Edge and Scale, Bring Forth the Victory
Standard
SCORE: 148 | 202 COMMENTS | 24942 VIEWS | IN 110 FOLDERS
Game Day Changes Mark 3 —Nov. 9, 2014
While I know that this is 2 weeks after game day (I actually wrote this 2 MONTHS after game day, was really procrastinating on writing this...), I had constantly thought about my games throughout that time was tweaking my deck again and again while accepting people's suggestions here and there after doing a little introspection.
Mainboard Changes
Removed:
Added:
One of the big things I noticed that constantly occurred in my games was that I always fell to combat tricks and removal. Things like flashing in a Pearl Lake Ancient or swinging with some Gods Willing in hand or blocking with Raise the Alarm ... I just fell for each and every single one of them because I couldn't deal with them. So instead of focusing on creatures, I decided to focus on combat tricks myself. Methods to force damage through or save my creatures or life a few more turns. Two of the most biggest additions to that here are Gods Willing and Raise the Alarm. While Gods Willing doesn't seem to be of much use in Mardu aggro-midrange, I can assure you it is really useful with all of the removal present in the game. People are splashing a 4th colour just to run more removal. It is also extremely useful for actually getting and protecting Goblin Rabblemaster through their defenses. It helped to keep it off of the chopping block. More on that later.
So what about the cards I removed? Both Chief of the Edge and Chief of the Scale no longer held their impact in my deck without all of those 2 drop warriors. And with so many toughness heavy cards or ones with first strike or deathtouch, evasion is the only real way to go. I can't just buff a medium amount of creatures, that are prone to removal, a small amount and hope to succeed. Another issue is their cost. In a three colour standard deck that doesn't have access to a smooth mana base like modern does, a 2 cmc card with both mana requiring coloured mana can wreak havoc on the mana base. Frequently I'm finding myself unable to play them until turn 3 or 4.
I removed Ruthless Ripper because although the deathtouch was good, there are a LOT of token productions and evasion in the standard. So a simple deathtouch doesn't do much good when it dies to a 1/1 token all the time or gets first striked, protectioned or even indestructibled (new words abounds!).
Looking at Butcher of the Horde as a 4 of, I put it like that because mardu really has no other big beaters. Butcher of the Horde is the best mardu has got and in order to stay in head to toe with the other midrange decks, it has got to stay in there. While we do have the gods, those are conditionals, as they are mainly there for utility. And Iroas, God of Victory is EXCELLENT for his utility! Being able to make all my tokens pseudo-indestructible keeping alive each turn for the next swing? AWESOME!
Finally, we have Goblin Rabblemaster. Now I, and like many others before and after me, saw that Goblin Rabblemaster no longer held up to his "rabble red" status. And that was because he was easy to remove, had little to no power against any board state, and had no evasion. Sure he was a threat the moment he hit the board, but he was a threat that anyone could deal with at any time. So if I'm beating on the Goblin Rabblemaster, why is he in here? This is because with the way my deck slowly evolved over time, Goblin Rabblemaster had become supported by the deck to gain the things he lacks. Iroas, God of Victory gives him evasion and protection. Gods Willing also gives him evasion and protection. Ajani Steadfast gives him resilience during attacking, and Butcher of the Horde makes use of his tokens when they are just being tossed into the fray. Spear of Heliod makes his tokens a threat, and finally, he adds devotion to Purphoros, God of the Forge to make it more likely to have him as a creature, then the 2cmc warriors would have done. Okay, yes he does damage every turn with purphoros out, but you knew that already. Another thing to note is that vs the warriors, he is much easier to cast. I no longer have to worry about having 4 Chief of the Edges in my hand and no mana to play them with at 5 turns in the game. Trust me, that actually happened. I never got to play one of them.
Hola Femme!
What are your thoughts on Seeker of the Way over Oreskos Swiftclaw ? You have 10 Non Creature spells, 6 of them three drops, to trigger prowess. It seems like a good way to stay aggressive AND provide some much needed lifegain, while also staying aggressive. And he's a warrior!
October 19, 2014 7:19 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #3
Huh. Will playtest. I currently like it, especially midrange sideboard.
I'm also changing it up a lot.
October 20, 2014 1:31 a.m.
PreZchoICE1 says... #4
Personally I think Timely Hordemate , Mardu Skullhunter and War-Name Aspirant especially are all better than Seeker, given the build.
October 20, 2014 2:19 a.m.
PreZchoICE1 says... #5
Late game seeker will be a bad draw. Skullhunter while not fantastic is also a warrior! and offers a litte bit of hand disruption if that type of thing were needed late-game. If you get hit with a boardwipe and all you top after is seeker you're gunna be bummed. That's what I've seen from the jeskai tempo decks running him and they run a lot more non-creature spells than you.
