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Angrath's Torment (Rakdos Control)

Standard BR (Rakdos) Control Creatureless

awfulitis


Sideboard


Maybeboard



A Brief Introduction


What originally started as a variation of:


Brewer's Torment (Dominaria Update!)

Standard awfulitis

SCORE: 9 | 8 COMMENTS | 1538 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS


that would splash for the super sweet Angrath, the Flame-Chained quickly took on a life of its own as a creatureless control deck.

Overall this list plays out fairly similarly to its cousin by attempting to extend the game and grind out incremental advantages while attacking an opponent's resources. In the late game we can close out games in a hurry by deploying huge burn spells like Ribbons and Torment of Hailfire. To ensure we can get to our power spikes, this list deploys 19 of some of the best removal spells and have to offer, along with a discard subtheme to help force through any number of our key pieces. While dropping the creature count, and the deck's ability to put early pressure on the board, to zero can hurt when running against -based control decks; gaining access to both the removal and Planeswalkers that has to offer does an amazing job of shoring up matchups against the rest of the field.




Mainboard

  • Torment of Scarabs (): Still one of my favorite cards to play around with, Torment of Scarabs is incredible at putting an opponent in some pretty uncomfortable positions. While paying three life can at first seem irrelevant, the damage from repeated triggers adds up faster than most decks can keep up with. The card does have its fair share of drawbacks, namely: it does not match the terrifyingly speedy Hazoret the Fervent clock (which few cards reliably can) AND can easily be manipulated by decks that do not lack in fodder for its sacrifice triggers. This weakness to go wide strategies has actually been fairly unpunished, thanks in large part to the prevalence of Goblin Chainwhirler decks which naturally suppress the playability of any X/1.

  • Angrath, the Flame-Chained (): The namesake of the deck, I've been wanting to build a deck around Angrath since he was first mentioned in Ixalan. I can't help but love the idea of a Minotaur Pirate raging out in a world filled with Dinosaurs. Thankfully, Angrath has some pretty sweet abilities to take advantage of. His +1 equates to a free shock every turn that also bleeds our opponent for a card. This is naturally punishing to any control or midrange strategy that likes to hold their cards for the opportune play. Angrath alone often forces our opponent to play a little closer to our terms as they otherwise risk binning a pretty valuable card. This has some pretty sweet synergy with Torment of Scarabs as the card really wants our opponent to be as low on resources as possible on their upkeep. Angrath's -3 isn't the flashiest of abilities, being essentially a Threaten effect with some upside if targeting smaller creatures, but can really punish a deck like Steel Leaf Stompy which naturally has some pretty big targets (e.g. Ghalta, Primal Hunger. Finally, while Angrath's ultimate can look a little underwhelming at first this deck does not lack in way to stock an opposing graveyard through either removal or discard. So far I've been more than impressed with Angrath and have loved the experience of having him on my side of the table.

  • Ribbons (): A big payoff from dipping into the side of the mana pool, both halves of this card are phenomenal in this type of deck. An early Cut is enough to bring down even a mighty Steel Leaf Champion or Glorybringer for two mana! While the Sorcery speed can hurt against hasty threats, having a cheap answer to just about any non-god currently seeing heavy play in Standard is great at keeping our life total safe. By extending games with our plethora of removal, we naturally make the aftermath, Ribbons, a pretty solid finisher. This deck will often find itself facing an opponent who's been worn down through multiple Scarab triggers, Angrath +1s, and Hailfires and will need a way to push through the last bit of damage. Thankfully, Ribbons serves exactly that purpose.

  • Torment of Hailfire (): The good old haymaker, Daddy Bolas' Purple Rain is without a doubt the list's most powerful card in a vacuum. While we never want to see this in our opening seven (hence the utilization of only two copies), topdecking this beauty in the late game is almost always going to lead to a win. This coming either immediately or very soon after our opponent realizes how much they'll have to sacrifice to survive. The card does have a few similar problems to Torment of Scarabs (namely token or lifegain decks that shrug off the punishment) and one other glaring weakness. In order to fully maximize the card's potential you will likely be either tapping out or coming very close to it, leaving you extremely vulnerable to any counter magic. It's often best to sequence it behind a discard outlet in order to make sure the coast is clear, losing 3-6 damage is a much easier pill to swallow than it fizzling.

