Here is my recently brewed Mogis, God of Slaughter deck. While many BR control decks opt for Olivia, I like Mogis for his indestructibility and inevitability. The problem with Mogis, however, is that it can be slow and control can eventually slip through our fingers if we ever run out of gas. That's why I have chosen to run a few mass land destruction spells, potentially locking our opponent out of the game while Mogis drains away at their life pool. While turning him into a creature is not a priority, devotion is a a sub-theme in here. However, I kept enablers extremely cheap so they can be slipped through counter magic in the early game while providing some additional damage or utility that will help us speed up our clock.
Since I'm still getting the hang of duel commander and by extension my meta, I spent a lot of time reading on what others have done with Mogis while analyzing top duel commander decks. Although many have ran Mogis as aggro and midrange, I think he is best suited in a control shell. I kept some of the top8 decks in mind while tailoring the build and I'll try my best to explain some of the more uncommon card choices in the next section.
CARD CHOICES
Executioner's Capsule/Seal of Fire: I want to build devotion but keeping the curve low and utility high remained an absolute priority. Capsule and Seal both cost 1 mana and can either act as cheap removal or help turn Mogis on in the late game.
Planar Void: Extremely cheap to cast at B. It feels like a hidden gem. It slows down Tasigur decks, kills Grenzo, Sidisi, and other reanimators. Also nice against Mike/Trike combos.
RAKDOS CONTROL CRITICISM
A very common criticism that often comes up when discussing rakdos versus other control decks is the fact that commanders like Tasigur, Narset, Keranos (basically anything that runs blue) can outdraw us. While this is true, I also noticed that, because red's draw spells are often subpar, they rarely make the cut. Personally, I think this is a mistake. While red's draw is absolutely weaker than blue, the color does provide us with some cheap pseudo card advantage spells. And if we're racing against other control decks, then there's no reason to omit them. Cards like Faithless Looting, Tormenting Voice, Magmatic Insight and Browbeat should always be at the very least considered. Browbeat is probably the weakest of the bunch but it's actually a very nice addition in a punisher style deck like Mogis. Worst case scenario, it speeds up the clock. Other cantrips include Mishra's Bauble and Urza's Bauble. Not only do they draw us a card but they also give us information about our opponent's hand which is useful in tandem with discard. Rakdos card draw is not as good as blue but it is there and it is cheap.
CLOSING THE GAME
While Mogis is an inevitable clock that is awfully difficult to deal with, it is slow and therefore lends itself to more grindy games. The deck, however, has a few ways to speed up the clock dramatically.
Impending Disaster/Ruination/From the Ashes, etc: I don't own Blood Moon or Magus of the Moon (or Sinkhole for that matter) but they would certainly make fine additions. The point however is to slow them down as much as possible. We run quite a few basic lands so cards like Ruination and From the Ashes hurt them more than they hurt us. Impending Disaster is perfectly fine for the measly cost of 1R. It's an ideal play after a turn 1 discard spell. Destroying lands while Mogis is on the board gives us valuable time, which is what the deck wants. I suspect that these will steal games.
Price of Glory: Counter magic has never been more expensive.
Death Cloud: Speaking of land and hand control, unleashing a sizable Death Cloud with Mogis on the board is usually game.
Master of Cruelties (sill being tested): Not only is Master of Cruelties an amazing blocker, he is also one of the deck's main win conditions. The deck focuses on eliminating threats both in play and in hand. Once they're out of answers, drop Master of Cruelties and their life total. Mogis will finish them off during their upkeep. Nice and clean.
Demigod of Revenge (still being tested): Timing is everything but dropping Demigod of Revenge makes for a 12 point life swing. A worthy tutor target once the opponent has lost 10 or so HP.
And finally, the actual build. It's an extremely tight list and cuts will most likely be made once I have played it a few times. The only thing missing is a a copy of Dystopia and possiblyDefense Grid which I am struggling to fit. I really want to hate against control since they are the most prominent and powerful decks I have faced in my meta. Against aggro builds, I run cheap sweepers in lieu of Damnation which I unfortunately don't own. Having said that, black and red are not short on sweepers so tweaking the removal suite should be relatively easy based on future results.
