Its something I've wanted to do ever since I saw Relentless Rats for the first time but I would pretty much only play it as a joke and because of that acquiring 36-38 copies of the card is not on the top of my priorities. I know it would be almost entirely shut down by Wrath of God, Day of Judgment, Consume the meek, etc. but I still think if you could hold out until turn 6, dropping 2 rats a turn might be unstoppable.
By a relentless rats deck, I mean only rats and land. 36-40 rats and 20-24 land would be ideal but the perfect ratio would require testing.
With some quick basic math, I figured that an ideal draw (i.e. being able to drop 1 land per turn and 1 rat each turn starting at turn 3), this is how your board would look:
(assume you go 2nd so you get a 1st turn draw)
Turn 1 - swamp, 7 cards in hand
Turn 2 - 2 swamps, 7 cards in hand
Turn 3 - 3 swamps, a 2/2 rat, 6 cards in hand
Turn 4 - 4 swamps, 2 3/3 rats, 5 cards in hand
Turn 5 - 5 swamps, 3 4/4 rats, 4 cards in hand
Turn 6 - 6 swamps, 5 6/6 rats, 2 cards in hand
Turn 7 - 7 swamps, 7 8/8 rats, 0 cards in hand
... and so on. You run out of cards (again, with a perfect draw) on turn 7. If you only draw rats once you get your 6th land out, you can have 9 10/10 rats by turn 8 :o!
Sure, the weaknesses I mentioned earlier could grind this deck to a halt, but if the opponent didn't see it coming or only had spot removal it wouldn't matter a whole lot. If they let you survive until turn 6 and aren't sitting on a mass removal, it might be too late for them to do anything.
Thrumming stone just makes it ridiculous. I want to proxy this deck and see how mad my friends get lol
The only problem with this build is that you really need a way to find Thrumming Stone, imo. Maybe even just swapping out swamps for Street Wraiths and Gitaxian Probes to shrink the deck by 8. Best part, here, is that it also means you need fewer lands to maintain the proper ratio.
One counterbore, extirpate or surgical extraction and you can say bye-bye to your deck. Unfortunately black lacks good counterspells to deal with this kind of problem. Maybe consider Aether Vial to get the rats out fast before your opponent can play any of those cards, or maybe sideboard in mental misstep for the 2 extraction cards. Some kind of card draw, like sign in blood, will allow you to keep going and never run out of steam.
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I don't think any of those cards are necessary. Yes your deck can be ruined by certain strategies, but I don't think thats the point. The point is to play it and catch your friends off guard a couple times, get some lulz, and then put the deck away for a couple months and bust it out again when they aren't expecting it. No need to bother with a sideboard, but thats just my opinion.
I also feel thrumming stone is, while a lot of fun, not NECESSARY for the deck, so you shouldn't bother with any kind of tutor or extra cyclers. I say keep the deck as straightforward as possible.
My husband has a relentless rats deck that uses thrumming stone. He can usually get all his rats out in one go. The problem is, I play a lot of white or blue so I counter on my turn with a Wrath of God or an Evacuation. If there was a way to give the rats haste....
By a relentless rats deck, I mean only rats and land. 36-40 rats and 20-24 land would be ideal but the perfect ratio would require testing.
With some quick basic math, I figured that an ideal draw (i.e. being able to drop 1 land per turn and 1 rat each turn starting at turn 3), this is how your board would look:
(assume you go 2nd so you get a 1st turn draw)
Turn 1 - swamp, 7 cards in hand
Turn 2 - 2 swamps, 7 cards in hand
Turn 3 - 3 swamps, a 2/2 rat, 6 cards in hand
Turn 4 - 4 swamps, 2 3/3 rats, 5 cards in hand
Turn 5 - 5 swamps, 3 4/4 rats, 4 cards in hand
Turn 6 - 6 swamps, 5 6/6 rats, 2 cards in hand
Turn 7 - 7 swamps, 7 8/8 rats, 0 cards in hand
... and so on. You run out of cards (again, with a perfect draw) on turn 7. If you only draw rats once you get your 6th land out, you can have 9 10/10 rats by turn 8 :o!
Sure, the weaknesses I mentioned earlier could grind this deck to a halt, but if the opponent didn't see it coming or only had spot removal it wouldn't matter a whole lot. If they let you survive until turn 6 and aren't sitting on a mass removal, it might be too late for them to do anything.
Thoughts?
.
CG
4 Thrumming Stone
21 Swamp
Thrumming stone just makes it ridiculous. I want to proxy this deck and see how mad my friends get lol
The only problem with this build is that you really need a way to find Thrumming Stone, imo. Maybe even just swapping out swamps for Street Wraiths and Gitaxian Probes to shrink the deck by 8. Best part, here, is that it also means you need fewer lands to maintain the proper ratio.
4 Thrumming Stone
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Street Wraith
18 Swamp
CG
WRGRWMayael of the Anima (N00b Deck)
WBGBWGhave, Guru of Spores
URBRUSedris, the Traitor King (Unearth Goodies)
Working on:
WUBUWMerieke Ri Berit (Tapalicious)
I also feel thrumming stone is, while a lot of fun, not NECESSARY for the deck, so you shouldn't bother with any kind of tutor or extra cyclers. I say keep the deck as straightforward as possible.
I've seen the deck played, but it's a rather dull deck. If you know what you are going to draw, magic isn't that much fun.
These are the decks that I have constructed, and are ready to play:
01. Ankh Sligh to be exact.
30x Relentless Rats
Spells
4x Thrumming Stone
2x Mortal Combat
4x Desperate Research
2x Coat of Arms
4x Swarmyard
14x Swamp
Cauldron Haze would stop Wrath though...
Thanks to GR @ Yavin IV Studios for the signature!