This is a tried and tested many times rakdos aggro deck that can be made on a tight budget of only about $160 and will perform well enough to go consistently 3-1 in a competitive environment.
One Drop Argument
The one drops for aggro are pretty standard. You get your pick of Rakdos Cackler
Gnarled Scarhide
and
Tormented Hero
. I prefer the hero for the heroic triggers, which is part of the reasoning behind leaving out 2 more scarhides so I can fit in 2x
Boon of Erebos
+ Dynacharge Cackler is solid because of his B/R option to cast and his 2 toughness instead of 1.
My Reasoning
I feel like many of you will need me to explain why I take 2 Boons and 2 Dyna's in this deck, since I haven't seen hardly anyone else play them. My answer is #1, both proc heroic triggers on
Tormented Hero
, and #2 , boon will keep your Master of the Feast safe from tryhards that throw out all of their removal combos to burn him, leaving you with something like a 2 for 2 life, which is a good deal. Or if you end up booning a hero you would only take 1 life while your opponent takes a potential extra 3 damage if they let that little 2/1 through.
As for Dynacharge i think it is a fantastic card even if you only cast it on one creature, but if you ever get off the overload it can win you the game when your opponent expects to live another turn or two. Best when combo'd with
Mogis's Marauder
for massive surprise unblockable damage.
Two Drop Argument
Finding a good (2) drop for this deck has been a pain in the ass IMO since rakdos has so many options here. I feel like
Spike Jester
is a given, being a potential 5 damage turn two swing. But seeing as in aggro you probably want at least 8 two drop creatures, you are left with the option of Pack Rat Pain Seer
Thrill-Kill Assassin
Rakdos Shred-Freak
Gore-House Chainwalker
,
Spiteful Returned
and finally Ash Zealot.
Detail Specific Reasoning
I'll go through my personal reasoning behind each, but I'd love some feedback on everyone else's opinion, and play-testing experiences.
Ash Zealot - First strike and haste for a 2/2 body on turn 2. Not to mention the occasionally useful secondary effect, Immediately seems like the perfect choice if only this deck ever had 2 red mana sources on turn 2. which is why I regrettably had to rule this one out.
Pack Rat - I ended up going with this one in the end for 2 reasons, it has immediate impact with It's own effect if a bit later in the game I topdeck a useless land I don't need, throw it out and make another rat, it baits out removal that I don't want hitting my Master of the Feast, Twinflame makes it even more useful and dangerous, and
Mutavault
doubles the fun as well. Overall I felt that Pack Rat synergized with my deck a little bit better than the other choices, after some more playtesting I may end up changing it around again though.
Gore-House Chainwalker
not a bad card, ends up being a (2) for (3/2) but other than that it has no versatility or immediate impact.
Rakdos Shred-Freak
I would like to playtest this guy more as he seems to be the most reliable choice, but other than landing on turn 2 for 2 damage he is just a watered down
Spike Jester
and I would always rather have the jester in my hand on turn 2 than this guy.
Spiteful Returned
- love this card, the effect basically makes him like a spike jester without the haste. late game bestowing him onto a Master of the Feast or Twinflame on him is great. Downside is no haste, and a weak 1/1 body that dies to most blockers and all removal.
Thrill-Kill Assassin
I think he is a very good choice in some scenarios, where I can turn 2 drop this guy, he dodges some of the cheaper removal spells and doesn't die to 2/2 blockers. He deters your opponent from blocking him, allowing some easy damage to slip through, and if you
Madcap Skills
on him all of the sudden you friend is losing 5 life or 2 creatures to deathtouch. Is also a decent target for your Twinflame
last but not least is Pain Seer who is visually one of the most attractive options with his very strong draw power mechanic, seeing as nothing in this deck can hit you for more than 3 points of damage. Biggest drawback here is that he doesn't threaten as much as something like a
Thrill-Kill Assassin
or even a
Gore-House Chainwalker
and it takes a full 2 turns after dropping him to start taking advantage of his effect, by that time hopefully it won't even matter if your opponent is already at low enough life. In thourough playtesting I've found that I 1/6 games or so will even get off his effect, he is a massive magnet for removal, although so is Pack Rat. Most of the other options are better, and I would take shred freak , the rat, chainwalker, or thrill kill over this guy.
