Slaughterhouse 5(Mardu aggro)

[LP, of the Fires]

This archetype is very open in how you build it, but the big constant I think is that you're playing an aggressive midrange deck that's in the mardu colors for 1 or more of the powerful Clan cards. Here's my red based list with a token subtheme:

[deck]4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

4 Crackling Doom
4 Stoke the Flames

2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Foundry Street Denizen
3 Hordeling Outburst
3 Mardu Ascendancy
4 Monastery Swiftspear

4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Swamp
4 Mana Confluence
4 Battlefield Forge
1 Plains
2 Mountain
2 Nomad Outpost[/deck]

I Broke the deck up into Incentives, Removal and Synergies so that you can see the mix of powerful cards and how all the affects overlap. I THINK that synergy is going to be much more important in this new format then
it was in Thero's and luckily for this deck, the synergies run so deep that they can't effectively be broken up. Denizens triggered by hordling burst which is pumped by sorin, which blocks for sarkhan which turns on purphoros which combos with rabblemaster which triggers Butcher which kills you. Yeah.

The only eye soar so far is the monastery swiftspear, but I wanted another cheap red creature and it seemed like the best fit at the time. War-name aspirant doesn't work because there aren't enough 1 drops to trigger raid. Mogis warhound and valley dasher simply are too low power for my tastes and eidolon of the great revel simply isn't good in this format(I don't think). I was shying away from firedinker satyr, but I'll probably go back to him and he may just be perfect. The damage clause is annoying, yeah, but eh attacks through caryatid which is big and he's always 2 power.

Cards we've benched for now are Stormbreath dragon and mardu charm. Dragon is basically interchangeable with sarkahn and
I'll likely run a couple in my board. Sarkhen gets the nod since he plays better with rabblemaster and in such a token heavy build, he's easy to protect which makes him overall better, protection aside. Charm was a victim of me seeing crackling doom and mardu ascendancy at play respectively and you can only play so many 3s. I may go back to squeezing some in though because having a G1 duress is very powerful.

The board is undeveloped so far, but that's because I'm playing with a ton of different decks and jumping around from list to list trying to glean information about the format. I honestly couldn't tell you what I want besides Stormbreath dragon, Chandra, and some form of GY interaction.

[magicdownunder]

Why not replace Monastery Swiftspear with additional removal/burn - something in the 1-2cc range so you can deal with opposing Rabble master on the draw.

[LP, of the Fires]

I could add magma spray.

[Pedros]

I dont really like monastery swiftspear, however like other stuff and what this deck tries to do.

[Wrathberry]

that is exactly the type of deck i want to play this season .

thanks for that, will test around with it. will write some reports in the next days

[TptBahamut]

The only thing I worry about with your list is not having non-token creatures on the field enough to fully utilize Mardu Ascendancy. I only count 8 creatures that can trigger a T3 Ascendancy. I'm thinking that those three slots could be something else, or else you may want some more small drops.

I came up with a base black list that is in a similar vein. I wanted to maximize Butcher's ability to come down as a T4 haste, so I wanted to make sure I had something that I don't mind saccing (Goblin token or Bloodstained Champion) available by T4 every game.

[deck]
4 Tormented Hero
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Chief of the Edge
4 War-name Aspirant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde

4 Thoughtseize
3 Mardu Ascendancy
3 Mardu Charm
3 Ride Down

4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Mana Confluence
1 Plains
1 Mountain
4 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
[/deck]

At it's
core, mine is base black, focusing on having black mana turn 1 every game. The base I've used provides a 90+% chance of untapped black on turn one, and 85+% chance for W/R on turn 2 to match the drops. All the non-butcher guys are warriors to be pumped with the chief.

That all said, I'm least sure of the spell suite. Thoughtseize may be a sideboard card until the meta is more defined. Ride down may be too rough on the mana, but I like it for killing courser and smashing for a million. I haven't been able to test at all since I predominantly play on MTGO, but I thought it was at least worth throwing out there to see what others think.

[Jedi_Knight]

Iroas may not be useless in lists like these.

[Jedi_Knight]

More on the topic once I finally get to a computer since writing on tablet is hellish experience. I plan on playing either Mardu.DEC or just straight up RDW or prolly both 'cause RDW costs like 10 euro.

For now, there really are two ways for us to build that: either take LP's approach and go base red or as Pedros talking in the second thread) and TptBahamut suggested go with black. Incentives are the same though: Butcher, Rabblemaster and undefined number of cards with Mardu in their name together with the option to play Crackling Doom.