October 20, 2014 2:24 a.m.
PreZchoICE1 says... #6
You should have mentioned me on this deck instead of that Dr. Millington one I coud have helped you craft the board for the meta at Stronghold. Did you enjoy yourself there?
October 20, 2014 2:29 a.m.
PreZchoICE1 says... #7
Yesterday during one of my games someone double Deflecting Palm ed me in game 2 to force a game 3 on (what would have been) a lethal attack. I think it's pretty good out of the side as a sneaky play, and definitely gives some opponents pause for game 3.
October 20, 2014 2:32 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #8
Timely Hordemate is a crunk 4 drop. I have TOO MANY 4 DROPS. No more 4 drops. No more 3 drops. Hordeling Outburst is probably the only one I might consider running, which wasn't in your suggestion list, because of its awesome plan of stalling and doing 6 damage through Purphoros, God of the Forge . I'm not running any raid beyond Bloodsoaked Champion , because let me tell you this: How does Mardu Skullhunter or War-Name Aspirant have any more relevancy after a wrath? I have no creatures to swing with for raid, so they would be useless 2/1s. Seeker of the Way , is also a warrior, for some reason. I though it was a soldier, but it is a warrior. Woot.
Seeker of the Way is also good at slowing down RDW, mardu tokens and fellow mardu aggro. I like it over Oreskos Swiftclaw because it has relevancy post sideboard, and has two toughness instead of one. I'm finding toughness matters a hell a lot more than power unless the power creature has recursion, evasion, or comes out early.
After playtesting. Holy, god. That prowess trigger happens very often. I've got 6 3 drops, so the amount of times I go turn 2 Seeker of the Way , turn 3 enchantment, swing for 3 or 4 gain that much life, is just immense. Then there is post sideboard ... I'm loving this. This is the lifelink that I needed.
October 20, 2014 3:22 a.m.
pujolsrox11 says... #9
I have a lot of questions about this deck, is there anyway you can add me on skype or something so we can message better?
October 20, 2014 10:25 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #10
I do not use skype. I'm a busy girl and go from place to place to project to project a lot. You are going to have to ask the questions here.
October 20, 2014 1:43 p.m.
xarop_pa_toss says... #11
Hey, just dropping a suggestion here. I have an RDW Goblins and I'm using Obelisk of Urd . Since it has convoke and I have Rabblemasters and Hordeling Outburst I can usually cast it for 3 and it makes all my goblins get +2/+2. That means my Goblin Rabblemaster is now a 4/4, much harder to kill with Bile Blight , Anger of the Gods and Drown in Sorrow . You should try running a couple and naming Warriors, that way your chiefs would be like 4/5 and 5/4 or if you flood the table you can choose goblins and get 3/3 tokens or even 5/5 with double Obelisk. That ever-returning Bloodsoaked Champion is now a 4/3.. without the chiefs... =3Might not be viable, but worth a shot no? +2/+2 to all Warriors and it has convoke... think about it, just one in game and you're out of most of the black removal dangerzone
October 21, 2014 4:32 a.m.
PreZchoICE1 says... #12
Mardu Ascendancy is not built for competetive play. There's only one ascendancy that is even viable in competetive constructed. Casual constructed is another story.
Good luck with this though. All the best.
October 21, 2014 1:36 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #13
You are very wrong on that PreZchoICE1.
VERY WRONG. I have not lost a game in which Mardu Ascendancy was on the field. Most of my wins are because of Mardu Ascendancy . Not only does it grant me creatures, but it also protects them from all forms of burn, Bile Blight , Drown in Sorrow and Anger of the Gods . Finally, it makes swinging into a heavy board state reliable as I can then just sac the Mardu Ascendancy to be the one to come out on top in combat.
October 21, 2014 1:44 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #14
The problem with Obelisk of Urd , xarop_pa_toss, is that it only gives certain creatures the buff, meaning my gods and demons don't get the buff. That and I have to choose between warriors or goblins, and whatever I choose may become irrelevant within one or two more turns as they cast things like Stoke the Flames and Hero's Downfall on my creatures, having me with creature types that DON'T get buffed by Obelisk of Urd . The 2nd point, is that it costs too much. Even if I have the creatures on the field, I'm generally tapping all those creatures just to use it, giving the opponent free roam at me. And I generally don't have the creatures, as they are frequently killed in combat or with removal spells. Finally, the 3rd point, is that I can't turn 3 it after a turn 2 Seeker of the Way , which is a very powerful play for my 3 cmc enchantments.
Finally, always check the updates and the description of a deck before you suggest a card. Various users will have cataloged their changes from day to day, and it gets irritating when people suggest a card that has either already been used or will never be used. In this case, it is shown in one of my updates that I have previously tried and removed the card, it is far too slow and makes me far too vulnerable, Spear of Heliod is much better as it doesn't do any of those two, and buffs EVERYTHING.
