R/b Aggro aka "Dos Rakis"

[dpaine88]

@Jdub- I'm a little confused on the direction you are taking. You include Keyrune, but no 5 drops like dragon? and only 2 Excava? I also don't think you can run that manabase at alll and try to cast BB for downfall and turn 2 RR for Zealot.

@MDU- I was playing 2 Whip because my FNM meta is pretty aggro heavy and the Whip goes a LONG way towards racing . I have a bigger event saturday and may switch it. Also, I've been playing with Chandra forever, and I wanna try whip =D

Here is where I am at. Minor trweaks to the list MDU put up.


[deck]
Lands:24
9 Mountain
4 Blood Crypt
4 Rakdos Guildgate
6 Swamp
1 Temple of Silence

Creatures:22
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Pack Rat
4 Spike Jester
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells:14
4 Lightning Strike
3 Magma Jet
3 Hero's Downfall
1 Dreadbore
2 Whip of Erebos
1 Rakdos's Return

Sideboard:
1 Erebos
1 Doom Blade
1
Dreadbore
1 Hero's Downfall
3 Mizzium Mortors
1 Rakdos Return
4 Thoughtseize
3 Shock

[/deck]

Not sure if the sideboard is correct at all, but this was my first draft and gladly welcome any critiques

[JdubCT]

@Dpaine: You make a very good point. I may move it to something a little heavier in the curve ala:
[deck=Jdub's Thoughts]Creatures(22)
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Spike Jester
4 Pack Rat
4 Ash Zealot
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
3 Underworld Cerberus

Spells (14)
//Removal
2 Dreadbore
2 Doom Blade
2 Mizzium Mortars
//Burn
4 Lightning Strike
//Misc
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
3 Rakdos Keyrune

Land (24)
10 Mountain
4 Blood Crypt
4 Rakdos Guildgate
2 Temple of Silence
4 Mutavault[/deck]

10 black sources and 18 red should be enough to cover Zealot on curve and the 1B costs no? Also, in this version chandra may be better replaced with Erebos main deck. For card drawing purposes.

[dpaine88]

Good changes for sure although it seems really hard to play Doom Blade in the maindeck right now. Just so many of the top creatures are black. Hero's Downfall really is a huge upgrade.

10 black just seems low for turn 2 Jester or Pack Rat. The R/W versions of the deck run less but they have scry lands and also don't need white till turn 4+ usually so you can wait for white mana.

I know you love the Keyrune, but to me personally, your list would benefit a lot more from adding Chandra's Pheonix.

[dpaine88]

I am kinda interested in Cerebus, let me know how it treats you.

Also, Sire of Insanity seems cool as a 1of against control in SB...but maybe RR is just better

[JdubCT]

Good changes for sure although it seems really hard to play Doom Blade in the maindeck right now. Just so many of the top creatures are black. Hero's Downfall really is a huge upgrade.

10 black just seems low for turn 2 Jester or Pack Rat. The R/W versions of the deck run less but they have scry lands and also don't need white till turn 4+ usually so you can wait for white mana.

I know you love the Keyrune, but to me personally, your list would benefit a lot more from adding Chandra's Pheonix.

The nice/main thing about pack rat is that it's not typically a turn two drop (although it can be if you're jonesing). I've also considered dropping Jester in favor of Chandra's Phoenix but am unsure if I want to go that route with so
little ways to recur it. Shred Freak is another option too.

Doom Blade is useful against Mono U, red devotion, and G/W. I like downfall and all but if you come up against mono B you'll hopefully win around the time that demons become a huge issue (plus they can't really deal with Underworld Cerberus) and post sideboard dark betrayal will set you good.

As for Key Rune? I just wanna test it to be honest. I think a 3/1 first striker that avoids shrivel and verdict could be pretty crazy with the resurgence of Esper/UW control. But that's pure theorycrafting, I've never used the thing.

Why, however, does no one ever run Rakdos? It seems like he'd be easy enough to slip in even turn 4 if you're running Phoenixes or any hasty 3/2 drop.

[dpaine88]

Pack Rat is fine on turn 2, I mean unless a deck with immediate removal.

Doom Blade is good in those matchups but then it isn't very good against Black or Control which are 2/3 of the most popular decks. Downfall at least hits controls PW's and Blacks Demons which is huge....

Rakdos would be cool but I just love the haste theme of the deck personally, give it a shot tho!

[dpaine88]

If Pack Rat doesnt cut it, then the other option is Thrill Kill Assasin as he is a lot easier on mana than Ash Zealot. I think pack rat does fit the deck as it is in for the long game but also has early burst.

I am thinking of swapping a 1 Mountain for another Swamp. The mana reqs are basically 50/50 so having the mana base be 50/50 would be nice as I usually only have had problems finding BB mana.

[magicdownunder]

If Pack Rat doesnt cut it, then the other option is Thrill Kill Assasin as he is a lot easier on mana than Ash Zealot. I think pack rat does fit the deck as it is in for the long game but also has early burst.