Hey thanks for the comment! Hell yes, Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker is just what the doctor ordered. I was actually eyeballing Erebos's Titan for a few seconds because I wanted an indestructible threat and the devotion on him is nice. Having said that, his text is a hella weird and he lacks evasion.
This is a list I have been theorizing for a while now. I don't think its quite a high enough caliber yet to start testing but I could be wrong. Wouldn't hurt to try on Cockatrice I suppose. Maybe my list will give you some ideas?
Hey thanks for the comment! Hell yes, Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker is just what the doctor ordered. I was actually eyeballing Erebos's Titan for a few seconds because I wanted an indestructible threat and the devotion on him is nice. Having said that, his text is a hella weird and he lacks evasion.
Hey thanks for posing you list. I do have a couple of concerns though. Your deck seems to depend solely on Mogis for damage (and Saarkhan) In my previous experience with the deck (another completely jank build) I often found myself gaining control of the board in the early to mid-game but ultimately losing since that variation also relied on Mogis to close out the game. Ultimately though, it was just too slow. This is why I've opted for more punisher effects and a couple beaters. I'm even tempted by throwing in some cheap, high damage burn spells like Flame Rift and Price of Progress to further speed up the clock.
My other concern is your lack of card draw. The list seems to be running only Dark Confidant and Phyrexian Arena. Drawing into them might be a bit of a stretch.
About Demigod of Revenge, it might as well read "Pay to deal 12 damage." It takes the opponent from around half their life to death in one foul blow.
What do you think about Mindcrank in here? I could cut Browbeat for Rhystic Tutor to try make the combo with Bloodchief Ascension more consistent although I thought about it earlier and decided against the inclusion of Mindcrank since it does basically nothing on its own. Still, an infinite combo out of nowhere is worth inquiring over.
EDIT: Sorry I just noticed your manlands in addition to The Rack and Shrieking Affliction. Good stuff. My apologies.
It was between Zo-Zu the Punisher and Sulfuric Vortex but Zo is vulnerable to removal which he will promptly eat. Meanwhile, Vortex is harder to get rid of and prevents life gain. Dystopia is now officially in.
Hey thanks for posing you list. I do have a couple of concerns though. Your deck seems to depend solely on Mogis for damage (and Saarkhan) In my previous experience with the deck (another completely jank build) I often found myself gaining control of the board in the early to mid-game but ultimately losing since that variation also relied on Mogis to close out the game. Ultimately though, it was just too slow. This is why I've opted for more punisher effects and a couple beaters. I'm even tempted by throwing in some cheap, high damage burn spells like Flame Rift and Price of Progress to further speed up the clock.
This is main reason I haven't pulled the trigger on mogis yet. The deck is a bit light on win-con's. I would however like to point out I do have a couple other wincons you didn't notice. Batterskull because he can be bounced back and re-played after a board wipe and Bitterblossum....well because bitterblossum.
My other concern is your lack of card draw. The list seems to be running only Dark Confidant and Phyrexian Arena. Drawing into them might be a bit of a stretch.
About Demigod of Revenge, it might as well read "Pay to deal 12 damage." It takes the opponent from around half their life to death in one foul blow.
IF mogis is out then your correct. I haven't playtested mogis myself yet but I assume he is going to get exiled/countered a lot. If he isn't on the field then the demigod is just a worse Thundermaw Hellkite (which imo isn't great eithor).
What do you think about Mindcrank in here? I could cut Browbeat for Rhystic Tutor to try make the combo with Bloodchief Ascension more consistent although I thought about it earlier and decided against the inclusion of Mindcrank since it does basically nothing on its own. Still, an infinite combo out of nowhere is worth inquiring over.
I don't like using infinite combo's unless each piece is still good on its own, mindcrank doesn't further your strategy so I wouldn't use it.
Yeah man. Sorry I didn't notice some of the cards you mentioned. I don't own a lot of expensive cards but Batterskull + Bitterblossom or manland = awesome. I would probably run more manlands if I actually owned that piece of equipment. Lifelink would be precious in Mogis, especially in my build given things like Read The Bones, Sign in Blood, Pyrostatic Pillar, etc. always hurt us. The ability to recoup some life would be great but unfortunately, there are very few viable options outside of Batterskull that I would consider running in creature-light builds. I am however open to suggestions.
