Dies to Removal

Bringing this to FNM

[deck]Toothpaste[/deck]

I wanted to go a more Red direction for Stoke...Stoke was my main attraction to the RW build. I like having it to go straight to the dome on the back of the butchers, phoenixes and dragons.

@Valdarith: Did you ever miss Rabblemaster in your build on the previous page?

Soulfire Grandmaster is going to be taking Seeker's place for a bit in my build. Any black-leaning builds give Herald of Torment a spin in place of Seeker?

I think Brad was dicking around with that 4-color list, you know, just to see who would copy his idea.

My experiment was, overall, a flop. Keeping mana open for Tymaret and Bloodsoaked Champion was a bit too much of a hindrance, as these were competing with Butcher and the like. I think I will continue to stick strictly with midrange, and will be giving this list a spin: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdat ... ckID=76604

Not sure about Brimaz here, but the singleton Whip is interesting.

Thanks. Will report back Saturday.

I'm going to go back to the earlier Rakdos plan of RBw, utilizing Tymaret.

[deck]RBw[/deck]

How are you all doing vs RG Devotion?

Strong presence at the latest SCG Open: http://sales.starcitygames.com/deckdata ... country=US

Dolt, what style was the Temur deck: Caryatid/Courser or Rattleclaw Mystic/Heir of the Wilds? I would guess they brought in Disdainful Strokes against your 'walkers/Butcher?

If you look at the older Mardu lists, you'll find that Seeker of the Way is balls to the wall aggressive compared to our older lineups.

My only concern would be playing too many SBD if you're also playing Elspeth which limits how useful her -3 can be from a topdeck situation. If Elspeth were in my 75 I would lean a bit heavier on Sarkhan, but it's a pretty minor issue.

At this point, you are also running a pretty heavy top end, say 2 SBD, Elspeth and Sarkhan. I wouldn't play all three in the same deck, and favor the SBD/Sarkhan 4-2.

Question: Is there anything keeping Brad's shell from being able to use the same SBD/Sarkhan split as many of the older Mardu lists (4-2 SBD/Sarkhan)?

I'm thinking about adapting Brad's RWb within the shell of an older Mardu deck that was BRw.

[deck]Horde[/deck]

Anger seems good against the little red guys and the RG/Temur builds. I've faced a few of those, and being able to wipe the dorks has been key to me being able to beat them...I've liked Chandra in my list; Lili seems a tad better if you can swing the double Black in her cost. Did you also play Thoughtseize this time around, or just Chained to the Rocks?

Looking around at some Mardu decks, I came across this interesting build:

[deck]Big Mardu[/deck]

Source: http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=14973&iddeck=110939

Seems a bit too topheavy, no?

Nicely done, Dolt. Did you rely on Elspeth's tokens for Butcher food?

Why not swap Brimaz for Master of the Feast? Your mana base skews R splash B, and I think it'd be easier to land this one than Brimaz. Seems like you get more value, too.

I look forward to hearing back from you Eldub. Does Master of the Feast have a place in BR variants of Mardu, in place of Brimaz? A 5/5 flier for three seems pretty potent, but its the drawback that I'd be concerned with.

Seeker should work wonderfully in Mardu. Do you even need Brimaz? I never missed him in my BR shell, though I'd favor this one for Seeker.

Here's a detailed write up on Mardu Midrange that may be of interest. I have to say, I agree with him in respect to Mardu Charm.

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12112

What's our MU against RG Monsters like? It seems like they could overwhelm us quicker than we can fire off removal, for the most part. I've decided to take a more BR track with my Mardu midrange, cutting Brimaz.

[deck]Mardu Midrange Classic[/deck]

I do prefer this to the Brimaz build in terms of speed.

A single Mardu Midrange made it into PTK's top decks. It used something like Goss's list:

4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Brimaz
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Stormbreath Dragon

2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

With a slight alteration to the planeswalker lineup.

Durdling around with Jon Goss's list, I made an on the spot version that compensates for my lack of Hero's Downfall and Crackling Doom playsets. This is my spell lineup.

4 Thoughtseize
4 Lightning Strike
2 Anger of the Gods
2 [card]Hero's Downfall[/card]
2 Mardu Charm
2 Crackling Doom

What do you guys think about this lineup? I am working on finishing my sets of Downfall and Doom, but this still feels kind of powerful.

Taking a crack at Mardu Midrange:

[deck]Mardu[/deck]

I am not sure if this deck is sending mixed messages or not. Bloodsoaked seems like something to do early on that can synergize with Butcher later on in the game.

That one midrange build running 3 Brimaz, sets of Rabblemaster, Butcher with 3 Stormbreath: is it actually worth investing in? Seems kind of risky, moreso than the other Mardus. That one guy here that wanted to salvage Sledgehammer Red; Mardu seems to give us the tools for such a build. Stormbreath in place of TMaw, Butcher in place of Hellrider, Rabblemaster or Brimaz in place of Reckoner...dropping on down to War-Name Aspirant and maybe that WB Mardu pump warrior.

I like the BR splash W midrange build with demons and dragons. I don't have Brimaz at the moment; is Seeker of the Way a decent replacement?

Aled, were you playing the midrange build? Given all the painlands, I wonder if Eidolon of the Great Revel doesn't become a more powerful creature. I think we can manage him; Brimaz is no problem at double white in a build that tends to run more BR splash W.