Rakdos Keyrune

Rakdos Keyrune

Artifact

: Gain or .

: Rakdos Keyrune becomes a 3/1 black and red Devil artifact creature with first strike until end of turn.

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pioneer Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Unformat Legal
Vintage Legal
Casual Legal
Custom Legal
Quest Magic Legal

Latest Decks as Commander

Rakdos Keyrune Discussion

i0nix1 on Nekusar

11 months ago

aholder7 on Juleokin M:tG Format

1 year ago

i am curious to see how Duskmantle Guildmage doesnt become an autowin. if you have 3 mana on field you should be able to put it on field and activate it's first ability in response to any card they play. unless they win on top of that, they will be milled to death.

also how does ramp work? if i play Rakdos Keyrune and Rakdos Signet while i have a mountain and a swamp out, can i play a Bedevil? if i tap my mountain to pay for Rakdos Signet's ability to play Bedevil, can i play a second Bedevil using Rakdos Keyrune or does the fact that my mountain is tapped mean i can't get mana from it anymore?

i also see a lot of storm decks getting really gross from this. single island into every 1 mana cantrip in the game, throw in a Simian Spirit Guide and and go for Grapeshot. not optimized obviously but the idea is there. actually i see this mostly devolving into combo decks that attempt to win on turn 1 or 2. outside of legacy with Force of Will i don't see a way that people stop this. you mention that there are ways to counter guildmage and that we'd be surprised by the gameplay which makes it sound like you have played against others in this theoretical format. how did you and others keep these combo decks at bay?

Vulnoth on Turbo Aggro Grind Time

1 year ago

Continuing where I left off.

continuing from creatures

Something to consider when addressing what to drop for my suggestions is how it affects your overall strategy and politics. Ashenmoor Gouger looks good because on paper it can deal damage, but consider what happens if you draw it 10 turns in and the table has all dug in for the long game. Hyper aggressive cards of the sort that do little else aren't going to help you after the first few turns. Hackrobat, Rakdos Firewheeler, Thrill-Kill Assassin, and the like are what you should look for when hacking cards out of the deck in the creature department. You might be gearing up to go fast and hit hard, but you still are playing the "long game", if you can even call it that.

Support

Onwards we march, starting with the strict spell category. Here, you should be looking for either utility or pure power. Spot removal cards like Go for the Throat work in regular 60 card formats, but lose a ton of value as the game is slowed enough for that one spell to have a diminished effect because it can only hit a single creature, often to little effect. Now Bedevil, on the other hand, is outstanding because you can hold it for either an artifact or 'walker, thus expanding your range and making it always live and effective.

  • Allure of the Unknown - A huge resource generation spell. Additionally, it plays into politics well by letting an opponent (or friend) have a card. Gotta keep the train moving.

  • Bituminous Blast - Perhaps not the most clutch of cards, but at least worth considering since EDH is slow enough for these types of spells to put in work, mostly because Cascade is nuts. I'd understand if it didn't make the cut, though.

  • Captive Audience - Hilarious and effective. Instant enemy-maker, but if you haven't farted in the general direction of everyone at the table, others might turn a blind eye. In my experience, when Joe Shmoe poops out an army of dargons and you slap him with this, the table would generally point and laugh.

  • Cauldron Dance - A nice little shuffling of creatures, which is nice if you're rich in chunguses.

  • Kolaghan's Command - The best charm from its cycle, for good reasons. It's always live in EDH.

  • Spiteful Visions - Perhaps risky for politics, but it does put damage on board, thus making Rakdos live, and generates card advantage.

  • Fork/Reverberate/Wild Ricochet - copy spells, in my experience, tend to do a lot since they're just whatever everyone else is playing.

  • Beacon of Unrest - There will always be something in the grave, and self-recursion is a godsend in my books.

  • Scheming Symmetry - Helps your consistency and makes a friend.

  • Subversion - Nibbles at your opponents while sustaining yourself, and makes Rakdos live.

  • Generally any spell with X in its cost. As the game drags on, they only get better.

I did a brief skim of cards in Gatherer and from among my own decks, but don't be afraid to look at other decks or EDHRec for things that will help you. Just remember that your goal boils largely down to pinging to make Rakdos live, cards that Rakdos is payoff for, and utility general support that rounds out the deck.

Artifacts

Necessary gears to get the machine moving. Mostly it will boil down to mana rocks to accelerate your state, but there will be others that you want purely because they work well for you.

Lands

Here you can start to have some fun. Being 2-color, you do have to be somewhat mindful of what you're running, but you can definitely make use of a lot of offbeat lands since you're not trying to be a fool and mana fix 5 colors. Keep in mind that you may not necessarily need everything listed here, but it's just a matter of helping keep your ability to produce both colors consistent.

  • Temple of Malice - Slow lands may be unappealing, but Scrying usually helps.

  • Arch of Orazca - Yet another personal choice. All you need is to have 10 permanents at any point while controlling/playing a card with City's Blessing and you have it for the game. At which point, Arch becomes something to do with spare mana.

  • Reliquary Tower - Like Thought Vessel, it's worth considering, but is acceptable to pass on if you keep burning your hand up.

  • Command Tower - Staple.

