Primer: Mardu Midrange

[poppa_f]

Yeah I considered SBD, it fits the mana base better and dodges Abzan Charm, Utter End, Banishing Light etc, which is great. Against Jeskai I'm normally more worried about stabilizing first before I start beating down though, which is why I prefer Wingmate (partly for the lifegain and partly as it gives you two blockers for their Mantis Riders). Also they normally have 4 Stoke main, so can always Stoke the Dragon.

That said, I've noticed they sometimes side in Hushwing Griff for game 2, presumably for Rocs. If that becomes more common, then I think Dragon could be the better choice.

[Wrathberry]

dragon always is the better choice.

[Self Medicated]

dragon always is the better choice.

Your argument is compelling. Go on...

[Lightning_Dolt]

Hushwing is tech vs Seige Rhino, but your Roc is getting splash damage. Sorin > Dragon stabilizes you pretty well, just sayin'.

[Wrathberry]

dragon always is the better choice.

Your argument is compelling. Go on...

i just think, that stormbreath and sarkhan are both way better in our deck than roc. he is slow, clunky and has only 3 power. also i never play creatues without haste or immediate impact after 3 mana when im playing red. thats just a nono. i dont even say that roc is a bad card, its good, just that stormbreath and sarkhan are better. especialy if a lot of people play jeskai or abzan.

and since we have 2 5 drops which are both better, who needs a roc then. also he is mono white, and its bad enough that i have to play seeker who is mono white too. creatures without the red mana symbol in the corner are a no-go for me normaly

[Jojja]

Wingmate Roc+token on an even board against Jeskai is an auto win most games. As a Jeskai player I have only won against a resolved Roc twice in about 10 games. Those games I have a Stormbreath out already and my opponent on less then 10 life so I could sing in and burn him out.

[LP, of the Fires]

Roc>Dragon for every reason I've already said. Sarkhan>both for every reason I've already said.

How the fuck is stormbreath unanswerable for Jeskai? Stoke kills it outright. It's counterable. Sarkhan kills it outright. 2 burn spells kill it. These are all game 1 options. A full 9 cards in my maindeck answer dragon cleanly.

Sarkhan on the other hand must be attacked or he's at least a 2-for-1.

Vomit.

[Lightning_Dolt]

I've played the match a lot and they have a very hard time dealing with a stormbreath.

Either they have stoke or they eat shit. Deck only runs so many counters and if they counter your dragon, probably means you resolved your butcher or your Elspeth.

It's infinitely easier for Jeskai to deal with Sarkan as it's also vulnerable to oring, charm and jet / strike if you tick down

[Lightning_Dolt]

Most Jeskai only have Stoke and Sarkan that can interact, and in my meta a lot of Jeskai are running dragon over Sarkan.

[Wrathberry]

Never said that sbd is > sarkhan. I play 2 of each since 4 sarkhans is just too much . I still haze roc. He is boring, slow, a shitty bird. Will never ever play him. Good thing we have alternatives which are not really worse . And btw: it happens a lot that you have nothing on board vs all those removal heavy decks, if you don't draw outburst. Sbd is just always what he is, while roc can sometimes just be a terrible card, if you can't trigger raid.

[poppa_f]

De Tora article on Mardu Midrange in TCG today: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12165

[Lightning_Dolt]

Decent read. I'll probably write an article on it soon. Waiting for my most recent one to go through. Will likely write more now that they're offering me money lol.

[stuffydollfan]

Just went 4-1 in an online ptq preliminary with this decklist
WARNING! BIG WALL OF TEXT!

[deck]Mardu Midrange

2 Tyramet, the Murder King
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
3 Wingmate Roc

3 Chained to the Rocks
4 Lightning Strike
4 Crackling Doom
3 Hordeling Outburst
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Murderous Cut

3 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Caves of Koilos
6 Mountain
4 Nomad Outpost
1 Swamp
2 Temple of Silence
3 Temple of Triumpth

Sideboard

2 Glare of Heresy
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Hushwing Gryff
2 Read the Bone
3 Anger of the Gods
2 End Hostilities[/deck]

Round 1: 0-2 vs U/W Control
Lots of dead cards in game 1. I get him pretty low but he is able to stabilize using that stupid angel that gets him back to 20. Eventually he played 3 Elspeth's and a Spear of Heliod to win the match.

I side out 3 Chain, 2 Murderous Cut, and 2 Dooms for 2 Glares, 2 Reads, 3 Gryff

Game 2 more of the same crap, get him down really low, then he plays the angel, and is able to hold me off pretty easily.

