So, Rakdos, Lord of Riots is the face card for the Rajdos guild kit: the art looks cool, I've always liked the guy, and he looks like he would interact well with Spectacle, and in general with a heavy damage/burn strategy. So yeah, I have decided to build a deck for him but, as a long-time Johnny, I'm kind of out of my element trying to build a deck that is all about dropping big fatties at a discount. Is "emptying the enemy hands then dropping big things and swinging" enough of a wincon with Rakdos, or are there any cool interactions/combos one could leverage to force a victory?
I personally would remove the guildgates and max out the Briefings (if it is at all possible for you to do so; of course), because 22 lands should be enough for a deck like this. Alternatively, upon cutting to 22 lands you could increase Briefing to 2, and then run a couple guild signets (Dimir Signet for example) to help accelerate your mana. That aside, I like your latest build
The Rakdos one is a must for me, and while Azorius and Gruul don't seem like much, they do have a few cards I need/like, so I'll need to think about it. Simic and Orzhov I'm not interested in.
Ok sorry to bug you here, but this is really starting to get ridiculous.
It's about this topic. Remember when I asked you if it was ok to just start a new account, and to remake the one topic I cared about rather than trying to get my old stuff revived? Yeah, after you said it was ok, I proceeded to do just that... And the topic got automatically flagged as spam, for reasons I as of yet don't understand: I was told it was because it was similar to the old one and so it triggered an automatic anti-spambot system, but with the old one deleted is that even an issue? Anyway, I contacted the competent mod of the Custom Set Creation area, and the topic was restored... And now it's in the spambot trash bin again.
Why is this happening? I'm no bloody spambot. I just want to share my created cards in peace.
Usually, my ideal balance when playing control is something like this:
- 4 to 8 counters
- 4 to 6 spot removals
- 2 or less mass removals
- No more than 4 wincons (Chromium and Teferi)
Rest should be draw power, a couple creatures with good ETB effects and, of course, lands. Before I proceed with my advice therefore ask: do you have the card pool to put together something with this kind of ratio? I'm sorry to say, but you're just not running enough artifacts for Tezzeret and Karn to be relevant: Chromium (flash him in, and then you've got a difficult to remove 7/7 flying threat to attack with) and Teferi (draws cards, untaps lands, acts as emergency removal: this guy can do literally everything a control deck needs) should be your wincons, but again, don't run more than 4 in total between the two, or you'll risk getting your hand clogged with cards with too high a cost to actually cast.
Rakdos because Judith is the kind of woman I could instantly fall in love with IRL. This is no exaggeration. Ironically, in GRN I picked Golgari because I felt the exact same way about Izoni, I never thought an even more fascinating woman could pop up so soon.
What can I say? Apparently "my type" consists of ladies who are tall, leggy, sophisticated, and have hobbies/passions that range from creepy to downright gory.
Due to my shaky health, I wasn't planning to restore, much less continue, that series, and I really don't care about my old account (also because I've started this new one, I don't need two). If you really liked them, maybe I could request to have just them brought back? But if bringing them back without restoring the account would not be possible, then you know what? I'll just go ahead and make a new and improved version of the series when I feel better. To be honest, the fact that you, busy as you are, would have found the time not only to check them out but also enjoy them is something that really warms my heart, so just because of that, I wouldn't mind reposting them with better formatting, polished (and less opinion-based) writing style, and more focus on the most recent chapters of the story everyone is more familiar with.
You really made my day there, I tell you: I'm in a rather dark spot right now, so being complimented on something I poured my heart on means a lot to me
How about cutting red, which contributes next to nothing outside of the wheels (but it seems to me that blue and black already have plenty of options for that, and you can also delve into "group hugs" effects such as Anvil of Bogardan or Dictate of Kruphix), and converting this project to Esper colors? It's just that, between Waste Not, Revel in Riches, Mechanized Production, Dictate of Kruphix and, obviously, the titular Smothering Tithe, it seems to me that Enchantments would be a central aspect of a deck like this... And that being the case, Zur the Enchanter would make it infinitely easier to assemble your engine: sure, he doesn't fetch Tithe itself, but he does fetch other important enchantments, leaving you free to focus your tutors on getting that Tithe since it's so important to you.
Alternatively, Varina, Lich Queen could be a good option, because she really appreciates the wheels and Waste Not makes zombies.
Judith looks fine as a commander. I'd probably play her as kind of an aggressive aristocrats list. Focus on swarming with tokens then use Judith and cards like Goblin Bombardment as reach to finish people off. Red and black both have some decent burst token generation thanks to goblins and zombies. It's not going to stand up to a super competitive meta, but it could easily be tuned for a variety of power levels under that.
Her ability only triggers off non-tokens
Alternatively, she could perhaps be good under other Marchesa? She looks like she could work very well alongside cards that a Marchesa deck wants to be running anyway, such as Carrion Feeder. Although finding a way to reliably use her as a commander would still be my priority lol.
By the way, do we have any info on when the guild kit decklists and the cards with new art from them will be revealed? The lands have already been spoiled...