  • Graven Cairns - Filter lands are always nice.

  • Rakdos Carnarium - Slow, yes, but in the long run gives more mana.

  • Shadowblood Ridge - Another pseudo Filter Land

Chopping Block

I encourage you to think these things out on your own or ask friends about this part, because understanding the process of what and why things stay or go is important to understanding your deck. Below are my suggestions for what needs to get yeeted.

  • Ashenmoor Gouger/Hackrobat/Hellhole Flailer/Rakdos Firewheeler/Thrill-Kill Assassin/Rakdos Guildmage - All just don't do that much. Awesome to drop in the first turns, but soon are just fodder. They're nice fodder for Lysolda and Judith, but overall too narrow in use and too low impact.

  • Void Winnower/Blood Moon - As someone who wins almost all his games through player politics, I advise against these types of cards that choke the entire table. Like infinite combos kept as panic buttons in decks, you really only get to pull it once before the group starts remembering what you have up your sleeve. After that, you risk being targeted because they'll know what you have.

  • Phyrexian Obliterator - BBBB in 2-color is a bold move for what's essentially a 5/5 unblockable.

  • Dark Ritual/Doom Blade/Go for the Throat - I personally would cut them, but feel free to play around with at least the removal spells for consistency in board control. Ritual, however, is just not suited for this format.

  • Everlasting Torment - It's the only card of its type in your deck, and actually makes you vulnerable to getting chump blocked.

  • Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - Urborg serves almost no purpose in this deck.

  • Rakdos Guildgate - Guildgates are just packfiller.

  • Rakdos Signet/Rakdos Keyrune - In the modern day, your mana rocks mostly should be more useful than an overcosted creature, and if it only produces mana, it needs to be efficient like Sol Ring.

  • Lava Axe - Shouting "Catch" while literally throwing this is hilarious, but the card's just horribly overcosted.

  • Anthem of Rakdos - You will lose a lot of games you shouldn't lose because of this.

  • Ogre Battledriver - Giving a dude Haste to swing is nice, but it's a lot easier to just run a pinger like Goblin Fireslinger or Lobber Crew

  • Ob Nixilis, the Fallen - His Landfall is nice, but by nature isn't consistent, which is what you're looking for in ways to ping your opponent. Becoming a chungus is nice, but you're better off just skipping the hoops and playing an actual chungus.

  • Vial Smasher the Fierce - This one I'm not totally sold on cutting, but she seems more complicated than just running a pinger. Play around with her and see how Vial Smasher synergizes.

  • Master of Cruelties - Another I'm not totally sold on chopping, but he can only attack alone, which bottlenecks your options.

I know this all is sort of messy, but when making edits, start with comparable replacements (i.e. swapping a creature for a creature), run a few test turns, and see how things work.

Massacar on Pardon, Do You Have A Second To Talk About Demons?

1 year ago

I would still recommend taking out Rakdos Keyrune and Rakdos Locket for Arcane Signet and Talisman of Indulgence.

Also may I ask what purpose Brand serves in the deck? Does your meta have a lot of permanent stealing going on or is it there for the cycle effect?

Massacar on Pardon, Do You Have A Second To Talk About Demons?

1 year ago

Sorry for missing the Crypt, always hate repeats. As for what to sub, personally I'd take out Rakdos Keyrune and Rakdos Locket.

May I ask why no Rakdos Signet since it would fit your Rakdos theme while running at 2cmc?

I'm glad to hear your manabase hasn't been an issue, though I'm honestly surprised with your CMC and how few lands you run, the draw must be strong with you.

AvoBelmont on

1 year ago

I've added Rakdos Keyrune instead of Dowsing Dagger  Flip as I'm still unsure how good the Dagger would be in this deck even though its a very nice budget card.

DreadKhan on LOSER

1 year ago

I don't know how much of a hassle it would be, but it would help a ton for reviewers if you formatted this better. The program will auto-sort things if you input them in the correct fashion, separating things. This makes it very easy to figure out how your decks works at a glance, even if you don't have very much explanation.

Another thing that helps is if you offer a few tips on how the deck works, any key combos, that sort of thing.

Anyways, now to your deck itself. From my brief testing, it seems a very solid 'fair' deck, as in, one that isn't too big on dirty tricks, and isn't crazy fast. A very good choice for playing with friends or people you like.

Areas for improvement are increasing your land count a bit, probably by using basics or more Dragonskull Summit if you can afford them. Simple Evolving Wilds can be useful in a deck like this, but it has a delay and you don't have too much devotion cards in either color, so probably just use a few more basic swamps.

Rakdos Keyrune is a good card I think for a deck like this too, and helps get out some of the bigger cards. Lightning Bolt or Seal of Fire are very handy, with Seal being better vs control usually, and it's cheaper. I would consider a Browbeat or 2 might help draw spells, since you have lots of pressure on their life total if they aren't gaining life. Dash Hopes might be fun, but it usually benefits from being a 4 of, since each is better over all if you've already played one or more. Both choice cards are fairly casual cards IMHO, and might add some fun factor.

Negan_Davidson on [CA] Festival of Sins - Rakdos Cult

2 years ago

I LOVE IT! Absolutely love it! The only changes I would suggest are the following:

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