I really like that you run Chandra, and the previously suggested Sarkhan. I'm trying to fit them in. I thought about Ob-Nixilis. He'll be worth considering. I'm just starting to get worried about my curve. I would have to start cutting cards like Oblivion Sower, Master of Cruelties, or Sire of Insanity. Sower will have to be tested once released but Master of Cruelties can just drop them to 1 life in a single blow. I'll have to test for consistency but he seems awfully valuable in our grind. Sire of Insanity allows us to "catch up" on our discard. Sure, he has to survive until end of turn, but it requires an immediate answer otherwise everyone goes into top deck mode. I would definitely think about cards like Flame Rift and Price of Progress in your list considering Batterskull and the fact that you don't burn yourself with symmetrical effects.
About Demigod of Revenge: You would have to drop him with a fair amount of certainty, i.e. when the opponent has no cards in hand. Both builds should be able to wreck hands making for a reiable swing more often than not.
And not once has Mogis ever been countered during my previous testing. People just look at the 2 damage and shrug. He really isn't perceived as a threat.
While I still plan to test the cuts, Sarkhan and Chandra help me lower the curve a bit while adding additional utility and another potential evasive wincon.
I'm not sure From the Ashes will have that big of an impact. I would gladly replace it with Blood Moon but Price of Progress will have to do in the meantime. More direct damage = faster games. That's what we need to work on. It also lowers the curve which is always a plus.
I had a nightmare in which Veinfire got countered on turn 1-3 setting us back and costing us the game. I added Kederekt Parasite. Cheap punisher that will draw out their removal or counters.
Hey man, thanks for the reply. Keeping the curve low and disruption high is pretty key. Having said that, Mogis builds tend to suffer when it comes to closing games. I used to run more expensive removal, more sweepers, etc but I also had to run mana rocks to support them. Upping the land count and cutting the rocks while lowering the curve has freed up clock spots. The doublers are a bit expensive generally but I am awfully tempted by Furnace of Rath in here. It's good devotion, it costs 4 mana which is as high as I'm willing to go in terms of casting cost. Naturally, these can be double-edged swords but I think Furnace is worth testing definitely.
About Molten Vortex, it's really nice because it comes down on turn 1 and is a perfect land-dump to either burn utility or aggressive creatures. It also turns late to mid game land draws into additional burn. Combined with Mogis, it adds up. I like it so far, especially with the deck's 40 lands.
I don't hate my land destruction package but, for the sake of argument, if I wanted to replace it with cheap cost + high damage burn spells, which ones would you suggest?
Out of curiosity, why are you using Shrieking Affliction but not The Rack? Seems like if one works for you then the other should work just as well
I don't know how efficient the deck is at keeping hands low enough to maximize both Shrieking Affliction and The Rack. Your list runs Bottomless Pit and Necrogen Mists so I think these cards are probably more reliable. Then there's always the question of space. Ultimately, I went with Affliction because of the devotion.
Since we're on the subject, I really like cards like Necrogen and Bottomless but do you think they might be a tad too slow since they cost 3 mana and usually won't affect the opponent before turn 4? Have you thought about Oppression instead? Comes down on turn 3 as well but essentially wrecks decks that play a lot of cheap search spells, mana rocks, dorks or aggressive creatures, i.e. a LOT of decks. Oppression essentially cuts their hand in half, and having to pitch a card every time they cast a Spell Snare is brutal. I haven't tested it yet but that's because I'm really trying to pack as many damage dealing sources as I can... that and Oppression scares me too.
About Furnace of Rath, I don't know man. I tend to agree with you but I'm not sure if it's a win-more card in Mogis. The difference between 2 damage and 4 damage is HUGE. Usually people will take the 2 damage without batting an eye. They are not ready to give up any kind of board presence (assuming they have any) for 2 damage. This makes Mogis's sacrifice a creature text more or less insignificant. Turn that 2 damage into 4 damage and suddenly they have to make difficult decisions (assuming there's creatures on the board). Otherwise Furnace takes us from a 12 turn clock to a 6 turn clock. Suddenly cards like Molten Vortex become incredibly relevant. Factor in the devotion and I think Furnace of Rath is something worth considering.