In the recent update I went with Pain Seer, the card advantage is desperately needed I've found, and he also combos well with Xathrid Necromancer who is a new addition to the sideboard against removal heavy decks
Dynacharge also wasn't doing the work I expected so it got removed and I opted to put 3x
Gift of Orzhova
in the sideboard against mirror's and creature heavy decks, or even burn decks where I have to race them.
I fixed the mana base by putting a full playset of Mana Confluence in and adding only 2x Temple of Malice. This leaves me with a total of 10 dual mana sources and a 2:1 ratio on swamps to mountains.
On to the (3) Drops
4x
Mogis's Marauder
- I wouldn't main less than 2 of this guy, but at the same time, with 2x Twinflame in this deck I'm really unsure about running 4 mainboard when I have other attractive options like Lifebane Zombie and even
Herald of Torment
. Would love to hear more suggestions here, I'll be doing more playtests with this to see how I like it myself.
4x Master of the Feast - The majority of opinions I've viewed bash this card in favor of
Herald of Torment
, which in all honesty looks far better on paper. But in testing I've found that 9/10 times I've played this guy I was wishing he was a 5/5 instead of a 3/3. Master doesn't die to Mizzium Mortars , he can swing into or block the biggest flying threats right now like Stormbreath Dragon, he doesn't die to
Lightning Strike
or any other 3 -4 damage removal. Herald will die to any and all of this, provided you didn't bestow him on a 2/2. I would rather win the game on turn four or five with my huge 5/5 flier than wait around for a bestow from Herald. This is an aggro deck , not a midrange deck so I don't think
Herald of Torment
really belongs here, at least not in favor of master, possibly alongside however if I ran less Marauders.
Spells
4x
Lightning Strike
- take your pick, some extra damage or some solid removal that hits most early game threats. Never a dead card.
4x
Madcap Skills
- easily the best mainboard creature enhancer for aggro right now. Totally a staple and I would not run less than 4 of this with my tormented hero. Can mean a 6 damage turn 2 swing that is very likely to be unblockable, and you gain a life.
2x Twinflame another not so common pick for aggro, granted I run 2 of because I don't really want to be targetting my 1 drops with this. It can be a total surprise K.O. with master on the field and an opponent who tapped out all of his mana already. turn 4 I double flamed my Master of the Feast, swung out for 15 in the air, and my opponent was at 13 life with no flying guys to block, you should have seen the look on his face. Other good targets besides master are Pack Rat
Spike Jester
Mogis's Marauder
and if you board him in, Lifebane Zombie The thing most people miss with this card is that it procs all "Enter the battlefield" abilities. so you get extra life out of re-proccing the zombie, and mogis.
Lands
4x Blood Crypt - a must have for should be obvious reasons
2x
Mutavault
- mainly for Pack Rat or just making good use of that extra mana. Dodges removal well from stuff like Supreme Verdict , and yes I have used
Madcap Skills
on a Muta before to swing for game.
4x Mountain- not a red heavy deck, mainly to ensure dropping a
Spike Jester
on turn 2
8x Swamp - 28 dedicated black sources in this deck vs 16 for red. I think this is the best ratio.
2x Temple of Malice - As good as the 2 color source is for balance, I hate running 4 of these because I never want to wait a turn to cast a creature, the scrying is of small benefit, but not enough to offset.
I'm thinking of running 4x Mana Confluence to replace my original 4x Temples
Final Notes & Sideboard
Thats about it for the meat of the deck. my sideboard is currently open to edits so I won't go into too much detail.
Definitely 4x Thoughtseize - a must have for certain match ups
2x Lifebane Zombie provided I don't decide to mainboard him with all of the green white I see.
2x Dark Betrayal Most efficient removal we have in any deck including black, good for mirror matches, against mono - black, or anything else weird including big black fatties you need to get rid of.
2x Dreadbore - For decks with annoying planeswalkers or anything else that ultimate price and dark betrayal wont kill
2x Bile Blight best card to get 2 for 1's with on small stuff, great against mirror as well , especially n00bs who run
Herald of Torment
instead of master.
2x Mizzium Mortars mainly for Blood Baron of Vizkopa
1x Whip of Erebos great card for keeping you ahead in the race and turning around games against stupid Boros Burn players who kill all of your creatures.
Thank you if you took the time to read my notes! That's all I've got guys, this is definitely still a work in progress so I'd love to hear thoughts, and I'll most likely be making modifications and trying to keep this deck idea together post rotation.