I am thinking of swapping a 1 Mountain for another Swamp. The mana reqs are basically 50/50 so having the mana base be 50/50 would be nice as I usually only have had problems finding BB mana.

Since your running 2x Whips, I'll highly recommend swapping a swamp and mountain .

Here is where I'm sitting at:

[deck=MDU's BR Aggro]Lands 24
9 Mountain
4 Blood Crypt
4 Rakdos Guildgate
6 Swamp
1 Temple of Silence

Creatures 22
4 Rakdos Cackler
4
Pack Rat
4 Spike Jester
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells 14
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
3 Hero's Downfall
1 Dreadbore
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Chandra, Pyromaster

Sideboard 15:
2 Erebos
2 Doom Blade
1 Dreadbore
1 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Dark Betrayal
3 Mizzium Mortors
4 Toil // Trouble[/deck]

Sideboard Plan

Vs Esper

---

In
4 Toil // Trouble
1 Mizzium Mortors
2 Erebos

Out
4 Pack Rat
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Dreadbore

Vs UW

---

In
4 Toil // Trouble
2 Erebos

Out
4 Pack Rat
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Dreadbore

Ux, Gx and Rx Devotion

---

In
2 Doom Blade
1 Dreadbore
1 Flames of the Firebrand
3 Mizzium Mortors

Out
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Spike Jester

Bx Devotion

---

In
2 Erebos
1 Dreadbore
2 Dark Betrayal
3 Mizzium Mortors (vs BW Control)

Out
3 Stormbreath Dragon
2-4 Magma Jet
n1 Hero's Downfall (vs BW Control)

Small Aggro

---

In
2 Doom Blade (vs White or Red)
2 Dark Betrayal (vs Black)
1 Dreadbore
1 Flames of the Firebrand
3 Mizzium Mortors

Out
4 Spike Jester
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch (vs White)
3 Stormbreath Dragon (vs Black or red)

Your welcome to trash my plans (as long as you can provide explanations)

Some notes:
Underworld Cerberus is bad vs anything which isn't control - weenies decks will have more creatures then you, mid-range decks will outclass you.

[dpaine88]

No love for Rakdos's Return MDU?

Thanks for the sideboading guide, think I'm gonna bring this deck to a 50-60 person event tomorrow and thats super helpful!

[magicdownunder]

No love for Rakdos's Return MDU?

Thanks for the sideboading guide, think I'm gonna bring this deck to a 50-60 person event tomorrow and thats super helpful!

I couldn't find room, but I've done 0 testing so if Return is performing better then whip or chandra make the switch

Also vs Esper it maybe better to go 1x HDF and 2x Mortars as the removal suit, rather then the 2x HDF and 1x Mortar setup I have... (they're known for running soldiers but 3x vampire post board nowadays).

[dpaine88]

I've had it in the sideboard but never used it at FNM tonight.

Did some PMing with Zem about your list and wanted to bring the discussion over here .

He was not a big fan of Hero's Downfall and Whip and would cut the BB cost to run Mutavault.

I found Downfall to be pretty darn good so far myself but Mutavault would be really nice with Pack Rat.

I'm just worried about Master with Dreadbore and the other Price/Blade are pretty conditional as there is a good amont of multi colored guys and black creatures.

[magicdownunder]

I havn't been actively playing Standard , but when I was playing I didn't see any decline in Ux Devotion, unless that changes HDF is the best removal we have to offer (its not like Small aggro has picked up enough pace to require Shocks again).

On a side note: Is Zem playing Standard again? It would be good to have more Red variant (which isn't devotion or FoM) taking finishes.

[dpaine88]

Yea HDF is def the best removal, is Ultimate Price a big enough downgrade to not run Mutavault?

Misses on Weird, BTE, Reckoner, Spectre, Reaper, Cackler ....shit that doesn't seem like much, what am I forgetting?

No clue on Zems status.

[JdubCT]

I was thinking quite a bit about it at work. And do we really want more than 2 one CMC creatures? Can you think of a situation where, if you don't have them by turn 3, you'd want to cast a cackler? 1 gives you a 13% and 2~22% chance to see one in your initial 8 cards with serious diminishing returns past that for each added. If you focused, instead, on turn 2, 3, and 4 hasters you might be better off in most circumstances.

[Keftenk]

After a 4-1 record at FNM with Boros Legions (losing to Mono U 2-1), I'm sleeving up Dos Rakis for the PTQ tomorrow! Full report late tomorrow night!

[Pedros]

Good job guys with all that testing! Dont forget to write thoughts after playing this deck.

HDF is bad in this deck (mana wise), however it is one of the best removal spells we have - the most versitile,. If we want to run mutavaults, like other version, we have to get rid of it or get more mana. We can also play other removal like doom blade or ultimate price, but those have limited targets.

As for rakdos return it is good card for devotion or more land midrange decks. I would play this card if we have 25-26 lands, as it is most powerful if we do it for3-4.

