Mardu (Red-White-Black): History, Playstyle and Best Commanders

Where the Name Comes From

The Mardu Horde, a clan of Tarkir, named in Khans of Tarkir (2014).

Mardu is red's wedge (red plus its enemies white and black) named for the Mardu Horde, Tarkir's raiding clan of mounted warriors whose philosophy is speed: act first, decide later. Khans of Tarkir gave them Raid and Fate Reforged gave them Dash, which are both mechanically identical to their flavor.

For Commander, Mardu is where the format's best aggressive and sacrifice cards overlap. Red-white supplies the combat multipliers, white-black supplies the drain and the recursion, and red-black supplies the sacrifice outlets, so the identity can build three quite different decks and all of them attack. It is also the home of the format's angel and demon tribal decks, which is entirely a consequence of Kaalia of the Vast existing.

How Mardu Plays

The Mardu deck's plan is to have a board on turn four that has to be answered and to keep having one. It has the most efficient removal of any three colors (white exiles, black destroys, red burns), so it clears blockers and threats without spending much, and the combat multipliers turn a modest board into lethal damage in one attack step.

The alternative build is aristocrats. Every piece is available: token makers in red and white, free sacrifice outlets in black and red, and drain payoffs in white and black. That version wins without attacking at all, which suits a table that has learned to block.

The constraint is resources. Mardu has no green, so its ramp is artifacts and treasure, and its card draw is impulse draw, life payment and attack triggers. Every card in the deck is therefore worth more than it would be in another identity, and a Mardu deck that trades one-for-one with three opponents runs out first. That is the whole reason Mardu decks are built to close early.

What It Does Well, and What It Doesn't

Best Mardu Commanders

The command zones that define the identity rather than the ones winning this week: the pips beside each name are its color identity, which is what it lets you play in the other 99.

Commander Spotlight

Kaalia of the Vast ↗

Attack, and an Angel, Demon or Dragon comes out of your hand onto the battlefield already attacking. It skips the mana cost of the most expensive creatures in Magic, which is why every Mardu player has considered building it.

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death ↗

Reanimates a small creature every time it attacks, for free. Three mana, and it turns every enter-the-battlefield trigger in the deck into a repeatable one.

Queen Marchesa ↗

Makes you the monarch and gives you an Assassin whenever somebody else takes it. The most political commander in the format: the crown is a card every turn and everybody wants it.

Edgar Markov ↗

Makes a Vampire every time you cast one, from the command zone. The most powerful tribal commander in Magic, and it never has to be cast to work.

Mathas, Fiend Seeker ↗

Marks a creature each turn so that killing it rewards everybody. Aims the whole table at the threat you point at.

Oros, the Avenger ↗

Pays five to deal three to every nonwhite creature. A repeatable one-sided board wipe on a flying body.

Frequently Asked Questions