Hello awesome Commander folks! Wow do I have something for you today! I have a fun new take on Burn Commanders and Spellslinger Commanders add in Black to the mix with red for a Rakdos Party!
As you can see, this five drop rare 3/4 Human Shaman has a Spellslinger triggered ability when you cast an instant/sorcery. I am grabbing her since I ran two of her predecessor (Judith, the Scourge Devil) in my MTG Arena Standard Rakdos Midrange deck with things like Ravenous Chupacabra and Angrath, the Flame-Chained where many people would concede after resolving and reading him. (It's written up here). I'm calling her Newdith.
Firstly, you can give the spell both lifelink and deathtouch, so that's why I mentioned a new take on burn since that Lightning Bolt will kill any size dork! It's also great for Life Gain triggers like Sanguine Bond since it'll gain you three as well! Or you can make a 2/2 Imp with the ability to Shock each foe for 2 damage when it dies like Guttersnipe. That's ideal with your sacrificing roots in these colors like Viscera Seer free for scry, Goblin Bombardment free for damage or Vampiric Rites for card draw for Village Rites instantly to sacrifice for cards too.
So...how am I building around her? Let's look!
Mana, Ramp, Lands
Let's start with the key parts of any Commander brew! Let's start with rocks! Since Newdith costs five, I can drop her turn four with a three-drop Mana rock. Commander's Sphere costs three, taps for your colors and sacrifices for a card. Glittering Stockpile costs three, taps for R and tosses a counter here and on a later turn you can sac this for tapping with no mana cost to make the counter count in mana for a big X spell and we have a few here and there so this is pretty good with that.
Now let's turn to three Manaliths. Bonder's Ornament can be tapped with four to draw a card and everyone else who controls one also draws that card too. Staff of Compleation taps with nothing just a loss of life for four options to destroy your stuff, make a mana, proliferate and draw a card, and you can untap this with five mana so it's a mana sink. I love it here since we'll be making that life with your lifelink burn. Sonic Screwdriver can be tapped with one, two, or three mana to untap, scry 1 or make something unblockable with a mana sink too. I also tossed in Laser Screwdriver.
Now let's leave rocks and head to other permanents! The enchantment costs five, and then when a dork dies from anywhere, you'll toss a counter here and then make that much mana in Black form in your main phase. That's a lot of mana here for your X spells or mana sinks. The planeswalker also costs a rough five, and has a +1 to ramp you three mana every turn but only for the key spells you care about. You can also +1 her to discard and draw so she's card flow too.
Now let's turn to lands! We need mana, so we'll start with the Coffers-Urborg duo. Since we won't have many flying dorks to block and since we'll need ways to keep my planeswalkers alive and us too, I tossed in Maze of Ith to keep us from taking that key hit. It'll also save us from Commander Damage kills or poison counter kills too.
Now let's turn to these two legendary lands! We need mana free ways to sacrifice tokens for things, enter the colorless tapping land above. It can tap to sacrifice a dork to make two mana, so that's mana free ramping here. I am also running High Market to sacrifice for life gain. The Black tapping one ETBs untapped, and then you can channel it for no more than four mana to Mill three and Raise Dead a dork or planeswalker, it's here to recur a key card that was answered or killed like Jaya Ballard. I am also running Sokenzan.
Burn Removal and Instant/Sorcery
Now let's turn to the key part of my brew! We'll start with this pair of Black four-cost sorceries. The former can tutor for any card, but if you sacrificed something, you can cast it for free if it costs four or fewer. That's great with your token army! I am also running Expedition Map and Demonic Tutor to grab lands or key kills. Then the latter is a cheap common that makes your foes discard two each. I like tossing in cheap interaction that's not burn or removal, and this will gain you loads of card advantage but not for you, but against your foes. I'm also running Syphon Mind to do both discard and draw!
Now let's turn to mass removal burn. The instant costs three, will shoot all opposing dorks and players by two, which is common at instant speed for a Pyroclasm effect that doesn't impact you, and if you foretell it you'll deal 5 instead, clearing out a lot. The sorcery X spell will shoot all players and dorks without horsemanship for X damage, you really want to give this duo lifelink, you'll gain tons of life, sweep the board and you can kill players and it's a mana sink. I also tossed in normal Earthquake here too.
