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Thread: [EDH] Queen Marchesa - Judo Master

  1. #1
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    [EDH] Queen Marchesa - Judo Master

    The idea behind this deck is to take whatever my opponents are doing and turn it back on them. There's "answers" to many of the common EDH strategies (voltron, ramp, creature swarms, reanimator) as well as a light pillow fort and some redirection effects to politely suggest that my opponents send their attacks elsewhere. The only real blind spot is for stack based combos (e.g. Storm), but that's not really a thing in my meta so it shouldn't be much of an issue.

    The list:

    Commander:
    Queen Marchesa

    Creatures:
    Weathered Wayfarer
    Restoration Specialist
    Vampire Nighthawk
    Ophiomancer
    Anathemancer
    Eldrazi Displacer
    Alms Collector
    Selfless Squire
    Windborn Muse
    Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
    Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
    Sunscorch Regent
    Scourge of the Throne
    Gisela, Blade of Goldnight

    Instants:
    Swords to Plowshares
    Path to Exile
    Vampiric Tutor
    Enlightened Tutor
    Boros Charm
    Rakdos Charm
    Dawn Charm
    Deflecting Palm
    Shred Memory
    Anguished Unmaking
    Backlash
    Reiterate
    Forsake the Worldly
    Mortify
    Kolaghan's Command
    Teferi's Protection
    Crackling Doom
    Utter End
    Settle the Wreckage
    Comeuppance
    Word of Seizing

    Sorcery:
    Reanimate
    Demonic Tutor
    Gift of Estates
    Cut // Ribbons
    Acidic Soil
    Painful Truths
    Disrupt Decorum
    Austere Command
    Merciless Eviction
    Insurrection

    Artifacts:
    Sol Ring
    Expedition Map
    Boros Signet
    Orzhov Signet
    Rakdos Signet
    Key to the City
    Sun Droplet
    Talisman of Indulgence
    Chromatic Lantern
    Crystal Ball
    Sunforger

    Enchantments:
    Curse of Opulence
    Animate Dead
    Ghostly Prison
    Phyrexian Arena
    Duelist's Heritage
    Citadel Siege
    Delaying Shield

    Lands:
    Blood Crypt
    Godless Shrine
    Sacred Foundry
    Arid Mesa
    Bloodstained Mire
    Marsh Flats
    Dragonskull Summit
    Clifftop Retreat
    Isolated Chapel
    Blackcleave Cliffs
    Concealed Courtyard
    Inspring Vantage
    Temple of Malice
    Temple of Silence
    Temple of Triumph
    Battlefield Forge
    Caves of Koilos
    Reflecting Pool
    Command Tower
    Maze of Ith
    Kor Haven
    Arcane Lighthouse
    Strip Mine
    Bojuka Bog
    Mistveil Plains
    Slayers' Stronghold
    Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
    3 Plains
    3 Mountain
    3 Swamp


    Sunforger is a big part of this deck. Most of the "answer" cards are tutorable with it, which gives you access to a lot for a (fairly) reasonable mana investment. Another honorable mention is Mistveil Plains which lets you recycle things for future use.

    Overall, the deck has a lot of play to it. You can make subtle (or not so subtle) threats about what might happen if someone attacks you. You can also make your opponents wary of any open mana fairly early on, and leaving up could mean basically anything in your hand to respond with. You also end up with some political capital in the form of Duelist's Heritage and other instant speed effects that mess with combats you're not even involved in.

    Highlights from playing the deck so far:

    - Using Deflecting Palm to make a 35/35 indestructible, trampling, double strike Uriel, the Miststalker kill its owner instead of me.
    - Casting Selfless Squire to fog an attack, then using Swords to Plowshares in response to removal to gain 30 life the following turn and survive long enough to win.
    - "I'd attack you, but you probably have a trick" - spoken by an opponent, while I had a few open mana and nothing particularly relevant in hand.
    Last edited by Davran; 03-26-2018 at 10:12 AM.

  2. #2
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    Re: [EDH] Queen Marchesa - Judo Master

    Hey Davran!

    How good is Batwing Brume? Unfortunately it doesn't do a thing if found with Sunforger...
    Can you ignore the timing restriction on Delirium with Sunforger?


