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| The First |
![]() Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 9:06 am |
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 195
Location: Anderlecht, Belgium
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--- description ---
The Rakdos. The combination of Red and Black. The outcome must be total chaos. And you are in command.
--- end description ---
I immediately loved the “feel” of the Rakdos. Chaos is just pumping through every single fiber of Rakdos cardboard. Smell it, love it. The challenge is to guide such chaos into a competitive deck. On top, I wanted to prove to a friend that this would be a perfect deck for Dark Confidant, even though he doesn’t seem to be helping the allround hellbent status of this deck.
The Rakdos chaos material and the Confidant however proved to be a perfect team. Cards like Sickening Shoal, Drekavac, Avatar of Discord and Jagged Poppet will empty your hand in a heartbeat and because my deck has lots of cheap spells, you should be able to maintain hellbent ‘till you win the game (which will be either very fast or not at all).
This is my decklist
creatures - 27
4x Scorched Rusalka
3x Frenzied Goblin
4x Gobhobbler Rats
4x Drekavac
4x Dark Confidant
4x Jagged Poppet
4x Avatar of Discord
Other - 11
3x O-Naginata
4x Sickening Shoal
4x Char
Land - 22
2x Tomb of Urami
4x Sulferous Springs
8x Swamp
8x Mountain
Card choices:
1cc
Scorched Rusalka is a 1-drop in more ways than one. It can use left-over red mana to turn dead creatures into more damage.
Frenzied Goblin will “reduce” the number of blockers, which means more damage and less casualties.
O-Naginata is more or less the beatstick of this deck. There are 16 creatures able to wield it to perfection.
2cc
Gobhobbler Rats: A 2/2 body for 2 mana isn’t bad. A 3/2 body with regeneration is better. A 6/2 trample that just won’t die is huge.
Drekavac: A 3/3 for 2 isn’t bad. Especially when it gets you closer to hellbent as well.
Dark Confidant: He’s almost necessary to keep your troops in motion. Got hellbent and just drawn a Drekavac? No worries, the Confidant might help you out. Drawn a land while you already have 3+ out but you lack creatures? Bob’s there for you.
3cc
Jagged Poppet. When I first saw him, I wasn’t convinced to put him in. But now I wouldn’t imagine playing this deck without him. His gametext is amazing. Getting hellbent was never easier. But the real tech is to give him an O-Naginata and go in for the discard. Unblocked that comes down to no cards versus 1 or 0 cards.
Avatar of Discord. Get hellbent and a 5/3 flyer for 3. That’s sweet. Your opponent doesn’t have flyers atm? Give him a O-Naginata and strike twice for the kill.
Char. Sometimes it is necessary to kill a creature that’s bigger than your creatures.
Xcc
Sickening Shoal. Removal without tempo loss. It helps the whole hellbent theme and keeps your crucial creatures (often the ones with an O-naginata) in good condition.
Cards that didn’t make the deck:
Shock & Seal of Fire : Even though they are good cards, I prefer Sickening Shoal. Works with the hellbent theme and doesn’t cost any mana at all which means no tempo loss or keeping mana free for shock or losing it the next turn.
Flames of the Blood Hand : Isn’t versatile enough IMO. I also don’t want to keep 3 mana free for a flames. Might be a good sideboarder. The Rusalka should be able to keep Fetters at bay.
Lava Spike : Not versatile enough. Tried it in multiple decks and always dropped it afterwards. It seems good during deckbuilding but fails miserably during testing.
Jitte : Jitte is amazing, no doubt about it. But it is a 4 cost rather than a 2 cost and I want to keep things fast and furious. I also don’t seem to be missing it in my deck. Defenately sideboard material though.
Nezumi Cutthroat : With the mirror in mind and multiple Orzhov and Rock decks in my meta, his influence in a game has lessened.
Rakdos Augermage : His first strike ability is pretty good but I don’t actually need him in here and his mana cost isn’t that easy to pay either.
Lyzolda : Good card. Can carry an O-Naginata or be an alternativa win card. Her low toughness does bother me though.
~ The First |
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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:22 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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Problems with the deck.
1) Hellbent should be achieved by PLAYING cards. Discarding with discord and shoal AND poppet is too much. Try playing things like seal of fire instead. I understand if you don’t want to have the mana open for shock, and though I disagree, it’s a reasonable point. Still, though, seal of fire > All.
2) If you are going to go shoaling and play this much discard, you MUST play blazing shoal and myojin of red. Even if you don’t get the shoal but do get the myojin, it’s easy to discard in this deck
3) Flames IS versatile enough. Actually it isn’t... but when you’re that hot, you don’t have to be. The meta you care so much about is dumping hierarchs and ghost councils and azorious heralds and lifegain in other forms. Capitolize on it!
I do very much like the theming of the deck, but I don’t think you can actually deal twenty after killing your own cards SO much. |
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| The First |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:48 am |
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 195
Location: Anderlecht, Belgium
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La_Sin_Grail wrote: Problems with the deck.
