I just went 3-1 tonight at my FNM love this deck

Currently Gnarled Scarhide is here to stay. However, I do like Dynacharge for the Fortify effect it has and I think I'll play test it as a two-of in place of Tormented Hero .

when do you usually switch out for Searing Blood and Ultimate Price ? have you thought about using Gift of Orzhova ?

Also have you come across U/R decks using Guttersnipe and Young Pyromancer ? having trouble fighting them with this kind of deck haha

I have gone 3-1 and made Top 8 at 2 consecutive FNMs. I normally play some sort of control and decks that are 20x the cost of this one. I absolutely love it, but there are some things to consider still as my play-testing has shown that there may be some issues with our mana base.

First, while the Rakdos Guildgate may seem like a need to make our mana base more consistent, I believe it hurts the deck more than it helps. There have been too many situations where I am losing a T2 play or T3 play because my only other land in hand is entering tapped. Losing a turn in this deck means losing the game, as this has resulted in giving control decks an extra turn to set up. I can't tell you how many times I have had Esper Control down to 1 life just to set-up. It has happened in both my losses and in the Top 8 bracket at some point. You are better off running all basic lands knowing your odds are better than 60/40 to see both colors in your opening hand. Or better yet, if you have the extra $40, just go buy a play-set Blood Crypt and watch this deck do magic. Literally.

My only other issue is running both 4x Shock and 4x Lightning Strike over some type of removal. Yes, I understand that it is meant to be used as removal but against decks with large creatures coming into play I would prefer to see 2x Ultimate Price over 2x Shock .

Side note, I recommend running your new addition Dynacharge in the side board. While it is good, I have play tested it and found it is very situational, and should only be used against decks with light removal.

Either way, +1 for the best budget build I've seen.

Hey, guys! I've just built this deck and I'm having a lot of fun with it. But I've been facing an annoying problem with my cards dying fast because of the 1 point of thoughness, so usually when the adversary casts some few stronger creatures my game is over, if I don't have any removal spells to cast. That's why I'm considering putting some Legion Loyalist , because of the first strike, but I was also thinking about some stronger creatures for a late game, such as Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch , or Rakdos, Lord of Riots . What do you guys think about it? Is it too risky to put some heavier creatures? :b Thanks a lot, dudes!

@Pedrograziano I think it's a reasonable way to think; for me Madcap Skills help out a lot so the opponent can't block so easily and the Mogis's Marauder help me swing with the team against decks that aren't the same color. I think playing more with the deck will help you figure out when to attack and to use the deck in general; don't settle for big creatures cause it'll just hurt the speed and mana curve in general.

played this deck (minus 4 makka, plus a land and two doom blades) at FNM and managed, in pretty much every game, to get my opponent to single digits very fast... but almost never finished them off. had a lot of fun, but found it almost impossible to win.

based on the pricier version of this deck that you linked, I think I'm going to try Spiteful Returned - I'll probably remove all of the Gnarled Scarhide for them. another option I may try is Tormented Hero and an instant (as a heroic trigger) like Coordinated Assault , Titan's Strength or something with strive. I feel like either of these options could squeeze out that last few bits of damage on an opponent. would love to hear your thoughts.

Don't cut Gnarled Scarhide @ejunk. This deck needs at least 8 one drops to be able to start out fast enough. And it's late game power makes it even better.

I'm actually considering going up to 10-12 one-drops to increase the speed of this deck, so I definitely would not take any out. Adding heroic triggers could just mess with the consistency of the deck, as sometimes you could be left with non creature spells and no creatures.

If you wanted to include something that was a higher drop, Exava would be the card of choice, but I don't think I'd include even her, because 4 lands is somewhat hard to achieve. As for "finishing an opponent off", that's where Mogis's Marauder and the burn spells come, as they can easily deal the last 6-9 points of damage.

