I know that this card needs some setup but there are few creatures that are as strong as this guy in modern for this mana cost.Rakdos, Lord of Riots allows you to nearly cast cards like Batterskull or Wurmcoil Engine for free once he attacks once. While this will probably never be a tournament deck for SCG. I could see this being a FNM modern deck for sure.
If you think about it, you're really just spending 2 cards for some damage and a big guy. You know what other deck is like that? Bogles. Play a Bogle, throw a bunch of auras on it and you have a 6/6 flying trampler, or better. The difference is that Bogles cost 1 mana, so you can begin attacking as soon as turn 2, whereas Rakdos costs 4 (and isn't in green, I might add).
If you think about it, you're really just spending 2 cards for some damage and a big guy. You know what other deck is like that? Bogles. Play Bogle, throw a bunch of auras on it and you have a 6/6 flying trampler, or better. The difference is that Bogles cost 1 mana, so you can begin attacking as soon as turn 2, whereas Rakdos costs 4 (and isn't in green, I might add).
.... You have to use burn spells? You can't swing with Creatures?
The problem with Rakdos isn't that it's hard to make an opponent lose life (In RB), it's that his CMC is at that sweet spot where he needs to win you the game when he drops.
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Oath of the Gatewatch; the set that caused the competitive community to freak out over Basic Lands.
.... You have to use burn spells? You can't swing with Creatures?
The problem with Rakdos isn't that it's hard to make an opponent lose life (In RB), it's that his CMC is at that sweet spot where he needs to win you the game when he drops.
If you could make them connect reliably, then sure. Try not to play something that gets walled by a Tarmogoyf.
.... You have to use burn spells? You can't swing with Creatures?
The problem with Rakdos isn't that it's hard to make an opponent lose life (In RB), it's that his CMC is at that sweet spot where he needs to win you the game when he drops.
If you could make them connect reliably, then sure. Try not to play something that gets walled by a Tarmogoyf.
aggressive dudes with burn to force them through + Chandra, Pyromaster would probably do the trick (there's also Hellrider, but sadly no 3 drops I can think of). Question is what are you gonna use the cost reduction on? If you're playing him in an aggressive build, stuff like Wurmcoil makes less sense to run.
I've played this in EDH with the aid of Seal of Fire, Staggershock, Gut Shot, and a few small early creatures.
The rest of the deck was giant creatures with minimal colors. He goes especially well with Knollspine Dragon.
You could definitely build a deck around this. I would run some of those zero-mana triggers. Add in good black and red removal that is cheap. Top it off with a bunch of huge creatures. Add in 4 Through the Breach for extra fun.
While I don't expect this strategy to win the next SCG, I could definitely see doing better than average at an FNM when people have no idea what is going on.
And do what with it? I mean, you could wait four turns to tick it up enough to put Rakdos straight into play, but at that point you probably could have hard casted him sooner, especially if Vial wasn't in your opening hand. In the mean time, Vial sits on the field doing nothing for a few turns. Or if its not doing nothing then you need a critical mass of 2-3 drops, which don't work very well with the "Use Rakdos to cast huge fatties for next to nothing" plan.
And even if you do get Rakdos into play and manage to connect with him (which is quite a feat in its own right), what great reward do you get for the effort? You put a Wurmcoil Engine into play that you could have hardcasted next turn anyway? You can't get redundant Wurmcoils since Batterskull doesn't work with Rakdos, and all the best Dragons are usually good because they come with Haste, which is also antisynergy with Rakdos. The good dragons that would both benefit from his cost reduction and be good enough to end the game on their own (since the opponent will prioritize Rakdos for removal) are generally unplayable on their own merits (which at least Wurmcoil is legit good on its own).
Rakdos, while very good when he starts generating value, is a very win-more card because if you can start swinging with him consistently enough to enough value to justify going through all the set up, you've already won the game.
Most likely you run a creature heavy deck to run Rakdos. So aether vial vials in all those dudes, pick ones with ETB effects for bonuses. Vial allows you to avoid the additional casting cost of Rakdos, avoids counters, lets you put it in end of opponents turn and start swinging quickly.
Alright, if you don't like that then goryo's vengeance to swing for 6 then drop a big finisher like wurmcoil or maybe inferno titan to control the board the rest of the game.
