Merry, Warden of Isengard

Gameplan

Merry turns your artifact deployment into a steady stream of lifelinking Soldier tokens, building a wide board that you buff and crash in for the win. You ramp out artifacts early, flood the board, then go tall with anthems and overrun effects. Because the token trigger fires once per turn, you prioritize playing many artifacts across turns rather than dumping them all at once.

Key Cards

• Pippin, Warden of Isengard — His partner ability and food/token synergy pair naturally and tutor straight into the deck from Merry's ETB.
• Smothering Tithe — Generates a steady flow of Treasure artifacts that each turn off Merry's token trigger while ramping you.
• Anointed Procession — Doubles every Soldier token, turning a once-per-turn trigger into a board-flooding engine.
• Intangible Virtue — Anthems your token army into a real clock while the lifelink keeps you safe.
• Craterhoof Behemoth — Converts a wide token board into a single lethal alpha strike.
• Academy Manufactor — Each artifact-token type entering still satisfies Merry while flooding you with Clues, Food, and Treasure.

Upgrade Path

Tighten the curve with efficient mana rocks (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Treasure makers) to play multiple artifacts across turns and trigger Merry reliably. Add token doublers like Anointed Procession and Mondrak, Glory Dominus alongside finishers (Craterhoof, Cathars' Crusade) for explosive turns. Shore up GW's weaknesses with protection like Heroic Intervention and Teferi's Protection to survive the board wipes this strategy fears.