PARTY HARDY with Rakdos, Lord of Riots

Commander / EDH BR (Rakdos) Demons Discard Suicide Black Theme/Gimmick

Algebutter

Creature (35)

• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x Archfiend of Despair
• 1x Avatar of Slaughter
• 1x Burning-Rune Demon
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Cryptborn Horror
• 1x Dire Fleet Ravager
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Dread Cacodemon
• 1x Fiendish Duo
• 1x Greven, Predator Captain
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Heartless Hidetsugu
• 1x Judith, the Scourge Diva
• 1x Kaervek the Merciless
• 1x Maga, Traitor to Mortals
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Mogg Fanatic
• 1x Nettle Drone
• 1x Ogre Battledriver
• 1x Orcus, Prince of Undeath
• 1x Plague Spitter
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Sin Prodder
• 1x Sire Of Insanity
• 1x Spawn of Mayhem
• 1x Spear Spewer
• 1x Stalking Vengeance
• 1x Stormfist Crusader
• 1x Tree of Perdition
• 1x Urabrask the Hidden
• 1x Vial Smasher the Fierce
• 1x Vilis, Broker of Blood

Land (33)

• 1x Badlands
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodfell Caves
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Canyon Slough
• 1x Cinder Barrens
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Lavaclaw Reaches
• 1x Leechridden Swamp
• 8x Mountain
• 1x Rakdos Carnarium
• 1x Shadowblood Ridge
• 1x Smoldering Marsh
• 10x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Peak

Instant (8)

• 1x Auger Spree
• 1x Burnt Offering
• 1x Dismember
• 1x Go for the Throat
• 1x Rakdos Charm
• 1x Reckless Spite
• 1x Spontaneous Combustion
• 1x Terminate

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Act of Treason
• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Rakdos's Return
• 1x Wheel of Misfortune

Commander (1)

Artifact (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Cryptolith Fragment  ^Flip
• 1x Mana Geode
• 1x Rakdos Cluestone
• 1x Rakdos Keyrune
• 1x Rakdos Locket
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Bedlam
• 1x Havoc Festival
• 1x Pain Magnification
• 1x Sanctum of Stone Fangs
• 1x Theater of Horrors
• 1x Underworld Breach

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ob Nixilis Reignited

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RAKDOS IS COMING TO TOWN

Rakdos is a gift from a friend when I first started playing MTG, with all the love and care put into it, I instantly loved the deck and have been piloting it ever since! As time went on, I had tons of fun finding and prioritizing flavor (through lore or game mechanics) over power, and with every additions I always ask: "Would this guy party with the Lord of Riots?"

Best used in casual playgroups, each card tells a loud and chaotic story (with gusto). While I love the deck as-is, suggestions are always welcome! Thank you for checking out my primer and I hope you enjoy this list as much as I did assembling it!

Reading this Decklist

I organized created my own categories given the unique nature of this deck. Certain cards will appear in multiple categories.

Ramp - Ramp spells are those that increase mana acceleration and production.

Removal/Interaction - Usually targetted, I typically avoided boardwipes as they'd hose our own creature-based deck. Finding flavorful kill-spells was an enjoyable pain!

Bombs/Finishers - This deck typically struggles to finish as combat damage is the main strategy. There are a handful of creatures that are pleasantly strong.

Card Draw - Being in Rakdos colors, playing with an empty hand is common, so I've included a few spells to give us extra options.

Disruption - Flavorful ways to interrupt our opponents are included ;)

Protection - There is no protection! Ride or die! (it would honestly make your deck stronger but I chose not to include protection spells since I doubt Rakdos would ever hide)

Why Rakdos?

I loved the idea of a bored Demongod periodically showing up to party in Ravnica with his cult. While he isn't the most powerful EDH commander, he's definitely one of the most enjoyable ones. The idea is to play Rakdos and cast his friends to induct you into the clan. Invite them in from your hand or bring them back from the graveyard to party with Lord of Riots!

Pros

• You like creature-based strategies

• You like playing big fatties for cheap

• You like flavor and enjoy Ravnica-themed decks

• You like the nervousness Rakdos inspires and when opponents don't know what's coming

• You prefer to die with style than win with a bunch of weird interactions

Cons

• You won't win very often at stronger tables :')

• You don't enjoy piloting commander-centric decks

• You like high interaction decks with lots of options

• You don't like having HP that's just as low as your opponents even when you're winning :')

Card Choice

Ramp

I've actually replaced all instances of regular manarocks with i̶n̶f̶e̶r̶i̶o̶r̶ flavorful mana rocks of equal CMC (e.g. Rakdos Signet replaces Arcane Signet, I always ask first and if the playgroup won't allow it, I replace the mana rock with the "proper" card that's in the same sleeve so I can run a legal (but less interesting!) deck.

With that being said Rakdos Signet, Cryptolith Fragment  , Rakdos Cluestone, Rakdos Locket, Rakdos Keyrune, Talisman of Indulgence, Burnt Offering, Crypt Ghast and Rakdos, Lord of Riots himself act as ways to accelerate our boardstate

Arcane Signet and Command Sphere are replaced with Rakdos Signet and Rakdos Cluestone respectively.

Removal/Interaction

• Dread Cacodemon: One-sided board wipe that can often clear up the board to get ahead in the early game, hose token/creature based deck mid-game, or clear up the board to swing big late-game!

• Kaervek the Merciless: Powerful card for cheap once Rakdos is on the board. Can be used to burn opponents or disrupt opponents creatures

• Plague Spitter: Sometimes gets in our way but helps hose token decks, mainly used as a pinger

• Sheoldred, Whispering One: Great against Voltron commanders

• Auger Spree: Most commanders in my playgroup have <4 toughness so this can be great for insta-killing an enemy creature or beefing up a one of our own dudes that swing

• Dismember: Removal that doubles as suicide damage? Sign us up!

• Go for the Throat: Flavorful staple

• Rakdos Charm: Can close out games with massive tokens, doubles as graveyard hate and artifact removal

• Reckless Spite: "The end is justified in being mean. Or something like that"

• Spontaneous Combustion: Hurting yourself to clear the way is about the most Rakdos thing I could imagine. 10/10 flavor.

• Terminate: "All suns must set"

• Blasphemous Act: If a coup was ever orchestrated in Ravnica, you could guarantee the Rakdos guild was involved.

• Damnation: Damnation is an invitation to party with the coolest demons for the Rakdos guild.

Disruption

• Archfiend of Depravity: Helps buy us time to establish a board state.

• Avatar of Slaughter: Can interrupt decks that are aseembling combo pieces.

• Act of Treason: On the cutting block, but a well-timed creature theft has definitely won me a game or two

• Rakdos's Return: Good for messing with the lead and establishing advantage states. Doubles as a burn spell.

• Wheel of Misfortune: Rakdos-themed draw spell with a mini-game to boot.

• Havoc Festival: Chaos above all else.

• Pain Magnification: A pet card that is on-theme with the Rakdos discard/damage strategy.

Card Choice

Given the mana curve and low number of ramp spells. We want to avoid non-creature spells as there is rarely enough mana to both cheat out big creatures and play big instants/sorceries.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	15 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.96
Tokens	Emblem Ob Nixilis Reignited
Folders	EDH and Friends :)