Primer: Mardu Midrange

[Christen]

I would only keep a 2 lander if I have Magma Jet or 2-3 two drops. If I mulled to 5 or 6, I'd keep a 2 lander if I have a two drop that is not Lightning Strike.

[Lightning_Dolt]

I'll keep most two landers. With scry and multiple draws you typically get there.

2-1 at FNM heading to last round

Jeskai 2-1
Sidisi Whip 0-2 (tough match up)
Abzan 2-0

[Lightning_Dolt]

1-2 in the last round against Mardu minus black because I screwed game 1 and flooded game 3. I guess my streak had to come to an end sooner or later.

[Lightning_Dolt]

1-4 in the standard event today. My luck bubble done popped. Mana problems for days.

2-0 so far playing Mardu Midrange in the Modern tournament though.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Lost to:
Jeskai 0-2
Mirror 0-2
Temur Monsters 1-2
RDW 1-2

Beat BW mid 2-0.

It was a rough day. Did slightly better in modern.

[Toblakai]

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?

[Zooligan]

2-0 so far playing Mardu Midrange in the Modern tournament though.

Is your modern Mardu list posted somewhere?

[Lightning_Dolt]

@ Toblaki, yes to all except heir.

@zooligan, no, but if you're interested I could pm you.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Temur was close, but I lost due to a bad judge call.

[Toblakai]

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

[dauntless268]

Took Mardu Aggro/Burn to MOCS, posted result here

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=3036&p=265854#p265854

[Lightning_Dolt]

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

Interesting how many of them are ruing stormbreath dragon over sarkan.

I qustion whether erase is really that much better than glare.

Forgot to mention I ran -1 utter end, +1 anger in the board yesterday due to influx of rdw + jeskai heroic.

[Christen]

3-3 on my GPT today but that's supposedly a 4-2 if I didn't have misplays on a certain match.

Playing against the mirror is tiring btw. Fun games though.

[dauntless268]

Erase hits Whip

[Lightning_Dolt]

I guess

[rcwraspy]

it's important to interact on jeskai combo's turn. They typically won't drop the ascendancy until they're ready to go off, at which point you die horribly with a Glare in your hand.

[poppa_f]

I've moved up to 3 erase in the sideboard, as heroic ascendency and b/g enchantress are getting more popular (the one that plays Hornet Queen and Whip of Erebos). I'm on a good run on Modo, I'm about 90% win rate with current build. The only deck I've lost to recently was the Whip deck, but mainly as I flooded out.

[deck]current 75[/deck]

Current thoughts:
- The old switcheroo to control still works most of the time against Abzan, long may that continue
- Always sideboard out the Roc's when you flip to control mode, as they are bad without raid enablers.
- 4 Crackling Doom main could become very relevant now that UW Heroic is making a come-back (eg Tom Ross's deck from the Invitational this weekend)

My typical sideboard plan against midrange is:
OUT: 4 Seeker, 4 Outburst, 2 Roc
IN: 2 Read the Bones, 2 Chandra, Pyromaster, 2 Utter End, 2 End Hostilities, 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

Against enchantress I'll dump the Rabblemasters and bring in 3 Erase

I've found 2 Anger is plenty against mono-red, as outburst is so damn good against them and I don't bring Anger in for many other match-ups (even against the Hornet Queen decks, I'd rather blow up the whip and try to kill them before they can get to 7 mana, rather than bother bringing in Anger. If you pro-actively kill their dorks and coursers, then you can normally slow them down enough to tempo them to death before they can stabilize).

[Zooligan]

Do you not side out Sorin when you side out Creatures/Outburst?

[Lightning_Dolt]

Why on earth is there that split between strike and jet?

[Christen]

Local meta call? I might also put some erases on the side now that I see a lot more constellation lists in our meta. They are very annoying to deal with.

[Lightning_Dolt]

How could that split be a meta call?

[Zooligan]

Would 3/3 lightning strike/magma spray be appropriate to have an early zapper for Jeskai Heroic creatures before they get too big? I'm thinking 3 erase in the side as well for PITA enchantments of all flavors.

[Christen]

How could that split be a meta call?

Just throwing a guess for I have no idea either.

[poppa_f]

Do you not side out Sorin when you side out Creatures/Outburst?

Generally yes. I think against Abzan I'd leave in one Seeker unless they are main-decking banishing light/suspension field, in which case I'd bring in an Erase.

Why on earth is there that split between strike and jet?

I'm experimenting with Jet as a 1-of in place of 1 Strike. So far I like it, Jeskai seems to be less popular, so the 3 damage of Strike is less of a big deal. It's possible that the split should be 2/2, what do you guys think is optimal?

[Lightning_Dolt]

4 lightning strike lol.

[Christen]

While Jeskai is less popular these days, there are guys like Fleecemane Lion and Raksasha Deathdealer. 4 Lightning Strike is the way to go. I'd personally cut 1 Sorin in your list for the fourth.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Jeskai combo is really popular right now. Those X/1's and X/2's grow up. Also, Mantis Rider, Herrald of Torment, Fleece Mane Lion, Sidisi. hose all see playand will make that Magma Jet super awkward.

[Lightning_Dolt]

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12187

[Zooligan]

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12187

Those recurrable bloodsoaked champs seem like more support for a 3/3 lightning strike/magma spray split to me. Plus I think having some 1 CMC cards gives you some options to sling multiple spells per turn. That's kind of hard when the fat part of the curve is at 3 CMC

[poppa_f]

While Jeskai is less popular these days, there are guys like Fleecemane Lion and Raksasha Deathdealer. 4 Lightning Strike is the way to go. I'd personally cut 1 Sorin in your list for the fourth.

