Bloodytrailz, love the deck. I am always pretty excited to check out what other people are doing with an Aikido Marchesa.

simoneca, I had never really considered Intervention Pact before. I am not sure how I would adjust to fit it in. I played Reverse Damage for a little while when I first started playing with Queen Marchesa, and I never really felt it worked out as I wanted. I also systematically tested most white Fog effects, but for some reason Intervention Pact wasn't one of them. I guess Intervention Pact has an advantage over Reverse Damage in that you can just play your game, not leave up the mana, be more likely to catch someone by surprise, and then pay for it the next turn. It also ends up being like a Fog for the next two attacks, so it seems pretty solid. I will defininitely test it.

After playing with Warping Wail for a bit, I really like it. Sorceries that hose us are all over the place, and there are a ton of 1 power or toughness cards that can be a problem. Even as a flash chump blocker or 2 CMC ramp it does work. My issue at this point is having enough to cast it consistently. I am considering tuning my mana base a little to account for it. Pain lands like Battlefield Forge may help. I am also considering adding Arch of Orazca back in in place of Crystal Ball. The Ball has been solid, and may ultimately not come out, or at least return after testing, but being able to consistently hard counter sorceries when I want or exile key utility creatures if necessary would likely be worth the adjustment. That and the fact that an extra land may help given I have slowly raised the average CMC as the deck has evolved, so packing some extra lands could ease the pressure for mana. If I do that, I may try the Mox Diamond again. We shall see, as that could lower the sources again. Choices...

As a final thought, I am always amazed at how well this deck shifts from low key control to crazy aggression, depending on draw and on the opponents. I played a T4 Dark Depths and Thespian's Stage combo, followed by Warping Wailing a T5 Wrath of God by the Oloro, Ageless Ascetic player. I won shortly after. This is another aspect of Aikido. I knew playing a long game against Oloro would be a bad move, and drew the combo and counter backup in my opening hand. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. In any case, this idea makes me even more excited about Virtus the Veiled. Deathtouch defense and massive offense is exactly what I need. Like a mini-Master of Cruelties. It will definitely find a place in the deck.

This may be amazing as well. Like a mini Sen Triplets. Extra cards, disrupts their strategy, adds both offense and defense. Could easily ruin the strategy of opposing combo players. I am going to try it.

Hey, I am curious as to your thoughts on the new Thrilling Encore as a win con. I see it's potential as a blow out after someone else board wipes.

Honestly MegaMatt13 that could potentially just replace Animate Dead. I use Animate Dead more late game than to cheat out early stuff, and I often use it to steal a fattie wincon, usually after a big board wipe. The only problem I see is the need to hold up waiting for that board wipe. Seems rough. I think it may be better in a deck that packs it's own board wipes, so you can plan for it. I would love to hear people's experiences with it when they play it, though.

I hear ya. 5 mana is quite a bit to hold up. Even at 4 it would be much easier to justify. I may trial it though.

Agree with you on Virtus and Luxury Suite. They will absolutely be going in my deck.

Not sure about Stolen Strategy. it's on theme but I'm worried about its random hit rate. May still try it though.

How do you feel about Archfiend of Despair as a second Wound Reflection? 8 mana is a ton but I could see him being a strong win con.

is a ton, and for that you should start asking what other things you could be doing, as well as what that does in your hand for the rest of the game until you have that mana. Gisela is similar, cheaper, and provides defense. Wound reflection is cheaper, more durable, and searchable with almost every tutor in the deck, including Academy Rector. Decks that slur to punisher style should consider it, decks designed with significantly more ramp should consider it, I won’t likely run it in this list.

Hey Precocious, I've been toying around with a deck that's almost a variant of this using Najeela the Broken Blade as the commander and "gifting" Warriors to my play group. Do you have any idea on cards that would incentivize people to attack other players. I got things like the Curse Cycle and then the old fashioned Crown of Doom

I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about Najeela, the Blade-Blossom yet W3R3PLATYPUS. There was a card suggested a while ago that was a red enchantment that didn't allow creatures to block unless their controller paid a mana tax. That would be good. I can't remember the name right now, but it is definitely in the comment archive. Also, any Goad cards are good. If you are going that way, you could try Goblin Spymaster and Fumiko the Lowblood. Just get people attacking. Given that Najeela, the Blade-Blossom is a WUBRG commander, there have to be a metric ton of good cards. You could actually play Queen Marchesa, Gahiji, Honored One, and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. Anything that gives advantage to attack anyone but you.

