As long as she's in standard, Maralen will be my favourite card and a centerpiece in my personal decks. To me she's the epitome of black (well, after Dark Confidant); I'll risk my health and the chance my opponent can win just because I want to try and do what I want to try and do.
Tilon13
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Maralen is the most fun when you can kill her when you need to. But she's still amazing, and a target if nothing else, because an opponent will waste an Incinerate on her nearly no matter what. But that gives her disrespect. I run her in my standard Husk-Sage of Fables-Puppeteer deck.
kroen
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
At the beginning of the first opponent's draw step after ~ entered the battlefield, that player loses 3 life, searches his or her library for a Lightning Bolt, Agony Warp or Path to Exile, puts it into his or her hand, then shuffles his or her library.
tankplanker
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Just begging to be played as the trigger for Archive Trap as you get the free trigger and you get to find all four Archive Traps you've main boarded during your subsequent turns if you need to.
raptorman333
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
combo this with shadow of doubt at someone else's upkeep to screw someone else's turn over
Mattmedia
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
i'd say this would be devastating with a Aven Mindcensor, you get the full effect, and opponents only get to look through the top 4 cards.
Mode
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
Your opponent unfortunately gets to make use of this effect at first. Although this will cost him/her 3 life, that player will find a response to get rid of Maralen or even fetch up something more awful, so you won't get to enjoy your tutoring effect without any preparation.
Yet fortunately, you get the opportunity to combine the better cards with her, that means you can both intervene during the tutor trigger with cards like Shadow of Doubt to inhibit them from fetching for one turn (although keep in mind the card's cantrip effect won't work) or Aven Mindcensor to minimize their selection effectively, or by simply countering the triggered ability with Stifle or Trickbind. If you got these or Shadow of Doubt on a stick you've created a nice softlock and simultaneously should be able to end the game since you topdeck every turn. Additionally, the card-draw-disabling ability can also be made use of. This means no card advantage for anyone unless drawing is circumvented as on Fact or Fiction, Fathom Trawl, Merfolk Wayfinder or Mulch.
Neutralion
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Really cool artwork! That card perfectly fits in to healing based deck
This + Mindlock Orb = Funny. Basically if you've got lifelink or some drain spell, you've basically locked the game down.
Ratoly
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
@Mode: Actually, Shadow of Doubt is one-sided here, as Maralen's ability isn't a replacement effect, you still get to draw your card, and your opponent is stuck with losing three life and a draw phase.
themlsna
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I think this card would work great in EDH. Her low casting-cost brings her out early, even first turn, and I'm sure not to get killed for a few turns while everyone is still using her ability to set up their own endgame. Risky, but fun.
BetrayerKol
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
I run this with mindlock orb also as a shut down, but I add in intruder alarm to shut down their creatures too, and then start stockpiling eon counters on Magosi, the Waterveil so that even if they can somehow break the combo, I have an extra turn stored to put it back into place. It's an overly complicated combo, but life-draining stasis is worth it.
ratchet1215
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm currently building a deck with this, Shadow of Doubt, Isochron Scepter, Paradox Haze, and Teferi's Puzzle Box. As well as arcane denial and mass removal.
Sixty3Zero
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I have a Maralock deck - basically uses this and Mindlock Orb while still maintaining advantage for wins.
JMcCullar
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Try combining it with Teferi's Puzzlebox. :D Try it in a Black/Red deck so what you can have a grip of instant burn when it's your time to lose your hand. Your opponent loses theirs first, though. This is particularly true if you run out Teferi's Puzzlebox and then Maralen. Also- if they do just tutor to destroy your Maralen (which sort of makes her a 3 cost Timewalk that does 3 damage to your opponent, anyway) then the Puzzlebox will mean it is just a matter of time before you draw another copy of her. Clunky, but fun!
This card makes the best mono black EDH general. Sure, she lets your opponents set up their lategame plans (which can be dangerous, especially in EDH). That's why no one kills her for the first few turns. And in those turns, you search for Necropotence and then Venser's Journal / Ivory Tower (I personally prefer the journal because it uncaps your handsize and provides better life gain than the tower, but sometimes you need to drop a life gain on turn 4, in which case the journal's hefty mana cost can become a problem, so put both in for optimal strategizing).
The thing that makes her perfect for an EDH general is that you don't have to wait to pull her from your 100 card deck. You play her 3rd turn from the command zone. Once she`s in play, you don`t need to pull anything else from your 100 card deck, the rest falls into place however you see fit.
Of course the Necropotence may turn you into a target, so my suggestion is lay it low for a while...
ajpinton
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The only issue with this card, is it benefits your opponent more than you. They will be the first to benefit from its ability, and not to mention will more than likely be searching for a way to kill it so you don't get to search. Non the less it still looks fun. Stopping players from drawing is very rare. You can make it better by adding stuff like Shadow of Doubt, Leonin Arbiter or Aven Mindcensor, this would kill a mass draw deck...
