FEEL FREE TO ADD ME ON ARENA: ApolloPaladin#83413
This build has been going fairly strong in ranked Explorer matches on Arena. There are a lot of really decent low-mana Menace creatures to pick from, and Claim / Fame lets you continue to utilize them without fear even if there are threatening blockers you're going up against.
If you like Synergy builds, you'll love this deck; it's absolutely packed with it!
Overview:
The main threat is to utilize Labyrinth Raptor to dissuade blocking (especially early-on) since the trigger occurs before any damage is assigned. Multiple copies in play make Menace attackers particularly threatening. It is very difficult for an opponent to keep a key creature safe by not blocking with it, as doing so quickly drains their life total since they are unable to effectively block at all then in most cases. The Raptor also has a fairly low-mana trigger that will give all attackers extra sting once blockers are declared. Especially in Mid-to-Late game plays, it is often more advantageous to just trigger a Raptor multiple times rather than cast any spells.
Using Pestilent Spirit with End the Festivities or Tectonic Hazard creates some pretty devastating "opponent's side only" Boardwipes. This effect is amplified further with Valentin, Dean of the Vein
in play (more on him below) since this will allow even Indestructible creatures to be taken out -- and in either case just this is often enough for a concession from the opponent since all Menace attackers are still left intact & ready to swing.
Professional Face-Breaker is a more recent include to the build, and has really improved speed & reliability. This effect has enormous synergy with the Goldhounds dealing First Strike damage, making it rather easy to create 2 Treasure tokens in a single Turn by attacking with a hound and only 1 other creature. In addition, the Goldhounds themselves count as Treasures, so in dire straits they can even be sacrificed to the Face-Breaker. The extra mana from the Treasures themselves can help with grinding the deck with Face-Breaker's mana free ability, or by using them for actual mana - pumping the team even further with Labyrinth Raptor or paying the kicker on Nullpriest of Oblivion earlier than normal.
Valentin, Dean of the Vein
almost didn't make the cut since only his first side is reliably playable in this build (it's POSSIBLE to cast his Green side using Treasures, but really not recommended usually), nevertheless he is still a 1-mana Menace/Lifelink creature, and causing dead creatures to be exiled is a nice added form of control (Goodbye Cat Ovens). This is particularly true when he's in play for the Pestilent Spirit/End the Festivities combo going off, which will then even take out Indestructible creatures. He also has quite a nice synergy with the Raptors as they cause regular creature deaths most turns; despite the fact that I rarely if ever end up paying the extra Mana to create a token when he exiles something.
Graveyard Reanimation:
The primary concern here is returning 1 or 2-mana creatures back to play (focus is on Labyrinth Raptor), but against opponents where the Pestilent Spirit combo is more required to win there are ways of returning up to a 3-mana creature on the Sideboard that can be swapped in.
Control Options:
- 3x Valentin, Dean of the Vein
Turns all other destruction into exile (goodbye Cat Ovens); prevents opponent's "When a creature (or this creature) dies..." effects from firing
- 4x Pestilent Spirit Not directly control, but is so powerful with spells that I'm including him as one for this list
- 4x End the Festivities Devastating when paired with Pestilent Spirit, but also useful in early-game against Soul Wardens, various mana-generating elves - Looking at you Paradise Druid! -, and against a variety of weenie deck builds in general
- 2x Tectonic Hazard or Blazing Volley These are the 2nd-best Historic card(s) to pair with Pestilent Spirit; just a slightly worse End the Festivities
- 3x Dual Shot These are the 3rd-best Historic card to pair with Pestilent Spirit; Sideboarded for when Instant-speed required
- 3x Bedevil All-around good Historic control
- 2x Feed the Swarm Enchantment hate is proving a LOT more useful; these often get swapped for a sideboard addition if Enchantment hate isn't needed
- 2x Hive of the Eye Tyrant For Graveyard exile option, not really included for control but more as a pocket Menace attacker in the event of a boardwipe -- usually 4 mana is better spent trigging a Raptor twice -- but it's there if needed
- 3x Knight of Dusk's Shadow Completely shuts down a wide variety of Lifegain triggers/deck builds; these have been an extremely solid complement to the aggressive nature of this deck attacking most turns, even in games where it doesn't lock out an opponent's strategy as tons of spells/effects have small Lifegain add-ons
Lifegain:
Rakdos-colored decks generally don't see a ton in the way of Lifegain, unless it's from "Lose 1: Gain 1" type drain effects, but this deck's got them in full Lifelink glory. Despite not having a ton of copies of either, having even 1 in play it's quite easy to "pump up" for some more significant gains. The Lifelink splash in this deck makes increases the incentive to attack every turn even further, since it's easier to keep going without holding back any creatures for blocking. Also, both of these are easily returned to play with Claim / Fame for games where keeping up Lifegain is all the difference (usually against mono-red cheese).
Each of these is easily pumped up further with either the Labyrinth Raptor, the Graveyard-side of Claim / Fame, or Reconfigured with Blade of the Oni.