About Furnace of Rath, I don't know man. I tend to agree with you but I'm not sure if it's a win-more card in Mogis. The difference between 2 damage and 4 damage is HUGE. Usually people will take the 2 damage without batting an eye. They are not ready to give up any kind of board presence (assuming they have any) for 2 damage. This makes Mogis's sacrifice a creature text more or less insignificant. Turn that 2 damage into 4 damage and suddenly they have to make difficult decisions (assuming there's creatures on the board). Otherwise Furnace takes us from a 12 turn clock to a 6 turn clock. Suddenly cards like Molten Vortex become incredibly relevant. Factor in the devotion and I think Furnace of Rath is something worth considering.
its a card that requires another card to do anything. You should test it and see what you think. My guess is 33% of the time its going to be awesome and do exactly what you want it to do. Then another 33% of the time Mogis will be the only damage dealer out (he will be inactive) and sure that 2 damage will become 4 damage, not bad but then there is the 33% of the time when the furnace is out there with NO damage dealers and nothing is getting doubled. Its better to run cards that don't rely on others (unless your playing a combo deck) and are good even if its the only card in play.
@FearDReaper: I'm looking at your Rekindled Flame. A recurring burn spell is tempting. Have you considered Pulse of the Forge? It costs 1 less, is an instant, but could only target players. I don't know if it's easier to recur than Rekindled Flame but instant speed seems awfully good. Returning it to hand should be easy enough with all the symmetrical punisher effects or even against an aggro deck that got a few shots in before we stabilized. What do you think?
its a card that requires another card to do anything. You should test it and see what you think. My guess is 33% of the time its going to be awesome and do exactly what you want it to do. Then another 33% of the time Mogis will be the only damage dealer out (he will be inactive) and sure that 2 damage will become 4 damage, not bad but then there is the 33% of the time when the furnace is out there with NO damage dealers and nothing is getting doubled. Its better to run cards that don't rely on others (unless your playing a combo deck) and are good even if its the only card in play.
I always want to play Mogis as soon as possible (usually turn 4) since he is the deck's main clock. Hand control allows to either remove counters or check for answers which means he'll usually make it into play when we decide to cast him. He becomes especially difficult to remove from play once he enters the battlefield so I am not too concerned with removal. At any point after Mogis hits the board, Furnace of Rath will be, in theory, doing what I want it to do. That is, they either sacrifice creatures or pay dearly. Either way, it's card advantage or damage to the dome. I feel where you're coming from though so I will say that it's worth testing before it becomes a permanent fixture.
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Here is my recently brewed Mogis, God of Slaughter deck. While many BR control decks opt for Olivia, I like Mogis for his indestructibility and inevitability. The problem with Mogis, however, is that it can be slow and control can eventually slip through our fingers if we ever run out of gas. That's why I have chosen to run a few mass land destruction spells, potentially locking our opponent out of the game while Mogis drains away at their life pool. While turning him into a creature is not a priority, devotion is a a sub-theme in here. However, I kept enablers extremely cheap so they can be slipped through counter magic in the early game while providing some additional damage or utility that will help us speed up our clock.
Since I'm still getting the hang of duel commander and by extension my meta, I spent a lot of time reading on what others have done with Mogis while analyzing top duel commander decks. Although many have ran Mogis as aggro and midrange, I think he is best suited in a control shell. I kept some of the top8 decks in mind while tailoring the build and I'll try my best to explain some of the more uncommon card choices in the next section.
Executioner's Capsule/Seal of Fire: I want to build devotion but keeping the curve low and utility high remained an absolute priority. Capsule and Seal both cost 1 mana and can either act as cheap removal or help turn Mogis on in the late game.
Shrieking Affliction/Bloodchief Ascension: Much like Seal of Fire and Executioner's Capsule, these are 1 mana devotion enablers that help speed our clock. Bloodchief Ascension is a perfect fit with Mogis and Shrieking Affliction should be a reliable source of damage after we've obliterated their hand. This works nicely with Sire of Insanity or even Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace, both of which allow Affliction to continually deal damage.
AEther Fash: Wrecks Narset and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker shenanigans (Grenzo). Also nice against Kaalia of the Vast and Geist. I expect this to be MVP against many commanders/decks. Adds RR devotion as a bonus.