  • Duress (): Duress has been and will likely continue to be an absolute all star. Just about every deck in the format has a viable target for this card, and for just a single mana can really make life miserable for the other end of the table. You could take your opponent's Glimmer of Genius and laugh as the control deck you're playing against suddenly has trouble generating card advantage, or maybe a counterspell (if this doesn't draw one [still a win]) to pave the way for your threats to hit the board. The multiple applications of this card definitely merits a couple slots in the main deck, with the rest of the playset ready in the sideboard.

  • Doomfall (): This is another card that thrives in the list because of its flexibility. Against control decks it can either act as an additional, overcosted version of Duress (with the additional upside of preventing Torrential Gearhulk flashbacks) or as exile-based removal for the one big finisher that these style of decks tend to lean heavily on. In a matchup against creature based decks the removal mode is especially important as it gives the deck a way of interacting with some of the most important threats in the format (Hazoret the Fervent, The Scarab God, and Carnage Tyrant) in game one. It shines against Carnage Tyrant in particular, due to it targeting your opponent and not the Hexproof, Implacable Death Lizard.

  • Fatal Push (): No surprises here, as Fatal Push will likely continue to serve as Standard's premium removal spell for the foreseeable future. The card is especially important to this deck as it provides a way to interact with the creatures that hit the battlefield early. While this is not a deck stacked with Revolt triggers in order to truly abuse the card, there are a number of interactions (mainly through the Deserts included as part of the mana base) that will allow one to squeeze some additional value out of it.

  • Cast Down (): I'm seriously intrigued by Dominaria's take on Doom Blade. Certain legendary creatures introduced in Dominaria (cough Lyra Dawnbringer cough) will test this card's playability, but it does represent a clean answer to several threats that would otherwise give the deck a hard time. Being able to hit just about any three drop powered out by Llanowar Elves without relying on a revolt trigger or being able to straight up kill a Glorybringer is definitely something I want to be doing.

  • Abrade (): The flexibility of this card was another huge reason why I was looking to move into . The ability to shoot down most creatures seeing play while also doubling as guaranteed removal for any of the tricky to deal with vehicles is a huge point in this card's favor. It being an Instant also makes facing down a Heart of Kiran much less intimidating. There really isn't much for me to add on to the chorus of people who advocate for Abrade, it's just a really good card.

  • Cut (: I've already talked about the benefits of Cut as it's the front half of one our main win conditions, so I won't go in depth as to why this card is featured. Suffice to say, Four damage is enough to kill just about anything under five mana currently in the format, and even then is still plenty capable of taking down some of the meatier creatures.

  • Sweltering Suns (): This is our main hedge against any opponent attempting to overwhelm us with a swath of creatures, and it does its job surprisingly well. Three damage is often enough to wipe most if not all of the opposing board when playing against go-wide strategies, with Vampires or Cats currently posing the biggest risk with their surprisingly large number of anthem effects. Sweltering Suns gets even better in our hands, as our complete lack of creatures is enough to naturally break the card's symmetry on every cast. I'm even liable to leave them in against an opponent on Control as in most cases I can treat it as a three mana draw spell.

  • Doomfall (): I've already touched on the value this card provides to the deck under the "Hand Disruption" tab, so I won't go to in depth on it here. However, a three mana way of permanently removing The Scarab God, Hazoret the Fervent, Rekindling Phoenix, and Carnage Tyrant is generally something that deserves a spot or two in similar lists.

