[Deck] Dreadhorde Arcanist

This deck is built around Dreadhorde Arcanist
By getting his power up he can not only play more powerful instants and sorceries but because he has Trample he can also become a beatstick.

Besides Red, I'm going with Black for Kolaghan's Command, Fatal Push and Dark Confidant and ...
White for Mother of Runes, StP and the creature that's supposed to boost the Arcanist :

Orzhov Advokist
For 3 cmc you get a 1/4 body with the ability to boost itself or another one of your creatures, not with one but with TWO +1/+1 counters EVERY turn.

The handicap is that your opponent is allowed to boost one of his creatures too, but if he does, he cannot attack during his following turn.
So, any aggressive decks who want to use this are going to be slowed down and are going up against tougher defense if they don't.

To prevent the opponent from getting the most out of this effect the deck also runs 4 Fatal Push.

Against creatureless or few creatures decks this becomes like a very powerful one-sided effect.

It allows you to pump an Arcanist from 1/3 to 3/5 after just one use, making him able to cast K Command and Vindicate for free another time.
And since he has Trample he becomes the beatstick you want at the same time, growing bigger every turn.

Obviously, Mother of Runes protects him from removal, K Command can get him back from the GY.
If the opponent sides in GY hate for G2 you're still in good shape as you can simpy focus on beatdown without the recasts.

SB is not built yet but I'm sure it will include some copies of Surgical Extraction and maybe a couple of Spike Cannibal

Looking forward to hear any comments or suggestions to improve this build.


//Lands : 19
3 Arid Mesa
2 Badlands
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Marsh Flats
1 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Plateau
2 Scrubland
2 Swamp

//Instants
4 Fatal Push
4 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
2 Swords to Plowshares

//Sorceries
2 Dreadbore
2 Hymn to Tourach
3 Vindicate

//Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 Mother of Runes
4 Orzhov Advokist

pretty sure fatal push isn't necessary. you should prob run 4 thoughtseize there, especially as your only other play is really mother of runes or sit on a removal spell.

You can win the game with card advantage. The strongest cards to recast (in your colors) are probably Hymn to Tourach and Kolaghan's Command. Combined with all your removal, that lets you control both their hand and the battlefield.

What does Fatal Push kill that Swords to Plowshares can't? Why only 2 StP? I'd run StPs but cut Push and Dreadbore.

Remember that some opponents don't play creatures. They might have nothing at all to put counters on. You don't need 23 creature removal spells just to manage the drawback of Advokist. That's too much of a 1-trick pony.

You probably want to lower the curve too (more 1 cmc, less 3cmc). Not only will the high mana curve hurt you with Dark Confidant, but it will slow you down in the early turns. You don't have many turn 1 plays and turns 2-3 you'll be playing 1 card per turn. Legacy is a fast format. Without some early interaction, the fast decks will run you over.

Most Mardu decks run 8 1cmc discard spells to have any chance interacting against combo and control and prison. You should run 4 Thoughtseize and probably some copies of Inquisition of Kozilek or Cabal Therapy. If you can make room for Young Pyromancer then Therapy is great, otherwise Inquisition will do.

You could also run 1-2 Umezawa's Jitte to equip to your beatdown. Jitte can regain life for Confidant, buff Dreadhorde to get a bigger spell, kill enemy creatures, or just kill your own Confidant.

What about this mix of spells?

//Dreadhorde Spells: 25
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lightning Helix
3 Hymn to Tourach
3 Kolaghan's Command
2 Vindicate


That gives you more turn 1 plays. You still have up to 16 creature removal spells, but only 4 of them are dead cards against decks with no creatures (can be boarded out).

If you run Cabal Therapy as your discard spell, you could run 2 Lingering Souls in the spell slot as both Therapy fodder and a win condition. Therapy also lets you sacrifice Dark Confidant if you're losing too much life. The flying tokens quickly become a win condition with Advokist while others can chump block the opponent's creature.

I run a jund deck in modern I've prized most times I've run it, which involves pumping arcanist. If you run pump instants or sorcereies arcanist let's you recast it. Become immense, swing-trigger then immense again is a 13/15 trampler. Even just rancor would let you cast your 2/3 cc spells.

