Thank you for taking the time to look over this primer. This is my take on one of the Commander 2013 Naya commanders, Marath, Will of the Wild. It is token themed, but that's certainly not all Marath can do. He is extremely versatile and can follow dozens of build paths. Currently, my own list largely ignores Marath's potential as a combo general, but I will cover common themes that could be run in a deck with him at the helm, as well as explain the thought process behind my own card choices and strategy.
I built this deck shortly after the Commander 2013 decks were released. While I had originally been intending to build Prossh, Skyraider of Kher, playing with the Naya precon the night they were released was enough to convince me that Marath was the right choice. While the precon was extremely disjointed, due to the mix of commanders, Marath did enough on his own to keep the deck fun with his versatile abilities and many synergies.
Initially, I was simply going to modify the precon, however after a playing it a few times, I felt that it was too disjointed to use as a base, as it tried to embody too many archetypes at once. So, I set out to build a deck around his abilities from the ground up, using Marath as both a token generator and support card. While deck has undergone some changes over the years, it's core has remained the same and this has become my favorite deck by far.
I've done my best to make this primer as inclusive to other playstyles outside my own as possible, but please feel free to let me know if you see anything that I've missed, or just have comments or suggestions in general!
From a lore standpoint, Marath is worshiped as a god on an unnamed shamanistic plane, acting as an elusive guardian of the forest and its creatures. It's easy to see why, he's a giant elk-bear-thing who causes vines to grow where he walks and is on fire. How is that not awe inspiring? As your general, he acts as a fickle god. You have the ability to either help or hinder your opponents, as you see fit.
For the low cost of , Marath will start as a 3/3. Not bad as it means that he can be used early on, giving you an advantage over generals who take longer to cast. With his color identity, we have access to all of the creature-based goodies that Naya has to offer. In this case, it means a very solid base for a token strategy. As an Elemental Beast he can lead to some interesting tribal strategies, but that's not what we'll be focusing on.
The next thing to notice is the first block of text on his abilities:
- Marath, Will of the Wild enters the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the amount of mana spent to cast it.
His second set of abilities are as follows:
- , Remove X +1/+1 counters from Marath: Choose one - Put X +1/+1 counters on target creature; or Marath deals X damage to target creature or player; or put an X/X green Elemental creature token onto the battlefield. X can't be 0.
While it isn't written on the card, X can't be 0 is an errata that was added in by Wizards in order to prevent his token making abilities to be abused by cards that care about enter the battlefield effects (Aura Shards, Purphoros, God of the Forge, etc.).
While using his abilities, it should be noted that removing counters in instances of X = 1 will generally be more beneficial then any larger number. The reasoning behind this is that removing counters is a cost of the ability, so if they respond to your ability, you can't get those counters back. Removing them in smaller instances gives you better responses as well, so long as the card/ability their using doesn't have split second (e.g. if you remove 1 counter to make a 1/1 token, and someone tries to destroy or exile Marath in response, you can activate his abilities for whatever mana you have left and still get value).
- You enjoy having your general be an integral part of your deck. Most strategies that Marath decks employ revolve around actually using him, because he's a toolbox in your command zone.
- You like versatile commanders that can fill a multitude of roles. Marath has a lot of abilities that can work in different ways based on the cards that you choose to include in your list, and can fit many different styles of decks.
- You like creature based strategies. Many Marath decks rely both on other creatures in the deck, as well as Marath's ability to produce tokens, whether for beat down, as part of a combo, or even in tandem with cards like Aura Shards to control the board.
- You like having an unassuming board state one turn, then doubling it the next. Even just casting Marath later in the game can give you a giant creature to threaten your opponents with, and you have the potential to turn him into a small army with mana to go wide as well. Token decks in particular can get out of hand very quickly with Marath supplementing their ranks.
- You prefer playing black or blue. Limiting yourself to leaves you without two of the strongest colors in EDH. Combo variants of Marath decks are missing out on the tutoring and protection that blue and black provide, and all versions of the deck are going to be limited by things like card draw in a typical game.
- if you play in a highly competitive meta. Even a top tier combo or stax list is still going to be limited both by your colors, and the speed of a Marath list. You certainly can formulate a list that can compete, but you're not going to be the 'best' deck at the table in most scenarios.
- You like having a more immediate impact on the game, rather than slowly setting up your position. Combo variants of Marath decks don't face this to the same degree, but regardless of your strategy of choice, Marath decks need time to set up. Even for quicker decks, most need multiple pieces to work and often telegraphy their strategy, leaving you open to removal and other forms of hate from your opponents.
In the section, I'm going to briefly cover the other popular Naya generals. There are more than this, but these are among the most commonly seen Naya generals. There are also several good choices in Selesnya, Boros, Gruul, Green, White, and Red to pick from.
- Gahiji, Honored One - Gahiji is probably my favorite alternative to Marath for a token general. He can't produce any tokens on his own, but his aggressive ability makes up for it. Getting a +2/+0 bonus every time you attack turns even your smallest tokens into threats. He, like Edric, Spymaster of Trest, adds an interesting political spin to the game by encouraging your opponents to attack each other. I like Gahiji enough to run him as one of my 99, however he doesn't offer the same utility as Marath when acting as the general.
- Hazezon Tamar - With ramp, Hazezon can be an insane token generator. The goal is to cast him, and sacrifice him before of the Sand Warrios enter the battlefield, so that the tokens won't die with him, and then cast him a second time for twice the number of warriors or just leave him in the command zone, to get rid of their weakness of dying with him. He lacks versitity, bringing nothing but tokens to the table. He can be a very powerful general, though you'll loose the control that Marath provides.
- Rith, the Awakener - Arguably the best token general in Naya colors. He offers a large body and it typically only takes a turn or two of attacks got his token production to get out of hand. In my meta, he is difficult to land, even with flying, and I personally value the utility Marath provides more than the engine Rith has.
- Uril, the Miststalker - Uril was formerly considered the strongest Naya general, but his ability demands that you build around it, making the deck very dependent on its general. As strong as he was, he can be a one-trick pony and lacks versatility, as well as folding to heavy removal.
- Mayael the Anima - Mayael is one of the most popular generals in Naya, as her ability strongly appeals to players who like really big creatures. Like Uril, she tends to want you to build around her ability. Once she's online, she can pump out some terrifying creatures, but slows down considerably to disruption and removal.
To give you a brief idea of why I've chosen the cards here, and why this list lacks tutors and infinite combos, it's personal choice. I don't particularly enjoy dedicated combo decks, and I get bored quickly playing them. Unfortunately, my own playgroup is control-heavy and running the mana generating pieces of Marath's various combos (such as Mana Echoes or Earthcraft) as secondary win conditions turns them into wasted spots. They are removed too often to even make use of them.
This deck is also quite expensive. I've put a lot of time and money into this list. However, please don't feel the need to run cards like Gaea's Cradle or Taiga. They aren't necessary to the deck's success. I've tried adding budget sections to this primer in the past, but because Marath is such a diverse general, it was difficult to keep up to date. If you have questions regarding budget concerns with Marath as a general, please ask!
Marath is a unique commander due to his flexible nature. If you can imagine it and Naya can support it, nearly any strategy can be built with him at the helm, and my list is one among many strategies. If my play style doesn't suite you, fear not! This section will act as a starting point for building your own Marath deck, by covering cards for the most common archetypes run with him. While it may not be an in-depth guide, my goal is to give you a starting point. You can mix and match these archetypes to suite your own play style; for example, my current list is a mix of tokens, aggro, and control.
Please keep in mind that no card listed below is required, and if a card isn't listed, that doesn't mean it isn't good or doesn't work. These are suggestions that represent the kinds of cards most useful in each type of deck and you can include or exclude anything at your discretion.
General
0 Gavony Township1 Hardened Scales
1 Skullclamp
2 Evolutionary Leap
3 Aura Shards
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
4 Mana Echoes
4 Purphoros, God of the Forge
5 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Doubling Season
Deathtouch
1 Basilisk Collar1 Gorgon's Head
2 Nightshade Peddler
3 Bow of Nylea
3 Quietus Spike
5 Sword of Kaldra
These are cards that can be included in any Marath deck because they directly interact or otherwise improve his abilities. You certainly don't need to run every card listed, but this is a good place to start any Marath deck.