Planar Void: Extremely cheap to cast at B. It feels like a hidden gem. It slows down Tasigur decks, kills Grenzo, Sidisi, and other reanimators. Also nice against Mike/Trike combos.
A very common criticism that often comes up when discussing rakdos versus other control decks is the fact that commanders like Tasigur, Narset, Keranos (basically anything that runs blue) can outdraw us. While this is true, I also noticed that, because red's draw spells are often subpar, they rarely make the cut. Personally, I think this is a mistake. While red's draw is absolutely weaker than blue, the color does provide us with some cheap pseudo card advantage spells. And if we're racing against other control decks, then there's no reason to omit them. Cards like Faithless Looting, Tormenting Voice, Magmatic Insight and Browbeat should always be at the very least considered. Browbeat is probably the weakest of the bunch but it's actually a very nice addition in a punisher style deck like Mogis. Worst case scenario, it speeds up the clock. Other cantrips include Mishra's Bauble and Urza's Bauble. Not only do they draw us a card but they also give us information about our opponent's hand which is useful in tandem with discard. Rakdos card draw is not as good as blue but it is there and it is cheap.
While Mogis is an inevitable clock that is awfully difficult to deal with, it is slow and therefore lends itself to more grindy games. The deck, however, has a few ways to speed up the clock dramatically.
Impending Disaster/Ruination/
From the Ashes, etc: I don't own Blood Moon or Magus of the Moon (or Sinkhole for that matter) but they would certainly make fine additions. The point however is to slow them down as much as possible. We run quite a few basic lands so cards like Ruination andFrom the Asheshurt them more than they hurt us. Impending Disaster is perfectly fine for the measly cost of 1R. It's an ideal play after a turn 1 discard spell. Destroying lands while Mogis is on the board gives us valuable time, which is what the deck wants. I suspect that these will steal games.Price of Glory: Counter magic has never been more expensive.
Death Cloud: Speaking of land and hand control, unleashing a sizable Death Cloud with Mogis on the board is usually game.
Master of Cruelties (sill being tested): Not only is Master of Cruelties an amazing blocker, he is also one of the deck's main win conditions. The deck focuses on eliminating threats both in play and in hand. Once they're out of answers, drop Master of Cruelties and their life total. Mogis will finish them off during their upkeep. Nice and clean.
Demigod of Revenge (still being tested): Timing is everything but dropping Demigod of Revenge makes for a 12 point life swing. A worthy tutor target once the opponent has lost 10 or so HP.
Oblivion Sower (will be tested): Tasigur is a top general and Treasure Cruise and Murderous Cut do get tossed around more often than not. Add cards like Bojuka Bog, Planar Void, Nihil Spellbomb and this guy is going to do some work. Especially nice when you're holding any of these after a Ruination or From the Ashes. Oblivion Sower has the potential to put us so far ahead it isn't even funny.
Current list of non-creature devotion enablers.
01 Seal of Fire
01 Executioner's Capsule
01 Planar Void
01 Molten Vortex
02 Impending Disaster
02 Pyrostatic Pillar
03 Phyrexian Arena
03 Underworld Connections
03 Dystopia
03 Price of Glory
03 Sulfuric Vortex
04 AEther Flash
A list of cards I would like to eventually acquire and try in this build.