  • Vraska's Contempt (): Currently considered one of the most important removal spells in Standard due to the various Gods and Phoenixes running around in the format, Vraska's Contempt's biggest advantage is how clean the removal is compared to the other answers in the format. It doesn't carry the inherent risk of 's enchantment based removal and doesn't hope that just shuffling a problem card away will remove it from the game (looking at you Struggle). The thing even nukes any problematic Planeswalkers that could otherwise give the deck fits. The incidental lifegain is just the cherry on top of what is already an auto-include for any -based deck.

  • Ifnir Deadlands (,, Sacrifice a Desert): While this is a land, it deserves an honorable mention as an additional four copies of removal and a valuable protection against mana flooding in the late game. It's worth noting that you could pad this number by sacrificing other deserts that may not provide as much value in certain matchups. The reduction effect is capable of killing smaller aggressive creatures (Adanto Vanguard in particular) while taking the edge off of an opponent's bigger bombs. In my testing so far, the utility this card provides has continued to surprise me and has saved my bacon in some pretty dire scenarios.

  • Dark Bargain (): 's most recent iteration of card advantage with a price Dark Bargain has the distinction of being an instant with pretty decent card selection for a reasonable cost. This opens up the ability to fight control players on the turf they hate the most, their own end step. The ability to force an opponent to choose how to spend their countermagic is definitely something that this deck will appreciate having. If this is countered it opens up the possibility for a much safer play of win conditions like Torment of Hailfire or Torment of Scarabs, and if not then you get to dig three deep into your deck. Being able to put a Ribbons in the graveyard against Control is yet another strong upside this card presents. Honestly, this card is way better than what some people would lead you to believe just by looking at its rarity. That said, something like Karn, Scion of Urza is possibly a better use of this spot and if you were either lucky enough to pull a few copies, or are looking for a way to spend some money and upgrade the deck, I'd look to start with this spot here.

  • Jaya Ballard (): I'm currently testing Jaya as a two of in the main deck as I feel her use as a more utility oriented Planeswalker fits this deck's needs perfectly. While the mana cost may seem a little daunting, the presence of both a full eight dual lands and a high number of utility lands for mana fixing makes it a much easier sell. While Jaya doesn't have protection woven into her actual abilities (one of the main points of her many detractors), her first +1 can ensure that you are capable both of casting her and then immediately following up with removal to ensure the board is clear. This combos particularly well with Sweltering Suns which can lead to some pretty spectacular blowouts for the opponent. In the late game this ability can quickly end a game by acting as free fuel for Ribbons or Torment of Hailfire. Her ability to filter through the deck by as many as three cards is also something that shouldn't be overlooked, as it is capable of both ensuring we have a Ribbons sitting in the graveyard and digging for key pieces to our gameplan. Finally, should you successfully use her ultimate Jaya Ballard will quickly bury any opponent in a mass of spells that they had previously overlooked. Overall, for as cheap as the card currently is, Jaya seems like a huge payoff that not many people will know how to interact with. Chandra, Torch of Defiance represents another powerful card choice for the two slots currently occupied by Jaya, and I wouldn't stop someone from playing her instead. While Chandra is by far a much more powerful card in a vacuum, I feel like Jaya synergizes extremely well with the current list, and would enthusiastically suggest using her for those not looking to drop over $30 on two cards.

  • The land base for this deck is pretty standard fair for a dual colored list, but I'll touch on the importance of a few of the utility lands currently included in the list:

    • Ifnir Deadlands: I already touched on the additional value this card provides in the "Removal" section above. It is worth mentioning, however, that this land has the ability to naturally produce mana albeit at the cost of one life per activation. While shocking yourself mana is never ideal, Ifnir Deadlands is capable of some serious value while having little to no effect on the ability to cast any of the cards in this list. Those two factors have caused me to include all four copies allowed into the mainboard.