General
1 Skullclamp3 Aura Shards
3 Mentor of the Meek
4 Glare of Subdual
4 Triumph of the Hordes
4 Xenagos, the Reveler
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Shamanic Revelation
6 Collective Unconscious
7 Hour of Reckoning
8 Craterhoof Behemoth
This archetype typically focuses on Marath's ability to generate tokens, and is often paired with aggro or control in order to finish out the game. It is also one of the most common archetypes built around him, because so many of his synergies already encourage you to generate tokens. For the most part, Marath will likely be your primary source of token creation, but it's always a good idea to include some redundancy, just in case you get locked out of being able to cast or use him.
General
0 Kessig Wolf Run1 Hardened Scales
3 Beastmaster Ascension
3 Shared Animosity
3 Wild Beastmaster
4 Hellrider
4 Glory of Warfare
4 Jazal Goldmane
4 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Triumph of the Hordes
5 Berserkers' Onslaught
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Doubling Season
5 Gahiji, Honored One
5 Xenagos, God of Revels
6 Aurelia, the Warleader
6 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
6 Rage Reflection
6 Soul of Theros
6 True Conviction
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
7 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
This can supplement any strategy because it's one of Naya's strengths. Here, all of Marath's abilities can be used to push your army to victory. You can either try to go wide, by buffing up a multitude of creatures, or going tall, using Marath to win off of general damage, either by making him bigger with cards such as Hardened Scales, or just recasting him.
General
2 Aurelia's Fury2 Blind Obedience
3 Aura Shards
3 Neko-Te
4 Glare of Subdual
4 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
5 Urabrask the Hidden
Sunforger
1 Enlightened Tutor1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Atarka's Command
2 Boros Charm
2 Dromoka's Command
2 Wheel of Sun and Moon
3 Chaos Warp
3 Oblation
3 Sunforger
3 Wear // Tear
Deathtouch
1 Basilisk Collar1 Gorgon's Head
2 Nightshade Peddler
3 Bow of Nylea
3 Quietus Spike
5 Sword of Kaldra
This archetype is a bit odd for Naya, but you can use Marath's abilities on their own or in conjunction with cards like Aura Shards to control your opponent's boards. Most Marath decks will contain some control elements due to the nature of the general, and it's best used to compliment other strategies.
On Sunforger: This is a core card if you want a control heavy deck. While I've listed some examples of spells that can be run with it, there are many more and you can tailor a package for it to suite your needs should you choose to run it.
Pieces
1 Hardened Scales2 Earthcraft
2 Grim Monolith
2 Illusionist's Bracers
3 Ashnod's Altar
3 Basalt Monolith
3 Phyrexian Altar
4 Ivy Lane Denizen
4 Mana Echoes
4 Restoration Angel
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Doubling Season
5 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
5 Zealous Conscripts
6 Great Oak Guardian
6 Mana Reflection
Combo Marath decks use his abilities along side enablers to go infinite, either to win with Marath himself, or to fuel another win condition. While I've listed some of the most common combos with him, anything that can combo off in the colors will work. You'll also want a lot of redundancy and tutors for resilience, as Naya is not particularly strong at protecting it's combos, and most of them need multiple pieces to go off.
A quick guide for how some of the different combos work can be found here.
This can either be used as the predominant strategy of the deck, or as a back up to other win conditions on another strategy. It works well with control.
General
2 Aurelia's Fury2 Comet Storm
3 Neko-Te
3 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Hellrider
4 Purphoros, God of the Forge
5 Heartless Hidetsugu
7 Vicious Shadows
Damage Doublers
4 Furnace of Rath5 Dictate of the Twin Gods
5 Gratuitous Violence
7 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
This is probably the most uncommon of the archetypes I've listed, but Marath has the potential to be his own burn engine, especially when combined with green's ramp for a bigger bang.
Avacyn, Angel of Hope - Getting an 8/8 vigilance/flying angel who gives your permanents indestructible is no laughing matter. With a CMC of 8, she sits on the highest end of the curve of the deck, but the benefits are definitely worth the cost. She negates most wrath effects, which is something most token decks can be weak to. Even without an army to follow her into combat, she hits hard on her own while still leaving you a blocker.
Avenger of Zendikar - The closest thing MTG has to a Chia Pet. You can grow your own tokens! Even better than that, his landfall ability keeps your ramp spells relevant late game by pumping said tokens. Because Avenger and your tokens will all hit the battlefield at the same time, you can dish out some serious damage with Purphoros, God of the Forge.
Craterhoof Behemoth - This guy will make your tokens huge. Unless you have a recursion engine going, he's a one shot, so use him wisely.
Dragonlord Dromoka - Despite being much more expensive to cast than Grand Abolisher, Dragonlord Dromoka is incredibly useful in control-heavy metas. Unfortunately, she doesn't stop opponents from activating abilities but she makes up for it by being uncounterable. She likely isn't necessary in a play group that doesn't rely heavily on control, but she can protect you from most forms of disruption while you're trying to win.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - I both love and hate this card with Marath. On one hand, giving my creatures +2/+2 while simultaneously taking a chunk out of my opponents creatures is fantastic. It's a huge pump effect that can make any token a threat. On the other hand, giving Marath himself +2/+2 can be annoying, as you have to pay two mana to kill him off, before you can recast. I still play her whenever I can though, she shuts down things like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror breaker and Azami, Lady of Scrolls.
Eternal Witness - Just your generic green good stuff. She helps recur important spells and permanents after a board wipe, of which there will be many. She has good synergy with quite a few cards in the deck (Greater Good (to get back a large threat) or Sun Titan+Skullclamp for example).
Gahiji, Honored One - I talked a little bit about him as a commander earlier in this guide, but now let’s cover his abilities as one of the ninety-nine. Gahiji brings something to Naya that it generally lacks: diplomacy that doesn't result in people wanting to immediately kill you. Not dying puts you one step closer to winning, and your opponents will hopefully be smashing each others faces in. It's win-win. Sort of. Right up until someone notices that all of those 3/3 beasts you've been making are now 5/3 monsters no matter where they go, and they have less blockers after trying to kill each other.
Grand Abolisher - Provides protection on your turn, and prevents other players from interfering with you for the most part (lands are an exception to the rule). While it can be used early on, this card shines the most when played to protect a win condition from your opponents.
Knight of Autumn - Similar to Qasali Pridemage. It's something that can be grabbed with Survival of the Fittest in a pinch when you need an answer, and is recurrable with Sun Titan. It has the added upside of giving you a very small life buffer if you need it.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence - While I never want to see her on an opponent's field, she shuts down so many decks in my playgroup that rely on activated abilities that it's not even funny.
Mirror Entity - One of the most useful "pump" effects in the deck, this guy can make a small army of tokens terrifying. It should be noted that he changes your creature's power and toughness, not adds to it. However, counters and other pump abilities will still take effect, after you've altered their power and toughness.
Oracle of Mul Daya – A fantastic ramp creature to help you filter through the lands in your library, allowing you to draw into more creatures and spells. She does have the downside of letting your opponents see your draws, but you will quickly out ramp them.
Purphoros, God of the Forge – Purphoros is the king of all token based win conditions, thanks to his ability to hit every person on the table simultaneously. As long as he doesn’t become a creature himself, he is difficult to remove, and the more tokens you make, the more he hurts. His activated ability shouldn't be ignored either. It can be activated multiple times, and can make enough difference to kill someone.
Qasali Pridemage - Artifact and Enchantment destruction on a body. It's something that can be grabbed with Survival of the Fittest in a pinch when you need an answer, and is recurrable with Sun Titan. On occasion, exalted can come in handy as well. Because it is an activated ability, it gets around Torpor Orb and similar effects.
Ranging Ratpors – Even more ramp! By pinging this dinosaur with Marath, you can search up a basic land of your choice. This can net you an extremely solid amount of ramp over the course of a game, and can also be used to block for profitable ramp or to discourage attacks.