DacenOctavio
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Wow. Nice stasis combo with Mindlock Orb and Magosi. Just plain evil.
heenaheena
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Stranglehold just got added to the list of cards that combo with this.
I tried a deck with her at one point along with Shadow of Doubt as the main feature of the deck... it didn't work very well but that may be because it was too centered around the combo... I think she would work best in the midst of an otherwise normal aggro-control deck so that you could just all of a sudden bring the game to a hault. Flash would make Maralen ridiculously good, as you would get first dibs at searching and could put the lock in place (aether vial seems viable, while things like leyline of anticipation, winding canyons and vedalken orrery are clunky and not extremely useful otherwise... scout's warning is somewhere on the fringe). Countermagic would be key also as u could counter anything your opponent finds on his or her first search and then try to lock the game out from there.
sincleanser
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I'm still unsure just how useful this card can be. I know it has a lot of combo potential, but it seems like it can just make stuff more complicated instead of being a real piece. *shrug* Still, art alone this girl is a solid 4.
pedrodyl
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Crumbling Sanctuary= You can't die for awhile until Maralen kills you @GooberSnotPants Yeah except this card prevents losing by being milled, dumbass
Ragamander
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Combos well with Anvil of Bogardan, since you always get to decide whether the searching or the discarding is done first. It locks everyone else out from playing anything but instants (so, if they have any instant speed artifact removal, any instant-speed 3+ damage burn, or any instant-speed kill-spell that hits black creatures, they're probably going to try to fetch one), but you still get whatever you want (you can be prepared). Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir closes that last gap, but good luck with the mana base.
I was looking up ways to make this EDH General work for a deck. However I ran into a major road block. She isn't fun at all. All the combos you do with her are worse then braids. The games become very slow and grinding with each player waiting until they die. Not fun at all. As for a political tutor though. Just as a part of a deck, not built around her. Sure. She should be fine. Other then that... No. She should not be made as a General. EVER!
MC117
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Don't share with the other kids; Vanishing. Phase her out at the end of your turn or in response to kill spells.
General_Naga
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
My friend once built a mono-black EDH with this card as General in order to insta-kill people with Mindcrank. The only problem with her is that everyone else at the table tutors first, and I was playing my WUR control deck. First card I tutored for? Stranglehold.
BongRipper420
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I could imagine this being quite popular as an EDH general.
Sootoo
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
This is one of the nicest cards ever, but I think she doesn´t really make a good general herself, because without being able to play Vanishing on her, or to immediately play Stranglehold, she´s not really that useful.
I run her in a faerie tribal EDH deck, because that´s where she belongs to, IMO. And apart from becoming my personal tutor engine, if enchanted with Vanishing, I also use her to lock the game down with Mindlock Orb + Necropotence. With Necropotence in play you are the only one who is still able to "draw" cards, without having to lose 3 from Maralen every round. But most of the time, I also play the Ensnaring Bridge, before I use this combo, to stop others from being able to attack me, while I still can attack with my weeny faeries.
Apart from, using the AEther Vial, or Winding Canyons, it´s also good to just take an extra turn, after you played her, to be able to immediately tutor for Vanishing. I often use Notorious Throng for this, by casting it for its prowl cost.
Infernaldarkness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Black Elf! So going into my Zombie Elf Tribal!
TheJord01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just saw this on the page for this card, but Wistful Thinking is brutal with her
MattLynn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
First search for Aven Mindcensor, then get the rest of your goodies.
Also turns dredge decks into blah...since they can't activate it (they don't ever DRAW a card).
Time Spiral becomes a free "all players shuffle their hands and graveyards into their library...that's it."
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur no longer mills you to death, but still reduces opponents' hand sizes...just in case they can still tutor for cards when Maralen is out.
Depending on when Maralen came into play: Teferi's Puzzle Box puts all hands into the bottom of owners' libraries...leaving you with Maralen's tutored card alone OR the box may just screw everybody out of cards entirely...every turn. I say that sounds like an auto-concede situation, either way...because Maralen can still attack each opponent.
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For EDH, try playing Discard.
Either use Greel, Mind Raker after they search, or something that can discard a card at any time (Scepter of Fugue doesn't work unfortunately).
Some cards that can also do this are Funeral Charm and Nezumi Shortfang.
It's tricky for this to work well, because discard has been made to work at sorcery speed (for good reasons).