Legion Loyalist is a good card, but not aggro enough, and only has benefits against Elspeth and Master of Waves , and either of those cards is pretty much game over / Legion Loyalist isn't the card that gets the job done.

I have played the U/R Young Pyromancer decks. The key is just well timed removal; kill the Pyromancer as soon as it comes out and you should be fine, and Guttersnipe isn't capable of racing us.

I guess the guild gate thing is true, but I haven't had any huge issues with it, but I may take the gates out if I include more one drops. I'm considering dropping some lands and possibly the Rubblebelt Maaka to increase to 12 one drops for increased aggressiveness, however, Maaka is great for killing Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix , and makes blocking scary in general. What are your thoughts?

I built the old version of this deck, and modified it, I recently went 2-2 at FNM with it. I applaud you for an awesome deck. If you want to see it, here you go: Rakdos Aggro

Rakdos Aggro *

Wait, fuck, they aren't linking to my deck. Oh well.

Rakdos aggro

There you go Crypticity

Awesome, thank you very much.

enjoying these comments and I appreciate the discussion. play tested with the spiteful returned and found the comments about 1-drops to be very true. this is the version of the deck I will be taking to the next FNM: 20$ Rakdos I have given you credit. :)

nice deck +1. but in the description you mention Deviant Glee and it doesnt seem to be in the deck anymore.

So if I want to improve this deck (go above 20$) how can I do that? What should I add?

First off, you should add Blood Crypt and even Mana Confluence to have an extremely stable mana base. Thoughtseize is better than Duress in the sideboard since it can stop a greater variety of threats. Ash Zealot could be used instead of Rakdos Shred-Freak since it's more aggressive and the deck can afford the double-red with a better mana base. Dreadbore should replace Shock to give additional reach to beat Jace, Architect of Thought and Polukranos, World Eater . Instead of Minotaur Skullcleaver , you could try Master of the Feast , Herald of Torment , Chandra's Phoenix or another good 3 drop. This deck really can't get too expensive; IMO, it's prime would only cost around $150, maybe $275 with Mutavault .

So do you think the Rubblebelt Maaka is a good trade off for 12 one drops? plus are the all basic lands better than the 4 guild gates?

Yes, the best way to beat MBD and Jund Monsters by simply outnumbering their creatures, and then doing the last sweep with a marauder.

And no guildgates is best for the deck. We have a bunch of lenient mana costs (nothing with double except split costs), and the increased one drops don't even allow us to play a turn 1 gate. Even in the expensive one I play at FNMs, I don't run any tapped lands.

wouldnt skullcrack be a good sideboard here?

@Arorsthrar: I just wanted to say thank you for publishing this deck. I am new to magic and have recently begun playing EDH and Standard and was looking for a relatively cheap, effective deck to introduce me to standard play. Your deck is perfect! I'm going to swap in some of the more expensive cards you have suggested but even then the deck price has stayed at roughly $100 and I feel it is very competitive for my local tournaments. So thanks again for your efforts they are appreciated!

PS: I would like to ask for your permission to publish the version of your deck I have opted to use so a friend of mine can view it. Full credit will be given to you along with a link to the source here on this page. If you would prefer I don't I understand completely and will not do so.

Kaltanos- Go ahead and publish it! I'm glad you like the deck and I hope it does well for you.

+1 Great deck! I've been play testing it on MTGO (where it is the best the best $2 you'll ever spend), and it plays well against most decks, especially anything slower moving. With the right opening hand, it can easily deal 10+ damage by turn 3.

I've had some difficulty against black decks, where Mogis's Marauder 's ability is less helpful (although otherwise it works great, especially if you have 2 or more in hand and can cascade the intimidate+haste effect turn after turn). I'm also trying to run the deck with a couple of Read the Bones for when I run out of cards in hand or am not drawing the right lands. It's worked pretty well so far!

I saw some great M15 spoilers for this deck! Altak Bloodseeker, Borderland Marauder, and maybe Hammerhand when Madcap Skills cycles out.