    • Field of Ruin: This acts primarily as a check to decks looking to abuse any of the flip lands that were introduced in the Ixalan block, primarily Legion's Landing   and Search for Azcanta  . Both of the latter cards are well represented due to their ability to easily take over a game, and it is pretty vital to have an answer to them available. Like all of the deserts with sacrifice abilities, this can also act as a Revolt enabler for Fatal Push. The Swamp tutored as a result of the land destruction is even available to be used for the spell as soon as it enters the battlefield.





    Sideboard

    • Arguel's Blood Fast   (): Blood Fast's weakness to Aggro relegates it to the sideboard, where it has the chance to come in for the control matchups where the life loss associated with the card draw is rarely backbreaking. Overall, the card advantage generated off the back of this enchantment is nothing to sneeze at, and it's been good to see it showing up in more decks as Standard continues to evolve.

    • Lost Legacy (): The ultimate hate card for all things Magic or Organic, Lost Legacy has a number of potential targets including but not limited to: Approach of the Second Sun, The Scarab God, Rekindling Phoenix, etc. The card's text should basically just read: "Get rid of the one thing you hate most about your opponent's deck." This is obviously much better as a sideboard piece, to be brought in after the opponent has shown at least an idea of what they're playing. I CAN NOT stress enough how important knowing how and when to use this card can be, games are literally won and lost on the back of it. Making sure to take one's time when looking through a library as a result of this card can both demonstrate what changes might have been made after sideboarding and identify future targets for the second copy of Lost Legacy should it have been brought in.

    • Moment of Craving (): An important answer to aggressive decks, Moment of Craving provides both removal (which is also Adanto Vanguard-proof) and lifegain when it's needed. It has the potential to lose some of its luster against the "Go Big" sideboard strategies that are common in , but can still at least do a good enough job at keeping a steady life total so as to ensure the late game can be reached.

    • Magma Spray (): An extremely important card for the sideboard against most of the aggro variants if only because it it's a clean, cheap, and effective answer to Scrapheap Scrounger, a card that is otherwise an absolute headache to deal with. It can also be used later in the game, if you're strapped for answers, to exile a The Scarab God or Rekindling Phoenix alongside another removal spell. With Zombies looking to make a comeback for at least the next few months I'm Magma Spray will continue to be an all star out of the board.

    • Hour of Devastation (): I'm honestly torn between this and Bontu's Last Reckoning for these two spots. Hour is great in the vast majority of matchups as an answer to creatures that are juuuuuust out of Sweltering Suns range as well as Planeswalkers, which are otherwise tough for this deck to deal with. On the other hand, Reckoning is a great way to reset the board against players running threats like Ghalta, Primal Hunger and Carnage Tyrant. In the end, this should probably be a meta call for anyone looking to try the deck out.

    • Sweltering Suns (): Nothing fancy to add in here, this is just copy number four for the matchups against go-wide strategies.

    • Treasure Map   (): The Map is a great tool to have for games where the opponent is on a slightly slower gameplan, like midrange or control, since it gives us time to fully enjoy the benefits of the card selection it provides. While it may be correct to have this in the maindeck I feel like it's slightly too slow for a list that wants to survive Game One against aggro strategies.

    • Duress (): I always want to have a playset of Duress available when I'm playing a deck, as it is incredibly important against other control players. As such, the final two copies are available here.




    Suggestions and Possible Additions

    • Coming Soon!

  • Karn, Scion of Urza (): Yes, Karn is a great Magic card. Yes, I'm aware that he is better than Dark Bargain in just about every scenario. Yes, I think that if you are lucky enough to have three copies of Karn lying around you should definitely include him in any builds of this list. Will I be shelling out over $100 for three pieces of cardboard any time soon? That would be a firm no.

  • Coming Soon!

  • Coming Soon!

  • Coming Soon!




  • Closing Thoughts

    Thank you for taking the time to review my deck list. As with any good deck this is always going to be a work in progress that evolves along with the format. If you see something I might have missed or have any helpful suggestions feel free to leave a comment with some suggestions! I’m looking forward to continuing to play this list and hearing what the community has to say. Thanks again, and have a great rest of your day!


