Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser

Legendary Creature — Human Detective

Vigilance

Whenever Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser attacks, suspect target creature. Then goad all suspected creatures. (A suspected creature has menace and can't block. Until your next turn, goaded creatures attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.)

Whenever one or more creatures an opponent controls deal combat damage to one or more of your opponents, you and the controller of those creatures each draw a card.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (16)

Crow_Umbra on Nightmare Blunt Rotation (WIP)

2 weeks ago

No prob! I will preface that most of my experience with Goad primarily comes from the Mardu slice of the options available. In case you want to look at a more comprehensive list of the various Goad options in all colors.

From my own personal experience, I'd recommend the following:

• Bothersome Quasit - Fairly low to the ground & not color intensive for your deck. Also helps open up aggro lanes for additional chaos.

• The Sound of Drums - I'd recommend something like this or Ghoulish Impetus, which can both be replayed, while the other Impetus cards are kinda one & done once the creature they're on dies.

• Disrupt Decorum - A pretty classic & budget option.

• Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser - She can Suspect/Goad creatures repeatedly as long as she sticks around. Her draw ability also incentivizes and rewards your opponents to smack each other, which can play into that chaotic feeling.

• Vengeful Ancestor - Another repeatable Goad option

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant - Opens up aggro lanes and also forcibly rewards/incentivizes your opponents to attack each other.

• Taunt from the Rampart

---

They're all pretty fun options to try out. If you ever want to build a straight up Goad deck, I highly recommend giving Nelly Borca a try, she's a lot of fun.

Veghelia on Combat Superiority

2 months ago

Hey Crow_Umbra, sorry for the radio silence. Become a bit more busy with non-MTG stuff, so I got less time for brewing, sadly.

"Support" suspicions are just going to be part of playing this deck, so I've accepted that's going to be something I'm gonna run into. I do mostly play with a relatively consistent group of friends (read: like 5 different groups, some with some overlapping players, but all with similar vibes), and they do look at me with suspicion, but are most of the time greedy enough that they'll take advantage of my almost-symmetrical support cards. If they ever choose to destroy them or otherwise turn them off for the others, that tends to draw the table's ire, so most of the time they don't unless everyone agrees they're becoming an issue, in which case I can hardly blame them. I'm currently still mostly feeling that I'm going to try to leave goad out of it as much as possible, safe for a few choice cards (Taunt from the Rampart hasn't shined yet, but I'm feeling it will at some point).

Alright, now on to the card discussions.

• I'm leaving Xantcha, Sleeper Agent and Emberwilde Captain in the maybeboard. Your arguments are very valid, but I do feel like the don't vibe enough with the "support" idea.

• I had Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser in my deck before and removed her, because she's an odd play. With my lack of goad or other ways to force attacks, I have very little control over the amount of cards I draw with her, if I draw any. I imagine she'd work great as a commander, since you can reliably have her on the field in the early to mid game, where plenty of people attack each other, but I think she does a lot worse as a late-game topdeck.

• Kambal, Profiteering Mayor feels like a "one step too far" kinda card. If my entire point was to give my opponents tokens, then he'd be amazing, but I feel like he's going to not do anything far too often (although I will admit that I don't quite now how often my playgroups play tokens).

• Master Warcraft has one mayor flaw that I'm pretty sure a good chunk of my playgroup will notice: I can force an attack, but I can't force them to not attack me, and my playgroups are spiteful enough that that is exactly what will happen :P

• Batwing Brume is interesting. It's going on the maybeboard for now, since I'm not sure if the problem it fixes is one I run into all that often, but it does feel like a beautiful blindside.

Currently, Ghostly Prison and Brutal Hordechief are most likely going to be in the next version.

Besides that, I'm reviewing:

1. The beaters I have in the deck, since they don't feel strong enough. It's not like I didn't know Skysovereign, Consul Flagship and Tajic, Blade of the Legion weren't the best in slot, but the little hope I had for them has been dashed.
2. Different graveyard hate (I'm recently formed the opinion that Bojuka Bog really only works in a lands deck), and Kutzil's Flanker is currently my most considered option.
3. Lands and ramp. Thran Dynamo was way better when Endbringer was going to be a part of the deck, and the deck feels too color-heavy to run it otherwise. Similar thoughts about the pain-lands. Also, I've adopted the "Chromatic Lantern is bad" position.

