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Marchesa's Grave Affair

Commander / EDH Aristocrats Infinite Combo Primer Reanimator Sacrifice Treasure UBR (Grixis) Value Engine

Ero-sennin

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Land (32)

Enchantment (8)

Creature (26)

Sorcery (9)

Commander (1)

Commander: foil Marchesa, the Black Rose

Artifact (14)

Instant (9)

Planeswalker (1)

Marchesa's Grave Affair is a midrange combo deck for high power, casual EDH. It looks to grind value in the early turns by using Marchesa to repeatedly reanimate creatures while also making our boardstate hard to interact with; and then turning that advantage into a combo win during turns 5-7.

Average CMC when counting free spells like Deadly Rollick is 2.28

You can also find this deck on Moxfield. This is also where this primer was made so the formatting will be a lot better on there and I recommend viewing it on there as opposed to here.

The Pinnacle of Ambition

Marchesa's Grave Affair

You take everything, and you give nothing back. Every moment is an opportunity, and everything within your reach is at your disposal. Ambition waits for no one, so neither should you.

Marchesa, the Black Rose

This is my take on a midrange combo build of Marchesa, the Black Rose. Most of the value we get will come from creatures as Marchesa makes our creatures very resilient thanks to her second triggered ability. It can allow us to sacrifice creatures with almost no downside and repeatedly gain value from powerful ETB effects with creatures like Imperial Recruiter or Dockside Extortionist. Marchesa's second triggered ability can bring herself back thereby giving herself protection too. There is an alternative landbase just at the top of the description which doesn't include ABUR duals and is much more realistic of an achievable landbase for this deck; this primer was also written as if this deck had that landbase as ABUR duals can negate some of the decision making when looking to keep hands or not.

  • You enjoy infinite combos

  • You like making risky plays

  • You like messing with the graveyard

  • You like creature based strategies

  • You don't enjoy decks that rely on the commander more heavily

  • You don't like being on low life and close to death

  • You don't like infinite combos

  • You don't like creature based strategies

Early game you should be looking to get Marchesa out and a counter on her asap. Typically she should be out turn 3 after ramping on an earlier turn, she can also come out turn 2 but is much less likely. The only exception to this is if you've got a Metallic Mimic or Sage of Fables in your hand as delaying playing Marchesa a turn for her to enter with a counter is better than playing her turn 3 then attacking on turn 4 for the counter. Some great cards for turn 1 are Carrion Feeder and Viscera Seer as an early sac outlet is very useful. Turn 2 should be some ramp in the most likely form of signets/talismans and Kalain, Reclusive Painter which allows for a turn 3 Marchesa with a counter. Turn 3 should hopefully be Marchesa, failing that there are some great 3 drops like Grim Haruspex, Black Market Connections, Rhystic Study.
The mid game is where I would try to accelerate my boardstate and look for a win. By this point I would typically want, at minimum, my commander, some form of ramp/mana acceleration, repeatable card draw and a sac outlet; At best I would also like a combo piece and some way to slow down opponents like a Dauthi Voidwalker or Opposition Agent. After establishing my boardstate and with protection in hand, I will look to put a second combo piece out which usually results in being able to sacrifice one of the pieces infinitely (combos explained later in the primer) and win from there, either by killing with a sac outlet or rummaging through the deck for something that can kill opponents.
This deck can usually perform alright into the late game as the treasure subtheme helps with ensuring we've got enough mana to keep up. This stage of the game can be quite dangerous for us as we include a lot of lifeloss. Typically you should be looking to combo off asap at this point as it will run out of gas eventually compared to some decks, although usually this point is reached when our combos have been shut off due to heavy graveyard hate or decks with like Liesa, Forgotten Archangel at the helm. The secondary plan is to just beat down opponents life totals, which Marchesa is surprisingly good at doing as she is pumping up all our creatures each turn; combined with cards like Yahenni, Undying Partisan, opponents' (hopefully) already low life totals should be dropping to 0 fast.
Typically for a hand that's worth keeping I will look for 2/3 lands with access to all 3 colours, early-mid game card draw, ramp and a sac outlet; anything else is really nice but not necessary. If a hand is missing something and you have a way to get that missing piece via a tutor then I would be more likely to keep it depending on the rest of the hand. At absolute bare minimum to keep, so if you were a couple mulligans in, a hand needs 3 colours and card draw or a way to get card draw as that can allow you to dig for the other stuff. I have some example opening hands of ones that are keepable and ones that need a mulligan below (these are in no particular order).
Good Hand 1

This is a great opening hand that will be kept every time. It's got everything I need and Feed the Swarm for interaction that can hit enchantments is really useful to have in the opening hand. This hand is also very "self-contained" i.e. it is not relying on draws during the early turns to set up for the mid game; I can turn 1 Viscera Seer, turn 2 Talisman of Dominance, turn 3 Marchesa, the Black Rose and turn 4 will depend on what's been drawn and played by the opponents but there's card draw and removal still in hand when needed.

