Rakdos Devoid Aggro

This deck was marginally tier 2 in BFZ. It had no evasion, limited reach, no card advantage. The new OGW version is better. Even against stronger competition, I win ~50% of my games at rank 37.

The new OGW version has lots of haste, some reach, some first strike, some card advantage. Of course, you could also argue that any aggro deck that tops out with 2x TKS and 2x Reality Smasher can't be that bad. Crumbling Vestige is an all-star in a 3-color deck where you want colorless for the later turns.

Creature(27)
4 x Sludge Crawler
2 x Bearer of Silence
3 x Forerunner of Slaughter
2 x Eldrazi Mimic
2 x Eldrazi Obligator
3 x Vile Aggregate
3 x Flayer Drone
2 x Matter Reshaper
2 x Dust Stalker
2 x Thought-Knot Seer
2 x Reality Smasher

Instant(5)
3 x Spatial Contortion
2 x Warping Wail

Sorcery(5)
2 x Touch of the Void
2 x Exquisite Firecraft
1 x Oblivion Strike

Land(23)
2 x Smoldering Marsh
5 x Swamp
5 x Mountain
2 x Dragonskull Summit
2 x Rogue's Passage
4 x Crumbling Vestige
2 x Evolving Wilds
1 x Wastes

To view this deck go to: https://www.magicduelshelper.com/deckli ... 840212c916

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You don't want to run the black Savannah Lion Eldrazi?

Here is my Rakdos Vamps

2 x Asylum Visitor
3 x Carrier Thrall
3 x Heir of Falkenrath
3 x Olivia's Bloodsworn
2 x Child of Night
2 x Elusive Tormentor
1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer
1 x Olivia, Mobilized for War
1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

3 x Grasp of Darkness
3 x Stensia Masquerade
4 x Fiery Temper
2 x Read the Bones
3 x Sinister Concoction
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Chandra, Flamecaller

8 x Swamp
6 x Mountain
2 x Smoldering Marsh
2 x Dragonskull Summit
2 x Westvale Abbey
2 x Cinder Barrens

I used this list with some minor changes, IMO it suffers too much from the same problem as all the other 2 color + colorless lists I have played. If not for the mana issues it would be roughly as potent as vampires.

Here's my own version of Rakdos devoid aggro. I've been playing it recently at rank 40; it's competitive.

It partially avoids the 3 color consistency problem by only having cards that require colorless mana by turn 4 at the earliest. This is a work in progress and I'd appreciate suggestions. It's pretty fun to play. I'm not convinced it requires Reality Smashers or Thought Knot Seers but they've certainly made a difference in some games. Surprisingly, Sky Scourers have made a difference just about every game, although they usually only swing in as 2/2s; occasionally 3/2s. Flayer Drones and Dusk Scavengers are potentially replacements for any of the above.

Visions of Brutality and Bearer of Silence don't play well together, but each card by itself is pretty good. I'd be open to suggestions about better replacements though.

Essence Depleter is interesting but might be replaced for something else. I've kept it because 3 toughness matters sometimes, and the life drain is potentially a cheap mana sink.

Creature (32)
3x Reaver Drone
4x Sludge Crawler
2x Bearer of Silence
4x Sky Scourer
3x Forerunner of Slaughter
2x Wasteland Strangler
3x Essence Depleter
2x Dominator Drone
2x Eldrazi Obligator
3x Vile Aggregate
2x Thought-Knot Seer
2x Reality Smasher

Noncreature (4)
2x Visions of Brutality
2x Touch of the Void

Land (24)
5x Swamp
3x Mountain
1x Wastes
2x Smoldering Marsh
2x Dragonskull Summit
3x Foundry of the Consuls
4x Crumbling Vestige
4x Evolving Wilds

When I fiddled with the deck, Sky Scourer overperformed too. How has Essence Depleter been? It looked pretty meh on paper. It could be the other two Touch of the Void, or Twin Bolts, Exquisite Firecrafts, etc. I found it hard not to include Akoum Firebird in my version of the list.. it has no synergy.. but it won me some games. I put Chandra in too..