What happen if my opponent has Laboratory Maniac and has no library because he played Leveler. Thanks to answer quickly.
panpeter
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
quick question: while under the mind.orb lock, do players still lose 3 life even though searching is prohibited? it seems that the way her ability is organized, the player would lose life first and then search his/her deck. the orb wouldn't prevent the life total from triggering because the search hasn't activated yet. correct me if i'm wrong...
MisterAction
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I read her first ability, then look at her low price on the singles market, and think "Why haven't I put her in my Sygg, River Cutthroat EDH yet?" Then, just as I'm about to go rush to find a copy, I reread her and remember her first ability.
I've done this at least 3 times. :(
DeFectiveDeity
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
EDH evilness:
1. Practice gleeful cackle in you washroom mirror 2. Cast Maralen (even better if you use Dark Ritual, but then again, what isn't?) 3. Fetch Bloodchief Ascension 4. Fetch Mindcrank 5. Use above gleeful cackle as your opponents stare at you stonefaced
Just think for a moment. With the ritual, you can pull off an endless mill on each opponent as early as your third turn. Oh Maralen. You're such a great commander.
Honestly? I use her in my Exquisite Blood / Sanguine Bond deck. Nothing really complex, tutor up Exquisite first to buy you a tiny bit of time, drop Sanguine next, and she instakills them next upkeep.
Traius
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is really quite bad on its own. (yes, with stranglehold, it's amazing. But without ramps, that means you're choosing to play this on turn 5.....) It reads: "Opponent loses 3 life, searches for a removal, and it dies, then most likely outnumbers your creatures and hits you for ~3 damage and/or forcing you to chump block. (Hitting your opponent with a lightning bolt would have been a much better option)"
Alternatively, it reads, "Opponent searches for a counter-spell of some kind, counters your big thing. Because you can't block with this guy if you want to use its effects, you probably lose your grip on board control. If he countered with a mana drain, he's gained a lot of mana and almost certainly has board control."
Finally, it could read: "Opponent searches for a boss card you didn't know about/didn't think about, pwns, you, and you lose the game."
jacobpaige
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Alchemist's Refuge and/or Winding Canyons to cast her on an opponent's turn, then Mindlock Orb/Stranglehold/Vanishing to ensure that they never gain the benefit from it. Though if you use the orb you'll also need to have something in play to bounce it back to your hand or phase it out till the end of your turn.
Zetan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have a silly EDH deck with her as the commander, about 80-something lands, a couple of infinite mana combos, and an Exsanguinate.
The funny thing is, as I start working toward my combo, nobody wants to mess with me, because they're all happy to work toward their combo and hope they can get there first.
SirLibraryEater
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card made me legitimately drool the first time I read it. Ever since I have been playing Magic I've wanted an enchantment or an artifact that says something along the lines of "Whenever a player would draw a card, that player instead searches his or her library for a card, then puts that card into his or her hand." This is the closest I can find, and it's legendary so I can have superhappyfuntimes in EDH with her, especially with all the infinite combos possible in monoblack. *YAAAAY*
@Godlovesme Then your opponent does not win, because they can't draw cards because of Maralen. If you can get rid of the Maniac before Maralen dies, you're in business. Also take English lessons please.
@Traius That's why this card shines in multiplayer and EDH. Your opponents instead want to keep you around because you let them tutor every turn and until you can make yourself a threat again, you aren't the target of your opponents and they fight it out until you can combo out some silliness and go infinite and win the game in ultimate glory.
InternetNinjacy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love how the flavor text tells you to use Vendilion Clique to deal with whatever they choose next turn. And since they can't draw cards, it won't be replaced either.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Basically a 3-mana 5-power combo-beater. Burning Inquiry can make for a nasty super-hymn with her. She happens to be an interesting answer to Miracles cards; as you can't trigger miracles with her out! (While being exceptional against a whole slew of things Miracles decks use; like brainstorm.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Opponents can search for cheap removal and put a stop to her before you can even draw a card.
Comments (50)
Yet fortunately, you get the opportunity to combine the better cards with her, that means you can both intervene during the tutor trigger with cards like Shadow of Doubt to inhibit them from fetching for one turn (although keep in mind the card's cantrip effect won't work) or Aven Mindcensor to minimize their selection effectively, or by simply countering the triggered ability with Stifle or Trickbind. If you got these or Shadow of Doubt on a stick you've created a nice softlock and simultaneously should be able to end the game since you topdeck every turn.
Additionally, the card-draw-disabling ability can also be made use of. This means no card advantage for anyone unless drawing is circumvented as on Fact or Fiction, Fathom Trawl, Merfolk Wayfinder or Mulch.
The thing that makes her perfect for an EDH general is that you don't have to wait to pull her from your 100 card deck. You play her 3rd turn from the command zone. Once she`s in play, you don`t need to pull anything else from your 100 card deck, the rest falls into place however you see fit.