02 Sinkhole
03 Magus of the Moon
03 Blood Moon
03 Crucible of Worlds
04 Damnation
And finally, the actual build. It's an extremely tight list and cuts will most likely be made once I have played it a few times. The only thing missing is a a copy of
Dystopia and possiblyDefense Grid which I am struggling to fit. I really want to hate against control since they are the most prominent and powerful decks I have faced in my meta. Against aggro builds, I run cheap sweepers in lieu of Damnation which I unfortunately don't own. Having said that, black and red are not short on sweepers so tweaking the removal suite should be relatively easy based on future results.01 Duress
01 Inquisition of Kozilek
01 Raven's Crime
01 Thoughtseize
01 Blackmail
02 Distress
02 Hymn to Tourach
02 Wrench Mind
03 Blightning
03 Stupor
04 Unmask
Land Destruction (03)
02 Impending Disaster
03 Death Cloud
04 Ruination
Removal (19)
01 Burst Lightning
01 Lightning Bolt
01 Sudden Demise
01 Executioner's Capsule
01 Seal of Fire
01 Flame Slash
01 Innocent Blood
02 Lightning Strike
02 Incinerate
02 Pyroclasm
02 Terminate
02 Dreadbore
02 Go For The Throat
02 Chainer's Edict
03 Dismember
03 Drown in Sorrow
03 Toxic Deluge
03 Fire Covenant
03 Char
01 Shrieking Affliction
01 Molten Vortex
02 Price of Progress
02 Pyrostatic Pillar
03 Dystopia
03 Sulfuric Vortex
03 Price of Glory
04 AEther Flash
Draw (10)
01 Nihil Spellbomb
01 Skeletal Scrying
01 Faithless Looting
02 Sign in Blood
02 Night's Whisper
02 Tormenting Voice
03 Phyrexian Arena
03 Underworld Connections
03 Read the Bones
03 Browbeat
Utility (03)
01 Pithing Needle
01 Planar Void
02 Demonic Tutor
Creatures (03)
03 Hypnotic Specter
03 Nyxathid
03 Hell's Thunder
14 Swamp
12 Mountain
00 Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace
00 Bojuka Bog
00 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
00 Command Tower
00 Mana Confluence
00 Bloodstained Mire
00 Graven Cairns
00 Sulfurous Springs
00 Dragonskull Summit
00 Tainted Peak
00 Blood Crypt
00 Temple of Malice
00 Lavaclaw Reaches
00 Smoldering Marsh
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Now the tough question: What can I possibly cut?
1 Mogis, God of Slaughter
Lands 40
1 Ghitu Encampment
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Mutavault
1 Rishadan Port
1 Wasteland
34 Swamp
Creatures 2
2 Dark Confidant
3 Fulminator Mage
Instants 13
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Burst Lightning
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Ulcerate
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Terminate
2 Geth's Verdict
2 Victim of Night
2 Diabolic Edict
3 Fire Covenant
3 Kolaghan's Command
3 Dismember
5 Murderous Cut
1 Rolling Earthquake
1 Chain Lightning
1 Duress
1 Innocent Blood
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Raven's Crime
1 Thoughtseize
2 Black Sun's Zenith
2 Dreadbore
2 Hymn to Tourach
2 Sinkhole
2 Smallpox
2 Wrench Mind
2 Chainer's Edict
2 Demonic Tutor
3 Death Cloud
3 Pox
3 Stupor
3 Toxic Deluge
3 Pillage
3 Blightning
4 Rekindled Flame
4 Damnation
1 Shrieking Affliction
2 Bitterblossom
3 Blood Moon
3 Necrogen Mists
3 Bottomless Pit
3 Phyrexian Arena
Artifacts 12
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 The Rack
2 Scepter of Fugue
2 Charcoal Diamond
2 Coldsteel Heart
2 Fire Diamond
2 Rakdos Signet
2 Talisman of Indulgence
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 Ensnaring Bridge
5 Batterskull
Planeswalkers 3
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Chandra, Pyromaster
5 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Edit: ignore the 34 swamps. I got lazy and just put swamps instead of the same lands every rakdos deck uses
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Cut the Demigod. Its pretty bad in singleton
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
My other concern is your lack of card draw. The list seems to be running only Dark Confidant and Phyrexian Arena. Drawing into them might be a bit of a stretch.
About Demigod of Revenge, it might as well read "Pay
What do you think about Mindcrank in here? I could cut Browbeat for Rhystic Tutor to try make the combo with Bloodchief Ascension more consistent although I thought about it earlier and decided against the inclusion of Mindcrank since it does basically nothing on its own. Still, an infinite combo out of nowhere is worth inquiring over.
EDIT: Sorry I just noticed your manlands in addition to The Rack and Shrieking Affliction. Good stuff. My apologies.
I noticed that I was at 101 cards so I shaved off a couple while updating.
-1x Roast
-1x Zo-Zu the Punisher
+1 Dystopia
It was between Zo-Zu the Punisher and Sulfuric Vortex but Zo is vulnerable to removal which he will promptly eat. Meanwhile, Vortex is harder to get rid of and prevents life gain. Dystopia is now officially in.