I like Flayer Drone a lot more than Essence Depleter. I could see running the depleter as a singleton to finish off an opponent.

I will test your list as you showed it DH.

Red doesn't provide a lot here. I'd cut all red cards besides Forerunner and Aggregate, and add Flayer Drone instead of Obligator as Henwen suggested.

Sludge Crawler should go. This deck doesn't need mana sinks, it wants to win quickly by swarming the opponent. I'd replace it with Guardian Automaton or even Goblin Glory Chaser.

You don't have enough ingest to make Strangler worth including. If you still want to run it, I'd replace Visions of Brutality with Oblivion Strike or Titan's Presense (which is guaranteed to be on at all times in this deck). But overall, I'd cut Strangler entirely for a full set of Dominator Drone since that 2 life loss adds up and gives the deck reach.

In general I think this deck's curve is too high for aggro. Too many 3-drops, not enough 2- and 1-drops. I recommend cutting a number of 3-drops (notably, Depleter and Obligator) for 3x Carrier Thrall and 3x Warping Wail. Wail is important in decks like this because it performs the double duty of ramping out Thought-Knot and Smasher as well as counteracts sorcery speed removal (i. e. all sweepers). It also pumps Scourer at instant speed if you want to get tricksy.

The depleter is a lot better than it appears on paper, but 3 is too many, and I might replace it altogether. It's probably better in a mostly colorless mono black deck. The ability is decent. I've also taken out the 2 Bearer of Silence in favor of an additional Visions of Brutality and something else.

I think there are an awful lot of ways to build this deck.

Vile Aggregate, Flayer Drone, and Sky Scourer encourage you to fill the deck with colorless cards, and there are indeed enough colorless cards to make this possible. Forerunner of Slaughter and Flayer Drone also provides a touch of colorless synergy but do not really require colorless to work.

While the "colorless matters" cards are all decent, none of them are really amazing IMO, except Vile Aggregate which can easily be a 5/5 or better for only 3 mana. But he doesn't actually need colorless spells to function - cards that provide thopters also work, Chandra's Parents like to work with this guy. I think taking the deck in this direction would involve removing all or most of the black cards in favor of red cards and artifacts - aggressive red cards, eldrazi mimic, juggernaut etc. Red + colorless is a different archetype entirely. I think black adds some utility but makes the manabase more complicated.

Wasteland Strangler wants sources of exile to work. At only two copies, I do not consider this an important synergy. If we have exile sources it is a good card, if we don't I would rather not warp the deck in order to squeeze this guy in.

Overall this is a hard deck to build because there are a lot of medium quality cards and few truly outstanding cards. I can see different builds being viable.

*Edit* Is mono red + colorless better?
Here is a link to Rabblemaster's list. http://forum.nogoblinsallowed.com/viewtopic.php?p=459488#p459488. Although adds a few nice toys, I think it might not be worth it. The "colorless matters" theme can feel a little forced in Rakdos colorless.

I am not trying to rain on everyone's parade here, but I have been trying to see if a two color + colorless (non ramp) list is viable, and IMO the mana problems just aren't worth it. If you want a list just for the sake of it that is fine, but I think it helps to look at the list for a comparison at the very least. I think the lists are roughly equivalent without considering mana, but I hate Crumbling Vestige and I love the extra strength/wipe resistance of Ruins of Oran-Rief and Foundry of the Consuls. Plus Blighted Gorge is excellent at providing reach to take out those last few HP.

Is there something I am missing? Do I overemphasize how much the 3 "color" manabase hurts BR devoid?

Hi guys,

Typical long time reader first time poster kind of thing... but given that i might have extra time in between jobs this summer and EMN just hit I decided to take a swing at it.

Came up with this tweaked version of my previous Vampire Deck, whose main goal is to hit fast and hard for the fastest win possible. I've been doing reasonably well with a ratio of around 17-3.

