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Marchesa, Dealer of Death

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Marchesa, Dealer of Death

At a glance

  • Commander: Marchesa, Dealer of Death
  • Colors: Grixis
  • Archetype: Grixis crime card-advantage control
  • Power tier: mid-high

Cards

Commander

Marchesa, Dealer of Death — Legendary Creature — Human Rogue (2/3)

Whenever you commit a crime, you may pay . If you do, look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the other into your graveyard. (Targeting opponents, anything they control, and/or cards in their graveyards is a crime.)

The scout paraphrase matches the printed card exactly — confirmed via the CLI. Every time you point a removal spell, burn spell, edict, counterspell, or pinger activation at an opponent (or their stuff/graveyard), you “commit a crime” and may pay to dig two: one card to hand, one to the graveyard. That’s repeatable card selection stapled to an interaction-heavy Grixis shell, and it simultaneously fuels the graveyard for recursion.

Gameplan

Draw-go control that grinds, not draw-go-into-wrath (commons have no real wraths in Grixis). You answer threats with the deepest spot-removal pool in the format, and almost every answer is a crime that pays to filter and bury fuel. You out-resource the table, then close with pinger inevitability — a board of repeatable damage-dealers that the untap-on-noncreature-cast crew (Thermo-Alchemist, Cinder Pyromancer, Blisterspit Gremlin) turns into multi-ping turns. Marchesa’s filtering keeps the gas flowing so the pingers and the card lead never run dry.

Key synergy lines

  • Crime → filter: Cast any burn/edict/counter at an opponent, pay with Marchesa out, dig two. Cheap burn (Lightning Bolt, Shock, Spark Jolt, Galvanic Blast) is basically ”: kill something and loot two deep.”
  • Pinger + untap engine: Thermo-Alchemist / Cinder Pyromancer / Blisterspit Gremlin untap every time you cast a noncreature spell. In a deck that’s ~70% noncreature, each pinger fires 2–3 times per turn cycle — and each ping at an opponent is a crime, so the pinger itself triggers Marchesa.
  • Recursion fuel: Flame Jab (retrace) and Geistflame (flashback) are crimes you can re-buy from the graveyard Marchesa fills. Deep Analysis (flashback draw), Call to the Netherworld (madness), and Macabre-style returns reuse the bin.
  • Crime-edicts: Diabolic Edict / Geth’s Verdict / Cruel Edict answer hexproof/big threats and trigger the filter.

Role breakdown (with counts)

  • Lands — 37: 21 basics (7/7/7) + 16 nonbasics. Fixing: Command Tower, Crystal Grotto, Shimmering Grotto, Conduit Pylons (any-color), all three guildgates (Dimir/Izzet/Rakdos), Dimir Aqueduct, Bloodfell Caves, Cinder Barrens, Dismal Backwater, Crumbling Vestige, plus fetches Ash Barrens / Evolving Wilds / Terramorphic Expanse and utility Bojuka Bog.
  • Ramp / mana rocks — 9: Dimir/Izzet/Rakdos Signet, Arcane Signet, Commander’s Sphere, Mind Stone, Sphere of the Suns, Manalith, Wayfarer’s Bauble. Seven of these fix all three colors.
  • Card advantage — 10: Preordain, Brainstorm, Faithless Looting, Frantic Inventory, Night’s Whisper, Sign in Blood, Read the Bones, Deadly Dispute, Deep Analysis, Izzet Charm.
  • Spot removal / interaction — 27: Burn (Lightning Bolt, Shock, Burst Lightning, Galvanic Blast, Spark Jolt, Magma Jet, Incinerate, Searing Spear, Skred, Fire Prophecy, Brimstone Volley), destroy (Terminate, Doom Blade, Cast Down, Reave Soul, Defenestrate, Bone Splinters, Feed the Swarm), edicts (Diabolic Edict, Geth’s Verdict, Cruel Edict), counters (Spell Pierce, Dispel, Negate, Essence Scatter, Counterspell, Exclude). Plus recursion-burn Flame Jab + Geistflame on top.
  • Pseudo-wipes — 2: Drown in Sorrow, Mephitic Vapors (sweep go-wide/token boards; both are crimes).
  • Pingers / payoffs / wincon — 12: Vithian Stinger, Thermo-Alchemist, Cinder Pyromancer, Blisterspit Gremlin, Prodigal Pyromancer, Prodigal Sorcerer, Razorfin Hunter, Cuombajj Witches, Goblin Fireslinger, Chandra’s Magmutt, Viashino Fangtail, plus Call to the Netherworld for grind.

Manabase / fixing note

~17 colored-fixing lands (any-color + duals + fetches) plus 7 three-color-capable rocks ≈ 24 fixing sources for a UBR base — castable even though no common tri-land taps for all three on demand. Tapped duals and gates are fine for a control deck that wants to durdle early.

Pilot notes

  • Hold up Marchesa’s when you expect to commit a crime on an opponent’s turn (flash removal, counters, instant burn). Don’t tap out if you can dig instead.
  • Pingers are slow but inevitable — deploy one behind a stocked grip, then let noncreature spells re-untap it for multi-pings. Cuombajj Witches and Vithian Stinger double as cheap creature removal.
  • Sequence your loots: Faithless Looting / Brainstorm + a fetch or Frantic Inventory smooths early color screw; bury excess lands and dead burn into the bin where Flame Jab/Geistflame/Deep Analysis re-buy it.
  • Save edicts for hexproof or recurring threats; lead with targeted burn/destroy that also pings opponents for the crime trigger.

Weaknesses

  • No hard board wipe — go-wide token decks can outpace the small sweepers (Drown in Sorrow tops out at -2/-2). Lean on early interaction and Mephitic Vapors.
  • Big single threats above the burn range (5+ toughness) need an edict or chump; the deck is light on unconditional “destroy any creature/permanent.”
  • Marchesa is the engine; if she’s repeatedly removed, the deck still functions as a fair control build but loses its card-advantage edge. Keep her safe and recast judiciously.
  • Pinger plan is grindy and can be slow against faster combo tables.

Decklist

⬇ Download as .txt — paste into Moxfield, Archidekt, or MTG Arena.

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