Someone thought Mogis is Rakdos Politics Prime; so I wanted help again...

Commander Deck Help forum

Posted on Aug. 4, 2019, 4:34 p.m. by BMHKain



Last timex2, I was running Mogis, God of Slaughter not too long ago; BUT, when someone said Mogis is the better Political Figure for Rakdos (& FAR more of a God than any 3 NAMELESS LITTLE HOLTS that we'll never know their true names after Bolas' Spark was ripped out, I actually felt duped for a strategy that I wish didn't having to use; I mean, Mogis is just Hatebear Incarnate to me; forcing one to make a choice both on the negative, & thus opposing you for the rest of the game.

That's why I chose back to Xantcha, Sleeper Agent .

But what I wanted help w/ is about how to make Xantcha a politically friendly deck while still push this deck to its limits (Sans (Besides.) Nether Void & all that expensive crap.). I guess forcibly making an opponent choose what to do that always counts as Politics? NO. It's Hatebears; or is that how works? I'd like some ideas for adds/more cuts than normal.

How to make a mentally unstable member of a Sleeper Agency (Sorry, dunno Xantcha's Backstory.) seem more like JFK? I'll leave it in your hands...

Free_Iona says... #2

Firstly, congratulations on restraining yourself, and keeping this post so succinct and to-the-point. It shows you've taken on board advice from others on how to get the most out of asking for help. I'd be happy to leave a comment on the decklist.

August 4, 2019 4:39 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #3

Since you asked me to comment, I’ll provide my thoughts, little help as I expect them to be.

Political decks are the single hardest deck type to provide feedback on because they are entirely dependant on three factors outside of Magic:

  1. The skill and reputation of the political deck’s pilot. The political deck player must be someone who is adapt at negotiating deals, and who other players trust to keep their word. Both a lack of skill and a reputation for dishonesty render the political player impotent.

  2. The other players at the table. The political player must know who they are playing against, and must know what cards and negotiations will work best with those players.

  3. The meta as a whole, and the relationships between other players and their decks. The political deck and its pilot needs to be able to play one player off another so, when the dust settles, they will be in the strongest position.

By way of illustration:

I know one of my friends is extremely aggressive as a player, but also quite fond of making deals. I know if I make a deal “neither of us will attack one another”, I can trust him not to attack me, just as he can trust me not to attack him.

But burn is not an attack - the promise to not attack does not prevent us from trying to kill one another in alternative ways. I know with him I have to be very careful in how my deals are worded; just as he knows the same for me.

One of my other players is extremely non-aggressive, but she will retaliate in kind of someone specifically targets her. She does not make deals, but she doesn’t have to - her standing position is “don’t mess with me or I will end you.” So, I can safely make a deal with the aggressive player and leave her alone without a deal in place.

That leaves me relatively safe from the aggro player, who is more inclined to attack the non-aggressive player; she will, in turn, retaliate. That leaves me relatively unscathed to finish our the game once they’ve finished breaking one another.

That’s the essence of a political deck - it is more “political” than it is “deck.”

All that’s a long way of saying that you will need to tailor your deck to your meta - not just to your meta’s decks, but to your meta’s people. I am not sure that is something I will be able to help with.

August 4, 2019 8:54 p.m.

Gleeock says... #4

Licids are political Corrupting Licid , Enraging Licid & also a hoot. Vampiric Link is a hoot. Treacherous Link . These are just cards, not strategies, but you can see that they don't lend to that Rakdos issue of making everyone hate you.... But Rakdos does have a nice suite of cards to specifically hamstring & point all hate towards one particular controlling player, that is usually what I do, group slug will always be there, but I find some silly directed hate as well. Play kingmaker with whatever player makes a middle-tier deck & direct everyone's hate at whatever player always plays the most obvious high-tier decks, this does require that your meta actually knows & recognizes the deck tier concepts... There is nothing more annoying than someone helping a deck like Animar/Turn4/ aka. friggen Yankees (or Patriots) of MTG, because they do not understand the inherent politics behind uniting the underdogs.

August 4, 2019 9:29 p.m.

BMHKain says... #5

@TypicalTimmy: Dang. Maybe I should've stayed with Xantcha after all... If anyone's okay on me changing Mogis back to Xantcha as CMDR, let me know; I never meant this as a Hatebear Oriented deck; & that, IMO seems like Hatred Festa. Sorry Tim, but I should've trusted my gut on this...

& Gleeock: Licids, huh? That seems slightly better than being the Archenemy; though I'd never know right now; after all, I'm making a decklist w/o any playgroup anywhere in plain sight...

I'll consider it if anyone is in agreeance in reverse-CMDR change from Mogis, God of Slaughter back to Xantcha, Sleeper Agent ; I can't believe I fell for a dupe even I knew is Hatebear Fiesta... >∆<

My apologies, staff. But I think my chain of redemption just got severed...

August 5, 2019 10:29 a.m.

Gleeock says... #6

Well, If you switch back to Xantcha: then my licid statement still holds true. + my other suggestions. + Gift of Doom will be great. + Visions of Brutality + Vow of Malice + Vow of Lightning . Soul Conduit has been fun in my Xantcha deck. Do I think these are major game winners? Not really, but they are high levels of political & unusual decision forcings. And on the plus side with Xantcha, you don't have to load a deck with card draw for the sake of draw, since you should plan on activating the commander for this reason. Scheming Symmetry seems like a must-add for political mayhem. Tutors can actually be fun in a deck that doesn't contain tempting "win now/combo" cards.

August 6, 2019 5:12 a.m.

BMHKain says... #7

UPDATE: I wonder if anyone has any ideas for cuts? 12 Over, I guess my first step is remove some card draw that's unneeded? I suppose someone here stated so as a suggestion...

August 6, 2019 11:24 a.m.

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