Ripjaw Raptor - Another amazing use of the enrage mechanic, this lets you find a consistent source of card draw with Marath's ping ability while also having a decently threatening body of it's own.
Runic Armasaur - As a general note, this card is not made for all metas. If you can't consistently draw cards off of it's ability, Mentor of the Meek may be a better alternative. However, in groups where this card does work, it certainly pulls it's weight in terms of card draw. There are a surprising amount of activated abilities in this format, and certain decks such as Azami, Lady of Scrolls can really pump this card in to overdrive.
Sakura-Tribe Elder – When you play Naya, you ramp. It is known.
Seedborn Muse – The bigger Marath gets, the more difficult it becomes to cast him and leave mana open to actually use him before he eats a removal spell. Seedborn fixes this problem and then some. There are dozens of permanents in this deck that benefit from her untap ability.
Sun Titan – What’s better than recursion? More recursion! Between Season's Past and Sun Titan, I can grab almost anything I need out of my graveyard. Add Eternal Witness with a way to kill her, and I can grab anything in the graveyard at least once a turn. By himself, he can’t save everything but he can hit things like Aura Shards and Survival of the Fittest.
Xenagos, God of Revels - Xenagos provides both haste and a large boost in power to a single creature, that scales up the higher their power currently is. He can be used either to pump a naturally large creature like Avacyn, Angel of Hope or even used on Marath, for general damage[/card].
Aura Shards - While Aura Shards is extremely good for mass artifact and enchantment removal in any token deck that has the ability to run it, it is absolutely insane with Marath. By paying to make a 1/1 token, you have just given yourself instant speed removal for the two types of non-land permanents that Marath can't hit on his own.
Cathars' Crusade - Another enchantment to accent Marath's abilities, by paying to make a 1/1 token, to put a +1/+1 counter on each creature (including the creature that just entered the battlefield) you control. This refuels Marath with counters, while making your first few tokens created like this formidable as well.
Doubling Season - This is my favorite green card. As it doubles all counters, it has more uses outside of making Marath twice as large. Your planeswalkers will enter the battlefield with twice the number of loyalty counters (they won't gain twice as many for using their abilities, however, as using their + abilities are a cost). In this particular deck, that means all three have the ability to ult as soon as you cast them, if you wish. It also opens up general damage as a win condition by removing a counter from Marath to add a counter back on to himself, which doubles to two counters. If he had five +1/+1 counters on him, it will go to six, for example.
Earthcraft - A powerful mana enabler, this can be used either as ramp, or to enable various combos. Keep in mind that you'll need a basic land in play for this to work. It can be used to chain out tokens with Marath.
Evolutionary Leap - This enchantment let's you sacrifice a creature you control to draw the first creature card from your deck, allowing you to sacrifice tokens for cards, and creatures that are going to die anyways such as blocking, kill spells, or even to prevent them from cloning effects.
Exploration - An early ramp engine, and a way to play Marath on turn 2. You're limited by the number of lands you draw, but it's a good way to get going early.
Fires of Yavimaya - A cheap haste enabler that can be sacrificed to add +2/+2 to a creature of your choice (potentially dodging theft or exile).
Greater Good - An enchantment that provides both card draw and protection. In a pinch, you can sacrifice some of your larger creatures to try to dig for either a win condition or an answer to a threat. Should someone try to exile one of your creatures (Avacyn, Angel of Hope for example), you can sacrifice it, letting it be recurrable with cards like Eternal Witness or Seasons Past later.
Growing Rites of Itlimoc - A secondary Gaea's Cradle that is fairly easy to trigger with Marath's token creation ability, and a useful ETB effect.
Hardened Scales - Somewhat similar to Doubling Season, but it only effects +1/+1 counters. With it in play, Marath will come in to play with an extra +1/+1 counter each time he is cast. Like Doubling Season, You can remove a counter to add two back on to Marath, in order to pump him to lethal. Keep in mind that it only adds on one extra counter, and does not truely double any effect.
Mana Echoes - A powerful mana enabler, this can be used either as ramp, or to enable various combos. Keep in mind that it only generates colorless mana, and you'll need at least one other creature that shares a type with the ETB creature to begin netting mana. It can be used to chain out tokens with Marath.
Mirari's Wake - Mirari's Wake is an absolute powerhouse in commander. Acting as both a mana doubler and an anthem, it's pretty much all win. It helps you both cast and use Marath more effectively. It can, and should die whenever it resolves. Should it remain on field, you net a massive advantage in the game.
Privileged Position - Giving all other permanents you control hexproof is extremely strong, and can force opponents to use either a board wipe, or an additional removal spell to get rid of a threat.
Survival of the Fittest - A very versatile tutor that can trigger multiple times in one turn. While you do have to discard a creature as part of the cost, it's well worth it to tutor up a threat or answer and there are plenty of options for recursion in our colors.
Sylvan Library - Deck manipulation that gives you the option to draw cards, should you need.
Eldritch Evolution A one off Birthing Pod effect. This card lets you dig for an answer or a threat, while not requiring you to maintain a strict curve in the way that pod does.
Farseek - An early ramp spell that will allow you to grab any shock land or original dual land into play, tapped.
Green Sun's Zenith - A flexible, potentially repeatable tutor, but keep in mind that you can only search for green creatures while using it.
Harmonize - An efficient, one-shot draw effect. We don't have access to many unconditional draw spells in our colors, making this card invaluable.
Hour of Promise - An incredibly powerful ramp spell that allows you to tutor for any land in your deck, providing an easy way to grab cards such as Gaea's Cradle.
Kodama's Reach - Another basic land ramp spell. Cultivate is a good secondary option if you either can't find this particular version of the card, or you'd like to run a second version of this effect.
Natural Order - A creature tutor that can be used to cheat mana costs of large threats like Craterhoof Behemoth or Dragonlord Dromoka, for example. You are required to tutor for a green creature, and will need a green creature to sacrifice (though Marath's tokens can easily fill this role).
Rout - A strong potentially instant speed board wipe that can get you out of sticy situations. If there aren't many token decks in your meta, Hour of Reckoning may also be a strong choice.
Seasons Past - An incredibly strong recursion card that usually lets you get back several cards in one go, while also putting itself back in to your library.
Shamanic Revelation - This card has a lot of draw potential, with an upside. The Ferocious trigger likely won't add up to a ridiculous amount in every game but your anthems can push your smaller tokens up to the 4 toughness mark.
Skyshroud Claim - A similar spell to Explosive Vegetation, but it will allow you to grab Stomping Ground, Temple Garden, Taiga, and Savannah, as well as basic Forests. Typically, I will try to grab any shocks that I can with this spell if I cast it early, as I usually don't need them to be untapped.
Tooth and Nail - Both a tutor and potentially a combo enabler (with the right cards. While this list doesn't include any infinite combos in the creatures section, you can use it to end the game with cards like Purphoros, God of the Forge/Craterhoof Behemoth and Avenger of Zendikar, or just grab to threats, or even answers like Linvala, Keeper of Silence.
Triumph of the Hordes - One of the few immediate kills in the deck, should it resolve. I would recommend against playing this card if either you or your playgroup have a problem with Infect.
Wheel of Fortune - A draw spell to dig you out of a tight spot. While you will need to discard your remaining hand, it can get you seven cards further in to your deck, or just refill your hand if it's empty. You can also wheel away anything another player has tutored recently, and it can be used in conjunction with cards like Enlightened Tutor to draw a specific card.
Beast Within - One of the best removal spells in green for multiplayer. Because it can hit any permanent, it retains its usefulness from game to game.
Chord of Calling - An extremely versatile and strong tutor that, while expensive to cast, can put any creature in your library directly on to the battlefield. Because it has convoke, it can potentially be cast for free.
Eladamri's Call - An instant speed creature tutor. It can be used to grab either answers or win conditions, depending on the stage of the game.
Enlightened Tutor - The only tutor in this deck that isn't creature exclusive. It can be used to grab answers (Aura Shards/Basilisk Collar), utility (Sylvan Library/Privileged Position), and threats (Doubling Season/Cathars' Crusade).