And yes, I know if you're going to goryo's why not emrakul or griselbrand, that point it moot based on the OP.
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Modern UB Tezzerator UBW Gifts B 8Rack
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I don't think there is a point in casting another creature after Rakdos. People focus too much on his last ability like it's what defines him and somehow forget that he is a 6/6 Flying Trampler for four mana... Anything after that is pretty win more. Any competitive deck that features Rakdos should have him as its top end, not as some finicky ramp strategy.
Some things going on in Rakdos' favor is that he dodges a lot of the most common removal in the format, only really suffering to Path to Exile, and barring creatures only Tron variants play, nothing really beats him toe to toe. He also doesn't get chump blocked by Lingering Souls, which is great.
As for getting him into play some times people try and get too cute with bad cards, when just a simple wide agro strategy with Haste creatures works just as well. No opponent expects Rakdos, and after the first time they will be on complete tilt. There are even some agro creatures that facilitate Rakdos, like Keldon Marauders, which might I add is perfectly on curve with Rakdos if they don't remove him. Play it, it swing on your next turn, and on the following turn it dies to Vanishing and triggers its damage ability allowing you to cast Rakdos.
I honestly do think there is room for Rakdos in the Modern format, it's a cheap threat with simple hoops to jump through that is a must answer.
My first Modern deck was a BR Rakdos deck. Tormented Soul, Mogg Fanatic, Seal of Fire, and Gut Shot were great to do this. I ran things like Brute Strength to get miles out of Soul. I found the more I would focus on Rakdos's second ability, the more my deck would slow down. My game plan was just to drop Rakdos ASAP and swing till somebody dies.
Cast Beck // Call, Shock your opponent, cast Rakdos, Lord of Riots, then into a whole bunch of 2 cmc colorless artifact creatures, into a Grapeshot.
I feel that'd be the best abuse of his ability, rather than trying to cheat out large fat artifact creatures. It's still not very viable though.
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Come watch me stream over at my twitch channel. I play Loam Pox, Ad Nauseam, and jank in modern on MTGO.
I think we shouldn't worry about getting him into play, that's easy, what is the benefit?
We can put Wurmcoils into play for free
Cheap or free eldrazi
6/6 Flying trampler for 4
Total Badass Demon
Combo Wombos
Cons
Costs BBRR, can't really splash consistently
Comes down turn 4 when most decks win and doesn't have haste
Dies to Path to exile, also has no ETB (although he functions the turn he comes down)
Doesnt combo with aggro strategies which enable him
He could be ramped out potentially turn 2/3 with double simian spirit guide but that just leads to 3/2 for 1's
I don't think he needs to outright win the game when he hits, but I think for a 4cc non splashable beater he needs to be a 2 for 1. Compare him to Bloodbraid Elf. BBE comes in swinging and will always be a 2 for 1. That is the kind of 4cc beater modern is looking for. I realize its banned but I'm just using it as an example.
I don't think there is a point in casting another creature after Rakdos. People focus too much on his last ability like it's what defines him and somehow forget that he is a 6/6 Flying Trampler for four mana... Anything after that is pretty win more. Any competitive deck that features Rakdos should have him as its top end, not as some finicky ramp strategy.
Quotin' and promotin'.
He worked nice in RB Aggro in Standard as a finisher, with the perk of being able to drop a huge Fanatic of Mogis for one or two mana sometimes. He is not hard to cast, but his cost-reduction ability becomes a little pointless after you have a 6/6 trampling flyer on the board.
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GW Hatebears more like HateBROS BWR THE ARISTAHCRATZ!
I don't think there is a point in casting another creature after Rakdos. People focus too much on his last ability like it's what defines him and somehow forget that he is a 6/6 Flying Trampler for four mana... Anything after that is pretty win more.
I think it's one of these trap abilities that Wizards sometimes puts on cards. And people are really thrown off by them.
It was the same with Blood Baron of Vizkopa. So many people talking about his last ability when it's actually totally irrelevant since the card is already worth it without it.
I don't think there is a point in casting another creature after Rakdos. People focus too much on his last ability like it's what defines him and somehow forget that he is a 6/6 Flying Trampler for four mana... Anything after that is pretty win more. Any competitive deck that features Rakdos should have him as its top end, not as some finicky ramp strategy.
