The time before a new set release always feels like a slow bleed, as we patiently wait to be able to play with the new cards and see how the new format shapes out. Typically, the format is considered "stale" and we're looking for new cards to mix it up.

However, it's actually oddly common for a somewhat new and innovative deck to arrive on the scene at the very end a format's life, and that's exactly what we've got here!

Time Stamps:

03:26 - Match 1

25:38 - Match 2

36:48 - Match 3

Rakdos Powerstone Ramp | MAT Standard | Darth Xero, 5-0 MTGO League

• Creatures (19)
• 3 Phyrexian Fleshgorger
• 4 Automated Artificer
• 4 Bloodthirsty Adversary
• 4 Cityscape Leveler
• 4 Thran Spider

• Instants (6)
• 3 Go for the Throat
• 3 Sheoldred's Edict

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Excavation Explosion
• 4 Gix's Caress

• Artifacts (4)
• 1 Portal to Phyrexia
• 3 The Mightstone and Weakstone

• Lands (25)
• 2 Mountain
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Battlefield Forge
• 1 Caves of Koilos
• 1 Shattered Sanctum
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 1 Sundown Pass
• 2 Mirrex
• 2 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Haunted Ridge
• 4 Sulfurous Springs

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Duress
• 3 Ob Nixilis, the Adversary
• 2 Pilfer
• 2 Cut Down
• 2 Path of Peril
• 1 Phyrexian Fleshgorger
• 3 Lithomantic Barrage

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The deck-building for this list is inspired.

At its core, you get access to the best removal spells like that Black has to offer, like Go for the Throat and Sheoldred's Edict, but this is supplemented with the 3-drop trio of Gix's Caress, Excavation Explosion, and Thran Spider all help to interact with your opponent building up a base of powerstone tokens.

What to do with these tokens? Well of course you can just cast big artifact boom-booms, but you can also use the mana for abilities like Mirrex and Bloodthirsty Adversary, which curves perfectly with the three-mana spells to flash them back on turn four.

And of course, just casting Cityscape Leveler over and over again against the decks relying on counterspells and Go for the Throat is a great plan too! It's going to be very exciting to see how this new deck both clashes with the format, as well as how it benefits from Wilds of Eldraine.