of my decks are appreciated. Isshin - Army of Darkness

Crow-Umbra on Musashi's Mosh Pit [Primer]

5 months ago

Thank you for the suggestions CommanderNeyo, also cool user name. Kind of a shame we didn't see more of Commander Neyo in later seasons of Clone Wars.

You have some pretty interesting suggestions, mixed in with a couple of cards I have played before. I'll do my best to address my thoughts on each. Of your suggested cards, I do have Breena, the Demagogue & Mardu Ascendancy in my obnoxiously convoluted Maybe List. A long response for a long post:

• Mardu Ascendancy has been on my radar since the earliest days of this deck's creation. I agree that it could fit right on, but haven't been able to decide what to swap it for.

• Breena, the Demagogue used to be in earlier versions of this deck. I swapped it out for Tymna the Weaver a few months ago. I think I swapped it out because there are 2 Breena decks in my meta that I play against semi-regularly, and I wanted to cut down on potential confusion with multi-Breenas out. Agreed though, I have had rotations in the past where I'd draw multiple cards. Might revisit this and swap Tymna back out, especially since Professional Face-Breaker fills a similar function as Tymna.

• Fiery Emancipation is cool, but I'm a bit more inclined to play that in something like Tor Wauki the Younger, which is more pinger damage focused. The triple color pip investment is not my favorite for 3 color decks. Cool card though, I can definitely see the value as a rec.

• Dismantling Wave and Wear / Tear - I've been running both of them in my 99 for this deck since its inception more or less. I like removal options that are versatile, and/or can hit multiple targets at once without necessarily being a wipe. I like both cards. Dismantling Wave feels helpful and relevant each time I've played it, & usually takes care of at least one value engine per board.

• Death Tyrant is an admittedly funky inclusion. Definitely a more experimental and flex spot that I've changed around the most over the past 10 months. I do play in a pretty token heavy, go-wide meta. I frequently play against the likes of Jetmir, Nexus of Revels, Xyris, the Writhing Storm, Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver, Chatterfang, Squirrel General, and Krenko, Mob Boss. I've seen Death Tyrant pop off for the Wilhelt deck. I've tempered my expectations that it would do a fraction of that here. Definitely a spot I could try something else. Possible landing spot for Mardu Ascendancy?

• Boros Charm is great. I liked it a lot in my Osgir, the Reconstructor deck when it was still built. I think between Teferi's Protection, Akroma's Will, and Flawless Maneuver I feel pretty decent on instant speed protection. Definitely something I've considered, especially with the other modal options. I love modal spells lol.

• Ramp overall feels fairly solid. Admittedly, I don't like the Signets as much because of the activation cost. My deck is fairly low to the ground, and rarely have felt the need for it. Zhentarim Bandit and Captain Lannery Storm can really gas things up with 1-2 swings each. Each time I've played Sword of the Animist, I wasn't the biggest threat until a couple turns later, and most of my Basics are on board now.

• Austere Command is a top end removal option I've gone back and forth on. I recently added Ruinous Ultimatum to the deck as my top end nuclear option. It sat in my hand during a game I played this past weekend where I had the 7 mana, but one of the mana generators was Liquimetal Torque lol. On paper, I like Ruinous Ultimatum as a problem solver, but am not a fan of the very specific color pip investment.

• Segue to Liquimetal Torque - I run it in most of my decks as just a rock. There's been a couple of occasions where I was able to turn something into an artifact when a Vandalblast went off. Not often, but still cool to know the option is there.

• Guild Artisan and Veteran Soldier - I honestly hadn't considered them at all. I don't attack with Isshin often. The times I do, he's wearing Boots or Greaves, Dolmen Gate or Iroas are on board, or I have some kind of protection in hand ready to go. I try not to risk him in combat if I don't have to.

• Combat Calligrapher was in one of the earliest versions of the deck that had more "pillow" effects like Marchesa's Decree. I played it once or twice, but my opponents would swing with it a couple times to get their Inklings, then kill the Calligrapher so they could then attack me with the creatures I gave them. One of the aforementioned Breena decks in my meta runs Calligrapher. They have had similar things happen to them lmao.

CommanderNeyo on Musashi's Mosh Pit [Primer]

5 months ago

I have a deck with a similar playstyle, but I went with Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh and Tymna the Weaver as the commanders.

I think you should seriously look at Mardu Ascendancy, since it has the potential to generate you a ton of tokens (on top of having some built-in protection).

Another card I would recommend taking out of the Maybeboard is Breena, the Demagogue. She has worked extremely well for me, and she will easily draw you four cards in one turn all the while buffing your creatures into large threats.

I also think that Fiery Emancipation is a great card, and worth a consideration. The triple-damage easily ends games on the spot, and is a huge swing not many people are prepared for.

How is Dismantling Wave working for you? I like that it hits all opponents, but seems a bit pricey for artifact/enchantment removal. I run Wear / Tear instead, but might give Wave more of a look.

Death Tyrant seems fairly mana-intensive for its effect, does your meta run a lot of token decks?

Surprised not to see Boros Charm here. I would definitely give it a look, it has personally saved me more than once!

For ramp, I see you don't have any of the traditional signets (Boros Signet, Rakdos Signet, Orzhov Signet). Do you feel as though you have enough ramp already? Also, how has Liquimetal Torque worked out for you? I have considered it in the past, but never knew how often its ability would be useful.

Because your creatures are low to the ground, have you considered Austere Command?

Have you considered some of the backgrounds, namely Guild Artisan and Veteran Soldier? Artisan will generate you four treasures, and Veteran will generate 6 tokens.

Have you also considered Combat Calligrapher? Every swing will generate you a good amount of tokens, and it lures your enemies into attacking each other.

My apologies for the long post, but I hope it is helpful!