Oni-Cult with a twist.
The idea of this deck is to explode. It's the classic Oni-Cult Anvil and Dragonspark Reactor double engine package, generating tons of cheap creatures and artifacts early game and clogging up the board for the opponent. We want to generate tons of creatures, then tons of artifacts, and then win the game by ripping through our deck and attempting to resolve all of our permanents and get the upper hand with our board control. At that point, we either just win on board with our overwhelming value, detonate our Reactor to end the game, or deal enough 1-pointers through Defiler of Instinct + Oni-Cult Anvil + The Meathook Massacre
.
We function similar to an aggro deck as our own life total is fairly irrelevant except when it comes down to Defiler of Instinct. Our goal, of course, is to reduce the opponent's life total to zero, ideally with a Dragonspark activation, which can only be countered with Ertai Resurrected or Overcharged Amalgam. The way I want to build this deck, it should never run out of gas and can use Blood tokens, Rob the Archives, and Experimental Synthesizer to get back in the game when our hand is low and stay there, giving a final push of raw value that your average burn deck doesn't have to end the game.
--Mainboard--
March of Reckless Joy was made for this deck. We're chock full of red cards, and we love to "cycle" them which is what this effect can be a lot of the time. Essentially a worse Reckless Impulse where you can choose two out of X cards where X is the mana you pay. As a bonus, you get those cards until the end of your next turn, which can help you set up future plays, be it playing a land and a one drop, or digging for the missing piece. Plus, if you're already in the middle of a huge turn, the March can eat up all the useless cards in your hand for even more gas, as mana is most often our limiting factor. Just make sure you know what the card does; you can only play two cards from the ones you exile. I've already made that mistake a few times.
Blood Fountain is an insane amount of value for just 1 black mana. Creates Blood tokens of course, which our deck finds endlessly useful. Also allows us to recur creatures against removal, non-exile board wipes, and after we sacrifice our own dorks to the deck's various effects. The deck loves this card, however I'm trying to see if it would be better in the maindeck versus the sideboard when paired with the Defiler strategy, which only wants to see red permanent cards. Good against control, but if the opponent has cards that mess with your graveyard in their maindeck, maybe a little less good.
Voltage Surge is exactly what we want for this deck. It deals up to 4 damage to any creature or planeswalker for only one mana, and enables our instant speed artifact sacrifice strategies. Absolutely no complaints.
Goldhound is one of our 1-mana all-stars. 1/1 first strike, menace, artifact, and is always useful for one extra mana. Good for more aggro-midrange matchups where resolving your big spell before they do becomes vital.
Voldaren Epicure is the other 4-of we run in this deck. Does three things. 1/1, deal 1 to opponent, and create a Blood token which fits perfectly into what we're trying to do. We use blood primarily for Anvil/Smelter fodder, but don't be afraid to use it to junk an extra land card if that's what the game calls for. Use them for chump blocking, casting a Rob the Archives, or for recurring with Blood Fountain. Much more useful on the Midrange/Control side of things, feel free to board out against aggro it appropriate.
Experimental Synthesizer. This card is bonkers. Essentially a red Divination that synergizes perfectly with our deck. Crack the synth open with an Anvil and we're in business, or just wait for later on in the game if you know you'll need a 2/2 threat.
Dragonspark Reactor is the first reason this deck can exist at all. It's a wincon awarding artifact ETBs that can snipe down some nasty threats during the midgame if you need them gone and are up to four mana. Note that if you animate this card with Yotia Declares War you're also able to activate the effect in response to removal, as the ability doesn't require the Reactor to tap.
Oni-Cult Anvil is the second reason this deck is able to function the way it does. This card is essentially Hidden Stockpile under a different name that goes all in on artifact synergies, also being an artifact itself. This artifact guarantees an artifact ETB every turn as well as a life difference of 2 from the activated ability. We are sacrificing our own artifacts all the time for any reason, so a payoff for that is great.
Yotia Declares War. Absolutely amazing card for what it does, especially in this deck. Create a 0/2 Artifact Creature Body, then deal 2-3 damage to a creature or planeswalker on average, and finally animate one of your artifacts to try and deal 4 to the opponent, ideally in the air. All for two mana. And even better, you're able to choose which mode if the best for you with Read Ahead if you need to rush the second chapter. Also keep in mind that the 4/4 can help create a massive Ob Nixilis, the Adversary given the opportunity.