My modern list for reference:


4 crashing footfalls
4 violent outburst
3 demonic dread
3 bloodbraid elf
1 dreadhorde arcanist
1 might of oaks
2 become immense
4 hanweir garrison
3 krenko, tin Street kingpin
3 Bonecrusher Giant
2 dismember
3 shriekmaw
1 discovery//dismissal

4 simian spirit guide
3 hanweir battlements
1 gemstone caverns
2 raging ravine
16 jund lands

SB:
4 leyline of the void
3 fulminator mage
2 slaughter games
2 krosan grip
2 gemstone caverns
2 dismember

That Jund cascade list is pretty cool tech for Modern. Unfortunately the engine is too weak in Legacy, otherwise Hypergenesis and Living End would be real decks. The closest Legacy version is RUG Waterfalls. It uses Brainstorm and Ponder to set up cascades into Ancestral Visions and Crashing Footfalls and can also abuse those cards with Dreadhorde Arcanist or As Foretold.

Sticking in Mardu with Orzhov Advokist, OP could do something like this


//Creatures: 13
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 Dark Confidant
3 Young Pyromancer
2 Orzhov Advokist

//Spells: 28
4 Thoughtseize
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Faithless Looting
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Lightning Helix
3 Hymn to Tourach
3 Kolaghan's Command
2 Lingering Souls

//Lands: 19
3 Arid Mesa
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Marsh Flats
3 Badlands
3 Scrubland
1 Plateau
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Plains

//Sideboard:
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Vindicate
1 Council's Judgment
1 Lingering Souls
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Wear // Tear
2 Plague Engineer
2 Liliana's Triumph
2 Orim's Chant


Mana Curve
1: 18
2: 16
3: 8

This packs a whole lot of card advantage through Dreadhorde, Confidant, Hymn, KComm, Lingering Souls, Cabal Therapy, and Pyromancer tokens.

It has a lot of turn 1 plays and very few potential dead cards. There's card selection from Faithless Looting to filter draws and many ways to use cards in the graveyard to compensate for the discard drawback.

That list looks good, FTW.
Mana curve is much smoother.
It does suffer from a lot of self inflicted life loss though ( Confidant, Thoughtseize, fetches ) with hardly any life gain ( only 2x Lightning Helix )

Casting and then recasting Thoughtseize through the Arcanist is very strong but is probably not sustainable in this form.
That's the reason I stayed away from Thoughtseize in the OP.

I've been looking for a life gain card that fits in perfectly with the strategy : Lone Rider // It that rides as one
- adds an alternative win strategy
- Advokist counters can Transform Lone Rider after one attack and stay on him after transform ( = 6/6 First Strike Trample Lifelink )
- one transformed rider can trigger the next
- synergizes greatly with Lightning Helix

Possible life gain is also the reason I switched the Hymns for Gerrard's Verdict.
I know the random discard is much stronger but the double black can possibly hurt and if your opponent has only two cards left the randomn discard doesn't matter at all.

I'm currently at this line up :

//CC1 : 18
2 [PLC] Brute Force
4 [A25] Lightning Bolt
4 [ULG] Mother of Runes
4 [C17] Swords to Plowshares
4 [THS] Thoughtseize

//CC2 : 15
3 [MM2] Dark Confidant
4 [WAR] Dreadhorde Arcanist
2 [APC] Gerrard's Verdict
2 [RAV] Lightning Helix
4 [EMN] Lone Rider // It That Rides as One

//CC3 : 8
3 [DTK] Kolaghan's Command
3 [C16] Orzhov Advokist
2 [APC] Vindicate

//Lands : 19
3 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
3 [VMA] Badlands
3 [KTK] Bloodstained Mire
3 [ZEN] Marsh Flats
1 [ELD] Mountain
1 [ELD] Plains
1 [VMA] Plateau
3 [VMA] Scrubland
1 [ELD] Swamp

Orzhov Advokist is slow with its effect kicking in no sooner than T4.

Ajani, caller of the pride can pump the arcanist from T3 on. It's not like the Arcanist needs power 3 to recast K Command on T3 anyway.

Another card which may fit in this concept is Subtle Strike : removal and pump in one, and can be recast.

I also wonder whether Night's Whisper wouldn't be better here than the Confidant. You get two cards immediately and the life loss is a fixed amount as opposed to up in the air. Also, reusable by Arcanist.

If you’re sold on rbw, I recommend reckless charge for the pump spell.