October 21, 2014 1:47 p.m.
PreZchoICE1 says... #15
If you're winning because of ascendancy thats the biggest problem with the deck. I'll reserve the rest of my comments though. As I said before, good luck. :)
October 21, 2014 2:20 p.m.
UpperDeckerTaco says... #16
I like your deck. I also love your descriptions and reasonings. I like when people not only describe their deck, but their thought process as well. I was wondering if you could take a look at my deck. It isn't Mardu, it's Jeskai, but I would just like to know what you think. Thanks. American't Hear You Over All This Freedom
October 21, 2014 6:27 p.m.
cardsgrinder says... #17
Nice build; upvote! I have something similar here Mardu Chiefs . Check it out if you'd like. Upvotes and comments are appreciated.
What did you end up replacing Athreos, God of Passage with? It seems to work well in my build along with Purphoros, God of the Forge .Good luck.
October 21, 2014 8:17 p.m.
rochdalekilla9 says... #18
So I did build this deck a couple of weeks ago and have been playing with it for the past 3 FNM. The first time I went 3-1 with your original build, but with Butcher of the Horde mainboard and at 4 and Goblin Rabblemaster at 4. There were a couple of other small changes I made but for the most part it was your deck. The following week, going 2-2, I added Heliod, God of the Sun . Didn't work out too well. When I got him, I didn't need him or wasn't worth playing. At the place I go to, I had to mainboard removal because of the creature heavy decks. I started off with Utter End and just switched to Hero's Downfall because Utter End was too slow. I actually upped Purphoros, God of the Forge to 3 and never drew him once. Now he is back down to 2. I went 2-2 at the last FNM, having taken out the Warrior aspect of the deck. I took out all 4 of Chief of the Scale and Chief of the Edge . Bad idea. I made it a more midrange deck that just didn't work. So I will go back to the original build with the Hordes in the mb and I may flirt with the idea of adding 1 or 2 Athreos, God of Passage . The build involving Purphoros, God of the Forge , Heliod, God of the Sun and Iroas, God of Victory was just way too much to try and play. Sorin, Solemn Visitor is amazing in this deck, however. I love your inclusion of Seeker of the Way and I was going to mention it to you, as well as including Horde in your mb, but it seems you have figured all of that out already! I'm looking forward to tweaking this deck even more. Thanks for the great starting point!
October 22, 2014 10:57 a.m.
rochdalekilla9 says... #19
By the way, one of the main wincons in this deck is Butcher of the Horde . You may want to consider having a playset of him in here. Getting him, or two, or three, is crucial. He's ridiculous. Every time I had two of him, game over. They'd kill one and I'd put out another. Annoying little bugger he is. Amazing. Lol
October 22, 2014 11:04 a.m.
FrostyJams says... #20
I agree on the main board of Butcher of the Horde , it works so well with all the token generation you have.
I would drop 1 Chief of the Scale
and put Iroas, God of Victory
back up to 2. This deck is not a defensive deck and Iroas allows the entire board to attack without fear and guarantees damage gets through. If you have any type of life gain going, there is no recovering from that unblockable damage.
I don't care if he ever becomes a creature, the enchantment alone is a game winner. I lose to this deck every time Iroas drops.
October 24, 2014 1:58 a.m.
What do you do against gods or planeswalkers? I always found them to be a problem. I have in sideboard, glare of heresy, it gets rid of elspeth iroas if need be, it gets rid of butcher mirror match, heliod etc you know the drill, sorin. I'm also using mardu charm/despise. I dont have the cash for thoughtseize. Tormods crypt against whip and empty the graves which monowraths is a thing. I saw you commented on one earlier (frontpage)
October 29, 2014 1:22 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #22
I'll get to all these comments in a bit, I am busy x.x
October 29, 2014 5:31 p.m.
I laughed a little when I saw in the "cards I will not use" section and saw Legion Loyalist . Well of course you wouldn't use him, he isn't standard legal :P
As for the deck, it looks really solid. I may want to consider some Utter End mainboard because postboard you have no removal! +1
October 29, 2014 8:28 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #24
Utter End conflicts with all the other 4 cmc cards I have. The removal has to be 3 cmc or 2 cmc. It is also really really slow.
Thanks for the +1~!
October 29, 2014 8:31 p.m.
kagemaro9200 says... #25
Why only 1x Bloodstained Mire if may I ask? It should be easier with more of them to provide certain mana that You need...
Femme_Fatale says... #1
I prefer Heliod, God of the Sun in that regard TheRedDude because then they can't remove it as easily.
October 19, 2014 12:27 a.m.