Round 2: 2-1 vs Boros tokens/aggro
First match was close it seemed that i had stabilized *had good board presence, decent life total, and all the had was 5 tokens, and a small hand size. He attacks with his team and i block with my guys but it pumps them with that 2+2 enchantment.

Side out 1 Chain, 3 Outburst, 2 Tymaret, 2 Sarkhan, 2 Cuts for 3 Rams, 3 Anger, 2 Glare, 2 Wrath

Games 2 and 3 I decided to take more of a control role and my deck did great at that. I withstood his quick barrages but I had anger to answer him early on. Eventually my deck is able to out grind his. Anger, Ram, Butcher and Sorrin all played key roles in this match up.Game 3 he got mana stuck at 4 mana with only a single white source in hand and i was able to make quick work of him with my Butcher.

Round 3: 2-1 vs Sultai Midrange
He is able to get Whip up on turn 3 followed by Sidisi on turn 4. I was still able to Threaten him and somewhat tempo him for a while but it was a losing match.

Side out 2 Tymaret, 3 Outburst, 4 Rabblemaster, for 3 Anger, 3 Gryff, 2 Wraths, 2 Reads

I get a slow hand game 2 but im able to draw into Gryff to counter his Sidisi cip and im able to kill that guy using lightning strike. He kills my gryff and i follow up with a Butcher and pass. next turn he passes and i get in with the butcher. The next turn he drops the queen bee on me and stops my butcher from attacking. I get hit on his next turn and i take it because i cant draw crap. On my next turn i drew anger and i put him at 8 with my butcher. He plays a spider and passes. I swing with the butcher on my next turn but he does not block him and goes down to 3 which is just in range for my burn to kill him

Game 3 was one of the closest and most grindiest games of magic ive ever played. Definitely one for the ages. Holy crap he played 3 queens on me. Early on i had anger and chains to take care of that crappy 4/6 guy and his sidisi. Eventually i am able to play a Gryff on his eot and swing to follow it up with my crappy roc, and to top it all off he kills my gryff at eot and then follows it up with a queen. Lucky for me i have a pretty loaded hand and wrath on my turn. Sadly he drops a second queen on his next turn *hes top decking at this point while my hand isnt looking as hot as it was*. I do a desperate read and draw into land and pass with a Butcher on the table. Next turn he thoughseizes me and takes my roc * other cards were butcher and gryff* swings for 4, leaving 2 bees to block. My next turn i chain the queen b up and pass. He then swings for 3 and leaves one bee to defend and plays a caryatid. He's at 14 im at 4. Eot after he swings i flash in my gryff. My next turn i draw burn, and i kill his blocker and swing in with the butcher and the gryff to take him down to 7. I then play my last card in hand which is another butcher and pass. Next turn he topdecks a soul of innistrad and passes. I draw temple and scry a roc. i know i need a wrath or anger here or i die but i decided to leave the roc on top and pass. Next turn he activates the souls ability and gets back 3 creatues. He swings with the team and i block the soul with my gryff and takes me down to 1. He then plays a spider and passes the turn. Next turn i swing with a butcher and he blocks it with the spider and i play my roc and pass turn. Next turn he swings with his team again but this time i block a bee with my butcher and the roc token blocks the soul, and before damage i sac the token and go back to 4 life. Second main phase he play courser and the queen b again then he ends turn. I draw a Cackling doom and pass. Next turn he activates the souls ability and plays a spider. Then he swings with the team only leaving the spider as a blocker. My butcher blocks his courser and the roc blocks the bee, and i doomed his soul and sac the roc to keep myself alive, 7-3. On my turn i top draw anger to wipe his entire board and swing with my butcher, life totals now at 2-3. On his turn he drops down the 4/6 guy and a spider then he passes. And finally i top draw another doom ftw!

Round 4: 2-1 vs U/B control
Another boring control matchup. Game 1 he's able to answer and counter all my threats and eventually able to play that 6/7 guy with flash and beat me down with it.

Side out 3 Chains, 2 murders, for 3 gryffs, 2 bones

Game 2 i start out with a turn 2 tyramet, into a turn 3 goblin that gets killed. Im stuck at 3 lands with 6 cards in hand *two of which are read the bones and a single gryff* but i swing and pass with playing nothing. Lucky he passes too and i eot the gryff and take him down to 12 on my next swing *still only 3 lands* and i pass. Next turn he plays plays a perlious vault and taps all out. On my next turn my butcher comes in eats my bird and bashes in with the king for 7. He taps out on his turn again to exile my lonely butcher. Next turn i draw sorin and make a dude! Next turn he taps out again to draw 3 cards which gave me an easy opening to finish him off with the vampire and some burn.