All/things considered I wouldnt take this deck YET for GP/PTQ, as it is ot stable enought.

@MDU

Your sb plan seems decent, however I would keep spike yesters over cacklers vs agro, as yesters trade with almot everything and are solid finisher of choice vs those decks. I also thing exava isnt that bad vs white, as 3/3 first strike is really hard to pass
through with that decks.

I like 4 toil troubles in sb, with erebos it is solid draw potential. Btw in your testing you didnt want hi against control?

[Pedros]

After a 4-1 record at FNM with Boros Legions (losing to Mono U 2-1), I'm sleeving up Dos Rakis for the PTQ tomorrow! Full report late tomorrow night!

If you want to finish solid dont take this deck yet. Boroa Legions is more stable, also attacking the metagame from a different angle deck, that had more success that this deck.

Which version are you going to take? With mutavaults? Or more colored sources?

[magicdownunder]

The one drop is like Shock vs Small aggro, its much better then Jester since your not aiming for damage but for quick short term defense (your the control player in this MU not beatdown).

[Pedros]

Yeah but often 1/1 doesnt een act as remkoval but as a/chump blocker.

[magicdownunder]

You maybe confused with the archetypes - I don't count Red FoM/RDW as small aggro.

Small Aggro would be like Boss Red, Br Aggro and Wx Weenies - all those decks play about 12+ */1 creatures, so the 1/1 is a massive EARLY defense card which buys you times to draw your removal or lands to cast your finishers.

[Keftenk]

After a 4-1 record at FNM with Boros Legions (losing to Mono U 2-1), I'm sleeving up Dos Rakis for the PTQ tomorrow! Full report late tomorrow night!

If you want to finish solid dont take this deck yet. Boroa Legions is more stable, also attacking the metagame from a different angle deck, that had more success that this deck.

Which version are you going to take? With mutavaults? Or more colored sources?

Perhaps it's just my experience, but I seem to draw poorly verse Mono U with Boros Legion. I understand that's a bad reason NOT to play the deck since it'
s overall better against the rest of the board. Yet, I consistency seem to get blown out, 2 out of 3 games EVERY-SINGLE-TIME I play Mono U (like tonight; going 2-1) I'm a bit weaker versus Devotion to Black (if you can believe that) with Dos Rakis, but stronger versus Mono U. I expect more UW and Mono U then I do Mono B (honestly, it's just a hunch). However, I heard since I live in the midwest, a lot of players come from out of state which throws off even the much more broader-meta from my radar.

My plan:

[deck]
Lands 24
4 Blood Crypt
7 Mountain
3 Mutavault
3 Rakdos Guildgate
5 Swamp
2 Temple of Silence

Creatures 22
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
4 Pack Rat
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Spike Jester
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Enchantment 1
1 Whip of Erebos

Instant 11
3 Hero's Downfall
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet

Sorcery 1
1 Dreadbore

[b:
hs93tta5]Planeswalker 1[/b]
1 Chandra, Pyromaster

Sideboard 15:
2 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Rix Maadi Guildmage
1 Doom Blade
1 Dreadbore
1 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Dark Betrayal
3 Mizzium Mortors
4 Toil // Trouble
[/deck]

[Keftenk]

PTQ Report 12-21-13
198 players - 8 rounds - (6-2-0) 11th Place



After almost barely getting there due to Google Maps almost screwing me over (sending me on the other side of the highway.....seriously, I expect that from Apple Maps, not Google) I sleeved up DosRakis and headed in! This is definitely the largest event I had ever been to. It was very intimidating, a whopping 198 players which may not seem like a lot to some of you guys but I've just recently started getting into more competitive scenes. It-was-EXCITING!!

Honestly, I wanted to take Boros Legion, but I was always testing very poorly against Mono U So, with possibly some false hope in me actually going far I decided to try DosRakis. I still can't tell if I either have a pair or just no confidence in myself...

I tried to reflect after every match. Sorry if some are
short!



8 rounds in the Swiss today...

[deck]
Lands 24
4 Blood Crypt
7 Mountain
3 Mutavault
3 Rakdos Guildgate
5 Swamp
2 Temple of Silence

Creatures 22
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
4 Pack Rat
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Spike Jester
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Enchantment 1
1 Whip of Erebos

Instant 11
3 Hero's Downfall
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet

Sorcery 1
1 Dreadbore

Planeswalker 1
1 Chandra, Pyromaster

Sideboard 15:
2 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Rix Maadi Guildmage
1 Doom Blade
1 Dreadbore
1 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Dark Betrayal
3 Mizzium Mortors
4 Toil // Trouble
[/deck]

otP Match 1 vs Kyle playing Mono Blue Devotion

(Oh man, Mono Blue Devotion right off the bat and probably the most memorable because I was already flustered from almost
being late and then being sent into the pit against Mono U to start...)

