Could someone kindly explain to me how Queen Marchesa decks work?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on May 17, 2022, 1:16 a.m. by TypicalTimmy
Queen Marchesa utterly confuses me. Most of the time, Mardu wants to relentlessly attack and have game-breaking spells and enchantments that just shatter boardstates, life totals and graveyards. However, perhaps without exception, every single Queen Marchesa deck I see - be it online or in person - tends to run prisons and taxes.
I seldom, if ever, actually see her deck win.
Now I realize that can come off as wildly insulting to Queen Marchesa players out there, but that is precisely why I am making this thread. I legitimately do not understand how she is supposed to be played, and I am asking for help.
Could experienced players please enlighten me? There must be something I am missing, here.
In my personal experience, decks revolve around her retaining Monarch. But, Monarch is so easily lost that I never see her hold onto it for very long - more than a turn or two, perhaps three at most. Yes her little 1/1 Assassins are wonderful and all, but those are also very easily handled. Even with anthems to give them vigilance or +2/+2 or whatever. It's not the worst thing in the game to be up again, even with their deathtouch and haste. So... what's going on here?
How does Queen Marchesa win?
Thank you, and I apologize if I came off as rather aggressive in my tone.
griffstick says... #3
Yea she is the commander for Comeuppance effects, Deflecting Palm effects, Delirium effects. This is how I see it built the same most often. That's not how I built her. She doesn't give you a obvious direction to build. I have built her 3 times.
I've built her as mardu good stuff with everything having deathtouch. With the idea of losing the monarch being advantageous, to use the deathtouch tokens, as fodder for Attrition effects or Vampiric Rites Type cards.
Then I built her as monarch tribal. Basically all the benefits of being the monarch with fancy recursion and protection effects.
And the last way I built her was superfirends with a huge removal package. And a combo that uses Blasphemous Act + Vicious Shadows to kill the table if I never get to my plaswalkers ults
May 17, 2022 10:44 a.m. Edited.
My Queen Marchesa deck is mix of akkido effects like Deflecting Palm, monarch tribal which gives you card advantage and a bunch of other effects and then cards like Dread to make people not want to attack me. I also have cards like Breena, the Demagogue that mess with combat choices.
The last time I played the Queen I kept the Monarch for like 6 turn cycles because of No Mercy. I ended up winning by casting a Thrilling Encore after the last other player standing (playing a Xenagos, God of Revels deck) had killed my Archon of Coronation and Protector of the Crown before going in for an alpha strike (I got a couple of his things he'd sacrificed to do that too). I survived and he lost on the crack-back. It was a great game.
DrukenReaps says... #2
When I played her I won how I usually do. Some silly combo. I don't recall everything in the deck. Warstorm Surge was funny when I lost the monarch, every upkeep Murder. Repercussion + Blasphemous Act was my main win-con but my meta is casual and creature heavy. I also had a lot of Manabarbs effects. Generally the deck wouldn't win fast but it would slowly grind the whole table down. Sometimes I'd win, sometimes I'd lose. Regardless, it was fun. Not altogether different from my current Kardur, Doomscourge deck really. Though Kardur has been more effective with how I wanted to play.
May 17, 2022 2:16 a.m.