New alters in the deck list. A foreign black border Revied Italian Mountain, Plains, Plains, and Swamp, since Marchesa is obviously Italian and I started playing during revised. Also, Graven Cairns, Concealed Courtyard, Inspiring Vantage, and Mikokoro, Center of the Sea. Much prettier in person than my crappy scans, but you get the idea.

That's actually prety solid suggestiongs Precocious, I was also wondering if you knew of any good cards that punished peoples life for the ammount of creatures they have? I'm currently coming through your revisions but that's a ton of cards to look through

W3R3PLATYPUS There's a couple that I can think up off the top my head, both of which are mainboarded in defensive style marchesa decks.

The first Batwing Brume and the second, Rakdos Charm ... brume requires a lot of creatures to attack, rakdos can just punish someone for having lots of creatures under their control.

W3R3PLATYPUS, I second Rakdos Charm. It's great at punishing go-wide strategies and you don't have to wait for them to attack in order to punish them.

I also really like Deadly Tempest. I have it in my Yahenni deck. A sweeper that comes with some extra punishment.

Check out Stronghold Discipline. Not Rakdos Charm, but still solid.

My favorite win potentially ever came today. I usually don't get to play during the week, so this was even more epic for being a game that should have never happened.

Late game, only me, Mizzix storm light, and Baral denial left still alive, with the Atraxa infect hamstrung by my Solemnity and taken out in the mid game. Mizzix gets her storm interrupted by Baral, with Mizzix thinking that she had to try sometime, she had some counter backup, but the counter battle just happened to be won by Baral (surprise). I take the opportunity to drop Dark Depths into my Solemnity that everyone was so happy I had played when Atraxa was threatening the beat down with an army of infect creatures. All of a sudden, my new Merit Lage threatens the one hit kill against either opponent. I am sitting behind a solid Pillow Fort with Delaying Shield and Solemnity out and feeling good, and pass turn without playing any spells. Baral untaps, and he Control Magics my Merit Lage! I consider my situation. I'm holding a Deflecting Palm, a Path to Exile, and a Lapse of Certainty. I am OK. I let the Control Magic resolve, figuring that Baral would either take out Mizzix since my fort is solid, or I just Deflecting Palm the attack against me, and keeping the Path to Exile as a backup plan. Baral has very little board, and the only thing threatening is the grip of cards in his hand and 9 Islands sitting untapped. With my Merit Lage, he looks rather smug, and much more threatening than before. I am cautious, but still feel OK. Baral overloads a Cyclonic Rift! Two. Islands. Untapped. Mizzix shouts a curse and scoops. Time to gamble. I let it resolve. I pick up everything but my land. Baral cackles and turns Merit Lage sideways. I'm at 15 and Baral is at 17. I Deflecting Palm. Baral cackles again, taps the Islands, and drops a Mana Drain on the table. I drop my Lapse of Certainty on top of it, and push forward three of my untapped lands, making a show of tapping them. Stunned Baral curses, Atraxa and Mizzix whoop.

I won a counter battle with Baral after he resolved Cyclonic Rift to resolve my Deflecting Palm against my own stolen Merit Lage token for the win. Best. Win. Ever. This will have to end up as meta legend.

That was a roller coaster of emotions to read! Nice win!

I had a very similar emotional game a few days ago with a new roommates playgroup, they have a Krenko player who will pull that deck out to win when he's been beaten any time. So the entire game in spite of being the only person besides Krenko who was not running blue I was keeping him under control, removing his sac outlets and his haste enablers, countering his impact tremors but beyond that letting him run amok. He was becoming very spiteful and angry with me and began to devote all his resources to destroying me. It was a bit counter intuitive for the play style of the deck but with Krenko I felt it necessary to be a bit more aggressive with our control. Eventually he got an Altar of Dementia to stick and created enough tokens to mill out every single on of the players, everyone started to pack up there cards and scope as the Krenko player gloated over winning again. I told him I hadn't scooped and game wasn't over yet. On upkeep I used Act of Aggression to steal his Altar of Dementia and then Rakdos Charmed him for the win (would have lost had everyone else not scooped). So to anyone reading this, remember the games not over till the game forces you to lose!