Crow_Umbra on Queen Marchesa Monarch EDH (needs help)

2 months ago

Hey there, I saw your deck title and wanted to offer some general suggestions after taking a quick look over your deck. Since it seems like you don't have a particular budget, I'm going to offer some different options with that in mind. Have you had a chance to play this deck irl, and are there aspects of it that felt most fun, or inconsistent to you? Some general suggestions:

• I'm seeing about 5 cards that have everyone vote, and 2 that give you additional votes. This seems like a really small subtheme that I think you could cut all 7 cards if you aren't super tied to them.

• In regards to your early game ramp, I think you could swap out your Orzhov/Boros/Rakdos Signets or 3-mana rocks for stuff like Talisman of Hierarchy and the others in Mardu colors.

• If you end up replacing the Voting cards, I'd highly recommend adding some Goad to your deck, especially since Mardu has a lot of awesome Goad support. It's hard for your opponents to become Monarch if they can only hit each other.

Goad Support

I figured I'd list out the recommendations here since there's a decent chunk of stuff that you could swap in. I've played with all of these cards at some point in decks I currently own, or used to play:

Creatures

• Bothersome Quasit

• Kardur, Doomscourge - Excellent, especially if you can recur him or blink him somehow.

• Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser - Although she rewards your opponents with draw, it helps to incentivize attacking each other, even if their stuff isn't Goaded.

• Vengeful Ancestor - A means of getting repeatable Goad.

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant - Similar line of thinking as Nelly, but it a bit more mean.

• Death Kiss

Non-Creature spells

• Disrupt Decorum

• Taunt from the Rampart

I'd recommend checking out EDHRec Mardu Goad page to see some common picks for decks with this theme. I think this could be a helpful resource for potential swaps that are still on theme with what Marchesa wants to do.

Crow_Umbra on Best color for this type …

2 months ago

My main play group runs various flavors of Goad, or combat manipulation (we love swinging at each other). Why swing at other people, when you can force them to hit each other? A few suggestions off the top of my head:

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant/Kardur, Doomscourge - Either of these could be the commander of the deck. Karazikar simultaneously incentivizes and punishes your opponents for smacking each other. Playing in Red/Black also opens up access to all the direct burn stuff in Red, as well as attack trigger group slug like Hellrider, Vicious Conquistador, or Far Fortune, End Boss.

• Breena, the Demagogue - Help your opponents draw cards from hitting each other. The access to white also gives you plenty of options for the Ghostly Prison effects in white, plus its suite of removal.

• Gonti, Night Minister is a new option that could also slot into the 99 of some of the other commanders mentioned above. The theft aspects will likely draw the ire of the table, but if everyone is stealing from everyone...

• Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos or Slicer, Hired Muscle  ^Flip- You could donate a big Voltron threat around the table and make the table kill each other for you. One of my friends runs Alexios, and it feels like a game of hot potato with Voltron damage. Technically, you're not the one hitting people.

• Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser can Goad your opponents creatures, but also rewards your opponents for hitting each other. You can Goad everyone while hiding behind the Ghostly Prison/Propaganda effects.

• Isshin, Two Heavens as One can be built as a combat control deck, since he checks the attack triggers on most stuff I previously mentioned, and house those all in his 99. Additionally you can run stuff like Lightmine Field and Caltrops.

• The Lord of Pain is a lot of fun to play as a commander, and to play against. Maybe my friends and I are just masochists. A couple of my friends run the Lord of Pain as a commander, and typically play it very politically, where they "donate" the option to target the damage. You don't have to swing, and can run all the burn and damage multipliers to your heart's content.

Crow_Umbra on Combat Superiority

3 months ago

Glad to chat about the suggestions and get a better understanding of your deck building goals. I wouldn't consider it sparring, as I don't see myself in any kind of opposition to you lol.