Red base offers much more aggressive start since Denizen into whatever (preferably 2 more denizens) into Rabblemaster into Ascendancy/Butcher is just nuts. Black base offers not more synergy, but better creatures on the curve - recurring Champion and Chief of the Edge, possibly Soldier of the Pantheon since there is no need for red mana on T1. Either one can play Tymaret just for kicks.

nThe removal suite would probably be identical, as are PW options. The more the strategy is oriented on tokens, more powerful Sorin becomes.

Main nemesis of the deck will be Anger of the Gods a Drown in Sorrow which for me warrants Ascendancy in the main at least before things get sorted out.

Question then stands which creature base works better? I want to play Red, but the more I look at Chief of the Edge the more I like him.

Also: Khan. I want to smash something with him, cause he is just lovable.

[Pedros]

You are right, you cant play everything ;/

Red based is really good, probably only small splashes (if even those are needed).

Hoardling outburst is really awsome, as they pump Foundry Street Denizen. What I would like to build is RDW like deck splashing for ascendancy, charm/cracling doom and demon. It would also give you staying power in sb (sorin, ajani, sarkhan, etc).

There is enought 1/2/3 red creatures and removals to make the deck happen, 2 other colors would just give bigger creature removal (cracling doom), hasty topend (butcher, mardu chief), more staying power (ascendancy works as protection from anger/drown) and more reach (tymaret anyone?). All creatures would be red so you can also play hall of triumph, and there is quite a lot of tokens (outburst, rabblemaster, ascendancy) so purphoros is also good.

Removal is awsome: Magma Jet, Lightning Strike, Stoke the Flames, Cracling Doom all can damage opponent
and act as reach. You can also play Sarkhan as more flexible finisher - works as dragon and mortars).

Deck I juts thought about might be quite awsome to be honest! Back to the drawing board

[neo2381]

I love that list as a starting point. The Swiftspear doesn't really fit in there, but we will see!

[LP, of the Fires]

Will edit later to be borderland marauder.

[Jedi_Knight]

Shall we make like 3 threads for different brews or do we consolidate it either here or in the thread Pedros made? Because I have a feeling lots of us just want to Butcher people.

[Jedi_Knight]

Also, people on Sally are suggesting Obelisk of Urd. Because apparently since we're WBR, we don't have any other 6 mana wincons!

On second thought, it does have convoke. Not a fan of anthem effects though.

[Pedros]

I dont know what is better: Hoarding outburst or Mardu Ascendancy, both seems decent 3 drop slot.

Also there is really no good 2 drops. I only found Tymaret,Akroan Hoplite and Jeerin Instigator. First 2 works really well with Ascendancy/Outburst and Rabblemaster.

Cracling Doom is bonkers, so is Stoke the Flames. I should probably find space for 4rd Cracling Doom. I dont really know if I should play Lightning Strike or not, probably yes, however I dont have slot for it ;/

Demon is awsome, there is no really point arguing about it.

I decided to run 23 lands and 3 "fun offs": Hall of triumph, Purphoros, God of Forge and Sarkhan, Dragonspeaker. Sarkhan might be to expensive, however it is 1 off, so it shouldnt be a problem. If I however see it not function well he will get a cut.

So full deck:

[deck]
4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Akroan Hoplite
2 Tymaret, Murder King
2 Jeerin
Instigator
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
1 Purphoros, God of Forge
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

1 Hall of Triumph
3 Cracling Doom
3 Mardu Ascendancy
4 Stoke the Flames

23 lands - still need to figure out.
[/deck]

Still need to figure manabase. Currently need 18 red, 13 black and 13 white to cast every spell without a problem, probably can get as low as 17 red (stoke can be convoked, Sakrhan is 5 drop).

Hall of a triumph pumps every creature in a deck.
Purphoros acts as a global pump with an really good burst with all the tokens this deck can generate.
Both Tymaret and Demon works well with tokens and Jeerin Instigator.
Both Foundry Street Denizen and Akroan Hoplite works good with Ascendancy. Denizen into Hoplite into Ascendancy is 2 into 10 damage into 14. That is quite good for 3 cards.