Let's continue this theme with this high cost duo that can be dropped in cost. Blasphemous Act will shoot all dorks for 13, clearing them all out and gianing you an epic amount of life.You can also drop its cost by one for each dork on the battlefield so that's pretty cheap pretty quickly. I also tossed in Mizzium Mortars to sweep. Blood for the Blood God! will drop for one each dork that died this turn. Then you'll discard your hand, draw 8, shoot your foe's for 8 damage each, and exile this so you cannot recast it. As you can see, this powerhouse will kill others, refilll your hand, and you'll love it loads.
Now let's turn to smaller common burn. Flick a Coin shoots something for one, and then you make a Treasure token to sacrifice to bargain or ramp you. Firebolt costs one, is sorcery speed, Shocks any target, can be flashbacked once. It's here to trgger your stuff twice. It's one of my secrets for Spellslinger Burn like Izzet or Boros.
Now let's turn to splitting damage. I don't want Tectonic Hazard, I want these! The X spell costs double R to start, and then split the damage as I want. I can kill a player or two, a bunch of dorks with deathtouch by splitting damage, planeswalkers, whatever your fancy is! The common R sorcery can Shock on turn one or early to shoot any X/2 and kill it or two X/1s prior to your Commander and two after with deathtouch! I am also running X spell that can really kill a lot of stuff or players Comet Storm.
Synergies and Winning-Conditions
This is where my deep love of synergies and alternate win-cons steps in! Let's turn to my other two planeswalkers first! Professor Onyx has magecraft to drain your foes of two life, so that's a win con, life gain, and works for copies too. Then she can +1 to swap a life for the digging three and drawing one and milling the rest. She can also -3 to have each foe sacrifice their most powerful dork, so she's creature control of a non-burn nature to get past indestructible stuff. Chandra, Hope's Beacon has a trigger for the first time you cast the spells we are built around and forks it for magecraft triggers. Then you can +2 her to ramp two mana, and +1 her to exile five and cast instants/sorceries for two turns, so she's card flow, and then -X her to shoot two targets for X damage. Nasty group here!
Now let's turn to Spellslinger triggers. Since I have a bunch of sacrifice and blocking infrastructure in my colors already, I am running all of the ones that make tokens like Young Pyromancer! Then I am also running all the basics that you need like Guttersnipe. Harmonic Prodigy has a blockable 1/3 size, has prowess to grow, and then when your Shaman/Wizard stuff triggers, you get another, which includes your Commander, the Shaman above, Guttersnipe, and Storm-Kiln Artist, but that's it. It's really here for Newdith.
Now let's turn to more triggers! The Rakdos five-drop legendary dork has a 3/3 body, reach to block attacks on your planeswalkers, and lifelink to gain even more life! Then he has two abilities that're key here. First, when your stuff would deal noncombat to a something, you'll ting +1 damage. Nice gentle increasing, and for all of our splitting damage stuff that could really add up! Especially the death of our Imps. Then he has a Spellslinger trigger to shoot one target for two damage, so you can shoot and kill permanents or players. The monored four drop legendary for Commander and then a 5/4 body you can give indestructible too with discarding two cards. I love that to block and save your three planeswalkers or to survive your mass removal spells. It's here to double your noncombat damage to any source! I am also running damage increasers in enchantment form like Virtue of Courage or Fiery Emancipation.
Let's finish this section with these two Rakdos colored dorks! The God costs four for a trampler 4/4 body on curve. It will increase your damage dealt to any source by noncombat Red things to its power, so that' s four damage your burn'll do here. The Sprit costs three for 3/2 on curve deathtouch to keep back attackers and then menace to swing through stuff and then your instant/sorcery stuff always has deathtouch, so this is a backup Commander, or with both out you can choose to make the token when you cast burn since you'll still kill with this.
Non-Burn Answers
Now let's turn to answers to stuff and answers to answers to stuff. What happens if you need to answer non-dorks or cannot burn something with indestructible? Chaos Warp will shuffle any permanent from lands to enchantments to indestructible stuff to anything else. Bedevil will destroy three types of options. I am also running Wrap in Vigor to answer enchantments.
Now let's turn to answers to answers. The modal spell/land costs one, loses two life, and then you can bring back something that is about to die tapped. This is here to save key stuff like Guttersnipe, Tor Wauki or your leader. Then the entwine one-costs three, can be used to save your team from removal with regeneration, or shoot everything for one as removal or both for just one more mana!!!