Rob the Archives. A draw 2 for the current turn cycle, draw four if you sacrifice a creature. I won't lie, this card isn't perfect. It's essentially red's way of drawing cards in this deck, making a bunch of little plays available at the same time, especially if you're using the Casualty cost and saccing a critter. Late game you should be able to play most of the cards from this effect. However, this effect is one of the main reasons behind the inclusion of Defiler of Instinct. Most of our cards are red, many of them are simply one red mana. Rip through your deck by paying life and pinging the opponent. A potentially powerful play on turn 6 is to sac a critter for a draw 4, play a land, play Defiler, and attempt to vomit out as much of your hand as you can after that. Bonus if Defiler sticks. Overall a very good value card, but only during the mid/late game and most powerful against control strategies.
Defiler of Instinct. If my theory is correct, this card should perform nothing short of wonders for us. 4/4 first strike body for 4, but lets us play a good chunk of our deck for free, and lets us ping 1 damage every time we do so. With this card in play, up to half of our deck becomes free and the other half becomes twice as cheap. It's important to note that a good deal of cards we have in our deck are one mana red permanent cards, which means a good deal of cards that we can cast while this is in play. Churn through your deck and deal massive damage to yourself and your opponent in the process! I've had situations where this stuck and I could have done 5 damage to the opponent's Sheoldred, the Apocalypse had I known I'd be playing 5 spells that turn cycle.
My only gripe with this card is, of course, its mana cost. Everything else in this deck is either 1 or 2 mana, so hitting one of these off a Rob the Archives and not being able to play it is always a wretched affair. I'm fairly new at brewing decks in general so I'm not currently sure how much this could throw off potential Archive or Synth plays in the mid or early game.
--Sideboard--
Sokenzan Smelter is fantastic. 2/2 for 2 that lets you pay 1 to sac/animate one of your artifacts into a 3/1 haste when you play it past turn 2. Takes control decks by surprise and lets you deal some serious damage early on with the right tools.
Pithing Needle is always welcome. This deck loves cheap artifacts, and this one cheaply shuts off a wide range of cards in this format. Always good against a Reckoner Bankbuster.
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Can't go wrong with this one. For three mana, not just one but two planeswalkers that immediately start pressuring the opponent if they don't have any threats. Creates a massive life difference very quickly which helps us finish them off. Also helps us play against Farewell, which wrecks us utterly.
Cut Down. Not every matchup calls for this, but you'll know the ones that do. If you need to stabilize early, cram these in.
The Meathook Massacre. You knew this was coming. For us, either an insane enchant for 2 black which is fundamentally useful to us, or a 5/6 mana board wipe effect against tokens or the like. Plus, if an opponent also has a Massacre, this enforces a parity while you whittle them down.
Unlicensed Hearse. It's graveyard hate and is an artifact, and a pretty good one at that. This deck is actually able to crew this one a lot of the time too. Good for blocking.
--Bogeymen---
Farewell. This card ends whatever we're doing on board. Sometimes the graveyards will be wiped too, sometimes not. When this card is resolved, if we don't have any gas we're essentially dead in the water until we find some. If you're up against this, be careful.
Temporary Lockdown. I haven't run into this card a lot, but when I do, it's devastating. Against this, I'd say try to run out only half your value from your hand to bait it out. Notably does not hit Defiler of Instinct or Ob Nix.
--Final Thoughts--
Overall, this deck isn't the easiest to pilot. The amount of choices you need to make in a single game is pretty overwhelming at first, and the deck can still struggle against midrange and control strategies. Mainly a Farewell, Titan of Industry and a Sheoldred, the Apocalypse that stays in play for too long can end a game if you haven't cornered them with your wall of pressure first. This deck requires you think on your feet with all the exile-based red card advantage, and I've often found myself winging it. I'd say make their lives as difficult as possible in their early game, and ping them to death later on if the game lasts that long.
Compared to normal Rakdos Anvil, this deck is much more red focused because of the Defiler, which may explain some odd choices in the list. I'm still experimenting with the manabase, and I'm only now noticing how black the sideboard is compared to how red the mainboard is. But with our Blood tokens and extra draws, we're able to be much more fluid than many of the other decks in the format, and a deck like this can often times just draw gas and win unexpectedly in the late game. I've had a blast piloting it so far.
I really wanted Karn, Living Legacy to have his time in the spotlight; he was a four-of in my first list. The thing is, he's one mana too expensive for what he does, and we need to offset that somehow. Goldhound is a good way of getting him into play turn 3, but he has to stick. Maybe the new set will have the artifacts we're looking for to facilitate this?
