Rakdos the Defiler: The first cut is the deepest

Commander / EDH BR (Rakdos) Demons

zweiducks

Land (38)

• 1x Akoum Refuge
• 1x Auntie's Hovel
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Blackcleave Cliffs
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodfell Caves
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Cinder Barrens
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Foreboding Ruins
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Lavaclaw Reaches
• 3x Mountain
• 1x Rakdos Carnarium
• 1x Rakdos Guildgate
• 1x Shadowblood Ridge
• 1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1x Smoldering Marsh
• 1x Strip Mine
• 9x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Peak
• 1x Temple of Malice
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Urborg Volcano

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Black Market
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Price of Glory

Creature (26)

• 1x Abyssal Persecutor
• 1x Anger
• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x Blood Speaker
• 1x Bloodgift Demon
• 1x Carnifex Demon
• 1x Demon of Dark Schemes
• 1x Dwarven Miner
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Havoc Demon
• 1x Herald of Torment
• 1x Indulgent Tormentor
• 1x Kagemaro, First to Suffer
• 1x Keldon Firebombers
• 1x Lord of the Void
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 1x Mindwrack Demon
• 1x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
• 1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
• 1x Priest of the Blood Rite
• 1x Reaper from the Abyss
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Soulflayer
• 1x Tombstalker
• 1x Trench Wurm
• 1x Viashino Heretic

Artifact (13)

• 1x Armillary Sphere
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Fireshrieker
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Rakdos Cluestone
• 1x Rakdos Keyrune
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak
• 1x Worn Powerstone

Commander (1)

Sorcery (15)

• 1x Anger of the Gods
• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Curse of the Cabal
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Promise of Power
• 1x Rakdos's Return
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Reign of the Pit
• 1x Sign in Blood
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Void
• 1x Wake of Destruction

Instant (4)

• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Magmaquake
• 1x Terminate
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

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Maybeboard

Artifact (1)

• 1x Assault Suit

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Rakdos's Return

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I initially built this deck to see if I could make Rakdos, The Defiler playable; now it's my pride and joy. This deck doesn't always win games, but it is always a lot of fun to pilot. You are genuinely feared when you drop Rakdos, and there is no better feeling than defiling an over-extended opponent.

The plan is to win with commander damage, secondary plan is normal damage from your other demons.

Attrition (not the card) is your strategy. You want to destroy as many of your opponents' permanents as possible to make the Rakdos hits hurt more. You accomplish this with sweepers like Damnation and Black Sun's Zenith, land destruction like Keldon Firebombers or Wake of Destruction , and cards like Nevinyrral's Disk, Dwarven Miner and Viashino Heretic . Recurring and mass destroy effects are key; you are going to lose a lot of stuff every time the man swings so you need to continuously control the size of your opponents' board states. For example, a Rakdos swing into a post-combat Keldon Firebombers is an incredibly powerful (and fun!) play that I love to set up with this deck. It is also very satisfying to land Wake of Destruction or a hardcast Curse of the Cabal .

It is key that you don't get trigger happy and attack with Rakdos too soon. Make sure you can protect him (Swiftfoot Boots, Price of Glory, etc), and make sure that he will hit. You sac first, so you want to minimize the chances of a one-sided defiling. You will also draw a lot of heat once Rakdos hits the board, so bide your time until the perfect moment presents itself.

Flavour notes:

1. This deck is great for vendettas. Burn your enemies like pigs.
2. It can be fun to decide who gets defiled with a die roll. Anarchy, amirite?
3. Impulsive plays that would otherwise be stupid are allowed. Let the hate flow through you.

This deck is ever-evolving. I'm proud to say that I didn't consult any existing lists to build it; it has all come out of my own brewing and play-testing.

Maybeboard are cards that I need to acquire to try out.

Comments and +1's are appreciated!

Date added	12 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 45 - 0 Rares 24 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.13
Tokens	Demon 5/5 B, Demon X/X B, Energy Reserve
Folders	My Commanders, Dual, EDH Rakdos, Awesome, Rakdos the Defiler, Decks Worthy of Respect, cool stuff from others, deck ideas, Possible deck bases, Rakdos