Krosan Grip - Many competitive metas will find this card too slow to run, but in my playgroup the addition of split second is invaluable. Should you find yourself not needing it, Nature's Claim is an excellent alternative.
Swords to Plowshares - Cheap spot removal that can hit particularly annoying creatures, such as a live God or an indestructible creature at the cost of your opponent gaining life, which is largely negligible once you get your deck going.
Basilisk Collar - By giving Marath deathtouch, you can effectively turn him into a machine gun, killing any non-indestructible creature for .
Skullclamp - With Marath in play, you may draw two cards for .
Sol Ring - While it shouldn't need an explanation, this deck has a fairly high average CMC. Anything to help you out-ramp your opponents is a must have.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion - Like every planeswalker in this deck, she has the ability to ult as soon as she is cast with Doubling Season in play. The emblem that she gives with her ult can be game ending, and it is very difficult for your opponents to recover from should you get it. Her other abilities are also strong. Her +1 provides three tokens, and her -3 is a board wipe with the potential to put you ahead.
Garruk Wildspeaker - All three abilities of Garruk are useful, on top of a cheap casting cost. In most games, you'll primarily be using him to untap lands, but he can also generate 3/3 beast tokens and give you an overrun ability with his cheap ultimate later in the game. The untap is particularly potent with Gaea's Cradle and other similar lands that tap for more than one mana.
Xenagos, the Reveler - Xenagos primarily acts as ramp and a solid token machine. The satyrs that he creates pile up, and if you have a decent amount of creatures on field, you can boost yourself ahead several turns. His ult can be lackluster in this deck list, but his +1 and 0 abilities more than make up for it.
Plateau/Savannah/Taiga – The three ABUR dual lands in our colors. While they make the deck run more smoothly, by interacting with the fetch lands, Skyshroud Claim, and Krosan Verge, they are by no means necessary. And set of two color lands, or even basics could take their spot.
Sacred Foundry/Stomping Ground/Temple Garden – The three Naya colored shock lands. They serve a similar purpose to the ABUR duals, but they will come into play tapped unless you agree to ‘shock’ yourself for 2 life.
Canopy Vista/Cinder Glade - Often called tango lands or battle lands, these are dual lands that are slower at the beginning of the game, but will almost always enter the battlefield untapped later on. They can be searched in the same way that the shocks and ABUR duals can.
Clifftop Retreat – Currently, the only check land in my list, and an alternative to the tango lands (the other two being Rootbound Crag and Sunpetal Grove). Between basic lands and dual lands, it isn't difficult to get them to enter the battlefield tapped.
Arid Mesa/Wooded Foothills/Windswept Heath/Bloodstianed Mire/Flooded Strand/Misty Rainforest – The three in-color fetch lands, as well as three out of color fetch lands (one for each of our colors). They help with color fixing, as well as any land fall triggers. There are three additional fetch lands that can be run, but this puts my color fixing in a good place while still letting me run a decent number of basic lands and other non basic lands.
Cavern of Souls – A good addition for control heavy metas. It works significantly better in a tribal deck, but it’s generally enough to get at least a few important creatures through.
Command Tower – Fantastic color fixing, as it will tap for every color in Marath’s color identity.
Gaea’s Cradle – While it does have the downside of being fairly expensive, this land is absolutely nuts in a token deck. There is a chance that it won’t tap for mana on occasion, usually after a board wipe, but the amount of mana it can generate more than makes up for it. Like the ABUR duals, this is NOT necessary for the deck to run.
Inkmoth Nexus – An interesting land that also doubles as a win condition. Once it becomes a creature, it will benefit from anthems, pumps (like Mirror Entity), and it can receive counters form Marath to help it hit for lethal. Like Triumph of the Hordes, this is another card to avoid if your playgroup dislikes infect.
Kessig Wolf Run – This is my favorite utility land. You can temporarily pump one creature, or activate it where X equals to give your biggest creature trample.
Krosan Verge – A slower ramp land that is extremely useful for color fixing, as it can grab both shock lands and ABUR duals.
Reflecting Pool – Similar to command tower, but you need lands in play before it can tap for multiple colors.
Strip Mine - Used to get rid of any problem lands that you may encounter, such as Glacial Chasm or Academy Ruins.
Winding Canyons – This is one of the easiest ways to get around Marath’s casting cost with a high commander tax later in the game, provided that you can spare the extra mana. Casting Marath at the end of someone else’s turn will let you untap and allow you to leave mana up to use his abilities. It also turns Seedborn Muse into a more expensive version of Prophet of Kruphix.
Games can be won and lost in an opening hand. Fortunately, multiplayer EDH is a bit more forgiving than other formats if you don’t start the game with an amazing hand, but it’s helpful to know what to look for.
In a perfect world
This would be the closest thing this deck has to Magical Christmas Land. I’m not talking about something absurd like a turn four Avacyn, Angel of Hope, as that’s likely to eat a Path to Exile if you overextend like that.
With a fairly high average CMC, you want to start the game with a way to quickly hit your curve. This is typically what I hope for:
- 3-4 Lands: It’s preferred if those lands let you hit all of your colors, but if not the order of importance is green > white > red. Of course, this varies on what you have in your hand but generally green is the most used card color in the deck, and you’ll need it for ramp and most other early game plays. White is also used on a few of the lower costed cards and lends itself to utility. Red is the worst color to start with a majority of early on, as most of it is tied to mid to late game plays.
- Two Ramp Spells: You either want two low cost spells (0-2 mana), or a low cost spell that you can use to hit a higher cost spell (3-5 mana). The faster you ramp into your curve, the better.
- A Threat and/or Utility: Examples of good early/mid game threats are Xenagos, the Reveler, Gahiji, Honored One, and Earthcraft. Good utility spells to look for are Aura Shards, Basilisk Collar, and Mirari’s Wake. There are also cards like Doubling Season and Hardened Scales, which act as both.
Reality
Now that you know what Magical Christmas Land looks like we can head back to the real world. You will get bad hands. Due to the singleton nature of EDH, even when you build consistently you will end up with things like Craterhoof Behemoth in your opening hand, or end up with no lands in hand. There are a few different ways to deal with this, depending on how your play group handles mulligans.
- Vancouver Mulligan: The official mulligan rule, typically using one free. Pitch your hand for mana, but so long as you can get three or four usable lands I wouldn’t sweat it. If nothing else, your 3 CMC general is always available to you.
- Partial Paris: If your group uses the Partial Paris rule, mulligans are much easier. If you get a free first paris, just pitch away the cards you don’t need, and draw that many. Your first priority should be to get at least three lands (again, green > white > red as a general rule), following by something you can use on (ramp, draw power like Skullclamp, etc). If you don’t get a free paris, try to pitch only when you need the land, as Marath gives you an outlet for mana flooding.
There are a few different ways to play out the first couple of turns.
- Ramp: This is my favorite method to use. I want to hit my late game before anyone else can, and so long as mass land destruction isn't common in you meta, it gives the most permanent advantage. If land destruction is common, it’s better to just hold some of your land back, so that you aren't set the furthest behind. Grab shock lands when you don’t need the land to come into play untapped, as it will prevent you from seeing them later.
- Control There are three primary methods to controlling the board in this deck.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Basilisk Collar: You can snipe threats for and even prevent opponents from playing creatures, for fear of their immediate removal.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Aura Shards: Starting early game, people will try to set any engines up that they need to get ahead. Aura shards lets you watch that dream crash and burn until it gets removed by turning Marath into an instant speed source of artifact and enchantment removal. Any instant speed token generator, such as Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, can be used to this effect as well.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Kamahl, Fist of Krosa: You can set people back a few lands by animating them with Kamahl and then sniping the land with Marath.
- Setup: You can start laying out engines like Purphoros, God of the Forge, Survival of the Fittest, and Xenagos, the Reveler.
- Cast Marath: Even if you can’t do anything else, casting Marath is never a bad play as he is fairly threatening on his own. If you have something like Skullclamp, you can sacrifice tokens to draw into something you can use as well, or just spend his counter removal. You can even get in some early general damage.