    Suggestions

    Updates Add

    Well you win some, you lose some; I attempted to bring this deck (with some minor sideboard tweaks) to a different store (the one for which I originally brewed my Mono- list) for some more testing and a shot at the sweet Bolas-themed playmat. Unfortunately I didn't make the cut, but playted some really close games:


    Round One

    This was a pretty weird deck, being a mix of cards stereotypical to a Vehicles deck and ALL the planeswalkers. In Game One both of us had some difficulty hitting land drops, though I was able to successfully cast three Torment of Scarabs while sitting on four lands. Turns out, three triggers of that card every turn is generally enough to win. Unfortunately for me, my opponent being stuck on lands revealed little to me about their deck beyond a few cards like Heart of Kiran and Toolcraft Exemplar. I did see a Glacial Fortress, though, and made a mental note about incoming counter magic.

    For Game Two, I figured that my opponent would attempt to board out some of their smaller threats for counter magic and larger bombs like Glorybringer. As such I opted for Treasure Map  Flip out of the side instead of doubling down on removal like Magma Spray. I got punished severely for that line of reasoning by the classic Heart of Kiran + Toolcraft Exemplar beatdown. Though I managed to remove the problems eventually, I was already at a low enough life total that I couldn't turn the corner.

    In Game Three, with Magma Spray now in the deck I felt pretty comfortable about my odds. That is, until a Gideon of the Trials hit the field and was immediately used for his emblem. While I was struggling to find a way to get rid of Gideon my opponent proceeded casually land a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and start the timer on that time bomb. While I was able to land two Vraska's Contempts it quickly became clear that the number of Planeswalkers I was facing was way higher than the removal I had available and I was buried under them.

    The main takeaway from this matchup is that the deck really struggles to put much pressure on opposing Planeswalkers. Superfriends is by no means a prevalent strategy where I play at and so I was caught a little bit by surprise. If your meta does have quite a few Planeswalkers running around I would potentially look to add a few more ways of dealing with them, whether that means adding spells like Lightning Strike or creatures.



    Round Two

    This one really wasn't close, though losing to your girlfriend isn't the worst thing in the world. Having helped build the deck I knew I was in for a rough match since Dinosaurs generally outsize most damage based removal and the decent amount of mana ramp meant my removal would be going dead at a much faster rate.

    In Game One I was lucky to draw into enough Cast Downs and Fatal Pushes to keep me alive long enough to stick a Torment of Scarabs. But that small victory was quickly overshadowed by a Regisaur Alpha and Ghalta, Primal Hunger coming on the same turn. Suffice to say, hasty Ghalta hurts.

    Game Two was pretty much an unmitigated disaster, as a lack of mana forced me to mulligan down to five on the play. Even then I was stuck on two lands for the entirety of the short lived match.

    While you can chalk Game Two up to bad luck, Dinosaurs in general isn't the greatest matchup for this deck. Even after sideboarding it can be difficult to find appropriate removal for the variety of large threats they bring to the table. The same could be said for a deck, which is forced to lean much more heavily on counter magic. If you're wanting to try out my list but find yourself in a meta where dinosaur tribal is pervasive I would heavily recommend bringing more removal like Cast Down and Bontu's Last Reckoning into the 75. Even a card like Murder will be great at better aligning your removal to their big creatures. For those curious about the deck I faced, I have included the link to the list below:


    Deadly Gruul Dino's

    Standard Jdawn24

    SCORE: 7 | 5 COMMENTS | 2376 VIEWS




    Round Three

    It's a shame we didn't get to finish our match, but these were some pretty wild games!

