Raking Claws

Instant

Target creature gains double strike until end of turn.

Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Freeform	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Pauper Duel Commander	Legal
Pauper EDH	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (21)

legendofa on Thunderstruck ~70$

1 month ago

Any thoughts on double strike? Quick Draw looks like the best option, but Temur Battle Rage, Raking Claws, Buccaneer's Bravado, or Assault Strobe could also quicken your game and push a lot of damage from Chandra's Spitfire through for a turn.

xMrHyde on

3 years ago

Brickhouse, thanks for the comment dude, much appreciated! I was originally running Thud but found it didn't work at all against instant speed removal. Good call with the Raking Claws - worst case it helps you dig. Has it been successful?

I discovered Groundbreaker a while ago - knew I had to make a deck with it and Ball Lightning! Lightning Skelemental was icing on the cake when it released.

Brickhouse on

3 years ago

Wow! I like what you have going! I have a similar budget deck that is only Black and Red. Balls Lightning. It's probably one of the sharpest budget decks that I have made. I have some specific cards that developed like Thud in place of Fling. I ran Temur Battle Rage and I wound up changing it to Raking Claws because the balls already have trample and over Assault Strobe because you need instant speed with the Thunderkin Awakener.

Good stuff! I didn't even know there was a green ball lightning.

jessesl66 on Balls Lightning

3 years ago

Very nice! I'd think Raking Claws would work better than Temur Battle Rage though

lagotripha on DoubleStalk - $20 Budget Build

3 years ago

Neat list. Why Armed / Dangerous over Raking Claws maindeck? Is the +1/+1 that impactful compared to cycling?

I'd look at Fly + dungeons as a way to get a little more card advantage and ultility, alternatively Fire Giant's Fury in games that are drawing out. Arm with AEther is a cute trick.

If you want sources of direct damage, Five-Alarm Fire is a cheap lava axe though it prefers going wide, while Ongoing Investigation offers a way to stretch into midrange with an enchantment focus. Flamespeaker's Will is neat artifact removal for the sideboard.

Dueling Rapier offers a more efficient power boost than furor, although it doesn't do double duty as removal.

PhocusEnergy on Double Trouble

4 years ago

Thanks for the suggestion, definitely a great option! I honestly overlooked this card for Raking Claws when I attempted to run more than the playset of battle rage as damage doublers. The balance of effects in the deck feels pretty good to me right now, but if I shift things to include more damage doublers in the future, I think this is an obvious include.

FauxFaux on Veyran deck combo synergies

4 years ago

Here are some I use, seperated by category:

Double Strike: Temur Battle Rage , Assault Strobe , Psychotic Fury , Buccaneer's Bravado , Raking Claws

Haste: Expedite , Crimson Wisps , Accelerate , Fever Charm

Evasion/Unblockable: Distortion Strike , Slip Through Space , Artful Dodge , Crypsis

Protection: Dive Down , Mizzium Skin , Glint , Shell Shield , Lazotep Plating

Power Pump: Rush of Blood , Balduvian Rage , Dynacharge , Unleash Fury , Sure Strike , Brute Strength , Titan's Strength , Rouse the Mob , Infuriate

Other than that, I run some value cards, like Birgi, God of Storytelling  ^Flip, Storm-Kiln Artist , and Aetherflux Reservoir to just go on, and on, and on, and on, so on and so forth. Plenty of Draw Spells to keep the gas going, and some other Spell-slinging accoutrements.

Sorin_Markov_1947 on A little Rum & Sprite

4 years ago

I love this style of deck. I have a friend who made one that can aggro and kill as early as turn 4 with cards like Unleash Fury and Raking Claws . Both good adds here, by the way. He also used Riddleform as an additional beatdown, which works better than Fervent Champion. I'm not really sure what the artifacts are doing here. They're a little slow for this kind of deck.

More cantrips would be good. Cards like Crash Through are totally acceptable just for the spell cast and the card drawn. I would also love to see a deck like this use Orvar, the All-Form , although I'm sure there's a reason I haven't yet. Imagine every time you cast a pump spell, you made another sprite dragon and made all the ones you already have even more lethal! I'd also suggest another few lands ( Temple of Epiphany works) because even though your curve is low, you'll be using a lot of mana every turn to cast a lot of spells!

Here's the friend's video by the way if you want to see his list and how it worked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJnbfWxjv-c