Deck have potential, what I need from you guys is:

* Are 23 lands to low?
* Is there a point to play Sakrhan in this style?
* Does this deck needs 4rd Cracling Doom (probably
answer is yes) and some 2 mana burn (probably lightning strike?)
* Does this deck have space for Purphoros and Hall of the Triumph? Or is it overkill / is not needed / have space in sb.
* What is better: Mardu Ascendancy or Hoadling Outburst?
* Do we want Chain to the Rocks in sb? We need this information while building manabase, as you would want to have ~11 mountains then. Or is Murderous Cut just better?
* Do we even care about 2 drops? They arent crazy good or awsome, they are soso. Tymaret gives reach, Akroan Hoplite isnt awsome on its own, Jeerin Instigator is lategame option. They however have synergy I listed before.

[Pedros]

Also, people on Sally are suggesting Obelisk of Urd. Because apparently since we're WBR, we don't have any other 6 mana wincons!

On second thought, it does have convoke. Not a fan of anthem effects though.

Before Obelisk of Urd I would play Hall of triumph and Purphoros.

[LP, of the Fires]

You're list looks very good. Chain is excellent if it doesn't jack up your mana-base. That's a BIG iff.

Since you run hoplite, I wouldn't try to make chain happen.

I'd also play sorin before I played Sarkhan. Sorin is amazing.

[Jedi_Knight]

Hoplite is actually pretty good in what you propose. Haven't thought of him. I do agree that Sorin is just better here. Purphoros is fine, offers inevitability. Not sure about Hall, might be too cutesy, but we all have our faults.

Wanna do a comprehensive writeup either tomorrow or Wednesday, fuck this tablet writing.

As for 2 drops, Tymaret warrants a spot. It's a blocker against aggro and recursive engine against slower decks. You can always SB him when he is not useful. On the other hand, h falls into the "cute" category. Really shines in black base though.

[TptBahamut]

No love for War-name Aspirant as a two drop? 3 power, runs through tokens and carytids...

[Pedros]

Hoplite is actually pretty good in what you propose. Haven't thought of him. I do agree that Sorin is just better here. Purphoros is fine, offers inevitability. Not sure about Hall, might be too cutesy, but we all have our faults.

Wanna do a comprehensive writeup either tomorrow or Wednesday, fuck this tablet writing.

As for 2 drops, Tymaret warrants a spot. It's a blocker against aggro and recursive engine against slower decks. You can always SB him when he is not useful. On the other hand, h falls into the "cute" category. Really shines in black base though.

You're list looks very good. Chain is excellent if it doesn't jack up your mana-base. That's a BIG iff.

Since you run hoplite, I wouldn't try to make chain happen.

I'd also play sorin before I played Sarkhan. Sorin is amazing.

I also love Sorin, however I dont know if in "heavier red" version you could run it. He needs 18 white AND black sources, and 11 sources of each color. If deck can support it (I think I will play him if I have ~17 white AND black sources) I will change Sarkhan for him.

Hall is like an anthem, White Weenie played him, I dont know if it is sweet slot or not. Both Rabble Red and Mono Blue played 1, I think it have slot.

LP: I dont understand this sentence: Since you run hoplite, I wouldn't try to make chain happen. Care to elaborate?

No one answered my question about mana/ligtning strikes/crackling dooms ;/

No love for War-name Aspirant as a two drop? 3
power, runs through tokens and carytids...

I dont like conditional creatures too much. Without raid he is 2/1 for 1, we only have 8 1 drops, 4 which wants creature cast in 1st main phase. I see no synergy here ;/

@All

I also need to know if we can afford to run some scrylands here. Black agro sometimes had like 2 of them. Currently mana without them is doable, however quite painful.

[Jedi_Knight]

I would prefer Nomad Outpost instead of Temples. Losing scry sucks but depending on mana issues a 3 color land may be more useful.

As for Hall being a cute one: the 3cc slot is gonna be very crowded. You also have finishers atn4cc and 5cc capable of ending the game on their own, hence why it is not necessary. Useful for sure, just not necessary.

As for removal, I would stick with Stoke for now. Magma Jet loses some of it's power after rotation with the Phoenix gone and LS offers 3 DMG while the magic number seems to be 4. They fit more in a pure RDW shell.

Take my opinions with a grain of salt though, it's not like I played in the last 4 months.