Rakdos Vampire Aggro

Creature(21)
3x Insolent Neonate - Fast Menace creature that ends up filtering a card while enabling madness
2x Asylum Visitor - Aggressive card that can draw you cards on top deck situations
2x Heir of Falkenrath - Madness enabler that gains flying, good versus ping removal (Twin Bolt and Avacyn's Judgment)
2x Stromkirk Condemned - MVP Madness enabler on demand and team pumper.
3x Furyblade Vampire - Insanely good Madness enabler and aggressive. Better than Ravenous Bloodseeker
3x Bloodmad Vampire - Solid aggro creature, cheap if Madnessed
1x Olivia, Mobilized for War - Flying and solid ability but not stellar so far
2x Bloodhall Priest - Cheap Madness creature with great ping for 2 ability on top deck situations
1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - Good top deck and boar stabilizer after wipe
2x Incorrigible Youths - Insanely cheap Madness, Haste is back-braking

Instant(7)
3x Lightning Axe - Creature Removal
4x Fiery Temper - Cheap Removal/Burn

Sorcery(4)
2x Distemper of the Blood - Combat Trick, Trample is a bomb on Bloodmad Vampire
2x Collective Defiance - MVP2 Realistically mostly used for 2 but a life-saver. Burn damage makes sure you keep up on damage per turn while removing a blocker.

Enchantment(4)
2x Senseless Rage - Combat trick if Madnessed - Annoying if put on Insolent Neonate
2x Stensia Masquerade - Slow and might brake your momento, but once online is devastating.

Planeswalker(1)
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited - Late game insurance and draw engine (Not vital to the deck)

Land(23)
2x Smoldering Marsh
7x Swamp
8x Mountain
4x Cinder Barrens
2x Dragonskull Summit

Mana-Base Considerations: I would love to run more Mountains and less Swamps but on Stromkirk Condemned really hurts. Other than that the mana feels decent.

To view this deck go to: Deck Helper - Rakdos Vampires

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As I said the purpose is to have as fast as a vampire deck as possible, with this and consistency in mind might I might consider cutting -1xKalitas, Traitor of Ghet and -1xOb Nixilis Reignited for +1xInsolent Neonate +1xHeir of Falkenrath. (Testing pending)
Let me Know if I missed any obvious improvements, its highly likely.

I would really like your input on this first contribution to a community that provided me valuable learning and through that hours of Duels fun.

I've been tinkering with a rakdos vamp list as well since the release of EMN. Was curious as to your thoughts on the amount of discard outlets in comparison to madness cards. If you are shooting for am even distribution you may want to drop kalitas, olivia, and ob. Perhaps consider adding a few more discard outlets...call of the bloodline, another neonate, or heir would do.

This deck wants to move fast and get huge damage in immediately so kalitas doesn't really fit. Olivia is ok for flying but doesn't discard or pump, so occasionally you would use her for haste. Have you thought about henwier battlements instead? Could have a similar effect. Of all 3 in question I'd keep ob as the deck sorely needs card draw engines.

Thanks for the senseless rage suggestion, I'm gonna work that in!

So far I have rarely had any issue with discard outlets. There are a bunch of them that recur every turn or as needed. 3x Furyblade Vampire 2x Stromkirk Condemned 1x Olivia, Mobilized for War plus the one time things like 3x Insolent Neonate 2x Heir of Falkenrath and 3x Lightning Axe.

As for the Madness cards... some of them you don't really mind playing at sorcery speed. You are almost always tapped out, if your playing on curve, anyway. You rarely leave the mana open on their turn to Madness Asylum Visitor or Stensia Masquerade on turn 2 or 3, its more of a "I have to play Lightning Axe to get rid of a blocker and might as well Madness something out".

With that in mind I do concur that 1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is really slow... but it has bailed me on some grindier mach ups.



Olivia, Mobilized for War is one of your discard outlets, by letting you madness something for playing a creature.

I do agree that it is hard to justify not running the 4th Insolent Neonate but I have yet to find the cut card for it... may be Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet but I don't know... Might give it a shot.

Let me know how you guys are doing with Vampires I do think they are somewhat decent in EMN meta.

The neonate can be so versitile I agree. Almost a must include. Good points on olivia, I have found that I don't typically have enough mana when hard casting creatures to utilize the discarded cards madness effect. I'm typically capping out at 4/5 mana then I'm out of cards. I'll keep tinkering with her.