Game 1: I'm on the play, thankfully! I know my chances of winning are low unless I can power out an Exava, Stormbreath, or dump a bunch of rats on him. OR just a hand full of removal, lol. I had a plan, hold ALL Lightning Strikes for Nightveil Spectre's, hold ALL Hero's Downfalls for Master of Waves. Race with everything since this is game 1.

I saw a turn 2 Rakdos Cackler + Spike Jester for 5 damage, only to see it blocked by a Frostburn Weird on my opponents turn 2. He threw out a Nightveil Spectre on turn 3, which I started to play the control match up, killing it with my Lightning Strike. He tried locking my creatures down with Tidebinder, which I answered with Magma Jet or trades of additional Rakdos Cackler's. I thought him trading with my Cackler's was a bit odd, but he didn't have a Thassa out yet or a MoW, so I guess it was the correct move..?

He started dropping an army of Cloudfin Raptors and Judge's Familiars,
I saw 2 of each until I found a Chandra, Pryomaster and started sniping the familiars. At this point in the match I had dealt with 1 Master of Waves and lucked out on seeing any Thassa's. As my book shows, I was at 12 life and he was at 7. I drew into a Phoenix and then +0'd a Stormbreath Dragon. He finally showed a Thassa, but it was far too late since I had the stronger threat in the air.

Game 2: Nothing special, he drew a god hand. I hate this deck. It's so dumb that even the worst players (my player definitely wasn't bad, I'm just generalizing) can play it and still win as long as they tap land and drop their hand onto the field. There was almost nothing I could do. He curved from a Cloudfin Raptor, to Frostburn Weird, to Nightveil Spectre, and then a Master of Waves. I did kill the Master of Waves, but he showed Thassa next turn. I didn't have enough chump blocks or kill spells to try and turn her off after that

nDumb.

Game 3: Rix "fcking" Maadi "MVP" Guildmage!!

That's all I have to say. By turn 3, he was just dumping Judge's Familiars and unevolved Cloudfin Raptors onto the field. He tried dropping Nightveil Spectre even, but I had the better card draw + the ability to just kill any blockers on sight with Rix. He even had Thassa activated, but couldn't even kill a cackler with it because I had enough mana to bring it to a 1/1. I seriously controlled the game with just Rix Maadi. My opponent was definitely frustrated with the card, Cyclonic Rifting it TWICE just to get in some damage, which nearly worked. I was down to 4 health by games end, but Rix definitely distracted my opponent enough to the point where I could hold the right cards for the correct threats. Amazing card!



1-0

otD Match 2 vs Anrey playing White Weenie

Game 1: Nothing special in any of these games, we were almost the first pair done in this round. Game 1, he dropped a Pantheon,
Captain, Boros Elite, then into a Spear of Heliod to pretty much end the game quick.

Game 2: Flames of the Firebrand and what do you know, Rix "fcking" Maadi "MVP" Guildmage did work. Mostly Flames of the Firebrand to be completely honest. It allowed a very nice hole for me to start stabalizing as I was on my heels already and playing the control match up.

Game 3: I ended it swift and quick just as he did in Game 1 with Pack Rats. I can't remember what turn it was, but I believe it may have been turn 5 or 6? I had 5/5 Pack Rat's running in. Yea...GG.



2-0

otP Match 3 vs Radu playing Naya Control

Game 1: I was on the play and I had to mull to 5 This is something that DosRakis does, it either doesn't seem to draw mana (even though I have 24) or it draws the poor color matches. I understood both of this and even saw it happen many times in testing before I went into
the tournament today.

Needless to say, I took a very ballsy hand. I drew 2 Mutvaults, 2 Spike Jesters, and 1 Chandra's Phoenix. Luckily, I drew colors lol I quickly realized he was playing either Naya Control or Midrange so I only put out 2 creatures over his creature count in fear of 1. Anger of the Gods or 2. Mizzium Mortars.

I started to sense his desperation when he started throwing Boros Charms to my face. They main board this? I did see a Stormbreath Dragon, but it was dealt with swiftly. I took the win shortly after. I just evaded threats and finished with Mutavault.

Game 2: I ran into mana issues once again, not seeing double black for Hero's Downfall so I could start dealing with his Stormbreath Dragon's I was able to kill one with a Dreadbore, but then I saw another and then the finisher--Assemble the Legion ;\

Game 3: It came down to a nail biter. I wasn't expecting him to do what he did though.
Incredible.

What he did was...just remarkable. I was holding a Lightning Strike and Magma Jet (5 damage total, plus the 2 from Phoenix would seal the deal), so I used MJ and I brought my Phoenix back. I played it and swung in, he dropped 2 Selesyna Charm's on it, making it a 6/6. Then he dropped a third.........wow, really? Exiling it. He sat at 5 life...with nothing in my hand but a Lightning Strike that I could use or just sit and hope for a top deck.

His turn, 3 cards left. Plays a land, 2 cards left. Played Stormbreath Dragon swinging in for 4. I had all but one chance to top deck a removal. Nope ;\ He won. Incredible...

