Dynamite and Laserbeams | Queen Marchesa

Commander / EDH Control Monarch Multiplayer Pillow Fort Primer RBW (Mardu) Value Engine

Icaruskid

Instant (20)

• 1x Angel's Grace
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Batwing Brume
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Comeuppance
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Darkness
• 1x Deflecting Swat
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Imp's Mischief
• 1x Kaya's Guile
• 1x Lapse of Certainty
• 1x Mandate of Peace
• 1x Rebuff the Wicked
• 1x Settle the Wreckage
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Tibalt's Trickery
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Damn
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Promise of Loyalty
• 1x Ruinous Ultimatum
• 1x Vanquish the Horde
• 1x Wrath of God

Enchantment (12)

• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Fighter Class
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Humility
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Leyline of the Void
• 1x No Mercy
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Revel in Riches
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Soul Snare
• 1x Underworld Breach

Artifact (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sunforger
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence
• 1x Wedding Ring

Creature (10)

• 1x Alms Collector
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Mangara, the Diplomat
• 1x Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
• 1x Moon-Blessed Cleric
• 1x Ophiomancer
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Wall of Omens

Land (37)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Brightclimb Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hall of Heliod's Generosity
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Pillarverge Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Plains
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Rugged Prairie
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Shattered Sanctum
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x Sunbaked Canyon
• 1x Sundown Pass
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Valakut Stoneforge  ^Flip
• 1x Vault of Champions

Commander (1)

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Maybeboard

Instant (1)

• 1x Plunge into Darkness

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Reconstruct History

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Blind Obedience

Creature (1)

• 1x Drannith Magistrate

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Intro

Pillowfort is a style that discourages attacks from opponents by preventing damage or punishing players for attacking. Instead, opponents attack each other creating enough time for pillowfort players to assemble a win condition.

Queen Marchesa uses pillowfort control and some of the best removal in the game while her monarch value engine finds Revel in Riches or Approach of the Second Sun to win.

The deck name comes from the song Killer Queen by the legendary rock band Queen, which is the perfect theme song for a royal assassin:

Why play this deck

• You like card advantage in the command zone.
• Controlling the board makes you happy.
• You enjoy Mardu {R}{W}{B} colors and the best removal in the game.
• Being a hidden threat is your preferred play style.
• You like to win in unconventional ways.

Why not play this deck

• You dislike control.
• You want to win with combat damage or an instant speed combo.

How to Play

1. Ramp with cards like Curse of Opulence, Archaeomancer's Map, and talismans.
2. Pillowfort with cards like Ghostly Prison. Rattlesnake with cards like No Mercy. Destroy everything with Ruinous Ultimatum.
3. Play your commander as soon as possible. Don't get stuck on protecting her or monarch.
4. Control until you win. There is a Sunforger package that is key to grabbing what you need most until you are the last player standing.

How to Win

Defend yourself and blow everything up until Approach of the Second Sun or Revel in Riches win.

1. Approach of the Second Sun - Card draw effects like monarch, Painful Truths, and especially Sensei's Divining Top help get Approach of the Second Sun back in hand quickly. Boseiju, Who Shelters All protects against counterspells.

2. Revel in Riches - Protection spells like Rebuff the Wicked, Deflecting Swat, and Lapse of Certainty help keep Revel in Riches around until it can win.

3. Alternatives - If these two finishers are not to your taste, Assemble the Legion, Insurrection, Debt to the Deathless, Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire, and Near-Death Experience are popular alternative win conditions.

Card Advantage

Mardu colors {R}{W}{B} have offbeat card advantage effects. Luckily Queen Marchesa brings some card draw to the table right from the command zone with her monarch ability. Opponents can steal this effect by dealing combat damage so this deck tries to prevent that with a robust protection and removal package.

There are continuous draw sources in Phyrexian Arena and Twilight Prophet, conditional draw in Esper Sentinel and Alms Collector, and some redirect spells like Deflecting Swat and Imp's Mischief that absolutely love to use an opponent's draw spell as their juicy targets.

Finally, there is a Sunforger package that can tutor and play an additional instant spell once a turn. Fighter Class shines in fetching Sunforger and then reducing its equip cost. In addition to grabbing defensive spells like Teferi's Protection, Sunforger can knock an opponent out with Comeuppance and Batwing Brume. This makes Sunforger an important late game card advantage engine that doubles as a toolbox of protection spells so that monarch stays active and win conditions stick.

Strengths

• Blunts aggro and midrange creature decks which make up 75٪ of the field.
• Plays out as an active control deck that is a great alternative to feel-bad Counterspell decks.
• Can be piloted by politicians to use removal and damage prevention as trades with other players.

Weaknesses

• Combo decks. We can remove their key pieces but don't give them too many turns to go off.
• Graveyard decks. We keep the board clear so graveyards fill up quickly which can speed up their plans. Play graveyard hate, redirect spells, or use politics.
• Card advantage and mana acceleration are offbeat or conditional.
• There are only two win conditions and they are telegraphed, sorcery speed, and have limited protections. This keeps the deck fair in my opinion but others may prefer faster or more resilient finishers.

Top Ranked	Achieved #8 position overall 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Pillow Fort 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Primer 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH RBW (Mardu) 2 years ago
Date added	2 years
Last updated	1 year
Exclude colors	UG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 71 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.92
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Haste, Copy Clone, Elephant 3-3 G, Snake 1/1 B, Spirit 1/1 WB, Monarch Emblem, Treasure
Folders	saved decks, Saved Decks, interesting ideas, EDH, EDH, deck, Want to Build