This. The Rakdos kit is something I'm buying regardless, but I'm really curious as far as the other ones go. In GRN we saw that, of the five guilds, two were represented by a previous incarnation of the current leader (Boros with Aurelia and Selesnya with Trostani), one was represented by a previous incarnation of a character who's no longer the leader (Izzet with Niv), and two were represented by important members newly introduced as cards in GRN itself (Dimir with Etrata and Golgari with Izoni). So by the same token, what should we expect from the RNA kits?
Do you guys think Judith, the Scourge Diva could have potential as a commander? I like her so much that I'm determined to play her in Standard, but I also need to plan something to do with her card once she rotates. Rakdos is a color combination I've always liked, especially when it comes to cards related to the actual guild, but I've never been able to find a commander I liked, much less an efficient list. Some guild-themed enchantments, like Pan Magnification and Theater of Horrors are the kind of stuff I'd really love to try in the format but, again, what commander?
I really want Judith to be good or at least decent at the helm, but if she really cannot be, then perhaps she could be in the 99 of a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch deck? Or RtR Rakdos deck?
That said, I agree that partnering with a LGS would be the best course of action: should that not be feasible, then my vote goes to organizing a draft: don't sell short kids' ability to learn new rules, even if it takes a while they'll stay with you as long as the end game s something they're interested in. And I mean, surely the ones with the slick decks will complain, but in the end they'll have fun too: in the other scenario, the ones complaining (the kids with borrowed decks) would also end up not having any fun, so yeah, the draft really seems the lesser evil here.
As part of the EU thing, my account was deleted, but I wasn't particularly sad about it, because there was one single topic started by me which was of any importance, and it was approaching necro time anyway because, having been gravely ill the past week and a half, I was unable to update it. So yeah, rather than giving you more work in the form of one more guy demanding to have his account restored and his important topic revived, I figured I'd just go ahead and make a new account, with which I would then recreate the aforementioned important topic anew (my health conditions are SLIGHTLY improving, so I feel confident I'd be able to update it more often). Before I go ahead and do just that, however, I wanted to confirm that it wouldn't be against any rules.
It's about this topic. Remember when I asked you if it was ok to just start a new account, and to remake the one topic I cared about rather than trying to get my old stuff revived? Yeah, after you said it was ok, I proceeded to do just that... And the topic got automatically flagged as spam, for reasons I as of yet don't understand: I was told it was because it was similar to the old one and so it triggered an automatic anti-spambot system, but with the old one deleted is that even an issue? Anyway, I contacted the competent mod of the Custom Set Creation area, and the topic was restored... And now it's in the spambot trash bin again.
Why is this happening? I'm no bloody spambot. I just want to share my created cards in peace.
- 4 to 8 counters
- 4 to 6 spot removals
- 2 or less mass removals
- No more than 4 wincons (Chromium and Teferi)
Rest should be draw power, a couple creatures with good ETB effects and, of course, lands. Before I proceed with my advice therefore ask: do you have the card pool to put together something with this kind of ratio? I'm sorry to say, but you're just not running enough artifacts for Tezzeret and Karn to be relevant: Chromium (flash him in, and then you've got a difficult to remove 7/7 flying threat to attack with) and Teferi (draws cards, untaps lands, acts as emergency removal: this guy can do literally everything a control deck needs) should be your wincons, but again, don't run more than 4 in total between the two, or you'll risk getting your hand clogged with cards with too high a cost to actually cast.
What can I say? Apparently "my type" consists of ladies who are tall, leggy, sophisticated, and have hobbies/passions that range from creepy to downright gory.
You really made my day there, I tell you: I'm in a rather dark spot right now, so being complimented on something I poured my heart on means a lot to me
Alternatively, Varina, Lich Queen could be a good option, because she really appreciates the wheels and Waste Not makes zombies.
Her ability only triggers off non-tokens
Alternatively, she could perhaps be good under other Marchesa? She looks like she could work very well alongside cards that a Marchesa deck wants to be running anyway, such as Carrion Feeder. Although finding a way to reliably use her as a commander would still be my priority lol.
This. The Rakdos kit is something I'm buying regardless, but I'm really curious as far as the other ones go. In GRN we saw that, of the five guilds, two were represented by a previous incarnation of the current leader (Boros with Aurelia and Selesnya with Trostani), one was represented by a previous incarnation of a character who's no longer the leader (Izzet with Niv), and two were represented by important members newly introduced as cards in GRN itself (Dimir with Etrata and Golgari with Izoni). So by the same token, what should we expect from the RNA kits?
I really want Judith to be good or at least decent at the helm, but if she really cannot be, then perhaps she could be in the 99 of a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch deck? Or RtR Rakdos deck?
That said, I agree that partnering with a LGS would be the best course of action: should that not be feasible, then my vote goes to organizing a draft: don't sell short kids' ability to learn new rules, even if it takes a while they'll stay with you as long as the end game s something they're interested in. And I mean, surely the ones with the slick decks will complain, but in the end they'll have fun too: in the other scenario, the ones complaining (the kids with borrowed decks) would also end up not having any fun, so yeah, the draft really seems the lesser evil here.