Of course the Necropotence may turn you into a target, so my suggestion is lay it low for a while...
I tried a deck with her at one point along with Shadow of Doubt as the main feature of the deck... it didn't work very well but that may be because it was too centered around the combo... I think she would work best in the midst of an otherwise normal aggro-control deck so that you could just all of a sudden bring the game to a hault. Flash would make Maralen ridiculously good, as you would get first dibs at searching and could put the lock in place (aether vial seems viable, while things like leyline of anticipation, winding canyons and vedalken orrery are clunky and not extremely useful otherwise... scout's warning is somewhere on the fringe). Countermagic would be key also as u could counter anything your opponent finds on his or her first search and then try to lock the game out from there.
@GooberSnotPants Yeah except this card prevents losing by being milled, dumbass
Wait...Underground Sea, City of Brass, Underground River, Darkwater Catacombs, Watery Grave, Sunken Ruins, Drowned Catacomb, Creeping Tar Pit, Darkslick Shores...silly me.
I run her in a faerie tribal EDH deck, because that´s where she belongs to, IMO. And apart from becoming my personal tutor engine, if enchanted with Vanishing, I also use her to lock the game down with Mindlock Orb + Necropotence. With Necropotence in play you are the only one who is still able to "draw" cards, without having to lose 3 from Maralen every round. But most of the time, I also play the Ensnaring Bridge, before I use this combo, to stop others from being able to attack me, while I still can attack with my weeny faeries.
Apart from, using the AEther Vial, or Winding Canyons, it´s also good to just take an extra turn, after you played her, to be able to immediately tutor for Vanishing. I often use Notorious Throng for this, by casting it for its prowl cost.
Turns off ALL draw engines: Skullclamp, Well of Lost Dreams, Griselbrand, Consecrated Sphinx, etc.
Also turns dredge decks into blah...since they can't activate it (they don't ever DRAW a card).
Time Spiral becomes a free "all players shuffle their hands and graveyards into their library...that's it."
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur no longer mills you to death, but still reduces opponents' hand sizes...just in case they can still tutor for cards when Maralen is out.
Combos with: Necropotence, Scroll Rack, Thawing Glaciers for mana fixing, Stoneforge Mystic, Hermit Druid, Fauna Shaman, Dark Confidant, and all cycle or transmute cards. They all just "put" cards into your hand, not draw them.
Depending on when Maralen came into play: Teferi's Puzzle Box puts all hands into the bottom of owners' libraries...leaving you with Maralen's tutored card alone OR the box may just screw everybody out of cards entirely...every turn. I say that sounds like an auto-concede situation, either way...because Maralen can still attack each opponent.
Either use Greel, Mind Raker after they search, or something that can discard a card at any time (Scepter of Fugue doesn't work unfortunately).
Some cards that can also do this are Funeral Charm and Nezumi Shortfang.
It's tricky for this to work well, because discard has been made to work at sorcery speed (for good reasons).
I've done this at least 3 times. :(
1. Practice gleeful cackle in you washroom mirror
2. Cast Maralen (even better if you use Dark Ritual, but then again, what isn't?)
3. Fetch Bloodchief Ascension
4. Fetch Mindcrank
5. Use above gleeful cackle as your opponents stare at you stonefaced
Just think for a moment. With the ritual, you can pull off an endless mill on each opponent as early as your third turn. Oh Maralen. You're such a great commander.
Alternatively, it reads, "Opponent searches for a counter-spell of some kind, counters your big thing. Because you can't block with this guy if you want to use its effects, you probably lose your grip on board control. If he countered with a mana drain, he's gained a lot of mana and almost certainly has board control."
Finally, it could read: "Opponent searches for a boss card you didn't know about/didn't think about, pwns, you, and you lose the game."
The funny thing is, as I start working toward my combo, nobody wants to mess with me, because they're all happy to work toward their combo and hope they can get there first.
Ever since I have been playing Magic I've wanted an enchantment or an artifact that says something along the lines of "Whenever a player would draw a card, that player instead searches his or her library for a card, then puts that card into his or her hand."
This is the closest I can find, and it's legendary so I can have superhappyfuntimes in EDH with her, especially with all the infinite combos possible in monoblack.
*YAAAAY*
@Godlovesme
Then your opponent does not win, because they can't draw cards because of Maralen. If you can get rid of the Maniac before Maralen dies, you're in business.
Also take English lessons please.
@Traius
That's why this card shines in multiplayer and EDH. Your opponents instead want to keep you around because you let them tutor every turn and until you can make yourself a threat again, you aren't the target of your opponents and they fight it out until you can combo out some silliness and go infinite and win the game in ultimate glory.