Game 3 was also boring but exciting towards the end. Early on he bb my goblins, but the next horde was able to stick around for awhile and take chunks off his life. My goblins kept swinging while i tried playing some more threats. He was able to kill and counter them all despite being stuck on 4 lands. Eventually he is able to delve enough to dig for some lands. He goes for another bb on my one of my goblins but this time i burn it in response to save my other guys. He then heroes downfall one of the other goblin. On my next turn i draw a gryff and pass tight after my goblin swings. He then draws more cards at my eot and only plays land and passes on his turn. I then play my gryff on his eot and draw the king. I play the king pre combat and in response he heroes downfall my gryff, but my goblin got in there again for 1 making our life total 17-9, eot he digs some more. Next turn he drops another vault with 4 lands untapped and passes. On my turn i draw temple and leave a butcher on top and swing with the king and a goblin but he bb the king and i only get in for 1. Next turn he does nothing and passes while i draw the butcher and sac the goblin to give it haste, but he kills the butcher with a murderous cut, but the king sacs him in response and comes back to my hand. Next turn he thoughtseizes me with 3 cards in my hand burn, doom and king, i burn him in response and he goes down to 3 after the thoughtseize. Next turn he does nothing again and i draw a sarkhan but play the king instead. He finally decides that the king must go and he exiles it with the vault. The next two turns my sarkhan and roc get countered and at the end of my turn he plays the big guy again only to cackling doom it and he responds by saving it *taking back all the life gain land to his hand*. My next turn i play sorrin and make a vampire and he eot plays his big guy again. On his turn he plays drown in sorrow and swings at sorrin. Next turn i draw rabble and get in for 1 making life totals 17-4. Next turn he doesnt swing and passes turn. On my turn i draw a roc, the i swing with only my 2 goblin tokens but he flashes in another big guy and my goblins die a terrible death but their attack made it so i could get a roc token. Next turn he plays jaces ingenuity and a font of fortunes and swings with his 8/9 guys with 3 mana open but i block one with my roc token and take 8 making the score 9-7 after he dropped another life gaining land. But it didnt matter cuz on my next turn i attack for lethal and he cant stop it.

Round 5: vs Boss sligh red
Game 1 it seemed like i was about to take control but he drops an anthem and his tokens are just too much for me.

Side out 2 Sarkhan, 2 Dooms, 1 chains, 1 Chandra for 3 Rams, 3 anger

Games 2 and 3 was pretty much the same story, i was able to draw into anger and kill his field and was able to get life back with butcher and sorin.

Sorry for the big wall of text but i felt the need to share with you guys.

[Christen]

Reports are always good. Mardu isn't favored against UB control, so congrats on winning that match.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Ub is difficult, but not unwinnable.

[Jedi_Knight]

So finally orderred the cards on mtgotraders, will join the mardu crowd next week, because it's weekend and that means dirnking time.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Won my forth FNM in a row. Deck is too stronk.

RDW 2-0
Abzan 2-0
Abzan 2-1
UB Control 2-0

[Wrathberry]

Won my forth FNM in a row. Deck is too stronk.

RDW 2-0
Abzan 2-0
Abzan 2-1
UB Control 2-0

With which list exactly?

[Zooligan]

Added 2 Lili main deck for a total of 7 PW main and 3 side. Feels good. When they tap out to handle one, they get slapped with another, then another, then maybe a Butcher. It's sweet!

[Lightning_Dolt]

Won my forth FNM in a row. Deck is too stronk.

RDW 2-0
Abzan 2-0
Abzan 2-1
UB Control 2-0

With which list exactly?

Brad's most recent -1 Read the Bones +1 Harness by Force (my pet card).

[Wrathberry]

where do i find brads newest list?^^

[dauntless268]

Why not be a little more aggressive and play Monastery Swiftspear in this deck?

[redthirst]

Because the list is incredibly tight and Swiftspear is incredibly low-impact in this shell.

[Toblakai]

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.

[Zooligan]

Because the list is incredibly tight and Swiftspear is incredibly low-impact in this shell.

I find Swiftspear makes for more aggressive game 1s, and you just side it out if you go all control in 2/3.

And Swiftspear->Seeker->Outburst into Butcher or Sorin is just sweet. And if you have to deviate on t3 and burn something prowess on the spear and seeker is nice too.

[Christen]

If you're going to run Swiftspear, you're better off running the RW shell which is more consistent in dropping the turn 1 threat. Swiftspear is lackluster in the midgame.

