Marchesa, the Black Rose (Steal and Sac)Marchesa, the Black Rose represents the
Grixis portion of my Commander decks. The object of this deck is to use "
Threaten" spells and effects to steal your opponent's creatures while Marchesa is in play. Use those creatures to attack players on the throne to get +1/+1 counters added to them, and then sacrifice the creature so Marchesa's recursion ability triggers. This will cause the creatures to return to play under your control permanently. I use a lot of loss of life effects to keep myself off the throne. I always attack the player with most life to get the most out of the dethrone triggers. References to "who is on the Throne..." is quite common in this deck. Here is the list:
COMMANDER:
Marchesa, the Black RoseRAMP:
Sol Ring,
Dimir Signet,
Izzet Signet,
Rakdos Signet - Basic three color fixing
Chromatic Lantern - Land now taps for everything
Solemn Simulacrum - Search for a basic you made need. Draws a card when it dies. More shenanigans if Marchesa gets some counters on it.
Talisman of Indulgence and
Talisman of Dominance - Color ramping at the cost of one life. One of many ways to get me off the throne.
DRAW:
Consecrated Sphinx,
Rhystic Study,
Mulldrifter - Some of blues favorite draw cards.
Phyrexian Arena and
Greed - Pay life, draw cards. Seems good with the strategy
River Kelpie - Works great when Marchesa's abilities start rolling
Sage of Fables - This is going to be cut for another card draw spell in the near future. Possibly one of the Black Pay life, draw card spells.
REMOVAL:
Hero's Downfall,
Terminate, and
Dreadbore - Targeted removal
Black Sun's Zenith,
Cyclonic Rift,
Damnation,
Toxic Deluge - Mass removal
Profaner of the Dead - Sac outlet and return opponent's creatures
Grave Pact and
Butcher of Malakir - This deck focuses on sacrificing creatures. Why not take out the creatures I can get my hands on in the process. (Thinking
Dictate of Erebos should be in here too.)
SOMETHING BORROWED - All of these effects allow you to gain control of a creature until end of turn. They have haste. With Marchesa out, attacking the player on the throne puts a +1/+1 counter on the 'Borrowed' creature.
Threaten,
Traitorous Blood,
Act of Treason,
Ray of Command - No added effects here
Mark of Mutiny - Add a +1/+1 counter
Hijack - Can steal an artifact if needed
Kari Zev's Expertise - Can steal a Vehicle if needed. Play a card for free.
Slave of Bolas - Free sac outlet
Press into Service - Add +1/+1 counters on up to two creatures
Mass Mutiny - Steal a creature from each player
Insurrection - Steal all creatures
Molten Primordial - Steal a creature from each player
Conquering Manticore -
Threaten on a stick
Zealous Conscripts - Steal a permanent.
Captivating Crew - Multiple use
Threaten. Still on the fence about this.
The creatures on the list have the ability to pull extra duty if you can get a +1/+1 counter on them and sacrifice them while Marchesa is in play. Speaking of sacrificing...
SACRIFICE OUTLETS - The other big part of this deck is the ability to sacrifice creature with counters on them to trigger Marchesa's recursion ability. All of these cards are sacrifice outlets, with an additional ability...
Miren, the Moaning Well - Sometimes you need to gain life
Viscera Seer - Scry 1
Carrion Feeder and
Bloodflow Connoisseur - Add +1/+1 counter to itself
Culling Dias - Draw cards
Goblin Bombardment -
Deal damageAshnod's Altar and
Phyrexian Altar - Produce mana
Yahenni, Undying Partisan - Indestuctible
Sadistic Hypnotist - Opponent discards
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born - Add +1/+1 counter and target