With R/G Monsters occupying such a large part of the current Standard environment, aggro decks have had a hard time competing. With Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix holding the ground early and big creatures like Polukranos, World Eater coming down to seal the deal, creatures with 2 or 3 power just aren't going to cut it anymore. However, there may be a way to solve this dilemma—and do it while keeping the deck within a tight budget. Here's the list I put together.

"Rakdos Aggro"

• Creatures (23)
• 4 Hellhole Flailer
• 4 Rakdos Cackler
• 4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
• 4 Spike Jester
• 4 Tormented Hero
• 3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch

• Spells (14)
• 2 Ultimate Price
• 4 Dreadbore
• 4 Madcap Skills
• 4 Civic Saber

• Lands (23)
• 8 Mountain
• 9 Swamp
• 2 Blood Crypt
• 4 Rakdos Guildgate

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The Creatures

Tormented Hero is the one creature in the deck that doesn't get +2/+0 from Civic Saber. However, it is another 1-drop with 2 power, and it has the nice bonus of draining a life from your opponent if you enchant it with Madcap Skills.

Spike Jester and Rakdos Shred-Freak are essentially the same card, although the Shred-Freak is obviously a bit weaker. As long as you have a 1-drop, they allow you to attack for 4 or 5 damage on turn two, often before your opponent has cast a single spell. Spike Jester also has the advantage of being able to push past Sylvan Caryatid naturally.

Hellhole Flailer is a powerful 3-drop, giving you 4 power and the ability to sacrifice it for direct damage. This ability becomes even better with Civic Saber and Madcap Skills in the deck, allowing you to take away a third of your opponent's life total instantly.

Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch is the top end of the curve, giving you a hasty threat that can easily take down creatures such as Courser of Kruphix and Stormbreath Dragon, and when equipped with a Civic Saber, she can handle Polukranos, World Eater and Arbor Colossus as well. In addition, as long as Exava is on the board, every creature in the deck save Tormented Hero has haste, leaving your opponent perpetually unsure of how much damage might be coming next turn.

The Spells

Madcap Skills doesn't stick around when the creature dies, but it does even more work beforehand. An extra 3 power is already great, but it's the Goblin War Drums ability that really makes the card shine. When put on a creature that couldn't otherwise attack, it gives you an immediate 5 damage, even if your opponent kills the creature afterward. If your opponent can't kill it, the game might be over very quickly.

Dreadbore doesn't have the restrictions all the other 2-mana removal spells have. Although it is a sorcery, that's not too much of a problem when its primary purpose is killing large blockers. Ultimate Price performs much the same function, but it trades some of Dreadbore's versatility for instant speed and the ability to kill Master of Waves. Between these two removal spells, it shouldn't be hard to make sure your creatures can keep attacking.

Playtesting

R/G Monsters – Game 1

My opponent cast Domri Rade, used his +1 ability, and grabbed Ghor-Clan Rampager. He ended his turn. I cast Spike Jester and killed Domri before passing the turn.

My opponent cast Sylvan Caryatid and passed back, missing his land drop. I drew a Swamp and cast Madcap Skills on Tormented Hero, draining my opponent for 1. I attacked for 8, and my opponent dropped to 11.

My opponent played a land and cast Polukranos, World Eater, leaving Elvish Mystic untapped. I drew Tormented Hero and cast Spike Jester. I attacked with everything, and my opponent blocked the Jesters with Polukranos and Elvish Mystic, taking 5. I cast Tormented Hero and passed the turn.

My opponent activated Polukranos's ability for 1, killing the enchanted Tormented Hero. He ended his turn. I drew Rakdos Shred-Freak, cast Hellhole Flailer, and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Xenagos, the Reveler and made a Satyr token. He passed the turn. I drew Rakdos Guildgate and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Stormbreath Dragon and attacked for 4, and he then made another Satyr with Xenagos and passed the turn. I sacrificed Hellhole Flailer during his end step to deal 4 damage. I drew another Hellhole Flailer, cast it, and passed the turn.

My opponent attacked with Polukranos and Stormbreath Dragon, and I took the damage. He cast a second Polukranos, killing the first, and then used Xenagos's +1 to make it monstrous and kill Hellhole Flailer. He passed the turn. I drew a land and died to a monstrous Stormbreath Dragon the following turn.

Game 2

I drew Rakdos Guildgate and paid 2 life for Blood Crypt. I cast Spike Jester and attacked, and my opponent took the damage. My opponent cast Courser of Kruphix and passed the turn.