    In Game One I was able to exploit the pretty large number of dead cards in my opponent's deck to land Torment of Scarabs. While those dead cards meant my opponent had plenty of fodder for discarding, it eventually began to take a toll on their ability to generate any card advantage. That Torment of Scarabs did eventually get tucked by a Commit / Memory and the battle then turned to a battle between me attempting to land Planeswalkers and my opponent attempting to make a Torrential Gearhulk stick. When the dust settled, I had gotten rid of every Gearhulk in my opponent's deck and was maneuvering to finish the game with Torment of Hailfire when I realized that I had forgotten about the Commit / Memory in my opponent's graveyard. The reset button hurt, but I wound up drawing two Torment of Scarabs and a Torment of Hailfire in my next seven. This was able to eventually win the game.

    Game Two was just as hard fought, with me facing more of an uphill climb against an increased density of counter magic, and my opponent now facing more card advantage sources on my end of the table. Eventually, the Gearhulk train backed up by Negate was able to eventually take over the game and take the game win for my opponent but the round had gone to time. Facing the realization that neither of our decks were built to win in three turns, we agreed on a well played draw.

    While it was unfortunate that we didn't get to finish out the round, I was very pleased with the deck's performance against a control deck. Even after sideboarding the game was still a very close affair and definitely felt winnable.


    Round Four

    Another match that unfortunately went to time. It's very much apparent that while this deck doesn't feel like it struggles against a control strategy, it certainly doesn't close games out in a hurry.

    In Game One I was able to once again exploit a large number of dead removal pieces to stick an early Torment of Scarabs. While it was eventually answered by a Cast Out, that opened the door for an Angrath, the Flame-Chained to stick and start putting in some work. It was also clear that this deck does not lack in ways to take out Torrential Gearhulks, and while the card advantage they generated with Glimmer of Genius was annoying, it certainly wasn't backbreaking. Once again though, I found myself facing a Commit / Memory out of the graveyard, which extended the game way longer than it had any business being.

    For Game Two I made a calculated guess that I could be facing Lyra Dawnbringer and Nezahal, Primal Tide out of the sideboard, which naturally pushed me to take out Sweltering Suns. I got punished for this again, as my opponent instead ran a Regal Caracal package. While I had plenty of removal for the first horde of cats, it taxed me enough that a later Torrential Gearhulk was unopposed long enough to bury me. By then time had once again been called, I don't think this is due to slow play (either on my part or my opponent's), control mirrors are just long when you account for Commit / Memory.



    Closing Thoughts and Changelog

    While the final line was a bit disappointing (I obviously didn't make the cut to the Top Eight), I actually feel like I learned quite a bit about the deck in the process. There are some pretty obvious weaknesses to strategies with a high density of Planeswalkers (particularly Gideon of the Trials) that may need addressing, either by switching up some pieces of the removal suite or including creatures somewhere in the 75. That being said, Super Friends isn't an archtype I see quite a bit and will probably avoid devoting too many resources to changing my list until that changes. Otherwise, I feel like some more planning needs to be done in order to effectively deal with "Go-Big" strategies (particularly with them getting a bit more support in Core 19). I'd mostly look to change the sideboard if anything, maybe by swapping out narrow answers like Moment of Craving for spells with a bit more "Oomph."

    The Control matchup actually wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I feel like this list is a pretty heavy favorite in Game One, mostly due to the lower rate of dead cards we bring to the table. Both the and players I faced had problems dealing with my strategy in the first game, and if not for Commit / Memory those games would have been over much quicker. Game Two is definitely a much closer game, however, and is a real test of one's ability to sideboard appropriately. Hopefully the reprint of Banefire will help increase our odds a little bit more when Core 19 joins the mix.

    Nothing to report here for now, I will continue to track the deck's progress as soon as I'm able to get to the next event.

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    Revision 4 See all

    (5 years ago)

    +1 Banefire maybe
    +1 Fraying Omnipotence maybe
    Date added 5 years
    Last updated 5 years
    Legality

    This deck is not Standard legal.

    Rarity (main - side)

    5 - 0 Mythic Rares

    19 - 8 Rares

    19 - 0 Uncommons

    9 - 7 Commons

    Cards 60
    Avg. CMC 3.23
    Tokens Emblem Jaya Ballard, Treasure
    Folders Decks to try
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