Queen Marchesa: Politics, Aikido, and Control

Commander / EDH* precociousapprentice

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Budget considerations —Nov. 13, 2017

I recently had a conversation with another player on the Rachmiel thread listed in the influences. That player was concerned about the expense of building this deck as listed. I tried to address these concerns. The short version is that unlimited budget definitely makes the deck more optimized, but it can do what it does rather well without the breaking the bank. None of the essential cards are truly expensive, and the expense in this deck has alternatives that are definitely viable. Here is a repost of my response in that thread. I figured that it may be valuable to people thinking about creating this deck. I may turn it into another section in the writeup.

If you are looking for ways to make it more budget friendly, I suggest starting by looking at a budget mana base. That is a good start. The mana base I list makes the deck work smoother, but is absolutely not necessary to make the deck work. The tutors are also a good place to trim, especially for a deck meant for inexperienced players. Not knowing what to go get makes the tutors less valuable anyway, so trimming them may not be as bad as it may seem. It may seem like the tutors are there for reactive control, but really they are there for proactive control, and this is something that requires knowledge not just of your deck, but also your opponents. The tutors make more difference for experienced players who know how to anticipate more than react. The ramp in the deck is not overly expensive, and there are other alternatives that are cheaper for the expensive parts, and wouldn't hurt too much to sub out. The control is not overly expensive, aside from a few staples, and there are alternatives to things like Path to Exile that are workable, if not quite as optimized. The control does not have the expensive board wipes that can make a control deck super expensive. There are a few Pillow cards that are expensive, and a few Rattlesnake cards that are expensive, but these have alternatives that are cheap. The key Aikido cards are all pretty cheap, a few bucks each for the most expensive, with Price of Progress, Acidic Soil, Backlash, Delirium, Disrupt Decorum, Rakdos Charm, Deflecting Palm, and Comeuppance being pretty key to making this feel like it does when played, along with a Fog suite that can be made very inexpensively. This list can easily be added to with some of the other Aikido cards in the original Rachmiel list being great additions, and are often very budget friendly. Some of the bombs like Serra Ascendant, Gisella, Blade of Goldnight, and Master of Cruelties are not cheap, but these are just optimized placeholders for any appropriate big bomb, and could be substituted. Some people think that eliminating them may reduce the threat level anyway, so you may not miss them at all.

For a budget version, I would say you should start with getting a good Rattlesnake army that fits your budget, deploy it behind a pillow fort that is subtle and fits your budget. This may be a challenge, since my Pillow Fort has a lot of value caught up in key cards. Fortunately, Rachmiel has multiple alternatives in his list that are more budget friendly, and the Rattlesnakes are usually as effective for most of the game as the Pillow, so adjust yours as necessary. Add in as many of the Aikido cards as you can, especially the list of cards above. These make the deck feel like an Aikido martial arts master. Add in as optimized a spot removal control core as you can, and recognize that there are many alternatives in Mardu that would work, and are cheap. Optimize your mana base as your budget allows, and don't feel like the readily available cheaper alternatives for various taplands will ruin the deck. Being a little slow is not the end of the world, and you can often play around these without even noticing. Don't forget that there are cheap tutors in the form of Transmute spells, and those spells have actual uses besides the Transmute that fit the deck as well.

With all that said, I am not sure this is a noob friendly deck, even with a budget version. It takes a lot of understanding of what the deck can do, what is dangerous to the deck, what is actually valuable and progresses your strategy even if it is dangerous, what other decks can play that can beat you, and most importantly, how to play so that you are not the target, while still bringing your opponents into striking distance. It plays a lot of cards that are modal to gain virtual card advantage, falsely lowering the threat level, and some cardfiltering that is often an invisible increase in power. These make the deck much more powerful than people realize. Making it budget will definitely decrease the power some, and not knowing how each piece in the puzzle supports a game that is open for a win from you will potentially mean a lot of losses. This could be frustrating for an inexperienced player. It is definitely not an easy deck to win with, but even if you lose, it can be fun. When you get it, your win rate goes way up, and the victories can be the stuff of legends. My win rate is about the perfect 80% against all comers right now. Powerful but not oppressive. When your playgroup starts to clue in, it can definitely change how people play, tightening the competitiveness of everyone in the meta. I feel like this is best used by an experienced player who wants to ensure super exciting games, test their skill, and be able to play with opponents of all skill levels and all deck power, tightening the competitiveness of all involved. It is best played against inexperienced players, not by inexperienced players.