Rakdos, the Showstopper

Legendary Creature — Demon

Flying, trample

When Rakdos, the Showstoper enters the battlefield, flip a coin for each creature that isn't a Demon, Devil or Imp. Destroy each creature whose coin comes up tails.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

marco-piatti on Bad gifts commanders

5 months ago

DrukenReaps SteelSentry thanks for your advices.

About stax i already run in my blim deck cards like Smoke and and Mudslide. They are very good, unfortunately there aren't many that still give me the possibility to deal damage with blim in order to trigger his ability.

About synergistic removal: i totally see what you mean, for example i run Rakdos, the Showstopper which doesn't count my Commander. The problem is that in my opinion the slots about control card are better used in the goad compartment. The reason is that you basically get to use others players resources instead of denying them. This way they are a little less looking forward to get rid of you (they still have their best creatures, only yes they have to attack and not us). But yes overall i totally see that staying alive with this kind of strategy is the primary goal and removal is super important.

About the gifts:my First version of my deck included only "not very oppressive" ones and it didn't work. It's probabily also because blim triggers on damage so it's less efficient than zedruu and lynde. The problem was that the gifts were not enough impactful and they are the main weapon of the deck. So when i am able to give away one it has to be impactfull.

shadow63 on Card Analysis #1 - Dreadhorde …

7 months ago

I really like the card in my zombie deck. It can put in work if I get it out early. You brought up the people who stopped bolas but forgot Rakdos, the Showstopper. Did you somehow forget this?

to_regatha_and_beyond on zdevil burn

8 months ago

Good first draft! A few things to consider-

• Since Raphael, Fiendish Savior isn't modern-legal, you might want to consider some alternatives. Maybe something like Rakdos, the Showstopper could work in Raphael's place? It's pretty powerful removal and a strong body on its own, so it makes for a good finisher, and more importantly, it's allowed in the format.
• Try to look for better options for cards whenever you can. A few of the cards you're running have strictly superior alternatives that I would check out, for instance Blaze could be replaced by Fireball or Banefire.
• Set up a sideboard so that your deck will be a bit more alterable. Cards like Devils' Playground, Wild Slash, Tibalt, Rakish Instigator and Vengeful Devil might make good sideboard options.

Consider these, and I'm excited to see where you take the deck from here! Very interesting first iteration.

CommanderNeyo on Welcome to the Show

9 months ago

Have you considered adding Conjurer's Closet, to get repeatable uses out of Rakdos, the Showstopper?

ThePromisedNightmare on Demon King

10 months ago

I'd like to build a Rakdos demon deck.

On EDHREC they listed Rakdos, the Showstopper and Rakdos, Lord of Riots as the 2 most played general for this tribe. The showstopper however is listed as the most played right now and I don't get why.

Other than being a MAYBE one sided wrath it doesn't do anything after unless I blink him while the lord of riots will always lower the cost of my demons if I can deal any damage.

Which one would be a better fit at the helm of the deck ?

MightyPox on Demon Till Your Dreams Come True

1 year ago

What do you think about the demon Sower of Discord? He can help us finish the game with Fiery Emancipation/Archfiend of Despair. How has Rakdos, the Showstopper played out for you so far? Is he worth it?

In your deck description you write that Pestilence Demon is for controlling token decks. Has he any other use?

Would Mox Diamond be a good addition to the deck to come back after our lands are gone?

legendofa on New hubs to be added

2 years ago

Femme_Fatale So far it's pretty much what I expected: A lot of Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom + Okaun, Eye of Chaos , a few Rakdos, the Showstopper , and some miscellaneous other EDH decks that contain a significant number of coin flip cards.

My current concern here is the conflation of Flip, the Kamigawa mechanic, with Coin Flip.

MaltOMeal on Absolute Theocracy

2 years ago

Sup lobsternips!

As a baseline, you'll need to add lands, which I'm sure you know. Since you're making Treasure and Gold tokens in this deck you'd probably be good with roughly 34-36 lands, leaning more to the most mana color you'll need, say like a 25/25/50 split if thats what you're going for.

Creatures

- We'll cover your cards to include by type, so lets start with creatures. I like the Angels, Demons, and Dragons subtheme, if you were considering it I'd try and include Kaalia of the Vast if you can get your hands on one, otherwise just slim down on the tribal stuff, reaching too far into each different theme could result in inconsistencies and clunky play. I've been there, it sucks a lot. (Unfortunately, you can't run Shalai, Voice of Plenty since she has a Selesnya color identity)

• Key Angels you may wanna keep: Avacyn, Angel of Hope , Angel of Destiny , Angel of Serenity , Sunblast Angel , Lyra Dawnbringer , Eradicator Valkyrie .

• While I do like Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and Tariel, Reckoner of Souls they have a high mana cost as most good Angels do, while Tariel synergizes well with your strategy she does have that randomness factor and would advise a more reliable and consistent option. Gisela speeds up the game. As a player this is good and accelerates the game, but as an opponent my first priority would be to get rid of Gisela and that paints an even bigger target on your back.

• Restoration Angel is fantastic for your edict effects, at face value. You'd need to run flicker effects to really make it shine. Basandra, Battle Seraph seems really good, forcing people to attack is nice and it prevents players from casting anything in combat, however it means instant speed removal will be used before the combat step. This also stops you from casting spells in combat.