I did a brief read-through of your deck description and objectives. I wasn't familiar with the term "Aikido" until after I read it here. I run a full-focused combo deck and the term Aikido seems at odd ends with Combo since stopping the combo will mean disrupting your opponent's board-state.

There isn't any card that just turns off combo since combo strategies could rely on graveyard or storm or infinite token loops or infinite mana use. An excellent card you might want to consider that can help fall in line with Aikido would be Damping Sphere which hits hard against decks that try to storm out for the win. A good way to deal with graveyard-based combos could be Mimic Vat which not only can serve as a good deterrent, but it's triggered ability can stop a graveyard loop when in a pinch. Lastly if someone aims a lethal spell at you that deals infinite damage or infinite loss of life or forces you to draw infinite cards I've found that cards like Fork and Reverberate are excellent ways of turning those spells against their caster and not only that, but if they die to your copy that effectively exiles their original spell before it ever resolves saving you in the process. Fork and Reverberate are also good at giving your Price of Progress or Backlash more of an edge and can stop counter spells as well.

If you mind can you tell me what combos you're up against? I might be able to come up with a suggestion better suited to your meta. Also I noticed you have Vampire Nighthawk listed as a win condition which I found a bit amusing and out of place. Could you tell me what significance it holds in your deck? If you're looking for an effective aerial blocker I think Mischievous Poltergeist does the trick trading lethality for durability. Also if you have any issues with creatures trampling you to death you might want to consider Dead-Iron Sledge which practically works like super deathtouch killing the creature before combat damage.

StopShot, those are really good observations. I always appreciate the feedback.

As for responses, I will first address your question of Aikido. Aikido does not mean not defending yourself against attacks if it would mean disruption of your opponents' efforts. The discussion of ethics is about the most preferable ways to defend yourself. I include spot removal, and that affects board states and plans as well. The highest ethical level in Aikido is to defend oneself while preventing harm to both the attacker and the defender, but it leaves the possibility for defense that harms the attacker if necessary, it is just much less preferable. In the case of storm, you are right in that the board state of storm is the storm count, but no one goes off in storm without the intent to win the game, so defense in this situation can be justified. The alternative is to lose. Preferably, you could Deflecting Palm or Comeuppance an Aetherflux Reservoir for a win of your own, but causing the storm to fizzle is acceptable when you can't end the game yourself. The higher in the ethical hierarchy you play, the better you are, but dipping down to avoid disaster is OK.

I like a lot of your suggestions. As for Vampire Nighthawk, at this point it is sort of a legacy card. I think about removing it every time I consider an alternative. It is in the wincon spot now as an oversight from when I ran Hatred and had several lifelink creatures to go with it. Now it is just a flying rattlesnake. It currently occupies the most likely flex spot, and is in danger of losing it's place. If it is cut, it is likely to be replaced by something more than a simple flying blocker.

Mimic Vat is a fascinating idea. Limited graveyard hate and Aikido wincon. I will have to consider. Animate Dead has done a pretty good job for me, so I could see Mimic Vat doing the same.

Reverberate and Fork have been in the deck in the past. I think you are right in that they function very well in the right meta, and my previous meta was not the right place for them. My new meta may be. The fact that I now face combo and more counterspells means that it will probably function exactly the same way you say. I may trial this in the Vampire Nighthawk slot, probably my revised Fork. The other option I consider for this spot is Praetor's Grasp or Wheel of Fortune. Both can really mess with combo.

As for what combo I face, Karlov of the Ghost Council with Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood, both Mizzix of the Izmagnus and now Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain storm, a new Muldrotha, the Gravetide infinite Villainous Wealth, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight infinite attack phases, Purphoros, God of the Forge Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker shenanigans, Damia, Sage of Stone infinite turns Deadeye Navigator, and Palinchron BS, and probably more. I would say that many decks use combo wincons in addition to other strategies, but there are some that only win with combo, such as the storm and Damia decks.