Nothing I could have done in that situation even if I tried sniping my own Phoenix ;\



2-1

otP Match 4 vs Greg playing GW Aggro

Game 1: This was sort of like the White Weenie match up. It seems my aggro match ups end quick. It wasn't as quick as the Match 2, but it went pretty fast. Game 1 I curb stomped him with Pack Rats and Spike
Jester, my opponent scooping when I showed my Stormbreath Dragon.

Game 2: I found it difficult trying to out maneuver a Fleecemane Lion that was able to get monstrosity off Really sucked I didn't have enough removal for it, he kept blowing Brave of the Elements to save it every time I tried to kill it. It ultimately ended up being the killer. If I was able to play a second Stormbreath Dragon I think I would have been fine, but I never saw it. So, I was forced to leave my only one on the field untapped to block. It ultimately ended when he dropped Armada Wurm and then next turn -3'd Ajani, forcing me to block the Fleecemane or the Armada Wurm with the dragon. Ultimately, removing it and then ending the game the turn after ;\

Game 3: Fiendslayer Paladin did work, 2 of them to be exact. I couldn't do anything against it. Just plain and simple. I've always had trouble against this card, even with PyroBoros. It's just a
beast of a card if you don't have the correct creature make up to deal with it (or removal, in which this case I have none, heh).



2-2

By this time, I figured I was out of the tournament. I was pretty disappointed but I realized I was playing DosRakis lol. I'm never really sure what to do in these situations since x-2 sometimes get into Top 8's while other times they don't. It just depends on what all else happens and what much %'s are. I decided to play the rest of the matches out until I lost another.

ALL OR NOTHING!!

otD Match 5 vs Troy playing Mono Blue Devotion

Game 1: Ahhh, another Mono Blue Devotion deck!
God hand, I'm dead. I really hope MoW is effectively answered in BNG. This is getting about as ridiculous as Thragtusk from last rotation.

Game 2: PERFECT hand of removal and not a single creature. Take it? You bet I did. I had 2 Hero's Downfalls, 2 land (Rakdos Guildgate and a Temple of Silence), a Doom Blade, Dreadbore, and a Lightning Strike.

nI felt incredibly confident with this hand. I didn't see a land actually until turn 4, which made me a little worried but I drew my Chandra, Pyromaster and just started to go to work. Thassa came online, but never activated. I ended up just controlling the entire match, never dropping below 10 health (I was at 11 by games end).

Game 3: We raced, but I over powered him with 2 Chandra's Phoenix's and a Stormbreath Dragon. It was a close race, whew! It feels so good beating Mono Blue honestly!



3-2 (Still alive, I hope!)

otP Match 6 vs Ken playing Mono Blue Devotion

Game 1: 3rd Mono Blue Devotion I've matched up against today and 2nd in a row? God damn, the gods must have really wanted me to leave! This was probably the best match up of the day against the archetype. I curved very well with Rakdos Cackler > Spike Jester > Chandra's Phoenix. I answered his Master of Waves with my Hero's Downfalls and just steam rolled through the rest of the way with Exava

Game 2: Ditched 2 Chandra's Phoenix's to Pack Rats, eating my opponent alive It felt great...again!


4-2

otP Match 7 vs Matthias playing UW Control

Game 1: This was frustrating as UW Control tends to be. I tried getting in damage as best and most efficiently as I could, but it just wasn't enough. I saw too many Quicken > Supreme Verdicts. I even tried Magma Jetting my creatures that he wanted to Charm to the top of my library, but once he got Archangel up and running, it was game.

Game 2: Turn 3 to Turn 4 Toil//Trouble, what up son lol 11 damage. It was glorious. He was shortly dead afterwards. It seemed he didn't even expect the card from his reaction the first time he saw it, strange ;x

Game 3: I had some really good early pressure, knocking him to 6 life, but then he started to stabilize. I
tried baiting counter spells and D. Sphere's, still swinging with what I could (mostly from Mutavaults). Ultimately, I was able to resolve my second Erebos and start my card draw, playing a Chandra to further my card draw. It was pretty crazy. Once the Whip came online, I knew I had it locked up with 3 D.Sphere's already on the board.



5-2 (I'm seriously doing this!!)

otD Match 8 vs Jeremy Esper Control

Game 1: I tried getting in early with Pack Rats, only seeing 2 damage come from them before D.Sphere hit the table. Chandra, Pyromaster came out afterwards to start drawing me some extra cards. I then pulled an additional Stormbreath Dragon, which I had one in hand from the start of the game. Crashing in for 4 and 8, seeing double verdicts. Resolving 1 Chandra's Phoenix was enough until I could ult and win with Chandra, Pryomaster

Game 2: Very smooth and easy game, he burned through
his health with a shock land and then 2 Thoughtseize's afterwards. I top decked into a Spike Jester which put him in a really bad spot. He took out good threats at least, Erebos and Stormbreath but his life total was so low at this point that I ended it with Exava a few turns later.



6-2!