I also have Skelital Scrying and Chandra, Pyromaster but your probably right, my list does need a bit more card draw. I wonder if Ob Nixilis, Reignited would work in here?
IF mogis is out then your correct. I haven't playtested mogis myself yet but I assume he is going to get exiled/countered a lot. If he isn't on the field then the demigod is just a worse Thundermaw Hellkite (which imo isn't great eithor). I don't like using infinite combo's unless each piece is still good on its own, mindcrank doesn't further your strategy so I wouldn't use it.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
I really like that you run Chandra, and the previously suggested Sarkhan. I'm trying to fit them in. I thought about Ob-Nixilis. He'll be worth considering. I'm just starting to get worried about my curve. I would have to start cutting cards like Oblivion Sower, Master of Cruelties, or Sire of Insanity. Sower will have to be tested once released but Master of Cruelties can just drop them to 1 life in a single blow. I'll have to test for consistency but he seems awfully valuable in our grind. Sire of Insanity allows us to "catch up" on our discard. Sure, he has to survive until end of turn, but it requires an immediate answer otherwise everyone goes into top deck mode. I would definitely think about cards like Flame Rift and Price of Progress in your list considering Batterskull and the fact that you don't burn yourself with symmetrical effects.
About Demigod of Revenge: You would have to drop him with a fair amount of certainty, i.e. when the opponent has no cards in hand. Both builds should be able to wreck hands making for a reiable swing more often than not.
And not once has Mogis ever been countered during my previous testing. People just look at the 2 damage and shrug. He really isn't perceived as a threat.
02 Young Pyromancer
02 Reassembling Skeleton
03 Ophiomancer
03 Contamination
-1x Sire of Insanity
-1x Oblivion Sower
+1x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
+1x Chandra, Pyromaster
While I still plan to test the cuts, Sarkhan and Chandra help me lower the curve a bit while adding additional utility and another potential evasive wincon.
-1x From the Ashes
+1x Price of Progress
I'm not sure From the Ashes will have that big of an impact. I would gladly replace it with Blood Moon but Price of Progress will have to do in the meantime. More direct damage = faster games. That's what we need to work on. It also lowers the curve which is always a plus.
+1x Kederekt Parasite
-1x Veinfire Borderpost
I had a nightmare in which Veinfire got countered on turn 1-3 setting us back and costing us the game. I added Kederekt Parasite. Cheap punisher that will draw out their removal or counters.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
About Molten Vortex, it's really nice because it comes down on turn 1 and is a perfect land-dump to either burn utility or aggressive creatures. It also turns late to mid game land draws into additional burn. Combined with Mogis, it adds up. I like it so far, especially with the deck's 40 lands.
Mind Crank is definitely not making the cut.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
I don't know how efficient the deck is at keeping hands low enough to maximize both Shrieking Affliction and The Rack. Your list runs Bottomless Pit and Necrogen Mists so I think these cards are probably more reliable. Then there's always the question of space. Ultimately, I went with Affliction because of the devotion.
Since we're on the subject, I really like cards like Necrogen and Bottomless but do you think they might be a tad too slow since they cost 3 mana and usually won't affect the opponent before turn 4? Have you thought about Oppression instead? Comes down on turn 3 as well but essentially wrecks decks that play a lot of cheap search spells, mana rocks, dorks or aggressive creatures, i.e. a LOT of decks. Oppression essentially cuts their hand in half, and having to pitch a card every time they cast a Spell Snare is brutal. I haven't tested it yet but that's because I'm really trying to pack as many damage dealing sources as I can... that and Oppression scares me too.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
I always want to play Mogis as soon as possible (usually turn 4) since he is the deck's main clock. Hand control allows to either remove counters or check for answers which means he'll usually make it into play when we decide to cast him. He becomes especially difficult to remove from play once he enters the battlefield so I am not too concerned with removal. At any point after Mogis hits the board, Furnace of Rath will be, in theory, doing what I want it to do. That is, they either sacrifice creatures or pay dearly. Either way, it's card advantage or damage to the dome. I feel where you're coming from though so I will say that it's worth testing before it becomes a permanent fixture.