Mardu Rule The Skies! (BFZ version) (Standard MTG Deck)

Mardu Rule The Skies! (BFZ version)

Standard Competitive Dragons Lifegain Midrange RBW (Mardu)

Spinifex

Creature (13)

Planeswalker (3)

Land (26)

Instant (15)

Sorcery (3)

3x Painful Truths

Sideboard

Enchantment (2)

2x Outpost Siege

Instant (5)

Sorcery (8)

This is the deck that has evolved from my pre-rotation Mardu Dragons. It has access to the best removal in standard (Crackling Doom and Silkwrap ) and life-gaining action to survive the early game and uses either strong flyers or token producers to finish the game. There is a strong explosive potential in Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury + Thunderbreak Regent , which has allowed me to end many games.

Yes, the mana base could be replace with fetchlands, but I feel it is unnecessary. My main spells cost 2 and 4, which means that, if you go Tapped Land, Untapped Land, TL, UL, you should be able to stay on curve pretty well. Shambling Vent and Wind-Scarred Crag will be replaced by the WR manland when Oath is released... unless it is Lavaclaw Reaches bad.

Creatures and Threats:

The 2-drop creatures: I went with Seeker of the Way and Soulfire Grand Master for life-gaining purposes. Hangarback Walker is also a fine choice, but I always felt it under-performed in this deck. Seeker of the Way , coupled with removal spells, often swung prowessed on turn 3 and 4, which means a 12 life swing in my direction. Soulfire Grand Master is basically Seeker of the Way 5 and 6. The deck used to run more red removal, but Silkwrap is simply more efficient than Wild Slash or Fiery Impulse most of the time.
Dragons: 4x Thunderbreak Regent is a must: it is well-costed, evasive and damages any attempts to kill it. Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury is a hasty anthem-on-a-stick and/or a recurring Ruinous Path , depending on the situation. Dragonmaster Outcast won me a couple of grindy matches. I've tried Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker but he simply isn't as good as Stormbreath Dragon and he isn't able to activate Draconic Roar unless he is on the board. I prefer running Gideon, Ally of Zendikar over him, but he can be a "budget" alternative.
Token producers: You probably have played against Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, so he doesn't need much introduction. Sorin, Solemn Visitor plays similar and complementary roles. Pia and Kiran Nalaar are not frequently found, but they are basically a Hangarback Walker for X=2 where you get the thopters immediately. They can also shock if needed. They are great against decks with 1 for 1 removal and Foul-Tongue Invocation .

Spells

Crackling Doom and Draconic Roar are the best removal in standard (if you have sufficient Dragons).
Silkwrap takes care of annoying creatures like Anafenza, the Foremost, Hangarback Walker, Savage Knuckleblade, Deathmist Raptor and Mantis Rider , hopefully permanently.
Murderous Cut is better when you have more fetchlands, which is why I run only one.
Utter End used to be in the main deck, but now is a sideboard card against Planeswalkers and/or enchantments.
Painful Truths is the most efficient card-drawing spell outside of blue. I've often played Seeker of the Way turn 2, then Painful Truths turn three to negate the life-loss. Outpost Siege is also fine, which is why I have two on the side against control.

As always, comments are welcomed and +1 are appreciated.

Suggestions

Updates Add

A lot of changes — Dec. 13, 2015

Edit

This deck has been cannibalized to build my Esper token deck: Seeking the Way in Zendikar (24-3 FNM). This basically means no more Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Silkwrap and Shambling Vent.

However, I wanted to keep a secondary deck to play with my gf. I was trying Black/Red aggro and it didn't feel aggressive enough. I tried Jund Dragons, but I felt the mana base left too much to chance (it needed by turn 3 and by turn 4).

I finally saw an article called "Play Crackling Doom!" with a Mardu Dragons deck by Jason Aong. Since it didn't run any of the aforementioned cards (save for a couple of Vents), I tried it and I like it well enough, I changed the mana base a bit and included a couple of Painful Truths in the main deck for card advantage. I think it performs well enough, though not as well as when I had Gideon on board.

3-1 FNM: One life from victory — Nov. 21, 2015

Edit

TNM 2-2: The gods of Magic are not with me tonight — Nov. 17, 2015

Edit

3-1 FNM: Wrecked by Esper Dragons. — Nov. 13, 2015

Edit

TNM 3-0: Not much to add. — Nov. 10, 2015

Edit

First FNM: 3-1 and a few changes. — Oct. 17, 2015

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Revision 26 See all

(8 years ago)

+1	Dragonlord Kolaghan	main
-3	Hangarback Walker	main
+1	Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury	main
+1	Ob Nixilis Reignited	main
+3	Painful Truths	main
-2	Pia and Kiran Nalaar	main
-3	Read the Bones	main
+1	Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker	main
+1	Seeker of the Way	main
-3	Soulfire Grand Master	main
+1	Utter End	main
+2	Wild Slash	main

Date added	9 years
Last updated	8 years
Key combos	Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury + Thunderbreak Regent
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 35 - 7 Rares 12 - 5 Uncommons 4 - 3 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	3.29
Tokens	Dragon 5/5 R, Emblem Ob Nixilis Reignited, Emblem Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Folders	i like this, Mardu, BFZ Playtests, Other's Fun Decks
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