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Instant (12)
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U/G Madness is an aggressive deck with elements of control. The original deck design came out of Odyssey block constructed and has been transferred to several additional formats.
Discard outlets such as Wild Mongrel, Aquamoeba, and the more recently printed Noose Constrictor are used to quickly and cheaply play cards such as Basking Rootwalla and Arrogant Wurm with "madness". Lesser discard outlets like Merfolk Looter and Waterfront Bouncer are also sometimes included. Roar of the Wurm and Honored Hydra are cast at a largely discounted cost via mechanics such as flashback and embalm. In addition to the above advantages, Wonder grants flying to all of the deck's creatures making combat even easier.
The deck's blue component includes countermagic such as Circular Logic and Daze and card draw in the form of Careful Study (also a discard outlet), Deep Analysis, and Intuition while the deck's green component supplies the offense in the form of cheaply costed creatures that are large, have the potential to become large, or are difficult for the opponent to get rid of.
Over the years, the deck has seen only slight modifications from it's core, the biggest of which being the inclusion of Chrome Mox and Umezawa's Jitte. However, when Wizards introduced the "Dredge" mechanic, many decks started to splash black to play Psychatog which could quickly be grown to lethal size.
Arrogant Wurm - This guy is one of the payoff cards for playing madness and is also the main muscle of the deck. He can be deployed at instant speed for only so long as you have a discard outlet on the board like Noose Constrictor or Wild Mongrel. Many players will be caught off guard by this tactic. At the very least, it's another mind game we can play with our opponent.
Basking Rootwalla - Another payoff card for the deck, this cute little lizard usually comes down on your opponents' turn with the help of madness enablers. He also has the ability to become a 3/3 for , which is good for getting in for a little extra damage or chump blocking smaller creatures.
Noose Constrictor - The replacement for Aquamoeba, this snake is our second playset of Wild Mongrel but has reach and more resiliency in combat. Not only is it a madness enabler, it also gets a plus one power and toughness buff for each card you discard with it. While you're on offense, this ability makes it difficult for your opponent to determine when to block it, and while you're on defense, the opponent may be more hesitant to attack or be caught off guard when you suddenly have a 4/4 to block their 3/4 Tarmogoyf.
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath - In the good ole' days of Odyssey block, many players opted to play Roar of the Wurm in this slot. I had been using Honored Hydra as the deck's finisher, however Uro has proven itself to be a much better alternative than either of the two. After all, neither the hydra nor the wurm can provide life gain and mana acceleration. In addition to the aforementioned abilities, Uro is a 6/6 body which can be used as discard fodder in a pinch.
Wild Mongrel - Another madness enabler. It's identical to Noose Constrictor in every way except it doesn't have reach and can change colors. This can be helpful if your opponent plays something that has protection from green or plays color dependent removal. Example: Mirran Crusader and Doom Blade.
Wonder - I admit that at a casting cost of , a 2/2 flyer in blue is generally mediocre and merely average at best. While this card does occasionally end up on the battlefield, most of the time you'll just pitch it into the graveyard. I cannot count how may times this card has saved me in a damage race involving creatures or gotten me out of a stalled board state. It's also amusing to play mind games with your opponent since they don't know if you're holding it or not. Discard Wonder to Noose Constrictor or Wild Mongrel after declaring attackers in order to give the gift of flight to your entire menagerie!
Circular Logic - This counterspell is another payoff card for playing madness. Normally costing , this spell looks bad on the surface, however with a madness enabler on board, this spell is usually equivalent to a Mana Leak or better for only . Similarly to other cards in the deck, it may be beneficial to side one or two out in subsequent games in order to mitigate the effectiveness of graveyard disruption.
Daze - We tend to tap out completely in the first few turns which is why we run this "free" counterspell. Normally, costing , Daze allows us to keep our opponent on guard even while we're tapped out, however it tends to lose its utility rather quickly. In addition, smart opponents know how to play around it which means we'll probably end up pitching it to benefit one of our discard outlets like Noose Constrictor, Careful Study, or even Foil. Occasionally, a situation will arise where we need an island for Foil; We can use Daze to bounce an island back to hand for this purpose as well.
Decisive Denial - Aggro-control decks are known for their versatile cards and Decisive Denial is no exception. It has two different modes we can utilize. The first mode allows us to deal with problematic creatures by harnessing the fight mechanic, and the second mode is a Mana Leak for non-creature spells.
Foil - Often referred to as "The Poor Man's Force of Will", Foil is a card that fits only specific deck shells. The drawback to playing this card is the discard requirement of one "island" and one additional card. In most cases, we can mitigate the drawback by discarding something we'll use later or even cast a creature like Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla off the discard effect.
Careful Study - One of the few turn one plays this deck has. It helps us filter through draws and functions as madness enablers 8-12. One of our best plays is a turn one Careful Study in which we discard two Rootwallas.
Deep Analysis - Text goes here. Text goes here.
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Casual
97% Competitive
Revision 18 See all
(4 years ago)
| -2 | Echo of Eons | side |
| +1 | Foil | side |
| -1 | Ghostly Pilferer | side |
| +2 | Hollow One | side |
| +1 | Stubborn Denial | side |
| +1 | Turn the Earth | side |
| -1 | Veil of Summer | side |
| +1 | Wasteland | main |
| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 9 years |
| Last updated | 4 years |
| Legality | This deck is Legacy legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 11 - 1 Mythic Rares 30 - 4 Rares 2 - 6 Uncommons 10 - 4 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 1.63 |
| Folders | Cool Decks, Neat, Wish List, Legacy Decks |
| Votes | |
| Ignored suggestions | |
| Shared with | |
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