I was very pleased with how the deck worked actually, but there are some pretty glaring mana issues which I think have been thoroughly discussed in the thread. I sadly didn't make the cut into top 8. I believe there was 1 spot for a 6-2 record or maybe it was 6-1-1, but anyways I tied with 22 or so other people, heh. I ultimately was placed in 11th.

It made me feel really bad losing to GW Aggro...argh!! I might have made it in if it wasn't for that Shameful ;;

I felt like I did close to my best though and it was fun and a very gratifying experience as it was my 2nd major tournament that I've ever been to. I'll crack top 8
one of these times!

Rix Maadi was amazing in only one match up, but it made the difference. It was used effectively in other matches as well. I do feel indifferent about it though. The mana base is janky to get good and reliable activations off of it. I don't know why I just didn't cut it like everyone else has ended up doing, heh. Honestly, I think I might have liked using Rod of Ruin or a black removal over it as you guys have done. Double Erebos also felt a little strange, but it wasn't terrible.

[dpaine88]

Great job dude!!!!

I also had a great day! I split 1st place in the finals of a 65 person $500 pot event and walked away with $150.

Ran basically the same deck as above but Zem's recommendation I cut HDF for Ultimate Price and some swamps for Mutavault.

[deck]
Lands:24
8 Mountain
4 Blood Crypt
4 Rakdos Guildgate
5 Swamp
3 Mutavault

Creatures:22
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Pack Rat
4 Spike Jester
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells:14
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
3 Ultimate Price
2 Dreadbore
1 Chandra


Sideboard:
1 Erebos
2 Doom Blade
2 Dreadbore
3 Mizzium Mortors
1 Rakdos Return
1 Flames of the Firebrand
3 Toil/Trouble
2 Dark Betrayal
[/deck]

Went 5-1 in the Swiss then top8 etc

2-1 vs U/W Control - Mutavault was a house, already proving its worth.
2-0 vs B/W Midrange - not the best player
1-2 vs Mono Blue - very tough game 3, topdeck
domestication FTW
BYE- Guy basically dropped after he sat down- Got the pair down
2-0 vs Junk Midrange - another pair down... Pheonix and Dark betrayal too much for him..."What up Cyaratid? - Spike Jester
2-0 vs White Weenie splash Black- Yet another pair down so I couldn't just draw into top 8

Top8-
2-0 vs B/G Midrange - Game 1 he got blew out..game 2 Pack Rat did its fuckin job and was the nuts

Top 4
2-1 Mono Blue- Rematch from swiss loss- Won this this time on the back of Dragon and a boatload of removal after he used Rapid on Rat

Finals - Split



Thoughts
Mutavault was fucking Fantastic... helped a ton in nearly every matchup. Was great with Pack Rat.
T2- Rat
T3- make another Rat
T4- Make a rat AND Activate Mutavault as a Rat and smash
Continuing, the Rat was great too. Immediatly put pressure on my opponents and forced their line of play. Could take over the game easily, especially with Mutavault. Made keeping 4-5 land hands a lot easier.

nUlitmate Price - Was't TOO bad.. but I did not play agasint a single Desecration Demon or Polukranos etc But it did save my ass against Master a bunch
Dreadbore was awesome against anything but Master of course.

Exava- very nice turn 4 play and took people by surprise. Great in "Control Mode" where you can keep the board clear turns 2-3 and drop her and be in the drivers seat.

Chandra was great, deserving of a spot for sure

Changes:
I think the only change right now would be to add a 4th Mutavault and Dragon , but I have no idea what two cards to drop.
Also, Whip coulda been pretty good in a lot of games that were races, much more than I expected. This deck defends terribly so it naturally races.

[Keftenk]

Huh, I wonder if Ultimate Price over HDF would have helped me. I did get screwed sometimes not seeing a double black for HDF when I really needed it.

Nice job Dpaine! Grats!

[dpaine88]

I hope our kickass results start to get some others to seriously consider this. Its a fuckin blast to play as well! So fun

[dpaine88]

Ultimate Price wasn't bad and when it was shitty, it could be turned int a Rat sometimes.

[Keftenk]

I really wanted to sleeve up the Underworld Cerebus version that was posted up above. In testing, it felt very solid but I was stung a few times by my own Cerebus giving back my opponent an army. I tried messing with the mana base yesterday, but wasn't getting anything consistent for SBD so I opted for the list I ran (could have just been a string of bad draws...). I think I'll be returning to it now to tweak some things up.

[Zooligan]

How do you guys feel the deck would play with -1 SBD / +1 Chandra? (For a 2/2 split)

[zemanjaski]

Yea HDF is def the best removal, is Ultimate Price a big enough downgrade to not run Mutavault?

Misses on Weird, BTE, Reckoner, Spectre, Reaper, Cackler ....shit that doesn't seem like much, what am I forgetting?

No clue on Zems status.

I'm busy flipping Delvers in Pauper and Jace in legacy. The new DE times mean I can't play so CBF with Standard. But basically, what i said to Dan was:
- Dreadbore is so much better than Hero's Downfall it isn't funny
- Mutavault is unreal dumb
- UP is better than Doom Blade and that isn't close either

Other than that Dan is just a very strong player.

