This deck has many gods in it... but let's face it: It's all about Athreos. I ran another version of this deck at FNM last night and I went 3-2. After that I could see I wasn't focusing enough on activating my gods, and that my sideboard was missing something to handle Soldier of the Pantheon which is ubiquitous and tough for me to handle.
This deck is designed to work quickly, and when the gods come into play, things get ugly. Red, white, and black is a wedge that doesn't get played too often... but I think I've found some great synergies to entice you into playing.
Creatures:
3x Athreos, God of Passage: Athreos turns every block and every kill spell into a face-melting 3 damage to the brain! The creatures and spells I run try to take advantage of this ability.
2x Mogis, God of Slaughter: An exception to the comment above, Mogis is just a sexy god that puts pressure on players. He turns on quickly with all the Rakdos colors I run.
2x Purphoros, God of the Forge: So you don't want to pay the three life? Well I guess I'll burn and beat you again next turn! No lets face it... you're going to take the three damage.
1x Iroas, God of Victory: Iroas is very powerful, but I don't want him getting in the way of my other awesome dudes. With this many two-drops and so much hand-recursion he'll probably wreck face every time he lands. If he starts winning games for me, I might swap a Mogis for one more Uncle Iroh. (Avatar reference. Yeah I went there, no I'm not 12.)
3x Tymaret, the Murder King: Sac outlet that pings for 5 potentially with Athreos. You can sac a creature to bring him back, triggering Athreos and Purphoros... it's like you're juggling daggers with a partner who can't juggle. :D
3x Boros Reckoner: Awesome card, awesome devotion. I even threw in the infinite life combo with Gift of Orzhova.
4x Rakdos Shred-Freak: Haste, and hybrid devotion... it just makes sense. These come out the door swinging, so players will think twice about giving them back when Athreos triggers.
3x Spike Jester: 3/1 Haste. Some love him, some hate him... I love him, but if you have a better suggestion for these 3 slots let me know.
3x Spark Trooper: Deal 9 damage and gain six lives. This card has found a home among the lost souls of Theros.
Removal:
2x Chained to the Rocks: For one mana it's way better than Shock or Magma Spray, wish I could fit more in. Also, it turns Atheros and Iroas on. (They're masochists what can I say?) So even better!
3x Dreadbore: Awesome creature removal unless you're playing monowhite running 4 copies of Soldier of the Pantheon or some whacked hexproof deck. All you can do is hope they can kill a planeswalker. You'll want to side these out versus those decks, keep them versus creatureless decks though, because they mop up planeswalkers really nice.
1x Warleader's Helix: This is a nice blast-to-the-face/removal/shockland-recovery tool. It kills a lot of things, and is the only instant kill I'm running, so I usually save it for something special. I have 2 more in my sideboard but maybe I should take these out in favor of something else??
Card Advantage:
2x Altar's Reap: This card is really undervalued. People just don't know how to use it. In this deck it is particularly potent with Atheros in the field. The key is to save this card for when your opponent casts a removal spell on one of your creatures, then you respond by casting Altar's reap. The result is they lose a card, and you draw two new cards. With Atheros, you might get 3 cards or possibly deal 3 dmg. and if Purphoros happens to be out, you're getting more ammunition. (I love this card in this deck.) THAT SAID, you might favor something else, Brain Maggot maybe? (Oh gawd now I want to run brain maggot!)
Utility:
2x Gift of Orzhova: Devotion, not to mention the possibility of flying, lifelink gods! Hopefully this can also save you from all the shocklands and Mana Confluence use. Also please see Boros Reckoner.
SIDEBOARD
3x Bile Blight: While this can potentially deal with many threats, I specifically put this in the sideboard to counter white weenie/Soldier of the Pantheon and I picked it over Electrickery because Bile Blight can wipe out a million 3/3 tokens, or three pack rats.
4x Devour Flesh: When you can't choose who to eat, let him choose for you. Hexproof and protection be damned!
2x Erebos, God of the Dead: When you're dealing with lifegain decks, or when you side in Devour Flesh.
2x Rakdos's Return: Always a good card, so you can side this in to replace a card that isn't working versus a particular deck. I always bring it in against control.
2x Thoughtseize: Bring this in versus control, or any deck once you know what you want to get rid of.
2x Warleader's Helix: When you need more direct damage, this is your ticket to ride.
ENJOY Please leave comments and criticisms... all is welcome.
