Hello Awesome Folks! I was trying to figure out what to build around for my next article while I am away on vacation, and I decided to try an underplayed Archetype over at EDHREC.com - Monarchs. Two leaders in this archetype have more than 1k brews (Queen Marchesa and Jared Carthalion, True Heir) but I wanted a different take on the brew, so I decided to build a five color deck, and for flavor, around an actual Monarch - Kenrith, the Returned King. He's got the Noble tribe.

This is my first Monarch brew and my first Kenrith brew. Kenrith is one of the most popular Five Color options around, since he's just mono-white to drop with five activated abilities. I tend to stay clear of regulars in the genre unless I have a unique take, but I think that this will work quite Nobly.

Ready?

Monarch Things

I did toss in the Court cycle of five cards. The Grace will make a 1/1 Spirit in your upkeep unless you are a monarch, in which case you make a 4/4 flying Angel instead. Love this thing's power a lot! The Regent is a bit pricey at 7 mana for an on curve 8/8 that gives your permanents, including it, hexproof if you are on the monarch to play keep away. Nice grouping, right? Right!

Check out these two rare Red dorks. The former is a 4/2 and when someone attacks you while you are the monarch, they take damage equal to their hand count, this will really play keep away. Note that this does not punish someone for attacking your planeswalkers, but I am not running any here. The latter is a 7-drop 5/5 flyer that can punch above grounded dorks, and when you're the monarch in your upkeep you make a nasty 5/5 flying Dragon.

I have a bit of a pillow fort sub-theme since we don't want to lose the monarch, and I am running this pair to help with that. The Arbiter is a 1/5 artifact dork that won't let anyone (us too) attack or block with more than one dork. Nice, right? Then we have the Decree to force a foe to lose a life for each dork that attacks you your planeswalkers. That can add up pretty quickly. I also am running the expected Ghostly Prison and Propaganda.

The Black Court will force your foes to lose three life or discard a card in your upkeep, which can quickly kill them, and then if you are the monarch, you can force two discards or six life lost. That is pretty nasty here. Then the Blue Court will mill a massive 10 cards from everyone else in your upkeep if you have remained the monarch. Nice!

Garrulous Sycophant will force your foes to lose a life when you are the monarch in your end step, nice stuff right? Win con in creature form, and it's got a nice sized butt to block attacks that try to steal the monarchy from you.

Answers

The uncommon is a four-drop 2/2 that exiles a dork on arrival to the battlefield as long as you the monarch, so it heads back as soon as you lose the monarchy. It's a nice temporary break on hard to answer Commanders and other problems. The rare is a 5-drop 4/2 that will force a targeted foe to sacrifice a dork each time you become the monarch, and since it makes you the monarch first, that will be at least once. Nice creature removal over time!

Fall from Favor was commonly played in Pauper. This three-drop aura taps the enchanted dork and keeps it tapped as long as you are the monarch. And Feast of Succession is a six-drop that acts as a double Infest for twice the mana and twice the effect. And it will give you the monarch as well. Nice dual role here!

Lands and Ramping

Check out this six-drop mono-Green Lizard! This has trample and a 5/5 body. While you are the monarch, when you tap your lands for mana they'll make another mana of any color - nice. I also tossed in Chromatic Lantern to help make any color of mana more reliably in this five-color brew.

Most of my lands are obvious mana-makers like the full set of Triomes and shocklands. Let's look at this pair. The first will sacrifice for four mana and a tap for making you the Monarch, and it works at instant speed so you can do it at the end of a foe's turn, and then get the upkeep trigger. Nice! Then the other land will make a 2/2 Zombie each time a land arrives to the battlefield if you control 7 or more lands with different names - likely here.

Let's look at my brew!

Scheming with Raffine | Commander | Abe Sargent

• Commander (1)
• 1 Kenrith, the Returned King

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Archon of Coronation
• 1 Azure Fleet Admiral
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Cloudblazer
• 1 Crimson Fleet Commodore
• 1 Custodi Lich
• 1 Dawnglade Regent
• 1 Emberwilde Captain
• 1 Esper Sentinel
• 1 Garrulous Sycophant
• 1 Keeper of Keys
• 1 Knights of the Black Rose
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Palace Jailer
• 1 Protector of the Crown
• 1 Queen Marchesa
• 1 Regal Behemoth
• 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1 Silent Arbiter
• 1 Skyline Despot
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Staunch Throneguard
• 1 Thorn of the Black Rose

• Instants (12)
• 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1 Anguished Unmaking
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Brainstorm
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Cyclonic Rift
• 1 Fact or Fiction
• 1 Fierce Guardianship
• 1 Generous Gift
• 1 Negate
• 1 Utter End
• 1 Void Rend

• Sorceries (8)
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Farseek
• 1 Feast of Succession
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Nature's Lore
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Three Visits
• 1 Vindicate

• Enchantments (10)
• 1 Court of Ambition
• 1 Court of Bounty
• 1 Court of Cunning
• 1 Court of Grace
• 1 Court of Ire
• 1 Fall from Favor
• 1 Ghostly Prison
• 1 Marchesa's Decree
• 1 Propaganda
• 1 Rhystic Study

• Artifacts (6)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Chromatic Lantern
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots

• Lands (43)
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Field of the Dead
• 1 Forbidden Orchid
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Indatha Triome
• 1 Jetmir's Garden
• 1 Ketria Triome
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Raffine's Tower
• 1 Raugrin Triome
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Savai Triome
• 1 Spara's Headquarters
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Temple Garden
• 1 The World Tree
• 1 Throne of the High City
• 1 Watery Grave
• 1 Xander's Lounge
• 1 Zagoth Triome
• 1 Ziatora's Proving Ground
• 4 Forest
• 3 Island
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Plains
• 3 Swamp

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And there we are, so...what did you think of my deck? Anything in here that is missing? Anything that inspires you? Just let me know, and have an awesome day!!!