This is the point of the game where you start getting more aggressive. In my particular list, the primary goal is to get any anthem effects and token engines online, as well as ramping whenever possible so that you can keep using Marath. In other decks, you'll similarly be setting up your board presence, whether that's looking for combo pieces or setting up some control, you'll want to use this time to work on getting ahead. You can use your general to control the board and slow opponents down during this stage, and don’t be afraid to get some damage in wherever you can. Other good plays would be setting up enablers like Skullclamp, Mirari’s Wake, Privileged Position, and Doubling Season/Hardened Scales, to put yourself ahead.
This is also the stage of the game where your opponents are more likely to have access to their removal. It is important that you do not overextend during this stage of the game. While it is tempting to play as many cards in your hand as possible, try to hold back at least a few. Naya is limited when it comes to card advantage, and while Marath is his own engine, you still want to be able to make larger plays in the late game.
This is a good time to use Marath as a source of removal, taking out problem creatures, and even other permanents if you have the support cards available.
During this stage of the game, you should really be pushing for a resolved win condition. Of course, the same goes for each of your opponents, so you’ll need to do whatever possible to slow them down without severely impeding your own chances to win. If you're playing a combo list, keep an eye out for a turn where you can set up your win with minimal interaction from your opponents, and be prepared to deal with answers, as well as to answer the board yourself. If need be, you can use something like Rout or Krosan Grip if it stops someone from winning on their turn, even if it does set you back. Start picking off low health players, or focusing down opponents who will cause you problems. Ideally, you'll be using Marath to maintain some control of the game until you have the opportunity to finish the table off.
You'll still want to avoid overextending, because people are going to be doing their best to prevent you from winning. You can go a long ways with just Marath and one or two support cards in play, especially because you should have built up a fairly formidable mana base by this point.
This deck excels at a few things:
- Combat: Thanks to the nature of token decks, once you get an anthem or pump effect online, combat is a breeze. Because you’ll typically attack with several creatures, it is difficult for opponents to block everything and the damage adds up over time. General damage isn’t impossible either, as you’re trying to make Marath bigger whenever possible.
- Non-Combat Damage: Purphoros, God of the Forge is the main champion here, however Marath’s ability to do direct damage to players shouldn't be taken lightly.
- Control: Because we’re in Naya colors, traditional means of control aren't available to us. What Marath brings to the table is board control by directly affecting cards in play. His biggest strength is dealing with creatures and planeswalkers, because he doesn’t need any additional cards to do so. Basilisk Collar and other deathtouch cards will make creature kills even easier, Glare of Subdual will let you tap down creatures and artifacts to set opponents back, and Kamahl, Fist of Krosa and Aura Shards will let you hit permanents that were out of reach to you before.
- Gravepact Strategies: Normally Gravepact and friends are extremely painful for creature decks, they can keep up with the sacrifice triggers. Marath’s ability to make small tokens at instant speed can save your board. It isn't infallible, but it will give you an advantage over other creature decks that can’t deal with it, and hopefully buy you enough time to deal with the permanent that’s forcing you to sacrifice.
- Slow Combo: Creature based combo decks are the easiest to deal with, as Marath can try to kill the creature before the combo can actually go off. Holding back counters and against something like Azami, Lady of Scrolls can seriously set the deck back, giving you time to kill them before they can combo off.
Every deck has its weaknesses. While I have made efforts to negate some of them by card choice, it won’t always be enough.
- Fast Combo: This is a fairly strong deck, but it won’t hold up against some of the more notorious combo decks. The faster the combo, the worse the matchup is. Try to disrupt their plans as much as possible, and hope for the best. Switching cards like Krosan Grip for cheaper answers such as Naturalize can be of help here.
- Permission Heavy Decks: I’m not referring to your average control deck, this is a multiplayer game and the control player has other threats to worry about and their own threats to protect. I mean a dedicated permission deck. Anything over thirteen to fifteen counter spells starts to get dangerous. There are ways around them (Vexing Shusher, Boseiju, Who Shelter’s All, Dosan the Falling Leaf, Grand Abolisher, etc.), but it’s an uphill battle.
- Board Wipes: The bane of all token and aggro decks. The best way to deal with them is to run cards to get your creatures back (Seasons Past, Assemble the Legion, Marath, Will of the Wild, and Fresh Meat are all good examples) or prevent them from dying in the first place (Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Boros Charm, Eldrazi Monument).
- Linvala, Keeper of Silence: She is irritating enough to warrant her own section. Marath is the most consistent source of creature removal, so you’ll need to draw into a form of spell removal to deal with her, as she slows the majority of the deck down. Other things to watch out for are Torpor Orb and Winter Orb type effects.
This is a quick walkthrough of the most common way to go infinite with Marath. Each of the combinations assumes that you have at least 3 +1/+1 counters on Marath.
- Earthcraft - All of earthcraft's combos need additional cards to go off on the spot (such as Purphoros, God of the Forge), but will net you infinite tokens at the least. It can go off in the following ways:
- Earthcraft + Cathers' Crusade (infinite tokens/infinitely huge creatures): You can either start this off by tapping Marath to untap a basic land, or just using to create a token. The token will trigger Cathars' Crusade, which will add a counter back on to Marath (and everything else). Tap the token to untap a basic land to repeat the process indefinitely for an army of infinitely large tokens.
- Earthcraft + Ivy Lane Denizen (infinite tokens): You can either start this off by tapping Marath to untap a basic land, or just using to create a token. The token will trigger Ivy Lane Denizen, which will add a counter back on to Marath. Tap the token to untap a basic land to repeat the process indefinitely for an army of infinitely large tokens.
- Earthcraft + Illusionist's Bracers (infinite tokens): With Illusionist's Bracers equipped to Marath either tap Marath for mana, or just use from your mana pool to create a token, which will be copied by the Bracers, and net you two tokens. Tap one to Earthcraft to remove a counter from Marath and add two counters to him, and the second to remove a counter and create two more tokens. Repeat this process indefinitely.
- Earthcraft + Doubling Season (infinite tokens): Either tap Marath for mana, or just use from your mana pool to create a token, which will be doubled and net you two tokens. Tap one to Earthcraft to remove a counter from Marath and add two counters to him, and the second to remove a counter and create two more tokens. Repeat this process indefinitely.
- Mana Echoes - All of Mana Echoes combos can go off and net you infinite colorless mana, which will usually (but not always) let you end the game on the spot. It can go off in the following ways:
- Mana Echoes + Cathars' Crusade (infinite mana/infinite tokens/infinitely huge creatures): You'll need to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make a token. Mana Echoes will trigger and net you , and Cathar's Crusade will trigger to put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. Use that mana to create another token. When Mana Echoes triggers, you'll gain , and so on, and so forth. This will get you infinite colorless mana, and infinite tokens (with infinite counters from Cathars' Crusade), but does not win the game on the spot without another card.
- Mana Echoes + Ivy Lane Denizen (infinite mana/infinite tokens): You'll need to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make a token. Mana Echoes will trigger and net you , and Ivy Lane Denizen will trigger to let you put a +1/+1 counter on Marath. Use that mana to create another token. When Mana Echoes triggers, you'll gain , and so on, and so forth. This will get you infinite colorless mana, and infinite tokens, but does not win the game on the spot without another card.
- Mana Echoes + Illusionist's Bracers (infinite mana/infinite tokens/infinite damage): You'll need to have Illusionist's Bracers equipped to Marath, and to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make two tokens, with the Bracer's trigger. Each token will see two elementals and net you each, for a total of . Use one mana to remove a counter and place two counters back on Marath, and then another to create more tokens. This will generate you infinite mana. Once you've achieved that, you can indefinitely pump Marath, and then remove counters to deal damage to your opponents for the win.
- Mana Echoes + Doubling Season (infinite mana/infinite tokens/infinite damage): You'll need to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make two tokens. Each token will see two elementals and net you each, for a total of . Use one mana to remove a counter and place two counters back on Marath, and then another to create more tokens. This will generate you infinite mana. Once you've achieved that, you can indefinitely pump Marath, and then remove counters to deal damage to your opponents for the win.