[zenbitz]

Here is an el-cheepo version with no black:

[deck]
Weak To Scouring Sands
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Foundry Street Denizen
3 Generator Servant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster

2 Purphoros, God of the Forge

4 Raise the Alarm
2 Triplicate Spirits
3 Howl of the Horde
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Stoke the Flames
3 Searing Blood

4 Battlefield Forge
2 Temple of Triumph
2 Mana Confluence
6 Plains
9 Mountain
[/deck]

Seems rather weak to Sweepers. Sideboard could be actually good cards. Also, Firedancer.

[Pedros]

Top4 in Magic League: Mardu Tokens

[deck]4 Battlefield Forge
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Mana Confluence
2 Mountain
4 Nomad Outpost
1 Swamp
4 Temple of Triumph
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Butcher of the Horde
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Dictate of Heliod
4 Lightning Strike
4 Mardu Charm
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Stoke the Flames

2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Banishing Light
3 Forge Devil
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Thoughtseize[/deck]

[magicdownunder]

Pedros didn't you test Dictate of Heliod recently? Do you think the card will see more play now in the new standard even though its 5cc?

[Pedros]

I run it, however thought it was slow. Last season however was the one that didnt push synergy over power - it was thoughtseize, verdict, revelation and lots of enchantment removal world.

In thijs deck however I really like it. Count number of token producers. Between rta, mardu charm and hordeling you have lots of "burst", lots of sustained card advantage between rabblemaster, brimaz and sorin (not need of xenagos and green splash).

I woukd however make some changes. I dont like 4 dictates in a deck that doesnt even run 1 spear. Purphoros is so good I wojld try to play 2. Not a huge fan of heros downfall in a deck running 15 black sources - woukd change it to crackling doom. While devils are cute and good vs both red and black agro, I am little afraid of not running magma sprays or magma jets vs rabblemaster.

There is lots of trafic between 3 and 4 drops, while not at 2 and 5.

I also dont really
like manabase. When I tried to buikd 23 lands agro deck I didnt feel the pressure of running trilands.Ths deck runs to many painlands forman midrange deck without enough scrylands.

I understand that synergy is a key, however for me it is really hard not to play even 1 powerhouse such as sarkhan.

It is also so temting to splash blue for this ephara card advantage... this card is ridiculous in a deck running both rabblemaster and brimaz and instant speed token generators.
In a deck I played at the end of the season I found lack of evasive threats. Both Sorin and Sarkhan might be enough to fix this, as I would preffer not to run convoke spectral procession...

Also not sure if every mardu deck should run butcher of the horde. It might be another good card on its own that can carry a game.

[Jedi_Knight]

PLACEHOLDER FOR WRITEUP, SO FAR JUST COLLECTED DECKLISTS POSTED HERE.

Pedros

---

[deck]
4 Tormented Hero
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Chief of the Edge
3 War-Name Aspirant / Mardu Skullhunter / Borderland Marauder
2 Tymaret, the Murder King
1 Mogis's Warhound
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Grim Haruspex
1 Herald of Torment
4 Butcher of the Horde

1 Sprit Bonds
1 Mardu Ascendancy
3 Mardu Charm
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor

23 lands
[/deck]
[deck]
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
2 Tymaret, the Murder King
4 Akroan Hoplite
3 Raise the Alarm
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Butcher of the Horde

1 Spirit Bonds
1 Mardu Ascendancy
1 Spear of Heliod
4 Mardu Charm
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Purphoros, God of Forge
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1 Dictate of Heliod[/deck]
[deck]
4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Akroan Hoplite
2 Tymaret, Murder King
2 Jeerin Instigator
4
Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
1 Purphoros, God of Forge
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

1 Hall of Triumph
3 Cracling Doom
3 Mardu Ascendancy
4 Stoke the Flames

23 lands - still need to figure out.
[/deck]

LP, of the Fires

---

[deck]4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Crackling Doom
3 Stoke the Flames
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Mardu Charm
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Chief of the Edge
4 Bloodstained Brave
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Swamp
4 Mana Confluence
4 Battlefield Forge
1 Plains
2 Mountain
2 Nomad Outpost
2 Stormbreath Dragon[/deck]
[deck]4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

4 Crackling Doom
4 Stoke the Flames

2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Foundry Street Denizen
3 Hordeling Outburst
3 Mardu Ascendancy
4 Monastery Swiftspear

4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
1 Urborg,
Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Swamp
4 Mana Confluence
4 Battlefield Forge
1 Plains
2 Mountain
2 Nomad Outpost[/deck]

TptBahamut

---

[deck]
4 Tormented Hero
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Chief of the Edge
4 War-name Aspirant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde

4 Thoughtseize
3 Mardu Ascendancy
3 Mardu Charm
3 Ride Down

4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Mana Confluence
1 Plains
1 Mountain
4 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
[/deck]

zenbitz

---

[deck]
Weak To Scouring Sands
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Foundry Street Denizen
3 Generator Servant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster

2 Purphoros, God of the Forge

4 Raise the Alarm
2 Triplicate Spirits
3 Howl of the Horde
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Stoke the Flames
3 Searing Blood

4 Battlefield Forge
2 Temple of Triumph
2 Mana Confluence
6 Plains
9 Mountain
[/deck]

Christen

---

[deck]
Creatures
4 Bloodstained
Champion
4 Tormented Hero
4 War-Name Aspirant
4 Chief of the Edge
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells
3 Hero's Downfall
2 Crackling Doom
3 Mardu Charm

Planeswalkers
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor

Lands
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Battefield Forge
3 Mana Confluence
2 Nomad Outpost
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Swamp
2 Mountain
1 Plains
[/deck]

TOP 4 Magic League

---

[deck]4 Battlefield Forge
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Mana Confluence
2 Mountain
4 Nomad Outpost
1 Swamp
4 Temple of Triumph
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Butcher of the Horde
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Dictate of Heliod
4 Lightning Strike
4 Mardu Charm
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Stoke the Flames

2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Banishing Light
3 Forge Devil
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Thoughtseize[/deck]

[mutantcrock]

I love the look of the Mardu decks so far. Love butcher, love the synergy with the token generators. The charm looks a bit lackluster against more efficient token generators and Stoke, plus the third mode seems like it will whiff often. I haven't actually played with it obviously so perhaps the versatility makes it strong.

[rcwraspy]

I like Christen's deck but I would:
-4 Aspirant
+2 Phyrexian Revoker
+2 Stormbreath

and switch the numbers on Charm and Crackling Doom.

[poppa_f]

I've been messing about with a couple of Mardu builds.

The first one I did was more creature focussed, token sub-theme to pump with Sorin and/or Sac to Butcher:

mardu aggro

---

[deck]mardu aggro[/deck]

The second version I did was similar, but more removal and less creatures. I added Altac Bloodseeker, as I think that card could be really good in creature mirrors where you're packing a lot of removal. Also included Ashcloud Phoenix, could be
good in grindy games where you get to recur it or 2-4-1 by trading twice:

mardu burn

---

[deck]mardu burn[/deck]

[Jedi_Knight]

I would go with Stoke in both decks. Sure, you cannot as reliably remove the RR in the first deck as in the second, but you still have plenty of creatures to make it RR => 4 damage, which is still fine.

I still can't wrap my head around Brimaz. He puts a lot of pressure on yourself to cast him on time and isn't really cooperating with Butcher in any useful way other than Lifelink. With Mardu Ascedancy sure but then again everything non-token works with Ascendancy.

Crackling Doom cound should be 3 IMHO. Card is usable in just about any matchup (other than Elspeth only control). At worst it's burn at best it's removal for the biggest shit on board. Gets rid of both Sagu Mauler and Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker if they don't have a buffer. Same applies to Reaper of the Wilds and Prognostic Sphinx if
they end up being a thing (which Reaper definitely should but then again I am no expert on Abzan or Jund).

For what it's worth the first deck is pretty greedy (Soldier/Champion into Aspirant into Brimaz into Butcher is just asking for mana problems) but more explosive when it works while the second more consistent and with better aggro matchup. I do like Sorin though and I am starting to take him as an auto-include in the more greedy lists: you're always going to end up receiving lots of damage from your own lands and Sorin acts both a pseudo anthem and huge life swing. Also "until your next turn" is gonna cause a lot of blowouts.

[amcfvieira]

I really like this list posted by Caleb Durward in ChannelFireball:

[deck]Lands
4 x Bloodstained Mire
4 x Battlefield Forge
4 x Caves of Koilos
1 x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 x Mana Confluence
4 x Swamp
2 x Plains
3 x Mountain

Creatures
4 x Tormented Hero
4 x Bloodsoaked Champion
4 x Chief of the Edge
1 x Tymaret, the Murder King
1 x Grim Haruspex
4 x Goblin Rabblemaster
4 x Butcher of the Horde

Noncreature Spells
2 x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 x Mardu Ascendancy
3 x Lightning Strike
1 x Sign in Blood
2 x Murderous Cut
2 x Hero's Downfall

Sideboard
4 x Thoughtseize
2 x Bile Blight
4 x Magma Spray
1 x Grim Haruspex
1 x Mardu Ascendancy
1 x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 x Crackling Doom[/deck]

[Jedi_Knight]

I like it too, just few things... Casting Chief on so few white sources is gonna be pain. I for one am for inclusion of Nomad Outposts. And the spell numbers just seem weird for an untested deck.

