Locations
There are a couple ways you can go with Rakdos. You either try to go all-in aggro or go with the standard B/R mono-removal deck. I tend to prefer being on the aggressive side of things. What I’ve found is that Rakdos decks are really good at putting on early pressure, but the longer the game goes on, the more your creatures become outclassed. All those unleash guys start to look pretty awful when they no longer have favorable attacks. For that reason, I really like the unleash creatures that are good both on offense and defense. Thrill-Kill Assassin and Splatter Thug come to mind. Another key to success with this deck is having ways to finish your opponent without attacking. Cards such as Stab Wound and Explosive Impact can put the game away once you start running out of gas.
Overall, I prefer Selesnya since it sacrifices some of the early explosiveness for a much better late game, but Rakdos can definitely get the job done. Check out the videos below to see more. As always, a text recap follows the links.
Draft
Match 1, Game 1
Match 1, Game 2
Match 2, Game 1
Match 2, Game 2
Match 2, Game 3
Match 3, Game 1
Match 3, Game 2
Pack 1, Pick 1:
My Pick:
Yeah, I’m totally rare-drafting here. The actual best card is the Stab Wound.
Pack 1, Pick 2:
My Pick:
It probably sends a bad signal to pass a bunch of solid Rakdos cards and then go into red, but I’m not going to take a Dramatic Rescue or something silly here.
Pack 1, Pick 3:
My Pick:
That’s a pretty reasonable sign that black is going to be open. A Phyrexian Arena you can turn on and off is quite powerful.
Pack 1, Pick 4:
My Pick:
Speaking of signals, receiving a fourth-pick Annihilating Fire means I’m happy to jump into Rakdos from now on.
Pack 1, Pick 5:
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Pack 1, Pick 6:
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Spawn of Rix Maadi is a decent finisher, but as I said before, you need ways to close out games after your aggressive starts. Most of the time I cast Explosive Impact, it’s a Lava Axe.
Pack 1, Pick 7:
My Pick:
Every time I’ve played with and against Sewer Shambler, I’ve been more and more impressed by it. Its cheap scavenge cost is a big part of it, but being unblockable against a sizable proportion of decks is a nice bonus, too. Viashino Racketeer is a card I like as well, but it’s easy to pick up in multiples.
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That was a nice long-distance pick.
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See? Two Racketeers without even trying.
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Pack 2, Pick 1:
My Pick:
The Rix Maadi Guildmage is probably the best possible non-rare, non-mythic to open in Rakdos. It just dominates the board and turns any extra mana you have into damage.
Pack 2, Pick 2:
My Pick:
Isperia, Supreme Judge is a good one, but there’s no chance we can play it. Street Spasm is decent even if it is just a Heat Ray most of the time.
Pack 2, Pick 3:
My Pick:
I don’t like drafting a lot of these, but removal is removal.
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I actually like Tenement Crasher a lot, but I’m in dire need of 2-drops.
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Pack 3, Pick 1:
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Rare-draft number two!
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This makes my deck pretty top-heavy, but it’s not as though there’s anything else to take here.
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Here’s where we ended up:
"RTR Rakdos Draft"
- Creatures (14)
- 1 Cobblebrute
- 1 Golgari Longlegs
- 1 Rakdos Cackler
- 1 Rix Maadi Guildmage
- 1 Sewer Shambler
- 1 Splatter Thug
- 2 Gore-House Chainwalker
- 2 Grim Roustabout
- 2 Rakdos Shred-Freak
- 2 Viashino Racketeer
- Spells (9)
- 1 Launch Party
- 1 Street Spasm
- 2 Annihilating Fire
- 2 Explosive Impact
- 1 Assassin's Strike
- 1 Traitorous Instinct
- 1 Underworld Connections
- Lands (17)
- 7 Swamp
- 9 Mountain
- 1 Blood Crypt
It’s an Auger Spree or two away from being a typical Rakdos deck, but it’s not as though it has a lack of removal. I would have liked to have seen some Frostburn Weirds, but our 2-drops ended up being fine.
Overall, I was happy with the deck. There were some close ones along the way, but having blowout cards such as Explosive Impact and Traitorous Instinct definitely let me win some games out of nowhere. I think I played somewhat badly in the finals, and it cost me a game or two. It was probably a combination of old-man brain and just having written a midterm before recording. Whatever excuse you want to buy, I’ll sell you.
In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed the recap, and I’ll see you again next time.
Take care,
Nassim Ketita
arcticninja on Magic Online