[Valdarith]

Good job guys.

[dpaine88]

How do you guys feel the deck would play with -1 SBD / +1 Chandra? (For a 2/2 split)

I wouldn't do it personally. Chandra is a nice sidepiece but I think one of the best parts of the deck is that it has so many mana sinks. Between 6 4+ mana creatures, Stormbreath Monstrous, Pack Rat Tokens, and Mutavault, you don't even really need the +0 ability a lot of the time. I rarely lost cause I had nothing to do.

If anything I'd cut Chandra for a 4th Mutavault.

I'm busy flipping Delvers in Pauper and Jace in legacy. The new DE times mean I can't play so CBF with Standard. But basically, what i said to Dan was:
- Dreadbore is so much better than Hero's Downfall it isn't funny
- Mutavault is unreal
dumb
- UP is better than Doom Blade and that isn't close either

Other than that Dan is just a very strong player.

Awww James, you know how to make a guy blush.

Long live the return of Dos Rakis!!!:rakdos:

[Keftenk]

How do you guys feel the deck would play with -1 SBD / +1 Chandra? (For a 2/2 split)

That's a tough decision, SBD is very strong and Chandra REALLY shines in her ability to draw the extra cards (duh, right?). It might work, might be worth testing since I found myself closing games out more with Exava, Spike Jester, and Pack Rat over SBD. After today's PTQ though, there is a lot to reconsider.

[JdubCT]

I really wanted to sleeve up the Underworld Cerebus version that was posted up above. In testing, it felt very solid but I was stung a few times by my own Cerebus giving back my opponent an army. I tried messing with the mana base yesterday, but wasn't getting anything consistent for SBD so I opted for the list I ran (could have just been a string of bad draws...). I think I'll be returning to it now to tweak some things up.

If you're talking about the list I posted it should be able to handle SBD fairly easily on curve. It's running enough red sources even without keyrunes to get the RR reliably by turn 5. The only reason I didn't put them there was because I can't afford a playset of the darn sexy draggos.

As for Mutavaults I
feel they're indispensable, they smooth out your aggro curve while turning your Rats into forces to be reckoned with.

How do you guys feel the deck would play with -1 SBD / +1 Chandra? (For a 2/2 split)

That's a tough decision, SBD is very strong and Chandra REALLY shines in her ability to draw the extra cards (duh, right?). It might work, might be worth testing since I found myself closing games out more with Exava, Spike Jester, and Pack Rat over SBD. After today's PTQ though, there is a lot to reconsider.

How would you feel about removing Chandra entirely for Erebos? I think his card draw is pretty strong (especially in
that his cards unlike Chandra's can be turned into rats) and he lets you win lifegain races. How often did you find yourself +1ing Chandra?

[Pedros]

Keftenk and dpaine88

Great results! Really like you all like my ideas about this deck. It is blast to play, right? So many lines of play
I will play more of it as much as I can till my next ptq.

Zemanjaski

Glad you came here to add your thoughts, I am quite new to agressive archetypes, so I need some guidance. Your thoughts on replacing HDF for ultimate prices were correct.

How was rakdos return dpaine?
I saw both of you run dark betrayal, how was it?
Keftenk - would you still play Rix Maadi Guildmage? It really dominates combat when on board and is reliable mana sink. I am still playing 1 in sb.
Toil/trouble - opinions? I see a lot of them in sb.

None of you play thoughtseizes in sb. You think discard is not needed and it is better to just play removal/more burn?

Keftenk? How was whip? Dpaine? Did you miss whip?

Both
of you played only 1 chandra. Did you miss her?

As Dpaine suggest, I would gladly play 25 lands with 4 dragons. But what to cut?

Btw in testing did you notice lack of assemble the legion vs mono black? This card is sooo good against them and it autowins lost games.

[Zooligan]

That idea of -x Chandra / +x Erebos MD makes sense. You lose the ping/falter, but you nix opponent Lifegain, draw cards (that Jdub pointed out can be pitched to PR) tho they're kind of expensive, and free up at least one SB slot (for Assemble?).

[LaZerBurn]

I need 4 Pack Rats on MTGO and I am in! Deck looks really good and fun to play

[Pedros]

Cant play assemble the legion Zooligan with 1 white source.

[Tyrael]

I don't see why you would want to play assemble in this deck anyway

your opponent should already be dead by the time assemble starts to get good (assuming you can play it on T5)

[Keftenk]

I really wanted to sleeve up the Underworld Cerebus version that was posted up above. In testing, it felt very solid but I was stung a few times by my own Cerebus giving back my opponent an army. I tried messing with the mana base yesterday, but wasn't getting anything consistent for SBD so I opted for the list I ran (could have just been a string of bad draws...). I think I'll be returning to it now to tweak some things up.