Thoughtseize is a double sided blade. The manabase is painful as it is and with Seize even more so. I don't have any one to test with, what is everyone's opinion on that versus another one drop (in case of CFB deck Tormented Hero)? Given black base ofc, the red base decks does not want Thoughtseize at all IMHO.

Either way I am buying my Sorins, Butchers, Rabblemasters and Sarkhans tomorrow.

[Jedi_Knight]

Doesn't seem anybody is as interested in this archetype as I am so I am gonna just entertain you for now.

Reading thoughts on Sally is like pissing in my own drink. Let's play End Hostilities as an answer to aggro and midrange! Because it apparently destroys all creatures.

Anyway, my black base creature crew would be like this:

4 Tormented Hero/Thoughtseize
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Chief of the Edge
1-2 Tymaret, the Murder King (prolly just one)
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
3 Combination of Sarkhans/Stormies

With 24 lands which is just about right for 3 five drops that leaves us with 12 spell slots. AFAIK Sorin warrants an inclusion since he really helps us offset the life loss (more so with Thoughtseize). 10 left then.

Not going hyper aggressive also allows us to play Nomad Outposts which albeit not having scry really helps the mana.

[poppa_f]

Yes definitely play Sorin, he'll help you rebuild from a sweeper, help you race other aggro decks and pump your team.

Thoughtseize I think is bad in the main deck, you're the beat down and don't want to durdle about at the start. It's also a pretty bad top deck. I'd have 3-4 in the sideboard and bring it in for game 2 against control or ramp.

I'd consider Warname aspirant, he blanks caryatid, is easy to cast and vanilla 3/2 for 2 is decent. He's also a warrior so gets pumped by the Chief.

[Toblakai]

LP, since you mention this being a midrange deck, I'll toss out my current midrange Mardu build for any suggestions. Also, since my deck plays up the midrange aspects, I think Thoughtseize and Despise are great mainboard spells for my first couple of turns.

[DECK]
Lands
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Battlefield Forge
3 Caves of Koilos
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Nomad Outpost
3 Temple of Malice
3 Temple of Silence
1 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Mountain

Creatures
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Butcher of the Horde
1 Wingmate Roc
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Planeswalkers
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

Spells
4 Thoughtseize
3 Despise
3 Bile Blight
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Crackling Doom
2 Mardu Charm
[/DECK]

It seems like Brimaz would be really good in this kind of build, and a fine complement to Goblin Rabblemaster in producing chumps or food for the Butcher. The lone Wingmate Roc is something I want
to test; I pulled it playing my Mardu pack in the Khans Prerelease.

[Pedros]

I am interested, however I started new work and defended my diploma so dont have lots of time now. I am however liking mosts lists.

Btw you need 13sources to cast Chief of the Edge... he has 12, so not that bad.

[LP, of the Fires]

Get fucked world.

[deck]4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Butcher of the Horde
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Gnarled Scarhide
3 Ashcloud Phoenix
2 Stormbreath Dragon
4 War-Name Aspirant
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Magma Jet
2 Crackling Doom
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

2 Nomad Outpost
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Temple of Malice
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Swamp
2 Mountain
4 Caves of Koilos
1 Mana Confluence
4 Battlefield Forge

SB:
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3 Arc Lightning
3 Thoughtseize
1 Read the Bones
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1 Empty the Pits
1 Murderous Cut
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Magma Spray[/deck]

[Pedros]

Dont like War-Name Aspirant here. Edge Warrior lord seems better.

You really think you can have so many 4 drops?

[LP, of the Fires]

Yes. The key is that they all fly. The games that you generally lose are where you're getting outclassed as the game goes on. The 11 Flyers lets you go over you're opponents board and half of them have some sort of built in resiliency.

I went with Apsirant solely to have the most consistent manabase possible. Notice I only have 11 white sources.

[Pedros]

I see only 10 flyers

[LP, of the Fires]

First list I wrote down at work had 4 stormbreath