Marchesa, the Black Rose MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Wizard
Abilities Dethrone
Power 3
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Marchesa grants creatures persistence on the board, bolstering card advantage and creating recurring threats.
  2. Her abilities can save mana, allowing players to invest in further board development or critical plays.
  3. Instant speed dethrone ability enhances creature power dynamically—adding unpredictability to combat.

Text of card

Dethrone (Whenever this creature attacks the player with the most life or tied for most life, put a +1/+1 counter on it.) Other creatures you control have dethrone. Whenever a creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it dies, return that card to the battlefield under your control at the beginning of the next end step.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Marchesa the Black Rose shines in providing card resilience. Should your creatures possess +1/+1 counters, her unique ability safeguards them from perishing by returning them to the battlefield at the end of turn. This means each creature becomes a persistent threat, maintaining your card advantage on the board.

Resource Acceleration: While Marchesa herself does not directly ramp your mana, she indirectly promotes resource acceleration. By constantly reviving your creatures, you save on casting costs, allowing you to utilize mana for other pivotal plays or to develop your board state further with additional threats.

Instant Speed: Marchesa’s Dethrone ability triggers whenever your creatures attack the player with the most life, which doesn’t have to be during your turn. This can potentially instant speed empower your creatures in combat during other players’ turns if conditions allow, making her a versatile and unpredictable commander to lead your deck.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One limitation of Marchesa the Black Rose is her reliance on the player having a strong board presence. To make the most of her ability, you often need to sacrifice or lose creatures, which can put you at a disadvantage if you’re not prepared to refill your board quickly.

Specific Mana Cost: Marchesa’s casting cost demands a precise combination of mana colors that may not seamlessly integrate into every deck. Requiring one black, one red, and one blue mana, this card can be challenging to play outside of dedicated Grixis decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, including three specific colors, Marchesa the Black Rose can pose mana issues in the early game. Additionally, there are commanders that may offer quicker, more game-impacting abilities for the same or lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Marchesa the Black Rose offers adaptability across a range of deck builds. With a dethrone mechanic, this card excels in games where keeping your life total strategic can influence the tides of battle, supporting a variety of playstyles from aggressive to resilience-focused decks.

Combo Potential: Her ability to give your creatures +1/+1 counters and bring them back at the end of turn when they die opens a world of possibilities for combo plays, ensuring your key creatures remain a persistent threat.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Marchesa provides enduring value by consistently reanimating your most potent threats, maintaining pressure and asserting dominance on the battlefield.


How to beat

Marchesa, the Black Rose is an imposing card in MTG with a unique ability to control the board state by leveraging +1/+1 counters and resurrecting creatures during each player’s end step. To overpower a deck built around Marchesa, it is key to interrupt this synergy. Implementing consistent removal that exiles or tucks her into the library can thwart an opponent’s strategy since creatures cannot return from these zones. Another strategy is to manage +1/+1 counters using cards that negate or remove counters or prevent them from being placed altogether. Since Marchesa’s ability hinges upon creatures having counters, effectively managing this aspect can diminish her influence dramatically. It’s also beneficial to limit her ability to become the monarch to prevent further card advantage for your opponent. By focusing on these vulnerabilities, you can dismantle the resilience of a Marchesa, the Black Rose-themed deck, keeping the table checked and her powerful recursion ability in check, maintaining the upper hand in the duel. With precise actions and countermeasures, the challenge of facing Marchesa can be significantly diminished.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the MTG realms with Marchesa the Black Rose at the helm of your strategies. With her, every match is an unfolding story of resilience and tactical supremacy. Marchesa’s ability to safeguard your creatures and continuously press forward puts you at a distinct advantage. Harness her power to dominate the battlefield and maintain a robust presence throughout the game. If you’re eager to explore the synergy, combos, and strategic plays that she enables, we’re here to guide you through it all. Discover how to optimize your deck and navigate the intricacies of MTG. Visit us for more insights and take your gameplay to the next level.


Cards like Marchesa, the Black Rose

Marchesa, the Black Rose stands out in the MTG universe as a commander with a unique blend of abilities. Like Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, she revolves around manipulation and control, but with a twist. Lazav’s shape-shifting aspect is potent but requires pinpoint targeting, whereas Marchesa offers a broader board influence with her dethrone ability and recurs creatures that possess +1/+1 counters.

Marchesa shares a kinship with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death when it comes to recurring creatures from the graveyard. Yet, here lies the divergence: Alesha pulls creatures with lesser power directly into combat, while Marchesa, with her focus on counters and control of the throne, brings them back at the end of the turn—granting more strategic depth and resilience against board wipes.

Peering through the MTG card compendium, Marchesa also reminds seasoned players of Sedris, the Traitor King. Both excel at reanimation, but Sedris opts for Unearth, giving creatures a fleeting chance at life, whereas Marchesa’s influence ensures a sustained presence on the board. Her synergy with dethrone elevates her status, making her a uniquely formidable adversary or ally in the nuanced dance of MTG politics and gameplay.

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind - MTG Card versions
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death - MTG Card versions
Sedris, the Traitor King - MTG Card versions
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind - Gatecrash (GTC)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death - Fate Reforged Promos (PFRF)
Sedris, the Traitor King - Shards of Alara (ALA)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Marchesa, the Black Rose MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Conspiracy, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Marchesa, the Black Rose and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Marchesa, the Black Rose Magic the Gathering card was released in 7 different sets between 2014-06-06 and 2022-07-08. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 1023132015normalblackRichard Kane Ferguson
22014-06-06ConspiracyCNS 492003normalblackMatt Stewart
32014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 2562015normalblackMatt Stewart
42015-11-18Legendary Cube Prize PackPZ1 1112015normalblackMatt Stewart
52017-08-25Commander 2017C17 1772015normalblackMatt Stewart
62019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 14522015normalborderlessAndreas Zafiratos
72022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 2482015normalblackMatt Stewart
82022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 3822015normalborderlessRichard Kane Ferguson
92022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 5202015normalblackMatt Stewart

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Marchesa, the Black Rose has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Marchesa, the Black Rose card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2014-05-29 Dethrone doesn’t trigger if the creature attacks a planeswalker, even if its controller has the most life.
2014-05-29 If Marchesa has a +1/+1 counter on it when it dies, it will return to the battlefield under your control because of its own ability.
2014-05-29 If a creature has multiple instances of dethrone, each triggers separately.
2014-05-29 If the creature card leaves the graveyard before the delayed triggered ability resolves, that card won’t return to the battlefield, even if it’s back in the graveyard when the delayed triggered ability resolves.
2014-05-29 In a Two-Headed Giant game, dethrone will trigger if the creature attacks either player on the team with the most life or tied for the most life.
2014-05-29 Once dethrone triggers, it doesn’t matter what happens to the players’ life totals before the ability resolves. You’ll put a +1/+1 counter on the creature even if the defending player doesn’t have the most life as the ability resolves.
2014-05-29 The +1/+1 counter is put on the creature before blockers are declared.

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