I played last night and considered your suggestions, StopShot. I kept in the back of my mind as I was playing the idea "Would I like to have a Reverberate right now? What could I do with it?" The answer was frequently, "Yes, Reverberate would be a good card." So:

Vampire Nighthawk -> Reverberate

We will see how this goes, but being reminded of the potential of this card was good and timely. Thanks for the input StopShot.

Fun deck idea, I have a Marchesa deck that leans more toward choice/shenanigans but I took a lot of ideas from your deck.

What are your thoughts on Cleansing? A conditional/choice Acidic Soil.

@precociousapprentice, Well, I was going to suggest that if you insisted on keeping Vampire Nighthawk that Thornbite Staff makes a strong synergy with it.

If you're going to use only one copy spell I'd suggest using Fork over Reverberate. While they're very similar and neither is strictly better or worse than the other one common scenario Fork has over Reverberate is when copying counter spells and turning them red. This can be significant, because in past times when copying counterspells I've had cards like Red Elemental Blast, Pyroblast, and Guttural Response used to counteract my Reverberate when copying a blue counter spell or draw spell. Most non-blue decks that can run those cards will likely run them more-so than not and Fork bypasses that issue easily when needed.

It seems your meta is thoroughly diverse. Hand and deck disruption can be a strong asset for taking down a combo deck, but I wouldn't consider Praetor's Grasp or Wheel of Fortune strong enough effects since combo decks can always run back-up combos to rely on. What really hits combo is repeatable effects and some of the strongest you could probably run would be Mind Slash and Bottomless Pit which a lot of combo players would find nasty. (Painful Quandary is a close third place and can stop storm decks pretty effectively as well.) Also if you're going up against non-graveyard strategies Mesmeric Orb is a ballistic nightmare in any singleton format it's put in which would be the only effective mill card I'd ever recommend when hurting combo.

Do note graveyard-based combos are a little more resilient to the card suggestions I've given above, but so long as you have something like Rest in Peace and/or Planar Void you can easily avoid this issue without giving them any fuel to burn.

Given your meta I would imagine Torpor Orb would lift a lot of weight for you especially against Purphoros, God of the Forge, Palinchron/Deadeye Navigator, and whatever ETB effects the Muldrotha, the Gravetide deck is probably abusing.

One aspect about blue I've never liked was it's use of counter spells. If you find Reverberate helpful I'd recommend also using cards like Seal of Cleansing, Sinister Concoction, Gate to Phyrexia, Aura Fracture, Aura of Silence, and Umezawa's Jitte. Not only do they serve as good rattlesnake cards that deter your opponents from just putting their bombs on the field, but I've noticed blue decks only hold up counter spell mana on turns they might need it on. If you drop one of these early when they're not ready their counter spells won't be able to stop the card effects, and I can verify from past experiences that the blue players I go up against when using the cards I just mentioned hate them fondly because they know I save them for their combos which makes their job of combo-ing out much more complicated. In fact one card I've found more success with than I'd ever give credit to is Molten Vortex, because the number of utility creatures and win-cons it hits without needing to use prime removal spells is pretty big and as I said before it's another one of those spells that if resolved the blue decks are going to have troubles playing around with. The Vortex can remove Mizzix of the Izmagnus, Laboratory Maniac, Norin the Wary, Hermit Druid, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, etc. and even when I don't have a land to pitch to it I've found it's presence alone is enough to deter plays entirely. Shattering Spree also plays well against blue, because not only can it hit multiple targets, but you can hit the same target twice or three times which would require more than one counter spell to stop a key combo piece being removed if needed.

As for multiple combat steps or a super massive army being swung your way you already can use Ghostly Prison, but if you need more options Norn's Annex can also work as well as Orim's Chant which not only stops combat but can also be used but can also stop storm or certain combos if you cast it at the right moment. It should also be noted that Rule of Law as well as the aforementioned Damping Sphere also does a marvelous job of stopping storm as well. Lastly if your opponents gaining life is an issue I think Rampaging Ferocidon makes a good option, because it can also punish your opponents if they try to build an army, so it fits two functions rather well, and I find the menace handy if you ever need to punch into a super-friends deck.