Good Hand 2

Another good hand to keep. Kalain is an all star as having a turn 3 Marchesa with a counter is very strong. It is relying on drawing that third land to do so but missing that, I am still able to play Rhystic Study turn 3 to dig through the deck. One of the sac outlets is redundant as they are both able to kill so it would usually be better off being something else like a tutor or a combo piece but it still has use as it's quite often that I'll have a sac outlet blown up so being able to play a second one when its needed is useful; not the best hand, not the worst either.

Good Hand 3

Another keepable hand. It is a bit slower and looks a lil clunky with 3 two drops, and Grave Pact is also not that great to have in the opening hand as I would much prefer some form of card draw. However I would still keep because with Arcane Signet we still have all 3 colours, Metallic Mimic is a great card to protect Marchesa the turn she enters, and Imperial Recruiter can get either a sac outlet or card draw depending on what we've drawn. The first few turns with this hand will likely be: nothing turn one unless we happen to draw a 1 drop, turn 2 i would usually arcane signet, turn 3 if I drew a third land would probably be Talisman of Indulgence and Metallic Mimic to allow for turn 4 Marchesa with a counter, if I didn't draw a third land I would probably Imperial Recruiter for card draw like a Baleful Strix.

Bad Hand 1

Initially this looks like a keep; all 3 colours, card draw, ramp, sac outlet, tutor. However we actually are not able to play Kalain, Reclusive Painter on turn 2 so after the turn 1 Carrion Feeder, it is completely reliant on draws making this a very risky hand and considering you get a free mulligan in commander, there are a lot better keepable hands. I would probably keep this after a mulligan or two as the chances of getting another land or a 2 mana rock are high which makes the hand playable albeit slow. It is close to a keep but just not quite there.

Bad Hand 2

Turn 1 Sage of Fables is amazing, however this hand is just a classic example of missing a colour so it should not be kept, even more so that it's missing black as that is the most used colour in this deck. Again after turn 1 this is completely reliant on draws as there is no way to guarentee getting that third colour so you could just be sat there drawing and passing, even when untapping with 5 mana on turn 3.

Bad Hand 3

Another hand that is too reliant on draws. It's got a great mana base, a sac outlet, interaction, protection and hate to slow down opponents that use the gy all of which are decent cards but also some are not really needed in the first few turns of the game and would be much better off being ramp, card draw or both. After turn 2 it's very awkward what you might play and nothing that really gives us enough advantage to accelerate our midgame either.

These combos are usually easier to assemble due to the cards being easier/more common to tutor for and also having multiple cards fill the same role. Some of these combos don't have to follow the exact sequence or requirements layed out here; these are just examples and some of the cards can be played in any order.

Glen Elendra Archmage

Requirements

Sequencing

  1. Pay to cast Metallic Mimic.

  2. Name any of the creature types on the persist creature you have out for Metallic Mimic.

  3. Sacrifice the persist creature to a sac outlet.

  4. Persist will trigger and bring back the persist creature.

  5. The persist creature will enter with a -1/-1 counter due to persist, and a +1/+1 counter due to Metallic Mimic's ability which will cancel each other out.

  6. Repeat from step 3.

Requirements

  • Cards: Glen Elendra Archmage + Sage of Fables + Sac Outlet

  • Mana:
  • Glen Elendra Archmage and the sac outlet on the battlefield; Sage of Fables in hand

    • Sequencing

    1. Pay to cast Sage of Fables.

    2. Sacrifice Glen Elendra Archmage to a sac outlet.

    3. Persist will trigger and bring back Glen Elendra Archmage.

    4. Glen Elendra Archmage will enter with a -1/-1 counter due to persist, and a +1/+1 counter due to Sage of Fables' ability which will cancel each other out.

    5. Repeat from step 2.

    Requirements

  • Cards: A Persist Creature (Glen Elendra Archmage/River Kelpie) + First Day of Class + Sac Outlet

  • Mana:
  • The persist creature and sac outlet on the battlefield; First Day of Class in hand

    • Sequencing

    1. Pay to cast First Day of Class.

    2. Sacrifice the persist creature to a sac outlet.

    3. Persist will trigger and bring back the persist creature.

    4. The persist creature will enter with a -1/-1 counter due to persist, and a +1/+1 counter due to First Day of Class which will cancel each other out.

    5. Repeat from step 2.

    These combos are usually harder to assemble due to requiring multiple specific cards, needing heavier mana investment or the cards are harder/not as common to tutor for.

    Ruthless Technomancer

    Requirements

    Sequencing

    1. Pay to cast Dockside Extortionist.

    2. Dockside Extortionist enters and creates 5 treasures.

    3. Sac Dockside Extortionist to the sac outlet.

    4. Cracking 3 treasures, activate Ruthless Technomancer's ability to sacrifice the other 2 treasures and bring back dockside from the graveyard.

    5. Repeat from step 2.

    Requirements

  • Cards: A Persist Creature (Glen Elendra Archmage/River Kelpie) + Thran Vigil + Sac Outlet

  • Mana:
  • The persist creature and sac outlet on the battlefield; Thran Vigil in hand

    • Sequencing

    1. Pay to cast Thran Vigil.

    2. Sacrifice the persist creature to a sac outlet.

    3. Persist will trigger and bring back the persist creature.

    4. The persist creature will enter with a -1/-1 counter due to persist, and Thran Vigil will trigger.

    5. Choose the persist creature as a target for Thran Vigil's triggered ability which will put a +1/+1 counter on it, cancelling out the -1/-1 counter.

