Rakdos // Dos Rakis

[Pedros]

Ham could you see replays of this junk tusk/siege/resto deck? I need to know what is inside of that abomination!

[hamfactorial]

I found the replays, I'll look at them tomorrow morning before work.

[Pedros]

Btw I dont think I like snap with 8 spells in a deck ;/

[stuffydollfan]

My first modern deck I built happen to be a Dos Rakis build.

[deck]Dos Rakis

4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Dark Confidant
4 Spike Jester
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Pillar of Flame
2 Dreadbore

4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Bloodcrypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Dragonskull Summit
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
5 Mountain
1 Swamp

Sideboard
15 cards[/deck]


I'm not very familiar with the format and everything is sorta new to me. While I am kicking some ass in the tournament practice on MTGO, I haven't played this deck in a real event.

[hamfactorial]

stuffy:

The deck looks pretty good, and fairly close to what I'm currently running, which I'll post at the end of this.

You don't need Pillar anymore with Pod banned. You're likely going to run up against Affinity/Junk in the aggro matchups, so you can pick your cards accordingly. I prefer Terminate or Searing Blaze with Dismember or Slaughter Pact in the side, with numbers dependent on the meta at large.

Dreadbore is OK in grindy midrange matches, but Terminate is usually better. There aren't a lot of Planeswalkers in the format, so your primary method of dispatching them is with haste creatures and removing blockers. Terminate gives you an edge against Twin and Affinity, which I think you'll need. If that Bloom Titan deck takes off, you'll need instant speed kill for Primeval Titan.

I love Slaughter Pact to keep up board pressure without having to leave mana up for removal, but not being able to kill Siege Rhino is a blowout.

[deck]Modern Dos Rakis v. 1.11[/deck]

I'm running Terminate as my "must answer" removal card, with Liliana to deal with slower creatures at sorcery speed.

If I changed anything, it would be the 4 Blackcleave Cliffs. I'm trying to curve out to 4, and I want to do it reliably. I've been frustrated many times by keeping a 3-lander with Falkenrath Aristocrat and drawing a Blackcleave Cliffs on turn 4.

[stuffydollfan]

Thanks Ham,

It's good to see that im in the right path.
A couple of thing i have to ask about.
Is there a better one drop than the swiftspear for this deck? Since most of the deck consist of creatures, and with only 12 spells, I often wonder how often will it get pumped? Some of the other 1 drops i had in mind were Rakdos Crackler, Vexing Devil and Figure of Destiny.
Then, my next question is what do you run if you don't have any Lillys? I myself am running Goblin Rabblemaster at the 3 spot, and finding him to be quite nice. I remember the old Rakdos decks running Phoenix and Boros Reckoners. but again i'm not sure which one would be best.
And lastly can you explain the sideboard to me?

[hamfactorial]

Regarding 1-drops, it depends what you're looking to accomplish. Swiftspear, Goblin Guide and Grim Lavamancer are the best, followed by Figure of Destiny, then Rakdos Cackler / Mogg Fanatic depending on meta. FoD is better for the mid-game, Mogg best in a meta full of Pod (hence bad right now).

If I wasn't running Liliana, I'd run Bitterblossom, Ashenmoor Gouger or bump the curve up a bit for Stoke the Flames. There's a tension between enough creatures to keep Aristocrat fed and non-creature spells to pump Swiftspear. I like Bitterblossom the best.

[hamfactorial]

re. the sideboard -

Bloodchief Ascension is for decks that try to combo off with a bunch of spells (Storm, Burn) or stuff that requires sacrifice before winning (Scapeshift).

Rakdos Charm is for Twin, Affinity, Living End and sometimes mass-token decks.

Bloodghast comes in when I'm against a creature-light deck and I want more threats.

Pact is for Titans / Twin.

Illness for Twin / Tokens.

[stuffydollfan]

Haven't really been keeping up with modern but I am looking to build on this deck again for MTGO. Did the new sets add anything awesome? Is Kolaghan Command modern playable? How about Zurgo, or Lightning Berserker? What would the latest deck list look like? That short time I was playing this deck, it felt plenty powerful, but still didn't seemed pieced together as much as I think it can be.

[hamfactorial]

I haven't looked at much of the new set re. Dos Rakis, but Dragon Whisperer is great in the 2-spot.

[hamfactorial]

Here's the current pile -

[deck]Land:22
4 Blood Crypt
2 Stomping Ground
4 Arid Mesa
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Wooded Foothills
3 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Graven Cairns

Creatures:26
4 Goblin Guide
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Dark Confidant
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Spells:12
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Terminate
4 Brimstone Volley

Sideboard:15[/deck]

Tasigur is pretty great. I have the pair of Stomping Grounds for some card draw off him (it's win-more, admittedly, but sometimes games go long).

Brimstone Volley is the bees knees right now, with Gurmag Anglers, Tasigurs, Goyfs and Siege Rhinos running around.

Terminate was Searing Blaze, but then Twin came back.

[Valdarith]

I would play Gurmag Angler instead of forcing GG for Tasigur. In my experience the extra point of power has been extremely relevant.

[hamfactorial]

I haven't played the Angler, but Tasigur coming down a turn earlier has been relevant. Occasionally I can play him before FA.

[Pedros]

I am looking for fun deck to play in Modern. Is your last version tested?

[hamfactorial]

Yes, but it still needs refining. And a sideboard.

[hamfactorial]

Been playing some Dos Rakis for fun.

[deck]Dos Rakis[/deck]

[hamfactorial]

Updates on the deck:

Abbot of Keral Keep isn't good, and certainly worse than Eidolon of the Great Revel.

I don't like Lili very much in the world of T3 Splinter Twin wins and Affinity flooding the board. Kolaghan's Command has been great, however, with all the Affinity and Merfolk running around. It has a lot of synergy with the creatures that end up on my yard, and is always live as a discard+shock in the MD.

I like Monastery Swiftspear, but she doesn't get many Prowess triggers with the low noncreature count. Goblin Guide is the better 1-drop.

I played around with Molten Vortex as a "mana sink" to help me deal with flood (instead of Figure of Destiny). I liked it a lot, and combined with Dakmor Salvage let me draw "free" shocks against decks that I need to play control against.

I even went so far as to make a transformational Life from the Loam sideboard package that was very powerful in testing. It was very unrefined (4-ofs + extra land) and probably could have been better tuned.