    Some other suggestions without ideas of what you could cut:
    - Mortify
    - Cut // Ribbons
    - Kaya, Ghost Assassin (bonus points for being on flavor!)

  3. #3
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    Re: [EDH] Queen Marchesa - Judo Master

    Quote Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew View Post
    Hey Davran!

    How good is Batwing Brume? Unfortunately it doesn't do a thing if found with Sunforger...
    Can you ignore the timing restriction on Delirium with Sunforger?


    Some other suggestions without ideas of what you could cut:
    - Mortify
    - Cut // Ribbons
    - Kaya, Ghost Assassin (bonus points for being on flavor!)
    Batwing Brume is a bit of a non-bo with Sunforger, that's true. It's in as an answer to some sort of giant token swarm, but maybe it could be something else. I hesitate to run something like Holy Day instead simply because it's rather narrow and doesn't really advance my game plan at all. What I'd really love is some sort of instant speed sweeper. Aether Snap would be perfect if it wasn't black...

    I'm actually not sure about Delirium. There's an oracle ruling for Sunforger that says: "Any card you find must be legally castable (for example, you have to be able to choose a legal target for it). If you can’t find a castable card (or choose not to), nothing happens and you shuffle your library.". Given that, I would imagine that the timing restriction still applies.

    As far as your suggestions:

    Mortify is great, and might actually be better than Return to Dust. I'l have to keep an eye on that slot.

    Cut/Ribbons is a good suggestion! I forgot that card existed. Exsanguinate was in my pile of cards as I was putting the deck together and I ended up cutting it due to the lower land count, but this seems like a decent compromise. I'll have to pick a copy up.

    Is Kaya actually good? It's a neat card and 100% on flavor, but I'm not sure what it does for me. I guess it's a pseudo Maze of Ith effect?

    I noticed that my actual list is a little different than what I posted here...so a couple changes:

    - Mind Stone
    - Lightning Greaves

    + Expedition Map
    + Toil // Trouble

    Also, I've been debating trying out Burning Wish and/or Mastermind's Acquisition with some sort of wish board. I've never built a sideboard for an EDH deck before, but if any deck wants access 10 extra random answers it's this one. Mastermind's is probably the better option since it isn't totally dead if a particular group isn't cool with the whole sideboard thing.

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    Re: [EDH] Queen Marchesa - Judo Master

    - Return to Dust
    - Toil // Trouble
    + Mortify
    + Eldrazi Displacer

    Tweaking the answer package a little. Return to Dust is good, but Mortify is slightly more flexible. As for Eldrazi Displacer, I'm hoping it'll work as a pseudo-Maze of Ith effect while also offering some protection for my stuff.

    A few other things I'd like to do:

    Settle the Wreckage: Turns out there is an instant speed wrath you can fetch with Sunforger. This probably replaces Batwing Brume when I can get my hands on one. Also, it's kind of cute with Acidic Soil.

    Cut // Ribbons: Ace/Homebrew suggested this, and the more I think about it the more I want to find room.

    Argivian Find: I'm a little torn on this. I'm thinking of maybe replacing Restoration Specialist, but the specialist has a lot going for it. It chump blocks like a champ, and it gets two things back in some situations. It can also be reanimated or something in a pinch. But, Argivian Find is an instant, which means it can be fetched with Sunforger in response to random Bojuka Bog effects or whatever.

  5. #5
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    Re: [EDH] Queen Marchesa - Judo Master

    - Batwing Brume
    - Delirium
    + Settle the Wreckage
    + Cut // Ribbons

    Picked up some cards, so time to make some changes. Settle the Wreckage works better with Sunforger than Batwing Brume, and is kind of cute with Acidic Soil. Delirium is kind of tough to cut since it was a potential win condition vs. a voltron deck, but the timing restriction is kind of awkward. It's also being replaced with another potential win condition, so whatever.

    I also picked up a Burning Wish and Mastermind's Acquisition...but I'm not sure what a wishboard looks like for this deck so I'm holding off on finding room for now. A few potential includes are:

    Vandalblast
    Chainer's Edict
    Wheel of Fortune
    Paraselene
    Wrath of God
    Unburial Rites

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