- Ashnod's Altar - All of Ashnod's Altar's combos can go off and net you infinite colorless mana, which will usually (but not always) let you end the game on the spot. It can go off in the following ways:
- Ashnod's Altar + Cathars' Crusade (infinite mana/infinite tokens/infinitely huge creatures): You'll need to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make a token. Cathar's Crusade will trigger to put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. Sacrifice that token to add to your mana pool. Use that mana to create another token, and repeat indefinitely. You only need one mana each time to continue the chain, so you can use the rest to create tokens at will. This will get you infinite colorless mana, and infinite tokens (with infinite counters from Cathars' Crusade), but does not win the game on the spot without another card.
- Ashnod's Altar + Ivy Lane Denizen (infinite mana/infinite tokens): You'll need to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make a token. Ivy Lane Denizen will trigger to put a +1/+1 counter on Marath. Sacrifice that token to add to your mana pool. Use that mana to create another token, and repeat indefinitely. You only need one mana each time to continue the chain, so you can use the rest to create tokens at will. This will get you infinite colorless mana, and infinite tokens, but does not win the game on the spot without another card.
- Ashnod's Altar + Illusionist's Bracers (infinite mana/infinite tokens/infinite damage): You'll need to have Illusionist's Bracers equipped to Marath, and to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make two tokens, with the Bracer's trigger. Sacrifice both of those tokens for a total of . Use one mana to remove a counter and place two counters back on Marath, and then another to create more tokens. This will generate you infinite mana. Once you've achieved that, you can indefinitely pump Marath, and then remove counters to deal damage to your opponents for the win.
- Ashnod's Altar + Doubling Season (infinite mana/infinite tokens/infinite damage): You'll need to have Illusionist's Bracers equipped to Marath, and to kick this off. Use it to remove a counter from Marath to make two tokens. Sacrifice both of those tokens for a total of . Use one mana to remove a counter and place two counters back on Marath, and then another to create more tokens. This will generate you infinite mana. Once you've achieved that, you can indefinitely pump Marath, and then remove counters to deal damage to your opponents for the win.
This will cover some of the more typical win conditions of the deck, excluding the combos discussed in the section above.
Necessary Cards – Marath, Will of the Wild, Doubling Season/Hardened Scales (Optional)
How It Works – Essentially you just kill someone with commander damage. You can either use Doubling Season (makes him twice as big when you cast him, and you can remove a counter to add two back onto him) or just cast him enough times to deal all of it at once, or you can do it over a few turns.
Necessary Cards – Kamahl, Fist of Krosa/Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite/Mirror Entity/Gahiji, Honored One, Several creatures/tokens
How It Works – You don’t necessarily need all of the cards listed above, just a strong pump or anthem effect to let you overrun your opponents. Cathars' Crusade can also work here if you take the time to set it up before you go to combat. The more creatures and tokens you have, the more effective this will be.
How It Works – This one is fairly simple, but you can only kill one person at a time, and if you don’t have a way to make Inkmoth Nexus a 10/X, it can take a few turns. If you’re using Marath to pump it, just animate the Inkmoth Nexus and add counters to it with Marath at any time before combat damage is assigned.
How It Works – If you can resolve Triumph of the Hordes, all of your creatures will gain +1/+1, infect, and trample. You can either swing in for combat damage, or use something like Marath or Purphoros to deal direct damage which will count as infect for the turn, and will typically kill at least on person this way, if not the whole table. Style points if you yell “Lok'tar Ogar!” while attacking.
How It Works – This is pretty straightforward, but Avenger of Zedikar with Purphoros in play is enough to kill most tables as long as you have a decent number of lands. Even then, it's still a useful way to quickly close the gap from 40 to 0 life for a lethal swing.
This is a quick reference guide to any unique card interactions within the deck.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Aura Shards: Destroy target artifact or enchantment by paying to make a 1/1 token. This also works with other on demand tokens makers (such as Trostani, Selesnya's Voice andKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker).
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Basilisk Collar: Destroy any non-indestructible creature for by giving Marath deathtouch and then pinging the creature for one. This works with any card that can give Marath deathtouch (Nightshade Peddler, Gorgon’s Head, Bow of Nylea while attacking, etc.).
- Marath, Will of the Wild +Cathars' Crusade: Add a +1/+1 counter to each creature you control by paying to make a 1/1 token. This will add a counter back on to Marath, letting you do this as many times as you have the mana for, and will pump any previous tokens made this way.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Doubling Season/Hardened Scales: Not only will Marath enter the battlefield with twice the number of +1/+1 counters (Doubling Season) or with an additional +1/+1 counter (Hardened Scales), but you can pay to remove a counter from Marath, and give it right back to him, which will double it to two counters (or add an additional counter, if using Hardened Scales), netting you a +1/+1 counter. For example if Marath had 5 counters on him and this method was used, he would end up with 6 total counters.
- Marath, Will of the Wild (or any token generator) + Evolutionary Leap: This works similarly to Skullclamp, for one token and , you can put the next creature card in your deck in your hand.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Inkmoth Nexus: You may use Marath to give the Nexus counters, which it will retain even when it turns back into a land, making Infect a viable win condition.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Kamahl, Fist of Krosa: By paying to animate an opponent’s land into a 1/1 creature with Kamahl, you can then use Marath to deal one damage to that land, giving you targeted land destruction for problem lands.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Purphoros, God of the Forge: This pair creates a much stronger version of Marath's damage ability to players. Pay to make a 1/1 token and deal 2 damage to each opponent.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Skullclamp/Mentor of the Meek: Draw two cards at sorcery speed for ( to create a 1/1 token, and to equip it/pay Mentor's ability cost). Keep in mind that Mentor has a power requirement of two or less, and can be shut off by static pump effects.
- Marath, Will of the Wild/Purphoros, God of the Forge + Triumph of the Hordes: While Marath has infect from Triumph, you can ping an opponent for damage directly, giving them infect counters. This can be a quick Infect kill if you have the counters and mana for it. For it to work with Purphoros, you’ll need the devotion to turn him into a creature and a way to make tokens, but his damage will hit the whole table. This works with any card that could give them infect, such as Grafted Exoskeleton.
- Marath, Will of the Wild[/card] + Enrage: Marath works particularly well with any of the dinosaurs from Ixalan carrying the enrage mechanic, such as Ripjaw Raptor or Ranging Raptors. By using his ability to remove a counter and deal damage, you can trigger their effects multiple times through controlled amounts of damage to the dinosaurs, and even gain their effects at instant speed, in a pinch.
- Doubling Season + Any Planeswalker: The planeswalker will enter the battlefield with twice the number of loyalty counters on it. All of the planeswalkers in my list can ult immediately this way. Keep in mind that using any of their + abilities is a cost, and they will not get two loyalty counters for a +1 ability.
- Kamahl, Fist of Krosa + Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: Another form of land destruction, but one that should be used with caution. By animating an opponent’s land into a 1/1 creature for with Kamahl, it will get the -2/-2 effect from Elesh Norn and die immediately. If you have Seedborn Muse out as well, you can effectively have a one-sided land wipe. Having these two on board together can and will make you a primary target. Elesh Norn also makes Kamahl’s pump effect that much more powerful, especially when you animate your own lands.
- Kamahl, Fist of Krosa + Rout: Destroy any problem lands by animating them with Kamahl before a board wipe. This can be used with an opponent’s board wipe, or your own.
- Mirror Entity + Shamanic Revelation: Ensures that you can gain life from the Ferocious trigger, should you need to do so.
- Seedborn Muse + Winding Canyons: A much more expensive way to get a Prophet of Kruphix type effect in our colors.
Out
Curse of Predation
Tempt with Discovery
In
Skyshroud Claim
Spear of Heliod
The curse is coming out because apparently, I'd already removed it for Spear without updating any of my lists with the change. I'm going to try using Skyshroud Claim in place of the tempting offer as a test, to see if I like it's results more.
12/26/2013
Out
1x Mountain
Crucible of Worlds
In
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Vexing Shusher
I'm adding these two in due to the small surge of control that's happened in my meta recently. The Crucible hasn't don't much aside from occasional mana fixing, but that hasn't been an issue for me. If MLD becomes popular in my meta, however, I may add it back in.