    6. Repeat from step 2.

    A pretty basic land package; I don't run many utility lands as I much more highly value the colour fixing due to the number of colour pips this deck has. Again, this is written as if I am running the landbase without ABUR duals which can be found at the top of the deck description.

    Notable Inclusions

    • Urza's Saga: It can tutor for Iron Apprentice, Skullclamp, Mana Crypt and Sol Ring making it incredibly versatile as it can be turned into protection/support, card draw or ramp depending on what I need more.

    • Ancient Tomb: Amazing mana acceleration that can put you a turn ahead which is huge most of the time.

    • Phyrexian Tower: Again another example of amazing mana acceleration and it sacs creatures which is what I want to be doing most of the time.

    Notable Exclusions

    • City of Traitors: While it is an amazing form of mana acceleration, this deck can't abuse this land that well as it isn't looking to combo off really early on which is when this land would be most useful, and drawing it a bit later could have a huge downside as this deck has a low land count so if i needed to paly another land, putting myself down a land can really hurt going into the late game.

    • Xander's Lounge: Just not a huge fan of taplands, it might make it's way into the deck one day but atm just don't like it that much.

    • Flooded Strand/Marsh Flats/Wooded Foothills: I only run 6 fetchlands since I don't have the ABUR duals. Once I get all 3 shocklands out, the fetchlands become worse than any of the duals I'm running as they can then only fetch basics. It's basically giving up a lil bit of early game consistnecy to make sure i have enough different colour pips for the mid and late game as there are quite a few cards that need multiple colour pips.

    Mainly in the form of rocks. There's also a little treasure subtheme too which can help scale the mana acceleration for the late game.

    Notable Inclusions

    • Kalain, Reclusive Painter: An absolutely amazing turn 2 play, gives you a turn 3 Marchesa with a counter which is so strong as she is instantly protected rather than having to wait a turn.

    Notable Exclusions

    • Dark Ritual/Cabal Ritual/Culling the Weak: These are very good for a sudden burst of mana acceleration, but this isn't really what this deck is looking to do as it doesn't tend to have sudden explosive turns, it's much better at exponentially grinding value until I'm able to attempt a win with protection.
    Pretty much just all the staples for repeatable draw engines in these colours.

    Notable Inclusions

    • Atsushi, the Blazing Sky: I love this card, mana when its needed, card advantage when it's not. The versatility combined with the value it gives is so good

    • Sage of Fables: While technically she can be draw, I don't rely on her to be a draw engine since it's very inefficient as I've got to sink mana into her; she is much more of a combo piece and also protection than reliable draw.

    Notable Exclusions

    • Wheel of Fortune/Windfall/Wheel of Misfortune: Similar to why I don't include rituals; this deck just isn't looking for sudden explosive turns which makes wheels very dangerous as you effectively are just refilling opponents hands without using most of the cards you just drew.
    Running the bog-standard tutor package with Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Intent and Vampiric Tutor as well as a couple extra to dig for those key combo pieces later on. There is a resource section further down this primer which lists all the things you can get with tutors that have requirements like Imperial Recruiter.

    Notable Inclusions

    • Step Through: For 2 mana at instant speed it is able to get pretty much anything you would need like card draw, a combo piece, a sac outlet, ramp and removal.

    • Pyre of Heroes: Pod effects are really strong, especially when I can get the sacrificed creature back too. This deck does have some strong pod lines, most notably turning a Sage of Fables into a Glen Elendra Archmage which can then be infinitely sacrificed when Sage of Fables comes back.

    Notable Exclusions

    • Mystical Tutor: As strong as it is, this deck's combos are more creature based and I have Spellseeker to repeatedly tutor most of the relevant cards this can grab anyway.
    I've got super efficient removal at the cost of not having as much removal on really early turns, however that is not super relevant most of the time anyway and most of the things im looking to remove come down a lil later or are able to be out a turn or two until I need to remove it. Also including a couple less efficient pieces of removal on the basis that they can destroy enchantments like Rest in Peace.

    Notable Inclusions

    • Aether Channeler: Amazing value and versatility from this card; removal when needed, card draw when not.

    Notable Exclusions

    • Damnation: I feel like I have enough boardwipes already, and with the number of tutors, finding one when necessary shouldn't be an issue, adding this would just bloat up the deck a little I feel.

    • Vandalblast: It's a cute effect I guess, i wouldn't really wanna pay 5 mana for the overload as I don't think it's that good unless against an artifact creature based deck. This deck doesn't run any specific artifact destruction on a similar basis; there aren't really any artifacts that are commonly played that cause a pain for this deck.

    To be used as a quick referance as to what the tutors with restrictions can get, like Imperial Recruiter.

    Spellseeker

    Join the Marchesa, the Black Rose discord to discuss all the different ways to brew her, and also get feedback on certain cards/starting hands/combos etc:

    https://discord.gg/j3WqsFdAQc

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