Yeah the 3rd Sorin gets sided out a lot. I originally had the 3rd one, as Jeskai was super-popular in my local meta, but not sure if that is still the case. I'm playing tomorrow, so will find out then if it's shifted since I last played paper magic a couple of weeks ago.

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12187

Yep read this earlier. That deck just looks so weak against aggro strategies though, I hate not being able to flip to a proper control deck (and she comes to the same conclusion in the article). It's a shame as I love Bloodsoaked Champion, but I don't think he's that good in the current meta.

One idea I've considered as a good shell for Bloodsoaked Champion is some kind of Esper or UB delve/tempo deck; with the core engine being M15 Jace, Bloodsoaked Champion and Treasure Cruise. The esper version would be vaguely warrior themed, with Chief of the Edge to pump the champions and lets you play up to 8 fetch lands to help power up delve and also gives you access to Sorin and Seeker of the Way for the aggro match-ups. Treasure Cruise is crushing modern and Jace seems like a good delve enabler and combos nicely with Bloodsoaked champion (can get him in to your yard and re-animate + use the bounce effect to remove blockers/tempo your opponent)

[eldub]

For my fellow Mardu enthusiasts who have been piloting this deck for a while, I bring you a spicy brew -- Mardu Dig:

[deck]Mardu Dig[/deck]
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mardu-dig/

The basic Mardu shell remains, but a few notable changes include Mantis Rider in the place of Outburst, no Chained (sad-face), and the inclusion of Dig Through Time. The transformational sideboard becomes a lot scarier with the ability to add Disdainful Stroke and Negate. Ashiok and Keranos for style points.

Take this for a spin at your next FNM or IQ. I'll be taking it to an IQ on Sunday. Obviously the mana base is a lot more painful but I guarantee that playing Mantis Rider into Butcher/Sorin will make you smile. The full 13-15 card sideboard swap makes for a really fun 4C control setup.

I've spent hours on the mana base and I'm certainly open to suggestions. It's a real challenge, but a fun one if you're into that type of torture. Have fun!!

[dauntless268]

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12187

Interesting Article, thanks for posting it. I agree with the reasoning that 1 drops are good in a format where people durdle with CIPT lands. The Mardu deck she posted reminds me of the Black Rabble Variants Todd Anderson suggested a while ago. This deck must indeed be extremely weak against Boss Sligh due to the lack of early interaction with the opponent's board. I also feel that giving up on Hodeling Outburst hurts the value of Stoke and makes the deck weak against more controlling lists with a lot of spot removal.

I was very happy with playing Swiftspear and Seeker in my MOCS deck. In comparison to Champion, Swiftspear is good on offense and defense, and the red manabase allows you to play both Hordeling outburst and Chained to the Rocks, which are excellent against Boss Sligh and midrange alike.

[Zooligan]

I'm playing swiftie now and like the fast starts.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Mardu Dig:

[Lightning_Dolt]

Bloodsoaked Champion has infinitely more synergy with Butcher of the Horde, and he's the main reason for running the deck. I'd only play the Mardu Aggro list if I was fairly sure there would be no aggro. It was pretty close to what I was trying to force before Brad broke the deck.

[dauntless268]

Zooligan, what's your list?

[Zooligan]

Currently:

[deck]Mardu Walkers[/deck]

I moved Chandra main over Sarkhan to deal with decks that I'm seeing more of online - Red, various flavors of Heroic, Green decks with mana elves that ramp quick, lots of 1 toughness targets. Seems ok.

I've also toyed with 3/3 Lightning Strike/Magma Spray split again for the same kind of matchups. I'm not a good enough player to tell if this is correct or not. Sometimes it works, sometimes I'm stuck with creature removal in hand and nothing to remove, sometimes the heroic dudes grow out of Spray range. IDK, I hate spending 2 mana to burn out a 1 toughness dude instead of doming them for those points.

[Lightning_Dolt]

Looks reasonable, but no Rabble makes me nervous.

[Zooligan]

i just bought back my rabbles at a much lower price than i sold them. I'll put them back in and test, but so much stuff at 3 CMC feels just AWKWARD.

When the field is clear -
Spear, Seeker, Outburst is just a sweet curve.
Nothing, Seeker, Rabblemaster is pretty good.

When there's something needs a'killin -
Spear, Seeker, Strike/Jet (leave 1 mana untapped with rabble in hand) is still pretty good.
Nothing, Seeker, Strike/Jet (leave 1 mana untapped with rabble-dabble in hand) kinda feels meh.

[Christen]

Current list

[deck]
Creatures
3 Seeker of the Way
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Wingmate Roc

Instants
3 Chained to the Rocks
4 Lightning Strike
4 Crackling Doom
1 Murderous Cut

Sorceries
2 Anger of the Gods
4 Hordeling Outburst

Planeswalkers
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

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

Sideboard
3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Erase
2 Magma Spray
3 Read the Bones
1 Anger of the Gods
2 End Hostilities
2 Utter End
[/deck]

This is mainly to adjust to the local meta. Lots of decks maindecking Hornet Queen (which we lose to). I might even swap out the third Read the Bones for a third Erase depending on what the meta brings.