Some things going on in Rakdos' favor is that he dodges a lot of the most common removal in the format, only really suffering to Path to Exile, and barring creatures only Tron variants play, nothing really beats him toe to toe. He also doesn't get chump blocked by Lingering Souls, which is great.
As for getting him into play some times people try and get too cute with bad cards, when just a simple wide agro strategy with Haste creatures works just as well. No opponent expects Rakdos, and after the first time they will be on complete tilt. There are even some agro creatures that facilitate Rakdos, like Keldon Marauders, which might I add is perfectly on curve with Rakdos if they don't remove him. Play it, it swing on your next turn, and on the following turn it dies to Vanishing and triggers its damage ability allowing you to cast Rakdos.
I honestly do think there is room for Rakdos in the Modern format, it's a cheap threat with simple hoops to jump through that is a must answer.
After seeing the feedback the consensus is that I should be focusing on having Rakdos be the curve topping wincon to the deck. That makes sense given how powerful he is on his own.
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On mtgsalvation people don't want to discuss ideas, so I give people something else to discuss: my controversial opinions.
I don't think there is a point in casting another creature after Rakdos. People focus too much on his last ability like it's what defines him and somehow forget that he is a 6/6 Flying Trampler for four mana... Anything after that is pretty win more. Any competitive deck that features Rakdos should have him as its top end, not as some finicky ramp strategy.
Some things going on in Rakdos' favor is that he dodges a lot of the most common removal in the format, only really suffering to Path to Exile, and barring creatures only Tron variants play, nothing really beats him toe to toe. He also doesn't get chump blocked by Lingering Souls, which is great.
As for getting him into play some times people try and get too cute with bad cards, when just a simple wide agro strategy with Haste creatures works just as well. No opponent expects Rakdos, and after the first time they will be on complete tilt. There are even some agro creatures that facilitate Rakdos, like Keldon Marauders, which might I add is perfectly on curve with Rakdos if they don't remove him. Play it, it swing on your next turn, and on the following turn it dies to Vanishing and triggers its damage ability allowing you to cast Rakdos.
I honestly do think there is room for Rakdos in the Modern format, it's a cheap threat with simple hoops to jump through that is a must answer.
After seeing the feedback the consensus is that I should be focusing on having Rakdos be the curve topping wincon to the deck. That makes sense given how powerful he is on his own.
Having said that, you could probably use a few artifact creatures in the build; you're still getting free colorless mana, afterall.
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Oath of the Gatewatch; the set that caused the competitive community to freak out over Basic Lands.
Here are some ideas to get Rakdos out:
Curse of the Pierced Heart
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Mogis, God of Slaughter
Generic burn cards lightning bolt, Skullcrack, rift bolt, etc
Flash him in once the opponent's has cracked a fetch land via Vedalken Orrery, Alchemist's Refuge , Leyline of Anticipation, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
Rakdos, Lord of Riots only lowers creature cards' CMC, and Batterskull is in fact an artifact
I call this the "Bloodthirst Dilemma". Burn spells other than Rift Bolt and Seal of Fire are bad for fulfilling Rakdos' cast criterion.
If you think about it, you're really just spending 2 cards for some damage and a big guy. You know what other deck is like that? Bogles. Play a Bogle, throw a bunch of auras on it and you have a 6/6 flying trampler, or better. The difference is that Bogles cost 1 mana, so you can begin attacking as soon as turn 2, whereas Rakdos costs 4 (and isn't in green, I might add).
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
.... You have to use burn spells? You can't swing with Creatures?
The problem with Rakdos isn't that it's hard to make an opponent lose life (In RB), it's that his CMC is at that sweet spot where he needs to win you the game when he drops.
In black there is Tormented Soul, Inkfathom Infiltrator and Dauthi Slayer.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
And stuff like Mogg Fanatic, Spiteful Returned, or other Sac to Damage stuff.
Now, if you would really want to play any of them, I highly doubt.
The rest of the deck was giant creatures with minimal colors. He goes especially well with Knollspine Dragon.
You could definitely build a deck around this. I would run some of those zero-mana triggers. Add in good black and red removal that is cheap. Top it off with a bunch of huge creatures. Add in 4 Through the Breach for extra fun.