1) Hellbent should be achieved by PLAYING cards. Discarding with discord and shoal AND poppet is too much. Try playing things like seal of fire instead. I understand if you don’t want to have the mana open for shock, and though I disagree, it’s a reasonable point. Still, though, seal of fire > All.
I’ve played the "mirror" -being another "regular" Rakdos deck- match and I always test versus my Gruul deck. This deck doesn’t go for semi-control like some other Rakdos decks out there. It is fast and furious. Normally, yes, I would agree that you need to get Hellbent by playing cards. But how would you feel if I’m attacking with a Poppet + o-Naginata on the 4th turn and I have hellbent? It would’ve either been you’re third or 4th turn. I have 0 cards in hand, and you’ll soon face the same destiny.
A mid game Poppet stinks unless you’re playing against a control deck. Then he might still be useful.
I must admit that I had only 2 Avatars in the pre-article build and haven’t tested with 4 in my deck. But in general: worst card goes. I’ve ditched shoals and Drekavacs for an Avatar that, I thought, could make a difference against that deck (eg a deck w/o flyers or lots of removal). I have also discarded avatars in the past for a free shoal. Yes, it is desctructive for your hand, but you keep your best cards.
I’ve actually tried the seals, but I get 2-for-1’ed to often against other aggro decks. My creatures are either big enough to kill their creatures, or they are really small (1/1) and I have to lose both the seal and the creature for theirs. Or against Mirror: killing 1 3/3 (the creatures you want out of your way) you need 2 seals. Shoal and Char can kill 3/3 creatures w/o any problems.
Quote:
2) If you are going to go shoaling and play this much discard, you MUST play blazing shoal and myojin of red. Even if you don’t get the shoal but do get the myojin, it’s easy to discard in this deck
I’ve thought about the Blazing Shoal but then I realized that O-Naginata would do the same (max cost able to discard with shoal = 3) and would be even better.
Yes, I do discard a lot of cards, but all cards in my deck are playable and have a use. I’m not sure I want to draw a Myojinn once I have hellbent or if I want to reveal him with Bob in play (he’s painfull enough as it is).
Quote:
3) Flames IS versatile enough. Actually it isn’t... but when you’re that hot, you don’t have to be. The meta you care so much about is dumping hierarchs and ghost councils and azorious heralds and lifegain in other forms. Capitolize on it!
Hierarchs - I’d rather want them out of the way then to prevent the life gain. But, yes, they are really, really ennoying. Another reason to get a(n) (equipped) poppet out asap.
Ghost Council - doesn’t gain enough life + he has to sac a creature for it every time. Go ahead, play the council.
Azorious Herald - yup, ennoying, just like the Hierarchs. Good life gain with a body attached to it.
Lightning Helix & Faith’s Fetters - Not too much of a problem if they target a creature and I have a Rusalka in play.
In short: Flames is a very good sideboard card. Against control, and maybe Zoo, I’ll put them in. Against other decks, I’ll have to do without. The problem is that I need to play something on the third turn (no mana free for Flames) and on the fourth, maybe fifth, I want hellbent. So, even if I got one, it wouldn’t stick around for very long.
Quote:
I do very much like the theming of the deck, but I don’t think you can actually deal twenty after killing your own cards SO much.
Build this deck and test it. You’d be surprised. |
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:00 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 2434
Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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| Just a correction abou O-Naginata. There’re TWELVE creatures who can wield it to perfection. IF you have hellbent, THEN there are 16. just keep in mind that you WON’T be able to equip it to achieve hellbent with the rats, only AFTER that happens... Why is’nt Rakdos Augermage in the deck, again? Mana problems? You only have two colors, how can it be a problem? For a suggestion, although not the main creature of the deck, but I believe Jagged Poppet IS your biggest star, so, maybe adding transmutables? |
| I don't like YOU. |
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| The First |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:50 pm |
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 195
Location: Anderlecht, Belgium
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Felipe Musco wrote: Just a correction abou O-Naginata. There’re TWELVE creatures who can wield it to perfection. IF you have hellbent, THEN there are 16. just keep in mind that you WON’T be able to equip it to achieve hellbent with the rats, only AFTER that happens... Why is’nt Rakdos Augermage in the deck, again? Mana problems? You only have two colors, how can it be a problem? For a suggestion, although not the main creature of the deck, but I believe Jagged Poppet IS your biggest star, so, maybe adding transmutables?
Yes, the Rats need hellbent. They are great once you get Hellbent. Another reason to use more discard. A 6/2 trampler, regenerator is terrifying early to mid game.
Well, I use 8 3cc creatures. The Poppet and the Avatar seem to be better aggro-wise & I don’t want to include more 3cc creatures.
The colors shouldn’t be too much of a problem. What I dislike about him(for this deck):
- 2 thoughness and thus vulnerable to shock & seal.
- Drekavac & Rats get same or better stats for less mana.
Same goes for Lyzolda but her game text is very good in an aggro deck while the Augermage is better for the semi-control Rakdos discard deck.