Your approach to this deck as combat support is interesting and unique. The Isshin decks that are most adjacent to this tend to run Goad and some of the symmetrical combat benefits you currently do, and maybe a few other control pieces like Caltrops or Lightmine Field. I think one of the inherent obstacles for playing "support" or Group Hug-adjacent strategies is that the rest of the table might be suspicious and expect you to pivot to benefiting the most at some point.

That last bit about "support" suspicions comes from my own experiences, and how my main play group tends to treat those types of strats when we play against them. The play pattern tends to be that everyone else races to benefit most, then turns off the symmetrical benefit to the rest of the table. Do you tend to play with a consistent group of friends or LGSs with randos? I think the consistency of your play group can be another big factor to how much you can politic and have your support be accepted. Offer the carrot first, then beat them with the stick if they don't want to eat.

I won't go through your card feedback line by line, but they all make sense as to why you do or don't like them. Slicer and the other Transformers are cards that I want to like more, but aesthetically also get bugged by. Hoping for some kind of Universes Within reprints at some point.

• Xantcha, I get it, but she can also be gifted to whoever is the current table Arch Enemy. She can be a means for everyone else to take that player down a few notches while evening out the game a bit. How you use her doesn't have to villainous in that sense. "See everyone, I'm giving you all card draw and a means of hitting the actual table villain".

• Emberwilde Captain is one of those pieces that I initially had in my Isshin deck, but quickly cut it. It deterred attacks for a bit. In the end, I think I wanted something more proactive in that slot.

• Since you're already running Karazikar and Breena, I'd recommend giving Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser a look to round out that suite of "support". I run her as a commander, and she's a lot of fun in the command zone, often the first deck I'll play each session to get the juices flowing. Donated card draw tends to be a popular incentive in my more aggro-leaning play group. Possible swap with Sophina, since Clues can get mana intensive to draw from?

• I'd recommend checking out Kambal, Profiteering Mayor, also to kind fit in the flavor you're going for as a "broker"/"mafioso". He is an awesome way to passively benefit from whatever token shenanigans are happening around the table.

• Totally understandable with Hellrider and Hordechief. I wouldn't include them unless you pivot to having more token generation as your "Plan B" in case the combat support isn't working out.

• In line with the Hellrider and Hordechief lines of reasoning for current exclusion, I'd think that all your Battalion creatures might be worth a reexamination if you aren't really planning on going wide with your current build.

• Although Boros Battleshaper is likely on its way out, have you seen Master Warcraft? It's not a creature with a repeatable effect, but kinda has a similar effect for what you were going for.

• Last recommendation I can think of is Batwing Brume. This is an old favorite of mine, and can be a fun interaction piece to hold up if someone turns their token horde at you.

I appreciate your detailed response. Happy to continue chatting about this if you're ever up for it.

Crow_Umbra on Snake squad

4 months ago

Yo, I saw your post on the front page asking about suggestions for edits. All in all, I think your creature base is pretty cohesive. I have plenty of Goad decks in my main play group, and run one myself (Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser). Some suggestions I have:

• I think that stuff like Kederekt Parasite and Razorkin Needlehead could be great ways to break parity on the draw that Karazikar will be giving your opponents.

• Vengeful Ancestor could be another means of repeatedly Goading creatures, especially if Karazikar isn't online yet.

• If Goad decks don't get focused, they end up playing into a 2nd or 3rd place position, unless you have a means off keeping heat and pivoting. This is especially true if it gets into a 1:1 situation.

• I think that No Mercy could also be another means of keeping heat off of you. Karazikar reads that you and drawing opponents lose life, which is different from dealing damage. I know this is a pricier option, but could make non-Goaded attackers reconsider heading at you.

• Last general suggestion would be to maybe switch a few of your Auras with a bit more instant speed interaction. This can definitely be tuned into your budget and meta. A little more creature removal to manage non-Goaded threats could be helpful.

Crow_Umbra on ....But it happens twice.