I drew a Mountain and cast Madcap Skills on Spike Jester. I attacked, dropping my opponent to 9, and then cast Tormented Hero and ended my turn. My opponent played Temple of Abandon and cast Sylvan Caryatid before passing the turn.

I drew Hellhole Flailer and cast Dreadbore on Courser of Kruphix. I attacked for 8, and my opponent blocked Spike Jester with Elvish Mystic and Sylvan Caryatid, taking 2. I passed the turn. My opponent paid 2 life for Stomping Ground and cast Xenagos, the Reveler, making a token. He ended his turn.

I drew Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch and cast her, attacking for 4. My opponent blocked with the token, and I ended my turn. My opponent made a new token and then cast Elvish Mystic and another Dragon before passing the turn.

I drew Rakdos Shred-Freak and attacked with Exava again. My opponent blocked with a token, and I passed the turn. Xenagos made another Satyr, and my opponent cast Domri Rade, using his -2 to make a Dragon fight Exava, killing both creatures. He passed the turn, and I sacrificed Hellhole Flailer during his end step to bring him to 4.

I drew Blood Crypt and then cast Hellhole Flailer and Rakdos Shred-Freak before passing the turn. My opponent used Domri's +1, found an Elvish Mystic, and conceded.

Game 3

My opponent played Temple of Abandon, cast Sylvan Caryatid, and passed back. I drew Rakdos Cackler and cast it, along with Tormented Hero. I ended my turn.

My opponent cast Xenagos, the Reveler and made a token. He passed the turn. I drew Madcap Skills and put it on Tormented Hero, draining my opponent for 1. I attacked Xenagos with everything, killing him. I then paid 2 life for Blood Crypt and cast Civic Saber.

My opponent cast Ghor-Clan Rampager and passed the turn. I drew Rakdos Shred-Freak, cast it, and equipped Civic Saber to Rakdos Cackler. I attacked with everything. A Satyr token traded with the Cackler, the Rampager took down Tormented Hero, and the Caryatid blocked Rakdos Shred-Freak. My opponent took 5 from the larger Hero, and I ended my turn.

My opponent cast a second Rampager and ended his turn. I drew a Mountain and equipped Civic Saber to the Shred-Freak. I then cast Hellhole Flailer and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Scavenging Ooze and passed back. I drew Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch and cast her. I ended my turn, and my opponent exiled both creatures in my graveyard with Scavenging Ooze.

He cast Sylvan Caryatid and passed back. I drew Rakdos Cackler and cast it, equipped Exava with both Civic Sabers, and attacked. My opponent blocked with Sylvan Caryatid, exiling it with Scavenging Ooze. I ended my turn.

My opponent played a land and passed the turn. I drew Dreadbore, and my opponent made Stormbreath Dragon monstrous to deal 1 to me. I cast Dreadbore on the Dragon and attacked with Exava and Tormented Hero. My opponent blocked the Hero with both Rampagers, killing one, and used Elvish Mystic to stop Exava. I equipped both Sabers to Hellhole Flailer and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Polukranos, World Eater and passed back. I drew Rakdos Guildgate, played it, and passed the turn.

My opponent activated Polukranos's monstrosity ability targeting Hellhole Flailer. I sacrificed the Flailer to deal 8 damage, bringing him down to 4. He attacked for 8 with Polukranos, cast Elvish Mystic, and passed the turn. I drew Rakdos Shred-Freak and cast it. I attacked with Exava, which was blocked by Elvish Mystic, and I then passed the turn.

My opponent attacked with both creatures, and I blocked Polukranos with the Shred-Freak, dropping to 2. He cast another Polukranos, getting rid of the first, and he ended his turn. I drew Rakdos Cackler and cast it. I equipped it with a Civic Saber and then attacked with both creatures for the win.

Wrap-Up

I managed to pull it out in the end, but only just barely. Drawing removal spells seemed to be the key to victory, so perhaps finding room for another two would be best. Polukranos's monstrosity ability can be devastating if you can't kill it first, and Xenagos can cause a lot of problems if you're not already ahead.

I did like the reach provided by Hellhole Flailer—and the fact the Exava is almost impossible to deal with in combat when pumped up by Civic Saber or Madcap Skills—and the deck definitely has some lightning-fast draws that can end the game as soon as turn four if your opponent stumbles. If you want an aggro deck that might stand a chance against the biggest decks in the format, give this a try at your next Friday Night Magic.