queen marchesa by NickG206

Format: Commander

Commander: Queen Marchesa

Bracket: 2

DeckCheck Threat Index: 31

Deck overview

This Queen Marchesa deck plays a classic Mardu Aikido and Pillowfort strategy. It leverages the Monarch mechanic, defensive attack taxes, and forced-combat incentives to direct opposing aggression away from you while steadily building card and board advantage. In the early game, the deck establishes mana rocks and defensive deterrents like Ghostly Prison and Authority of the Consuls. On Turn 4, casting Queen Marchesa introduces the Monarch, generating an extra card draw each turn and spawning deathtouch Assassin tokens whenever opponents take the crown. Mid-game turns focus on political manipulation and forced combat through Breena, the Demagogue, Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos, and Kardur, Doomscourge, letting opponents whittle down each other's life totals. When the table is softened, the deck pivots into decisive combat finishers such as Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Bloodletter of Aclazotz, or Moonshaker Cavalry, closing out games through amplified combat damage or crushing counterattacks backed by defensive spells like Inkshield.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ajani's Pridemate
  • 1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
  • 1 Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Baird, Steward of Argive
  • 1 Basilisk Collar
  • 1 Battlefield Forge
  • 1 Bilbo's Gambit
  • 1 Blood Crypt
  • 1 Bloodletter of Aclazotz
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Boros Signet
  • 1 Bre of Clan Stoutarm
  • 1 Breena, the Demagogue
  • 1 Cartographer's Hawk
  • 1 Cathars' Crusade
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 Clifftop Retreat
  • 1 Commander's Sphere
  • 1 Commissar Severina Raine
  • 1 Company Commander
  • 1 Court of Embereth
  • 1 Court of Ire
  • 1 Crystal Barricade
  • 1 Darksteel Mutation
  • 1 Daxos, Blessed by the Sun
  • 1 Deadly Rollick
  • 1 Desolate Mire
  • 1 Disrupt Decorum
  • 1 Eclipsed Steppe
  • 1 Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of Twilight
  • 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
  • 1 Fabled Passage
  • 1 Fetid Heath
  • 1 Field of Ruin
  • 1 Fracture
  • 1 Ghostly Prison
  • 1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
  • 1 Heliod, Sun-Crowned
  • 1 Imp's Mischief
  • 1 Inkshield
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Kardur, Doomscourge
  • 1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
  • 1 Leyline of Hope
  • 1 Lightning, Army of One
  • 1 Mangara, the Diplomat
  • 1 Moonshaker Cavalry
  • 5 Mountain
  • 1 Nils, Discipline Enforcer
  • 1 Nomad Outpost
  • 1 Orzhov Basilica
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Palace Sentinels
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 9 Plains
  • 1 Pyroblast
  • 1 Queen Marchesa
  • 1 Radiant Summit
  • 1 Rakdos Charm
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Rosa, Resolute White Mage
  • 1 Scrawling Crawler
  • 1 Skyline Despot
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate
  • 1 Spectator Seating
  • 1 Sundown Pass
  • 3 Swamp
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Temple of the False God
  • 1 The Wind Crystal
  • 1 Tomik, Wielder of Law
  • 1 Trouble in Pairs
  • 1 Turbulent Moor
  • 1 Turbulent Steppe
  • 1 Urabrask the Hidden
  • 1 Valkyrie's Call
  • 1 Venat, Heart of Hydaelyn // Hydaelyn, the Mothercrystal
  • 1 War's Toll
  • 1 Wear // Tear
  • 1 Wrath of God
  • 1 Xantcha, Sleeper Agent