While I don't expect this strategy to win the next SCG, I could definitely see doing better than average at an FNM when people have no idea what is going on.
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UB Tezzerator
UBW Gifts
B 8Rack
Legacy
RB Goblins
And do what with it? I mean, you could wait four turns to tick it up enough to put Rakdos straight into play, but at that point you probably could have hard casted him sooner, especially if Vial wasn't in your opening hand. In the mean time, Vial sits on the field doing nothing for a few turns. Or if its not doing nothing then you need a critical mass of 2-3 drops, which don't work very well with the "Use Rakdos to cast huge fatties for next to nothing" plan.
And even if you do get Rakdos into play and manage to connect with him (which is quite a feat in its own right), what great reward do you get for the effort? You put a Wurmcoil Engine into play that you could have hardcasted next turn anyway? You can't get redundant Wurmcoils since Batterskull doesn't work with Rakdos, and all the best Dragons are usually good because they come with Haste, which is also antisynergy with Rakdos. The good dragons that would both benefit from his cost reduction and be good enough to end the game on their own (since the opponent will prioritize Rakdos for removal) are generally unplayable on their own merits (which at least Wurmcoil is legit good on its own).
Rakdos, while very good when he starts generating value, is a very win-more card because if you can start swinging with him consistently enough to enough value to justify going through all the set up, you've already won the game.
Alright, if you don't like that then goryo's vengeance to swing for 6 then drop a big finisher like wurmcoil or maybe inferno titan to control the board the rest of the game.
And yes, I know if you're going to goryo's why not emrakul or griselbrand, that point it moot based on the OP.
UB Tezzerator
UBW Gifts
B 8Rack
Legacy
RB Goblins
Some things going on in Rakdos' favor is that he dodges a lot of the most common removal in the format, only really suffering to Path to Exile, and barring creatures only Tron variants play, nothing really beats him toe to toe. He also doesn't get chump blocked by Lingering Souls, which is great.
As for getting him into play some times people try and get too cute with bad cards, when just a simple wide agro strategy with Haste creatures works just as well. No opponent expects Rakdos, and after the first time they will be on complete tilt. There are even some agro creatures that facilitate Rakdos, like Keldon Marauders, which might I add is perfectly on curve with Rakdos if they don't remove him. Play it, it swing on your next turn, and on the following turn it dies to Vanishing and triggers its damage ability allowing you to cast Rakdos.
I honestly do think there is room for Rakdos in the Modern format, it's a cheap threat with simple hoops to jump through that is a must answer.
Cheeri0sXWU
Reid Duke's Level One
Who's the Beatdown
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Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
I feel that'd be the best abuse of his ability, rather than trying to cheat out large fat artifact creatures. It's still not very viable though.
We can put Wurmcoils into play for free
Cheap or free eldrazi
6/6 Flying trampler for 4
Total Badass Demon
Combo Wombos
Cons
Costs BBRR, can't really splash consistently
Comes down turn 4 when most decks win and doesn't have haste
Dies to Path to exile, also has no ETB (although he functions the turn he comes down)
Doesnt combo with aggro strategies which enable him
He could be ramped out potentially turn 2/3 with double simian spirit guide but that just leads to 3/2 for 1's
Quotin' and promotin'.
He worked nice in RB Aggro in Standard as a finisher, with the perk of being able to drop a huge Fanatic of Mogis for one or two mana sometimes. He is not hard to cast, but his cost-reduction ability becomes a little pointless after you have a 6/6 trampling flyer on the board.
BWR THE ARISTAHCRATZ!
I think it's one of these trap abilities that Wizards sometimes puts on cards. And people are really thrown off by them.
It was the same with Blood Baron of Vizkopa. So many people talking about his last ability when it's actually totally irrelevant since the card is already worth it without it.
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
I think I have to disagree; Bloodsoaked Champion is good, it's just not got a shell right now.
After seeing the feedback the consensus is that I should be focusing on having Rakdos be the curve topping wincon to the deck. That makes sense given how powerful he is on his own.
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
Actually, champion is common in the new aristocrats build. Terrific as a sac creature.
UB Tezzerator
UBW Gifts
B 8Rack
Legacy
RB Goblins
Having said that, you could probably use a few artifact creatures in the build; you're still getting free colorless mana, afterall.