StopShot those are all great suggestions. For some of them, I think anything that is Stax-y is probably strong but counter to the play style. I have Torpor Orb, Damping Sphere, and Aura of Silence that have not been put in for this reason. I want people to go off, just not at me. I played Orim's Chant as a semi-counterspell for a while. It was OK, but had to be used proactively, and this made it much weaker than I wanted. Norn's Annex turns out to be mixed. People just pay the life. This can add up, and on occasion was almost a wincon by itself, but it didn't redirect attacks away from me as strongly as other tax cards. The discard card are a little difficult. They have a tendency to make me more of a target than I want. They are powerful, but I think they may undermine the strength of the deck. Rule of Law may be similar, but I would need to see it in action to know.

The suggestion of Fork is well taken. I had a conversation with a friend about them both, but I forgot the fact that Fork turns the spell red. That is a good addition. I may switch it. I have a nice revised Fork I pulled in one of the very first packs I ever opened that would fit nicely. I just threw the Reverberate in because I found it first and like the art.

Thanks for the suggestions, and keep them coming. I think the deck is pretty mature, and needs very little changes, but you can see that it has been a long evolution. It remains my favorite deck, and wins surprisingly often.

Here's a few suggestions:

Glacial Chasm - I'm sure you're aware of this card, so I'm curious what your reasoning is for not running it! Sets you back when you decide to scrap it?

Leave // Chance - How common are board wipes in your meta? Being able to turn 6-8 permanents that you would have lost into card draw (or just play them again) might have potential.

Cleansing - a three-peat of Price of Progress / Acidic Soil. Too conditional?

Archfiend of Despair - I know you already shot down this card but I think I like it for the exact reasons you don't: (1) It being a creature means it can power its own ability. Also, Animate Dead target. (2) Shuts down lifegain decks which I run into fairly often. (3) I don't run tutors so the greater tutorability of Wound Reflection is a non-factor for me. (4) Good budget option for Wound Reflection :).

I had conidered all of those projectneptune, and I don't think that they would add what you think they would add. I will go through each.

Glacial Chasm - This card has way too many downsides. The Cumulative Upkeep alone is out of control. Additive life loss becomes huge. T1 is 2, T2 is 6, T3 is 12, T4 is 20. Half your starting life to reach 4 more turns is pretty huge. On top of that, it costs 2 land drops to use. This can be huge, and combined with the life loss it is not something you just put out to be prepared. It also prevents some of my offense. If I want to play a Master of Cruelties or Virtus the Veiled for an attempt at a win, I need to advertise the play and expose myself for a full round ahead in order to be able to attack with it, and that doesn't even count the Insurrection play. In all, I have much better options. Other decks that are built to abuse it would be a better home for it.

Leave // Chance - That is a very narrow set of circumstances that makes it worthwhile. Board wipes happen, but I would rather counter, Boros Charm, Teferi's Protection , or just recover faster with new threats. Even a Replenish or Yawgmoth's Will would probably do me much better.

Archfiend of Despair - As a budget option, I can see this being fine. As it stands, I like my other options. They body is a liability compared to the durability of an enchantment, and the Academy Rector to Wound Reflection is an awesome play.

Cleansing - This card is much less a third Price of Progress/Acidic Soil than you think. I looked at this card early on, as soon as I saw the power of Price of Progress. Unfortunately, it is not nearly good enough. Giving the opponent choices makes it basically useless. Acidic Soil has to be held until they are really beat down or they have 15 lands to make it worthwhile, and usually only comes out as a finisher. I actually wish I had a better option than Acidic Soil, and Cleansing is no Acidic Soil. Here's how it would play. Wait until mid to late game so it actually matters. In the mid game playing it means that they take maybe 5-7 damage or so, and keep their board state. That is not nearly enough to change a game. Late game it matters even less. Even if they are pretty low, Say 15 life and 15 lands, they will sacrifice only their worst lands, they will keep enough to retaliate hard, and they will take 6-8 damage, leaving themselves with a Gaea's Cradle, an Ancient Tomb, two dual lands, an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and a Maze of Ith. That is not nearly good enough an effect to warrant the slot. This is also my problem with Torment of Hailfire. Give them choices and they will find a way out of losing. If Cleansing did 3 damage per land saved, it would be worth it. For 1 damage, it is too little to matter.

solemnity stops glacial chasms cumulative upkeep. fun fact