Card Advantage
Let's finish with this section of card draw, flow, and advantage engines! Let's turn to card draw not in other sections like War Room or Professor Onyx. Since we'll be gaining loads of life with lifelink burn spells, I wanted to lean into life loss spells like Ambition's Cost and Damnable Pact! The uncommon costs four, and swaps three life for three cards, and I am also running Ancient Craving at that cost. I also have the obvious Sign in Blood stuff. The Pact draws someone X and loses X life. It can be a mana sink to gain you tons of cards in mid or late game or kill or deck a foe.
Now let's turn instant sacrifice something to draw two and leave behind something. I am only running these two as emergency dig, sacrificing something targeted for exiling, or more. The first will leave behind a Map so can swap a mana to either draw a land or toss a +1/+1 counter on Ojer. Then the second will leave behind a Treasure for ramping. Note that these will sacrifice artifacts too, like Mana Rocks or Treasures, but our tokens are not artifact dorks so that's less likely.
There are a few spells in red that discard one, draw two, and then make two Treasures for ramping future. The two instants are here, like the previous one, to ramp or sacrifice to Bargain or the two above spells. I like this EOT to dig or grab two Treasures for an X spell next turn, but not enough to run sorceries that don't draw you cards like Sign in Blood. And then the last card draw here is the instant that will swap five life at for five mana and draw you five cards since that's Newdith's cost.
Ready for my deck?
Judith "Newdith" Carnage Connoisseur | Commander | Abe Sargent
- Commander (1)
- 1 Judith, Carnage Connoisseur
- Creatures (12)
- 1 Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
- 1 Guttersnipe
- 1 Harmonic Prodigy
- 1 Neheb, the Eternal
- 1 Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might // Temple of Power
- 1 Pestilent Spirit
- 1 Sedgemoor Witch
- 1 Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
- 1 Storm-Kiln Artist
- 1 Tor Wauki the Younger
- 1 Young Pyromancer
- 1 Urabrask // The Great Work
- Planeswalkers (3)
- 1 Chandra, Hope's Beacon
- 1 Jaya Ballard
- 1 Professor Onyx
- Instants (19)
- 1 Abrade
- 1 Bedevil
- 1 Big Score
- 1 Blood for the Blood God
- 1 Cast into the Fire
- 1 Chaos Warp
- 1 Comet Storm
- 1 Deadly Dispute
- 1 Delayed Blast Fireball
- 1 Demand Answers
- 1 Fanatical Offering
- 1 Flick a Coin
- 1 Gut Shot
- 1 Kolaghan's Command
- 1 Lightning Bolt
- 1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
- 1 Stinging Study
- 1 Unexpected Windfall
- 1 Wail of the Nim
- Sorceries (17)
- 1 Ambition's Cost
- 1 Ancient Craving
- 1 Beseech the Mirror
- 1 Blasphemous Act
- 1 Damnable Pact
- 1 Demonic Tutor
- 1 Earthquake
- 1 Feed the Swarm
- 1 Firebolt
- 1 Forked Bolt
- 1 Mizzium Mortars
- 1 Night's Whisper
- 1 Rolling Earthquake
- 1 Rolling Thunder
- 1 Sign in Blood
- 1 Syphon Mind
- 1 Unnerve
- Enchantments (3)
- 1 Black Market
- 1 Fiery Emancipation
- 1 Virtue of Courage
- Artifacts (9)
- 1 Bonder's Ornament
- 1 Commander's Sphere
- 1 Chromatic Lantern
- 1 Expedition Map
- 1 Glittering Stockpile
- 1 Laser Screwdriver
- 1 Sol Ring
- 1 Sonic Screwdriver
- 1 Staff of Compleation
- Lands (36)
- 9 Mountain
- 9 Swamp
- 1 Blood Crypt
- 1 Bojana Bog
- 1 Cabal Coffers
- 1 Canyon Slough
- 1 Command Tower
- 1 High Market
- 1 Luxury Suite
- 1 Maze of Ith
- 1 Phyrexian Tower
- 1 Raucous Theater
- 1 Restless Vents
- 1 Smoldering Marsh
- 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
- 1 Sulfurous Mire
- 1 Sulfurous Springs
- 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
- 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
- 1 War Room
There we are! I hope that you enjoyed this deck that is doing a deep dive into the Burn/Spellslinger that was opened up into Rakdos with this newly printed Commander!