12/30/2013
Out
Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Forest
In
Cathars' Crusade
Inkmoth Nexus
After the suggestion was posed by Syroice, my boyfriend made a very good argument for the re-inclusion of Cathars' Crusade. It is an extremely strong card when used with Marath's token creating ability. I made the decision to throw Inkmoth Nexus in the list, because it's easy to pump with both Marath and Kessig Wolf Run.
1/2/2014
Out
White Sun's Zenith
Devout Invocation
In
Forest
Basilisk Collar
White Sun's Zenith and Devout Invocation are coming out, because as much as I adore those spells, they aren't the most practical. I'll up my land count to 37 for now and add Basilisk Collar for some added utility, and to help lower my curve a little bit.
1/4/2014
Out
Wolfbriar Elemental
In
Xenagos, the Reveler
This was a test swap I ran, and so far I've been impressed with the results. Even though I may not he the same immediate use out of Xenagos, he is easier to use in the long run.
1/16/2014
Out
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
In
Mountain
There's not enough spells that make great use of Boseiju. And Vexing Shusher has been enough to help deal with the control in my meta.
1/19/2014
Out
Dragonlair Spider
Primal Vigor
Spear of Heliod
Rampaging Baloths
In
Qasali Pridemage
Harmonic Sliver
Enlightened Tutor
Fresh Meat
I've been trying to cut down on cards I won't grab very often in place of more utility. Fresh Meat offers me some protection against board wipes, and if nothing else, I can get another opponent to use one and leaving me with one less wrath effect to deal with. The Acidic Slime and Harmonic Sliver can be tutored up by Survival of the Fittest, and I've mostly been using Enlightened Tutor for things like Aura Shards, letting me answer the board a bit easier.
1/25/2014
Out
Ranger's Path
Gilded Lotus
1x Mountain
In
Exploration
Mana Crypt
Reflecting Pool
I'm trying to speed up my early game, and help with color fixing, for the most part.
2/2/2014
Out
Mycoloth
In
Karametra, God of Harvests
I managed to pick up a copy of Karametra at the prerelease. While she's no Ephara, This deck casts enough creatures to make her ramp and color fixing worth while. As for Mycoloth, it is the weakest card in the deck at the moment, so it's a replacement I'm happy to make.
2/7/2014
Out
Explosive Vegetation
Primeval Bounty
In
Nature's Lore
Mana Reflection
After about three months of searching, I finally got a hold of a Mana Reflection for this deck. :D Primeval Bounty is the weakest card of a similar CMC, so it got te axe. Explosive Vegetation was traded for Nature's Lore as I'm really trying to speed up my early game in this deck, as that's its weakest point.
2/21/2014
Out
Luminarch Ascension
Karametra, God of Harvests
In
Voice of Resurgence
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
I hate reversing a change so quickly, but Karametra happened to be one of the few changeable spots I have open and this change needed to be made. Linvala is replacing her as part of my attempt to stall games out. As much as I adore Karametra, in my playgroup there are around 20 decks with generals that are shut down by Linvala an some of those decks can outrace this one. The goal is to try to get as far ahead as possible before she is removed.
As for Voice, I've said before that I was looking for a replacement card. Luminarch needs to be drawn early, or it will just paint a giant target on your head without even going live. Voice discourages instants being used on my turn an has a unique synergy with Vexing Shusher if I can cast a spell that my opponents don't want to resolve badly enough.
4/4/2014
Out
Nature's Lore
In
Chromatic Lantern
I've been looking for a spot for Chromatic Lantern for a while, and I've finally made room for it. The ramp spells that were up for consideration were Wood Elves, Nature's Lore, Farseek, and Kodama's Reach. Wood Elves and Kodama's Reach both have additionally utility, Wood Elves by being more easily recurrable, able to attack, and triggers ETB effects, and Kodama's Reach by providing protection from basic land hate, and ensuring I hit at least one land drop after I ramp. That left Farseek and Nature's Lore.
Neither of these cards can help me ramp into an earlier Marath, though they do help speed the deck up. It came down to whether I valued the untapped land or the ability to grab Sacred Foundry/Plateau more. Typically I grab shock lands with Nature's Lore as it is, so I made the choice for it to go.
5/5/2014
Out
Kalonian Hydra
Garruk, Primal Hunter
In
Glare of Subdual
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
I love Kalonian Hydra, but while it does fuel Marath, it's harder to get that pump effect on my other creatures. Ajani is much more consistent than the Hydra, and by giving Marath counters, gives me more options than Garruk does while still giving me potential card advantage. Glare of Subdual is being added for another boost to the control side of the deck.
05/21/2014
Out
Godsire
In
Craterhoof Behemoth
I finally caved and added Craterhoof to the deck. May we have a moment of silence for our fallen brother, Godsire. In all seriousness, I've been trying to move this deck from the weird spot it holds in my group, worse than the competitive decks but better than most of the casual decks. The card is brutal with Marath later in the game if it resolves, and gives the deck a second win con off of Tooth and Nail by grabbing it an Avenger of Zendikar with a haste enabler (the first being Purphoros, God of the Forge and Avenger of Zendikar).
07/07/2014
Out
Fresh Meat
In
Mirror Entity
I finally found a spot for this little guy, and he hasn't disappointed so far. Fresh Meat is coming out of the deck, because my playgroup doesn't run nearly as many wrath effects as they did when he was added. I'm still working on finding a spot for Chords of Calling, however.
07/17/2014
Out
Expedition Map
In
Chord of Calling
I've decided where I'm going to put Chord. Pulling out a land was uncomfortable, so I narrowed my choice down to Expedition map. I like it so far, the convoke cost is extremely nice.
07/30/2014
Out
Vexing Susher
Wrath of God
In
Rout
Soul of Theros
Despite my defense of Vexing Shusher in this thread, there's actually fewer control decks in my group than there were when I originally included it. I still think it's a strong card, but Soul of Theros has been promising. It isn't as strong as Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, but it is a good secondary effect and gives me better chances of srawing into one of them at some point.
I've liked Rout so far. Having the option to be instant speed later on in the game has been incredibly strong.
10/10/2014
Out
Yavimaya Hollow
Glare of Subdual
In
Strip Mine
Hardened Scales
Yavimaya Hollow is being pulled from the deck. There aren't enough creatures worth saving, and I'd rather include Strip Mine in it's place, to get rid of lands that are problems in my meta (Minamo, School at Waters Edge, Glacial Chasm, Gaea's Cradle, etc.).
I've been playing with Hardened Scales for a while now, and I have to say: the card is truly crazy with Marath. It lets him come into play with an extra counter, and opens up another line of play much earlier than usual: general damage. Typically, that doesn't become an option until you've cast Marath a few times, or get Doubling Season out. However because Hardened Scales only costs , it opens up that line of play much earlier. It is replacing Glare of Subdual. While I do love glare, I think that it's better in token decks like Rith, the Awakener where they can mass produce tokens in one turn, instead of relying on more of a build up like Marath does.
11/25/2014
Out
1x Forest
[C]Ajani, Mentor of Heroes[/card]
In
[C]Arcane Lighthouse[/card]
[C]Jazal Goldmane[/card]
I'm running low on basic lands, but Arcane Lighthouse had proven to be very strong in my playgroup, and is a nice way to give Marath some additional utility.
Jazal is incredibly strong, but in sad to see Ajani go. However, I have enough utility in this deck that the extra win condition is welcome.
2/12/2015
Out
Dragonmaster Outcast
Chromatic Lantern
In
Grand Abolisher
Shamanic Revelation
I love Dragonmaster Outcast, but he's very fragile and very slow. Grand Abolisher provides some excellent protection. I also have a large degree of color fixing in this deck, and am cutting Lantern to make room for Shamanic Revelation, which has been a fantastic card.