Have you played with fiery temper at all in this deck? I agree that vamps have some viability in this meta. Still vulnerable to sweepers tho

Hell yes! One of two things happens alot:

I have 4 mana and I escalate Collective Defiance, doing 4dmg to a creature and 3 to the face;
Or the All-Star 1-2 punch Lightning Axe madness Fiery Temper usually 5dmg to a creature and 3 to the face... or maybe to another blocker if present.

As for the sweepers... well the creatures have such high power that I don't overextend alot and keep it to 2-3 creatures in play. doing 5 to 7 dmg, if unblocked. I tend to keep a creature or two in hand for sweepers. Plus, sacking the Insolent Neonate in play might help to regain some cards if you have dead cards in hand.

Useful tip: after land 5 or 6 stop playing them and use cards like Insolent Neonate or Collective Defiance to filter them, unless there is a Bloodhall Priest in play, then go for the ping damage.

EDIT: Forgot to address the Call of the Blood Line option. I've found it to slow and not impressive, though it give you a Madness trigger on demand with a small Lifelink Vampire to boot. its just to small, at 1/1, I find I end up using it only once or twice and it hurts my curve to much.

I guess I put this here now that I'm done with it? Rakdos Vampires!

2 x Lightning Axe

2 x Asylum Visitor
2 x Stromkirk Condemned
3 x Heir of Falkenrath
4 x Olivia's Dragoon
3 x Furyblade Vampire

1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 x Bloodmad Vampire
1 x Olivia, Mobilized for War
3 x Stensia Masquerade
4 x Fiery Temper
1 x Liliana, the Last Hope

1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 x Bloodhall Priest

3 x Incorrigible Youths
1 x Ob Nixilis, Reignited

10 x Swamp
6 x Mountain
2 x Smoldering Marsh
2 x Dragonskull Summit
4 x Evolving Wilds


Creature-heavy approach built to maximize the number of T2 discard outlets into a T3 madness play. You can also madness out Vampires on your opponent's end step for a surprise factor. Very aggressive and very fun.

Couple of thoughts about the vamp lists being posted...

On the lands, I feel like 22 lands is enough to get the job done on these agroo decks that top out with maybe three 4-drops and one 5-drop. I've got basically the same lands, only -4 Evolving Winds and +2 Cinder Barrens. The tap-lands are usually not great, but in a 2-color deck, why run a EW to get a single-color tapped land when I can just play a tapped land that does both colors?

Why has everyone cut Olivia Bloodsworn? The card is usually better than Olivia's Dragoon. The consistent evasion and ability to give almost all of your creatures Haste is worth losing the additional discard outlet, IMHO.

Neonate is a staple. I've won so many games with a Neonate that just keeps attacking and getting bigger and bigger with Masquerade.

Still tinkering with my list, but here it is for people to pick apart. I feel I'm a little short of discard outlets, so open to suggestions there or just general criticism.

4x Insolent Neonate
2x Lightning Axe
2x Sensless Rage (Which I like better than Distemper because the buff doesn't go away).
2x Asylum Visitor
2x Stromkirk Condemned
3x Heir of Falkenrath
2x Olivia's Bloodsworn
2x Furyblade Vampire
1x Liliana, Heretical Healer
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
3x Bloodmad Vampire
1x Olivia, Mobilized for War
2x Stensia Masquerade
4x Fiery Temper
2x Exquisite Firecraft (Maybe will try Collective Defiance in this slot to see how it performs).
2x Bloodhall Priest
2x Incorrigible Youths
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
7x Swamp
9x Mountain
2x Smoldering Marsh
2x Dragonskull Summit
2x Cinder Barrens

Hakeem I deleted your stupid vampires deck. It's awful

I've been enjoying this list with a couple changes:
I removed both Lilly's for Collective Defiance. It's been an amazing card in this build. And I cut Ob for a firecraft. He always felt slow and clunky whenever I had him.

This may sound odd, but I'm thinking I'm going to remove Olivia and Kalitas. They are strong cards but never seem to be a good play when I have them.

I blame pilot error.