[Zooligan]

I was unimpressed with Rabblemaster, so switched to Swiftspear and just like the feel better.

[dauntless268]

Fair enough. I guess it's just a different deck then, basically Brad Nelson's RW aggro splashing Black for Cackling Doom and Butcher, which may still be worth it or not.

[Zooligan]

Fair enough. I guess it's just a different deck then, basically Brad Nelson's RW aggro splashing Black for Cackling Doom and Butcher, which may still be worth it or not.

Uh, no. It's his Mardu list subbing in Swiftspear for Rabblemaster. Then I started fiddling around with a few other cards (banishing light, liliana vess, storm breath) based on what I've been playing against most.

[Christen]

Fair enough. I guess it's just a different deck then, basically Brad Nelson's RW aggro splashing Black for Cackling Doom and Butcher, which may still be worth it or not.

I find that you're splashing more for Crackling Doom because that card is the best card in this deck in my opinion. We're abusing Butcher because we are running cards like Sorin, Rabble, and Outburst. Speaking of, don't forget Sorin's synergy with our creatures (and specially Outburst).

[Lightning_Dolt]

where do i find brads newest list?^^

[deck]
Creatures (12)
4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Seeker of the Way

Planeswalkers (7)
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor

Spells (16)
3 Chained to the Rocks
4 Crackling Doom
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Lightning Strike
1 Murderous Cut

Lands (25)
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Caves of Koilos
6 Mountain
4 Nomad Outpost
1 Swamp
2 Temple of Silence
3 Temple of Triumph

Sideboard (15)
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 End Hostilities
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Read the Bones
2 Utter End
1 Harness By Force
[/deck]

[rcwraspy]

you're not mardu midrange if you run swiftspear. How are you hitting your T1 untapped red consistently? This deck NEEDS the 4 Nomad Outpost and some number of temples, typically 4-8.

[redthirst]

Am I the only one who likes Mardu Charm over Outburst? Yeah, you get one less token and the tokens aren't Goblins, but they are Instant speed and First Strike, which is relevant against Boss Sligh, and the card has two other really excellent modes.

[redthirst]

For reference, here's what I've been running:

[deck]
Creatures: 12
4 Seeker of the Way
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde

Spells: 24
3 Chained to the Rocks
4 Thoughtseize
2 Magma Jet
3 Crackling Doom
4 Mardu Charm
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

Land: 24
4 Nomad Outpost
4 Mana Confluence
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Battlefield Forge
2 Caves of Koilos
6 Mountain
1 Swamp

Sideboard: 15
4 Magma Spray
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Crackling Doom
3 Utter End
4 ???[/deck]

It's got a weaker game 1 against Aggro, but I do SB fairly heavily for that MU. On the other hand, I believe the 4 Thoughtseize gives me more game against Midrange and Ascendancy. I haven't tested the deck enough to say that with any real conviction, though.

The mana base is also fairly unevolved... it's likely I need to move to more tap lands and less pain lands.

[dauntless268]

you're not mardu midrange if you run swiftspear. How are you hitting your T1 untapped red consistently? This deck NEEDS the 4 Nomad Outpost and some number of temples, typically 4-8.

Midrange and Aggro are definitions that these days are used rather loosely...

As opposed to Jeskai we can hit a red 1-drop with consistency if we want (Brad's List has 13 t1 untapped red sources if I'm not mistaken), but yeah...

For the record, I had something like this in mind:

[deck]Mardu Aggro[/deck]

Anyway, could be terrible....

[Zooligan]

you're not mardu midrange if you run swiftspear. How are you hitting your T1 untapped red consistently? This deck NEEDS the 4 Nomad Outpost and some number of temples, typically 4-8.

Don't be simple. Just because there is a one drop doesn't mean it has to be played turn 1. Often both players turn 1 is taplands. I'll run what I want in my deck, thanks. You don't get extra points for fitting into someone's definition of "Mardu midrange" last I checked.

[rcwraspy]

lol

[Lightning_Dolt]

Am I the only one who likes Mardu Charm over Outburst? Yeah, you get one less token and the tokens aren't Goblins, but they are Instant speed and First Strike, which is relevant against Boss Sligh, and the card has two other really excellent modes.

Mardu Charm is a bad card. It looks good on paper, but all three modes are overcosted significantly and it's just a trap card.

Hordeling Outburst is the card that really enables this deck.

[Whole]

Should this deck be in the Control variants rather than the Aggressive Variants?

[poppa_f]

It's basically aggro/control. You are normally the beatdown in game 1 and control game 2, depending on opposition though obviously.