Ikoria, Lair of Behemoths really changed the competitive Magic: The Gathering landscape with the introduction of Companions, spawning brand-new deck archetypes, and improving on old ones. However, the blood-thirsty Rakdos frenzy can never be stopped even by Godzilla himself. Rakdos Sacrifice is still a top-performing deck and for a good reason.
Deck Tech
Rakdos is a fun-loving guild lead by a giant demon who enjoys nothing more than causing havoc on the streets of Ravnica by throwing the most unforgettable shows complete with dancing and acrobatics mixed with a healthy dose of uncontrollable violence and arson. That’s what a killer combo of black and red mana does to you.
No other deck currently in Standard represents the guide’s ethos better than Rakdos Sacrifice. Much like the Cult itself, this build is straightforward and bent on destruction – yours and your opponent’s! Everything you need to know is in the name – it’s a Rakdos deck (meaning black and red) and it relies on Sacrificing your permanents to deal damage to the opponent until their life total reaches 0. The brew was perfected when War of the Spark brought Mayhem Devil, a key piece to the strategy. However, now that Ikoria is here, things are really heating up – pun intended, of course! Let’s look at a decklist.
Rakdos Sacrifice
This is a classic build that doesn’t need fancy Companions to win. It gets straight to the point and gets the job done.
MAINBOARD
4x Cauldron Familiar
4x Fiend Artisan
3x Gutterbones
2x Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
2x Lurrus of the Dream Den
4x Mayhem Devil
1x Midnight Reaper
2x Mire Triton
4x Priest of Forgotten Gods
1x Rix Maadi Reveler
1x Woe Strider
1x Call of the Death-Dweller
4x Claim the Firstborn
4x Witch's Oven
4x Blood Crypt
2x Castle Locthwain
4x Fabled Passage
4x Mountain
5x Swamp
4x Temple of Malice
SIDEBOARD
2x Act of Treason
2x Agonizing Remorse
1x Angrath's Rampage
1x Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display
1x Epic Downfall
1x Leyline of the Void
1x Mire's Grasp
2x Noxious Grasp
1x Pharika's Libation
1x Redcap Melee
1x Rotting Regisaur
1x Storm's Wrath
Lurrus Sacrifice
Tired of the tested and true vanilla build? Have a fancy new companion that you want to use? Let’s go ahead and do that, too! After all, who needs speels with converted mana cost 3 or more!
MAINBOARD
4x Cauldron Familiar
4x Dreadhorde Butcher
4x Knight of the Ebon Legion
2x Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
4x Mire Triton
4x Priest of Forgotten Gods
3x Serrated Scorpion
4x Call of the Death-Dweller
4x Claim the Firstborn
3x Light Up the Stage
4x Witch's Oven
4x Blood Crypt
3x Castle Locthwain
4x Fabled Passage
4x Mountain
5x Swamp
SIDEBOARD
2x Act of Treason
3x Cry of the Carnarium
2x Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display
3x Extinction Event
1x Lurrus of the Dream Den
2x Pharika's Libation
2x The Elderspell
Lurrus of the Deam Den is pretty amazing value regardless of whether he’s your companion or just a card in the mainboard. The creature-heavy environment of Standard makes Limited bombs like Act of Treason really good and older cards like Witch’s Oven, Light up the Stage, and of course, Mayhem Devil work just like they always have. One thing is certain – it’s a good time to be a Rakdos player!
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