If you're talking about the list I posted it should be able to handle SBD fairly easily on curve. It's running enough red sources even without
keyrunes to get the RR reliably by turn 5. The only reason I didn't put them there was because I can't afford a playset of the darn sexy draggos.

As for Mutavaults I feel they're indispensable, they smooth out your aggro curve while turning your Rats into forces to be reckoned with.

How do you guys feel the deck would play with -1 SBD / +1 Chandra? (For a 2/2 split)

That's a tough decision, SBD is very strong and Chandra REALLY shines in her ability to draw the extra cards (duh, right?). It might work, might be worth testing since I found myself closing games out more with Exava, Spike Jester, and Pack Rat over SBD. After today's PTQ
though, there is a lot to reconsider.

How would you feel about removing Chandra entirely for Erebos? I think his card draw is pretty strong (especially in that his cards unlike Chandra's can be turned into rats) and he lets you win lifegain races. How often did you find yourself +1ing Chandra?

I didn't get much testing in, but yea I was having some funky interactions even hitting double red with Ash Zealot from your list. I would like to believe it's just poor drawing and a bad line of luck, because yea the mana looks like it supports it fine. Either way, I'm returning to it because it packed a punch.

What I really liked from yesterday against decks like UW Control was having Chandra + Erebos out. It was absolutely disgusting, lol. Maybe that's being really greedy though, but thinking about replacing Chandra completely with Erebos hmm...
I'm not sure I like it just thinking about it, Chandra has immediate impact which can be very helpful changing the board
state, Erebos can't do that.

Keftenk and dpaine88

Great results! Really like you all like my ideas about this deck. It is blast to play, right? So many lines of play
I will play more of it as much as I can till my next ptq.

Zemanjaski

Glad you came here to add your thoughts, I am quite new to agressive archetypes, so I need some guidance. Your thoughts on replacing HDF for ultimate prices were correct.

How was rakdos return dpaine?
I saw both of you run dark betrayal, how was it?
Keftenk - would you still play Rix Maadi Guildmage? It really dominates combat when on board and is reliable mana sink. I am still playing 1 in sb.
Toil/trouble - opinions? I see a lot of them in sb.

None of you play thoughtseizes in sb. You think discard is
not needed and it is better to just play removal/more burn?

Keftenk? How was whip? Dpaine? Did you miss whip?

Both of you played only 1 chandra. Did you miss her?

As Dpaine suggest, I would gladly play 25 lands with 4 dragons. But what to cut?

Btw in testing did you notice lack of assemble the legion vs mono black? This card is sooo good against them and it autowins lost games.

I never used Dark Betrayal since I didn't see a single black deck in my pairings lol With that said though, I loved it in testing. Dropping Obzedat is huge with it or blanking a Desecration Demon for 1 and still able to play something else.

I think Rix Maadi can go honestly. I liked it and the Guildmage shined in some very key match ups, but I often sat there with it just being a 2/2 blocker or attacker because I wanted to spend my mana for different things. One thing I want to mess around with is dropping some Keyrunes into the deck to see if that can allow the guildmage to be a consistent force of
reckoning.

The whip was great, especially when I drew it in my opener. I saw it mostly for the lifegain and not much for the creature recursion. The only thing I dislike about it is it can be a dead card in your hand. Draw it and then playing it with really nothing getting use from it. Which is fine if your opponent is also doing nothing, but against aggro you want to at least get something for that 4 mana. I like the singleton.

Toil//Trouble was amazing, it's not a "I win card" versus archetypes like UW Control and Esper, but it's pretty damn close. I mean, I had a game in my UW matchup that I just blew him out on turn 4 because I went back to back Trouble, punishing him for D.Sphering a pair of Rakdos Cackler's. I was playing around with lists that had 3 Thoughtseizes in the SB, but I opted for Toil//Trouble in that slot instead. Since they do different things, it's hard to say if that's the right card to swap them for or even have in the 75. I understand the value of Thoughtseize, but
after my 2-1 matches I had every single match at the PQ, I really wanted to try and end my opponent as fast as possible with DosRakis in the PTQ.

I always miss Chandra, I love her At the same time, I was happy with just having 1 of. This is something though I'm coming back to and testing, running 2 of for the future. I think it was dpaine that suggested it (sorry if I'm wrong), but moving a Rakdos's Return in the 75 for 1 of the Chandra spots. I might try that also if I'm going to try and make keyrunes part of the deck. RR hits could be so juicy...

At least in testing, I didn't really mind the absence of Assemble because I was able to bring in Dark Betrayals. Assuming your opponent doesn't blow you out with 3 Desecration Demons back, to back, to back. Playing smart with your removal suite is more than enough to deal with black. Though I will say, I have a much easier time beating Mono B with Boros Legion than I do
with DosRakis. It's just I have a much easier time beating Mono U with DosRakis than I do with Boros Legion, heh. Tough trade off at times ;\

[Zooligan]

Cant play assemble the legion Zooligan with 1 white source.

So embarrassed! Getting my decks mixed up. Playing big Boros right now...