4/17/2015
Out
Exploration
Beastmaster Ascension
Chaos Warp
In
Secure the Wastes
Austere Command
Dragonlord Dromoka
Exploration typically allows for a decent early start, but this deck doesn't run enough draw to take advantage of it. At the moment I feel that Chaos Warp, despite still being a powerful card, is no longer the best option, as it can be abused with top of the library tutors when used on commanders. Beastmaster Ascension can be an incredibly powerful pump effect, but it requires either time or a lot of board presence to turn on which makes it much more difficult to effectively use.
I may add Unexpectedly Absent in the future as a way to get rid of indestructible permanents, should they become a problem in my group, but for now, I'm replacing Chaos Warp with Austere command, as a flexible answer that can deal with multiple problems.
Dragonlord Dromoka has been much stronger than I originally anticipated. Despite her high CMC, having a secondary Grand Abolisher effect for spells that can't be countered has helped me win games that I wouldn't have been able to fight through otherwise.
Secure the Wastes has been extremely powerful effect. It doesn't have an intense color requirement like White Sun's Zenith did, but still generates an effecient amount of tokens for the cost (almost 1 token to 1 mana). Because it's an instant, you can leave counters on Marath and cast this instead at the end of turn, or even give yourself some board presence after a board wipe. They also effectively have haste.
5/19/2015
Out
Rhys the Redeemed
Voice of Resurgence
In
Eladamri's Call
Mentor of the Meek
Both Rhys and Voice are coming out of the deck for similar reasons: Neither card has been particularly impactful in the time that I've had this deck. Rhys has a large requirement for his doubling ability to be useful (he needs to be able to activate, you need a board presence with tokens, and you need the mana to do so) and Voice of Resurgence is great, when it comes in to play early in the game. Otherwise, it tends to be a dead draw.
Eladamri's Call is just an all around good tutor, it has a low casting cost, is instant, and puts the card directly into your hand. Mentor of the Meek (provided you don't run many static pump effects like Dictate of Heliod) is a strong draw engine in a token deck, and synergizes well with Marath's ability to create tokens.
8/19/2015
Out
Hammer of Purphoros
In
Evolutionary Leap
The biggest problem I've been noticing with my list is card advantage, and I've been extremely pleased with Evolutionary Leap. It gives you value off of your dying creatures, and many the creatures I run are either utility or threats, and at the very least they can be used to draw another creature if needed. Cutting Hammer of Purphoros only leaves me with one haste enabler, but my list has toned down it's aggressiveness quite a bit over the last year and it's not as high of a priority any longer and many of my creatures are created through Marath's ability at the end of someone'e else's turn as it is.
9/30/2015
Out
Arcane Lighthouse
Dryad Arbor
Temple of the False God
In
Bloodstained Mire
Flooded Strand
Misty Rainforest
I've really liked Arcane Lighthouse and even Temple of the False God, but I run so many colorless lands that I had to choose some to cut for additional fetch lands. Dryad Arbor has had a rough time in my group lately, and because it's a creature, it's been a problem more than it has before; despite it's interaction with Green Sun's Zenith, it's awful to draw and I'd rather run more color fixing.
1/18/2016
Out
Jazal Goldmane
Mana Reflection
Rootbound Crag
Sunpetal Grove
In
Great Oak Guardian
Harmonize
Canopy Vista
Cinder Glade
Despite not seeing a tango land this set, I still am going to switch out two of the check lands I'm running for their tango land counterparts. They've come in to play tapped about as often as the check lands, but I have easier access to fetch them.
I'm swapping Jazal Goldmane for Harmonize. Jazal has been underwhelming, sadly, and is more of a win more card, so I'm switching him out for more card draw, as this deck can run out of fuel quite easily.
Lastly, I'm pulling Mana Reflection for Great Oak Guardian. Mana Reflection is a high priority kill target, but it doesn't do quite as much in this list as Mirari's Wake does, as I don't run many mana rocks or dorks, while being more expensive to cast. Great Oak Guardian does put one combo (with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker) in to my deck, but both are also quite strong on their own.
3/3/2016
Out
Assemble the Legion
Dragon Broodmother
In
Garruk Wildspeaker
Verdant Confluence
I'm cutting two of the slowest (and most expensive) token generators in favor of some added utility cards. I've really liked Verdant Confluence, and it's flexibility guarantees that it's not going to be a dead draw. I'm also finally adding the original Garruk in to the list because in addition to having some of the more expensive cards such as Gaea's Cradle that I can use with him now, I also have moved more from a straight token theme to more of a control based list, and he fits that theme quite nicely.
6/1/2016
Out
Anger
Genesis
Great-Oak Guardian
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Parallel Lives
Secure the Wastes
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
In
Earthcraft
Exploration
Fires of Yavimaya
Mana Echoes
Natural Order
Wheel of Fortune
Xenagos, God of Revels
A lot of this updated is centered around cards that were conditionally effective, as well as cutting down on the token theme I had, because I've cut back on a lot of the support for it over the last year. I've also removed the Kiki/Great Oak Guardian combo, because while I do still feel the deck needs a non-combat oriented win condition, I disliked feeling obligated to tutor for them constantly.
In their place, I've added in Mana Echoes and Earthcraft for some of Marath's more traditional combo pieces. They are more difficult to pull off, but don't leave me feeling quite as bored. I also have added more generically good cards that don't rely so heavily on having a specific board state to be useful.
7/25/17
Out
Kodama's Reach
Verdant Confluence
In
Harvest Season
Seasons Past
I've been able to constantly get two+ lands with Harvest season, so I'm swapping it in over Kodama's Reach. I may run both at some point, but I'm pretty happy with this change currently. For Confluence, I was primarily using it's recursion mode, and Seasons Past is just better at that job. The card is a serious power house.
For new cards, I picked up a copy of Hour of Promise. The ability to straight tutor for Gaea's Cradle and another land seem like a pretty solid upside. I may throw in Deserted Temple at that point, I'm just looking at where to put it.
12/14/2017
Out
Gavony Township
Soul of Theros
In
Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Hour of Promise
In the last couple of sets, we've gotten some incredibly powerful ramp cards, that I've added in. Soul of Theros and Gavony Township are both useful cards, but are lower impact than the cards they're trading for overall, and ramp is extremely useful with the more combo-esque approach I've taken with my current list.
4/8/19
Out
1 Path to Exile
3 Harvest Season
3 Mentor of the Meek
3 Reclamation Sage
3 Wood Elves
6 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
In
3 Eldritch Evolution
3 Knight of Autumn
3 Kodama's Reach
3 Ranging Raptors
3 Runic Armasaur
4 Ripjaw Raptor
I know it's been quite a while since my last update, but fortunately that means I also come bearing a fairly large update this time around!
First, lets talk about direct swaps. Adding Knight of Autumn as a replacement for Reclamation Sage is an easy choice, as it's largely just a straight upgrade as long as you have the mana base to consistently pull it off. Ranging Raptors comes in as a replacement for Wood Elves. While you do lose the ability to grab a non-basic forest, the amount of mana it can pump out is well worth the trade. However, because it is trading a consistent ramp spell for a more inconstant ramp spell, I've made the choice to also return to Kodama's Reach from having been replaced by Harvest Season, as I want to have a consistent source of mana in that CMC range as well. Mentor of the Meek has been swapped for Runic Armasaur. While this choice will definitely not be for everyone's deck, I have a very high number of decks in my meta that are predominantly built around the activated abilities of creatures, so Armasaur is one of the strongest sources of card draw I have access to. If it isn't something you can pull off however, I would recommend looking elsewhere for card draw.
Now for my more indirect swaps. Path to Exile is being cut because I feel that I have a fairly decent amount of single target removal as is, and that I no longer have as dire of a need for packing it in. My deck is more capable of holding it's own as a threat than it once was. I've also made the choice to cut Kamahl, Fist of Krosa. Despite how cute he can be with Marath, he's very green intensive and expensive, and I feel his slot would be better used for more card advantage.
Ripjaw Raptor has been a real MVP in testing. It is a massive threat, and even without Marath in play it can still be a formidable attacker or blocker. I know I've always been vocally opposed to Birthing Pod in my list due to the deck requirements it demands, but I feel that Eldritch Evolution is a good compromise. It gives me that extra tutor without being as demanding to stick perfectly on curve with tutor options.