This is a Red-White-Black midrange deck that seeks to overpower the opponent with some of the most powerful creatures in the format, and recur them with Whip of Erebos. Originally based on Rakdos himself, the central idea moved after I realized that my beloved Gisela had left the format, and that building around him was, in fact, a pain. But onto the deck itself.
Creatures:
4x Desecration Demon. See, this is a 6/6 flyer that costs four. You know why he's here; he's not subtle. However, he does have some potent interactions. For instance, a weenie opponent can pass the turn to me, ready to sacrifice a creature to tap him down. Enter Anger of the Gods.
4x Boros Reckoner. The best card from Pro Tour Gatecrash is back. Apart from making essentially all combat into a cavalcade of two-for ones, he also has a neat interaction with Anger of the Gods, functioning as a mini-blasphemous act, or helping kill a troublesome planes walker/Polukranos/Desecration Demon/Arbor Colossus/You get the Picture. Suddenly a pyroclasm is a true fieldwipe.
3x Obzedat, Ghost Council. An unassuming card, but fantastic in many match ups. Few control decks have the removal required to kill this fella, and the incremental life loss is often enough by itself to kill them dead. Also has the single greatest interaction in the deck between it and whip of Erebos, which makes it nearly immortal.
2x Aurelia, the Warleader- Best Whip target in the deck if I have another creature on board, and just an all-around beating in general. On a less competitive note, makes the loss of Gisela easier for me to swallow.
1x Stormbreath Dragon/1x Archangel of Thune- Threat Diversity, essentially. Some decks have trouble with one or another, and both are independently powerful cards.
On to the Non-creatures:
4x Dreadbore- Extra sorcery Hero's Downfall.
3x Anger of the Gods- I adore this card. It looks like nothing, then is just about the most synergistic card in the deck, as already shown. When not being used for being terribly clever, it also destroys many green decks' best draws, and is the best card in the deck for stopping aggro. Exiles Chandra's Phoenix and Voice of Resurgence, kills all their weenies, destroys Elvish Mystic/Sylvan Caryatid, etc. This card is a house.
4x Thoughtseize- This card is here mostly because I can beat close to reliably every fast deck in the format, but some of the slower ones can kick my ass. Aetherling is a primo target, as well as Blood Baron, shutting down Esper control. Against Mono-Black, this is an easy way to get rid of Underworld Connections game 1, or just pluck a Gray Merchant out of their hands. Essentially always good, save against heavy aggro, who usually overcommit game 1 anyway, then get bushwhacked by Anger of the Gods or Boros Reckoner.
2x Whip of Erebos- A fantastic card for every matchup save mono-red, where it is a bit slow. I tend to side this out against Green/red strategies, who can destroy it or render it pointless with Scavenging Oozes. Deserves a medal for being in the same deck as Obzedat (Seriously, if there was any justice in the world, that wombo-combo would be this cycle's Restoration Angel+Thragtusk.)
3x Hero's Downfall- The best removal in standard.
4x Read the Bones- Great for ensuring land drops turns 4, 5, and 6 in a deck that both needs them and in the right colors. Also great for digging in general. All-around solid.
1x Elspeth- Great for attrition match ups, when individual threats can't stick on the table. Wish I had Sorin, Lord of Innistrad here, but alas, he rotated.