Transmute is a slow ability. If I transmute on turn 3 for a Poppet, that would be the same as skipping a turn. I might consider doing that in another deck though. |
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| Cobra |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 3:05 pm |
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Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 1202
Location: Austin, TX, USA
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I really like the idea behind this deck, and I have no problem with the discard as long as you can bring your opponent down with you. 
But it seems fragile... If almost everything you do makes you lose card advantage, what happens if Jagged Poppet isn’t there to even things out? |
| http://cobracards.com -- Web's best deals on Trading Card Games. |
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| The First |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 4:55 pm |
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 195
Location: Anderlecht, Belgium
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What are you going to do with those cards if the game is already finished? 
Seriously, this deck is very fast. You play creatures. Kill blockers with shoals (you kill one of theirs and you can still use mana to put another one down + maybe make your creatures better with hellbent). How can this be bad?
The O-Naginata or Frenzied Goblin take out the remaining blockers either by denying them to block or to trample over them (killing them in the process). You need speed andvantage + creature advantage which should result in a lot of damage. Decks like these shouldn’t be dependant of certain cards or creatures, not even the Poppet. The strategy is set. Ofcourse, just like any other deck, you’re always hoping for a God hand.
I’m always capitalising on the poppet but a third turn attack with a Drekavac + O-Naginata is horrible for your opponent. If you can shoal out his big defender -if any- and Char him the next turn = gg most of the time. |
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| Cobra |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 5:36 pm |
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Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 1202
Location: Austin, TX, USA
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But what about your opponent’s creature removal? That will slow you down AND give him card advantage. For example...
You play Drekavac, your opponent plays Putrefy, Mortify, Lightning Helix, or whatever and kills it. Your opponent is up a card.
Or, you play Avatar of Discord, and your opponent kills it. Your opponent is up two cards.
Or, unlikely worst-case scenario, you play Jagged Poppet and your opponent plays Char. Your opponent is up four cards... 
In other words, I love this deck’s power and speed, but I get a little uneasy when so much stock is put in an individual creature...  |
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| The First |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 6:43 pm |
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 195
Location: Anderlecht, Belgium
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Cobra wrote: Or, unlikely worst-case scenario, you play Jagged Poppet and your opponent plays Char. Your opponent is up four cards...
That’s not very realistic. By the time that I play the Poppet, I probably won’t have 4 cards to discard Besides, it is all about damage. Char means that the Poppet deals 2 damage, 1 less than normal.
Yes, I take some risks. Every deck has weaknesses and I never said this deck is unbeatable. Also remember that I have 27 creatures in here. 12 of them give me card disadvantage, but 11 are regular creatures and 4 actually give me card advantage (but pain in return).
I might drop the Avatars or reduce the number a little. There are other useful cards at 3cc that don’t discard my entire hand. |
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| Ilvaldi |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:15 pm |
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Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Posts: 59
Location:
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Compare your deck with a themed-guild deck:
Any deck w/ U will bounce, thus killing your hellbent and ridding you of potency.
Any deck w/ W will remove/fetter your threats.
Any deck w/ R will burn.
Any deck w/ B will kill.
Any deck w/ G...well...it doesn’t matter, G has UWRB.
Your deck will kill if your opponent is unprepared for what is to come. However, considering spells like mortify, faith’s fetters, lightning helix, putrefy, loxodon hierarch, Azorious Herald, Ghost Council, Wrath of God, Devouring Light, Char, eye of nowhere, boomerang, even mark of eviction, you’ll have tough competition of killing your opponent.
Sure, you’ve got Rusalka to prevent spells such as fetters and helix triggering life gain, but you’ve still given your opponent an answer to your creature threats. Not to mention, wouldn’t your opponent be smart enough to target your Rusalka first so you’ll have to sac it?
Ghost council may not allow quicker life gain, but it’ll slow down your tempo of beatdown. Thus, giving your opponent more time to answer to your threats. And, if it’s Ghost Council, expect your opponent to throw stuff like shining shoal and sickening shoal as well as mortify.
How about this scenario:
Opponent (turn 1): hallowed fountain tapped.
Opponent (turn 2): plains and a Howling mine.
Opponent (turn 3): plain and a Paladin en-Vec, blocks whatever threat you have w/ it.
Opponent (turn 4): worship. Game over.
Now, on turn 3, you may out an Avatar of discord and beat your opponent for 5, along w/ your rusalka and drekavac to put as much emphasis on the beat down as possible, but most likely, your drekavac will get blocked both times and your opponent will have taken 18 damage at the most. Thus, you will be too late to successfully stop your opponent even at the fastest speed.
Furthermore, the howling mine will kill the hellbent you have.
Now, an answer to this would be something like a "lose life" spell.
Rain of gore may help your cause in crushing opponents who play life gaing spells and may even pin them from playing stuff like hierarch, fetters, or helix. Hmm, so instead of asituation in which your opponent jumps from 4 to 8 life and stops a creature threat, your opponent can’t do anything but pass his turn cause he knows his spells will be the cause of his downfall.
(P.S. the "opponent" was Osion w/ his standard U/W howling mine deck that crushed my extended red deck which had lightning bolt, chain lightning, incinerate, and fireblast.) |
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