• As for Human synergy, I really like Teysa Karlov , Thalisse, Reverent Medium , Queen Marchesa , General's Enforcer and Fain, the Broker . All of them work very well with the token strategy, especially Teysa and Thalisse

• Things I wouldn't necessarily include are cards like Juri, Master of the Revue (as good as she is with Fling ), General Kudro of Drannith (incidental unless you go all in on the Human tribal strategy), Devout Chaplain (same reason for Kudro), or Dire Fleet Hoarder (basically a one time effect unless you jump through the Teysa hoop, yes it does give you a Treasure token, but at a cost of 2 mana and the creature dying).

• Things like Ruthless Knave , Pitiless Plunderer , and Impulsive Pilferer perform outstandingly well in terms of more bang for your buck in this case.

• As for Demons I really like the Archfiend of Depravity and Rakdos, the Showstopper , their mass sacrifice effects are wonderful, however Rakdos does effect your board heavily unless you play to his synergies, you wouldn't want Negan to die to his effect would you?

-When it comes to your Dragons, I think you hit the nail on the head, nothing I would really change or take out. Allows for Magda, Brazen Outlaw to have a decent outlet if you don't want an artifact.

-Finally, the other things you've got going. Dockside should just be an auto-include, albeit a heavy price tag, but if you can get one you should definitely include it.

• Dark Impostor , while mana intensive is still a decent mana sink that can function effectively as targeted removal. Definitely keep your edict creatures, they are super useful and trigger Negan, and thats what you want.

• Starnheim Aspirant is useful if you go super heavy into the Angel theme, but if you skimp on the Angel theme this could very often be a dead card.

• Storm-Kiln Artist , I like this a lot for this deck, can be a beater, and generates value.

• Vault Robber , seems bad, and bad to do. Synergizes with Magda and makes Treasure tokens, but thats really it... PLUS it requires you to have a creature in YOUR grave. I'd cut this, but if you have a reason to play it I'm not seeing immediately play it in your deck.

• Viscera Seer , good card, good sac outlet, not much else to say.

• Creatures I'd include based on what I've seen: Solemn Simulacrum , Burnished Hart and Mayhem Devil . Some good ramp and a decent damage dealer if you'd like to play a cheap one. Plus the Devil is great at just 3 mana.

Enchantments

First thing I wanna point out is the abundance of them, its good, but its quite a few. I like the variety of them though, from token generation to mana value, all of them are GOOD in a sense.

Angelic Renewal is basically a one time effect. While good, there are better recursion spells out there, but this one does fit the Angel theme so thats really cool. :D

Land Tax : Definitely play this if you want more inclusions in your deck and want to play less lands, but don't forget to have a focus on more basic lands for the landbase.

Luminarch Ascension is subject to removal by other players, and somewhat makes you a target, but with Divine Visitation and your non-Treasure generators make this super useful.

Aside from that, I think that's a decent spread of enchantments. Nothing to add really, love the inclusion of the Sagas and Revel in Riches .

• You could also put Martyr's Bond in for shenanigans, Hidden Stockpile for utility, or Flameshadow Conjuring for more token synergy.

• Flickerform is also a unique enchantment, but makes it doubly effective with edict creatures like Plaguecrafter .

• Shiny Impetus is good for token generation, but don't play a sacrifice creature to have that player just get rid of it, deceptively good and bad.

• The Eldest Reborn is also another good saga to include if you want another edict type effect, and when it does go off you can get what you want from players' graveyards.

Artifacts

I'm sure you'll add more later, but here are some I'd DEFINITELY include:

The three signets for your colors, Arcane Signet as well.

Goldvein Pick : hidden tRAESurES!!!

Inspiring Statuary for a low mana investment, you can effectively keep your Treasures around, or use your Gold tokens twice(tap it for colorless, then sac it for colored mana).

Panharmonicon to double up on edict effects.

Instants

Not much in this category outside of removal or token generation.

Wouldn't run Secure the Wastes strictly because it doesn't put Humans into play, play the sorcery option Martial Coup instead if you want a token creator with some OOMPH.

I'd recommend more removal, but with everything else considered I think you're pretty much good here. Really like the Crackling Doom and Vona's Hunger inclusions.

Sorceries

OOOOkay, lots to look at here.

• Approach of the Second Sun : Does provide you an effective way to win, very good card for a deck like this especially if the game goes long.
• Brass's Bounty . Love it, not much else to say.
• Contract Killing fits the theme and the flavor. Love it.
• Damnable Pact is good card draw for you, and useful against someone who flies too close to the sun.
• Debt to the Deathless / Entreat the Angels . While both good, is not something you want to draw into early game or open with. I would highly suggest playing less finisher cards like these, but if you wanna play em don't let me stop you.
• Killing Wave . Love it, super good.
• Necrotic Hex . Expensive, but great effect.
• Excavation Technique is actually a really good spell. Synergizes with Magecraft like WoTC intended and is deceptive for your opponents.
• Increasing Devotion / Finale of Glory . One of these is better than the other. I'll let you decide which is which.
• Heartless Pillage / Seize the Spoils . I really like both of these cards as spells and thematically. They work well for Negan and as spells for you to Pillage and Loot with as you please.
• Ruinous Ultimatum / Tragic Arrogance : Both are fantastic, especially as finisher spells. I'd make a point to include both so you have an option when you're ready to win(IE: Revel in Riches in play with a ton of creatures on board, its akin to vandalblasting with a lettuce on board).

Notable Lands

Mortuary Mire : Get that creature back in play!

High Market : Useful when Dictate of Erebos is in play.

Sanctum of Eternity / Command Beacon : You never know when you might need to use them. Negan can get expensive real fast.

That basically does it for my brief review, hope I was of some help!