7 months ago

All good, happy to help a newer player. What you described sounds like some pretty common issues I encountered pretty early on with Isshin, and still occasionally encounter every so often. In regards to your different points:

1. I think you have a decent enough amount of ramp. I think a couple of things can help further in this regard: changing out your two Signets for other 2 mana rocks like Talisman of Indulgence, Talisman of Hierarchy, Fellwar Stone, and Arcane Signet. Additionally, I think you can change out your 3 mana rocks like Darksteel Ingot for the stuff I mentioned. I think also trimming some of your higher cost creatures can help. Keeping a low curve can help you redeploy faster, if most of your creatures are in the 1-4 mana range. Etali is fun, but it's super boom or bust.

2. Having a couple more instant speed options to help you against boardwipes can be a huge help. It's not really budget, but Clever Concealment is an excellent option, especially since you will likely have multiple creatures to help cast this with the Convoke mechanic. There are other instant speed "counters" like Tibalt's Trickery and Reprieve which can help.

3. I think Thorough Investigation can be swapped for either Tocasia's Welcome or Chivalric Alliance. It's kinda slow for draw, since you still have to pay mana into the Clue tokens to draw 1 card at a time. Not the most budget, but Skullclamp is an excellent & repeatable option that you can feed some of your 1/1 tokens to. I'd recommend adding in Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant, Firemane Commando, and Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser as swaps with your Etali, The Master, and Elder Brain. Those 3 are all splashy, but can sit in your hand if you don't have the mana for them, which relates to some of your mana issues. Nelly, Karazikar, & Firemane all work in conjunction with the Breena you already have in your 99, and can help (or force) aggro away from you.

I think you can and should put Iroas back in there. His Menace anthem also helps to make your board harder to block, which acts as an additional layer of protection. He can help close out games if you have a strong enough board state. I think you can maybe swap him for either Righteous Cause or Blade of Selves.

Some other potential swaps: Bankrupt in Blood can swap out for Deadly Dispute (Lower creature investment needed, instant speed, and nets a treasure). Generous Gift & Stroke of Midnight can swap with any of your more narrowly focused/highly specific removal. The tokens they gift your opponents are largely inconsequential. Soul Partition is another versatile option that can either protect one of your permanents, or (temporarily) remove a threat.

Lastly, I think you can swap Mardu Shadowspear, Pulse Tracker, and Vicious Conquistador for some the 3 creatures I mentioned in bullet 3. I think you're on the right track with their group slug effects, but as smaller 1/1s they are easily blocked and killed. Mostly suggesting this as alternative if you would prefer to keep your 3 higher end creatures I suggested as swaps.

I hope this is all helpful, my apologies for writing you an essay.

Crow_Umbra on Fight For Survival

8 months ago

Hi there, have you had a chance to play this deck irl at all yet? In terms of upgrades, is there any specific area you want to focus on first? Lastly, do you have a general budget in mind for upgrades?

The tricky thing with Mardu Humans is that there are a lot of great options available to these colors; especially Legendary humans. Some more general spitballing ideas that should be fairly budget friendly:

• Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge could maybe be a swap in over Captivating Crew. He has upside that helps your Legendary creatures, and can draw you some cards. Bonus points for being a creature that Alesha can recur.

• Plumb the Forbidden is a solid draw option in Aristocrats and token-focused decks. It's one of my favorite responses to board wipes in the decks that I run it in.

• Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon can be a solid option over maybe Perimeter Sergeant. She can balloon & spit out gnomes if left alone too long.

• Loran of the Third Path could be a potential swap out over Devout Chaplain. I think it depends on if you value an ETB removal source over one that is potentially repeatable, but needs more set up to pull off. Loran also opens up a more political draw option.

• Depending on your preference, but Morbid Opportunist, Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser, or Species Specialist could all be potential alternatives to Disciple of Bolas as draw options.

Hopefully these suggestions are helpful. Mardu Humans have so many great options available to different versions of the build archetype, that it can be hard to narrow down your options. Budget considerations can definitely help narrow down your options.