In my neck of the woods, the rays of the sun are scorching hot. In this hellscape, I can only think of the Rakdos guild. On its home plane of Ravnica, the guild takes hedonism to the next level. Rakdos is a perfect mix of Red's love of freedom and Black's "I do what I want" philosophy.

That said, what better to do than brew?

Here are 5 HOT HOT HOT Rakdos commanders to kickstart your next Commander deck this summer:

Number One

When it gets too hot out, it's time to break out the A/C. Failing that, when it's sizzling, you just gotta break stuff. Well, this Demon here likes to break stuff - artifacts specifically.

A new-ish commander from the stellar Modern Horizons 3 set, Imskir Iron-Eater is an eight-cost 5/5 that brings card advantage and burn like no other Rakdos commander.

Sure, your deck needs to be artifact-focused. The obvious path is to stuff your deck with low-cost artifacts to make full use of Imskir's Affinity for artifacts and his enters the battlefield trigger.

Break out your Ornithopters, Mishra's Baubles, and Welding Jars. Hey, it's not often your zero-mana artifacts do double duty (well, unless you're playing a filthy Urza deck - now that can douse some flames for sure). Another idea is to build an equipment-heavy voltron deck to get this Demon a-swingin': Excalibur, Sword of Eden can make Imskir huge. You can also go wider with lower-cost equipment like Basilisk Collar, Cranial Plating, and Lightning Greaves.

Artifact tokens are also a good build, think token makers like Myr Battlesphere and Marionette Master. Treasures are also in the equation as well.

Remember, Imskir Iron-Eater counts all artifacts (including tokens and equipment) for the draw. This flaming demon refills your hand and can burn down any target. What more can you ask?

Number Two

What's summer without a party? And what's a party when everyone doesn't riot? Sleeve up Rakdos, Lord of Riots and raise some hell! You need to do a bit of work to get him out though as Rak-daddy doesn't party if no one bleeds yet.

This 6/6 flying trampler is well-known to work best with another race of horrific Magic monstrosities. The spaghetti-limbed Eldrazi. Cool that we've just received an influx of Eldrazis from Modern Horizons 3, eh?

I faced a Rakdos deck ages ago. It had classic enchantments like Pestilence and Pyrohemia that pinged everyone to get his discount as low as possible while clearing away weenies. Imagine, in a pod of four players, spending 4 mana on either enchantment will mean you essentially get TWELVE colorless mana free for that turn to use on all creatures spells.

What can a twelve-mana discount get you? Kozilek, the Broken Reality, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, and Emrakul, the World Anew. Any iteration of these titans (well, except Emrakul, the Aeons Torn) can come slamming down to join Rakdos's riot.

If Eldrazis aren't your thing, how about massive dragons or even lethal constructs like Blightsteel Colossus?

This summer: think BIG CREATURES. Think Rakdos, Lord of Riots.

Number Three

What's summer without some babes? There ain't no one hotter on this side of Faerun than Karlach, Fury of Avernus.

The 5/4 Tiefling Barbarian swings a mean hammer and does what any Red mage wants: enter the Red zone! When Karlach attacks, she rallies the troops for another combat step with a dose of first strike too.

Pair her up with the background Cultist of the Absolute and Karlach becomes an 8/7 flying, deathtouch one-woman army. A few combat tricks like Unleash Fury can make sure she takes out an opponent in a single turn.

A Karlach deck wants no end of combat steps. Relentless Assault, Seize the Day, Combat Celebrant, and other extra combat steps work like melted butter here.

Karlach plays well with Moraug, Fury of Akoum and Bloodthirster too. These biggies just wanna swing!

Number Four

When it's hellishly hot, sometimes you just need a good laugh. Well, enter this Comedic Genius - Blim!

Blim isn't only a genius, he's a generous one. When this Imp gets his claws on your opponents, he gifts them with a permanent you control. How nice, right? There's no such thing as free in the world though (or in any other plane).

Then, everyone gets domed in the head for how many permanents they control but don't own AND discard the same number of cards.

Isn't that just fun?

Sure, Blim's comedic genius is a slow burn, but cards like Humble Defector, Fateful Handoff, and Hithlain Rope can start the donation chaos spinning.

Sleeper agents like Xantcha, Sleeper Agent, Vislor Turlough, and, err, Sleeper Agent do double duty being spies that damage your competition and enabling Blim to wreak more havoc.

Permanents with good enters the battlefield triggers but have some drawbacks are good fodder for Blim's gift-giving spree. Demonic Lore, Treacherous Blessing, or Priest of the Blood Rite give you value when entering and drain your opponents when given away.

Number Five

Here's an oldie but a goodie. All the way from Time Spiral comes Kaervek the Merciless and he's sweltering mad from the heat. Unlike Blim or Rakdos, Kaervek doesn't want to party. This 5/4 Human Shaman punishes your opponents for every spell they cast.

See, if Kaervek isn't having fun, why should anyone?

A Kaervek deck wants to burn the whole world down. Cards like Dictate of the Twin Gods, Solphim, Mayhem Dominus, and City on Fire exponentially increase your damage output. Add in Wound Reflection and watch life totals plummet down to the The Abyss.

Exquisite Blood can gain you back life in droves to keep Kaervek in the mix. Though, his 7 mana value is quite steep. Thankfully, Dark Ritual and Seething Song can power out Kaervek so that he can start raining fire on everyone's parade.

And there you have it - five scorching Rakdos commanders ready to bring the heat to your summer Magic: The Gathering sessions. Whether you're into smashing artifacts with Imskir Iron-Eater, summoning Eldrazi with Rakdos, Lord of Riots, or just having a laugh with Blim, Comedic Genius, there's a fiery commander here for every kind of chaos lover.

Let your opponents feel the burn of these sizzling commanders. Sleeve up, shuffle, and unleash the full power of Rakdos this summer.

Ready to turn up the heat in your MTG deck? Share your favorite Rakdos commanders and summer strategies in the comments below!