Rakdos or Erebos?
Deck Help forum
Posted on May 12, 2018, 3:05 a.m. by BabyK
looking at my cards, I'm staring down Erebos, God of the Dead. Very cool looking. Powerful ability available at any time. Then my Rakdos, Lord of Riots punches me in the face screaming "I'm awesome and just as powerful. Plus eldrazi and dragons worship me!" So I can't decide which to make my next commander. Thoughts?
Freezingfist says... #3
I second ghostfire86.
You can put Erebos, God of the Dead in a Rakdos, Lord of Riots deck, but not the other way around.
Budget wise, Erebos, God of the Dead would be easier on the mana base... but unless you really want to play mono, I'd pick RakCity.
May 12, 2018 10:52 a.m.
KingMathoro says... #4
I prefer Erebos personally. Mono Black is still very strong and I would argue just as fast thanks to Coffer effects, mana doublers, etc. Also thanks to your Commander you easily have card advantage accessible to you. Plus since the mana base is much cheaper it allows you to spend your money elsewhere like on tutors. Those are just some of my thoughts on the matter.
May 12, 2018 1:04 p.m.
LordBlackblade says... #5
Personally, as a huge fan of Black Magic, I would agree with KingMathoro notes on Erebos, God of the Dead's strengths as a commander. He is Indestructible as well, which gives him protection from a fair bit of removal right off the bat.
The real issue is what style of deck do you want to play? Black big mana with Erebos or creature-based stompy with Rakdos, Lord of Riots? Those are two very different strategies to be sure.
Another thing to note (and I'm not a firm believer in this) is that Rakdos, as a color combo, is considered one of the weaker color combinations. The general crux of the argument is that Red doesn't bring all that much to the table that Black can't already do with one exception: artifact destruction.
That's just a handful of thoughts that I had on the discussion. Really I think it will come down to what your meta is like and the style you want to play.
May 12, 2018 2:08 p.m.
LordBlackblade made several good points, but I would like to add that there is one other thing red would give you is burn. In a Lord of Riots build, you're gonna have mostly big bodies, so spells like Sweltering Suns, Anger of the Gods, and many other red burn-the-field spells would do well in a deck where most of your creature are big beaters and would not die in the inferno. Those are especially useful when going against value town creatures like you might see in a Simic build.
May 12, 2018 2:35 p.m.
Either way; I'd run all the card advantage you can. Phyrexian Arena, Bloodgift Demon, Necropotence, Graveborn Muse, Sensei's Divining Top, The Immortal Sun, tutors, etc. I had an Olivia Voldaren deck for a while and rakdos can be a challenge as others mentioned. Maybe add in a few red wheel effects for good measure
I kinda enjoy Rakdos, Lord of Riots since something like Lightning Bolt turns into a Dark Ritual haha. Just imagine all the free eldrazi you can cast after Fiery Confluence!
Erebos, God of the Dead is less effort and a little more straight forward. Depends on what you're going for
May 12, 2018 3:12 p.m.
ghostfire86 says... #8
Lets not forget that black red means Faithless Looting, Gamble, Wheel of Fortune, Burning Inquiry, Reforge the Soul, Winds of Change, Browbeat become even more viable with grave manipulation and drawing into your powerhouse burns faster.
May 12, 2018 6:01 p.m.
That's a card I need in my life.I settled on Rakdos. With my group, it does seem like rakdos would be more enjoyable and have the "wow" factor to it. Dropping my entire hand for 4-7 mana seems legit.
Would Erebos fit better in Rakdos or Meren?
May 15, 2018 1:50 a.m.
Erebos is just all-around good to have. I think both Rakdos and Meren could use an indestructible source of card draw on-demand.
Rakdos is not an easy deck to balance though. Other than the main eldrazi titans I would not build around too much on Rakdos' ability. Being able to cast Inferno Titan for RR is already good value and lets you keep up mana for removal. Don't try to build with Magical Christmaslands in mind! Having staxing elements and land hate helps you push the mana advantage. A nice combo is having Pyrohemia/Pestilence out with an indestructible creature like Hazoret the Fervent out.
ghostfire86 says... #2
Rakdos, as he is faster and more options of play
May 12, 2018 9:52 a.m.