Last Edited
Added [card]Chandra's Phoenix[/card] and Chandra, Pyromancer to the Show Time section.
Updates 5/16/2013
Added The Competition, a section containing dpaine88's analysis of the current decks. Moved Tribute to Hunger to the Sideboard area of the Show Time section to reflect the rise of Bant Hexproof.
Updates 5/10/2013
Added Pyrewild Shaman and [card]
Rakdos Keyrune[/card] to the Understudy section. Moved Ultimate Price to the Sideboard area of the Show Time section. Fixed the Sideboard of the Matinee deck to add in the missing Reckoner.
Updates 5/9/2013
An overhaul of the spoiler sections, breaking creatures and spells down to main deck and sideboard. I've added the Understudy section that discusses creatures that just aren't quite right for the deck but might be a consideration.
I want this to be a thread where we can bring Dos Rakis back into the limelight and restore it to its former glory. Red and Black complement each other very well and should be well positioned with the tools necessary to compete favorably in this meta.
LP, of the Fires wrote of Dos Rakis:
"While I don't think this was quite our first love, the
affectionately named Dos Rakis no doubt holds a special place in the hearts of the Founding Flames of The Fires of Salvation clan. This. Deck. Is. Power. You have the typical aggro curve that all the other aggro decks have, but instead of quad Hellrider, you have quad Falkenrath Aristocrat which is tremendously more durable and unrelenting, no matter the board state. There are tons of tricks that this deck has, especially when you introduce threaten affects and cards like Brimstone Volley. Sometimes, your opponent doesn't know that they're just dead. This deck has one million haste guys, can recover from anything, and enjoys employing the aid of hasty fliers ignoring board stalls. To boot, black has solid if not exciting board options; aside from Olivia Voldaren. I love her. The issues come from lacking sufficient(or any) mana sinks and being much more reliant on the 4th land drop
then the other red decks. Still, UNLIMITED POWER. The big downside is that you're pretty bad in the mirror. Not the best deck choice in an aggro heavy metagame."
First, a recap of where the deck has been. These decklists and card choices are pre-GTC.
Decks from the past
Show Time: Our main line up[deck=LP, of the Fires's version]
Lands 24
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Godless Shrine
12 Mountain
Creatures 28
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ash Zealot
4 Thrill-Kill Assassin
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
2 Hellrider
2 Zealous Conscripts
Spells 8
3 Searing Spear
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Ultimate Price
1 Traitorous Blood
[/deck]
Other recent versions of the deck look like this:
[deck=Redthirst's version 02/07/13]
Lands 23
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Rakdos Guildgate
10 Mountain
Creatures 29
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Stonewright
4 Ash Zealot
4 Knight of Infamy
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
n2 Thundermaw Hellkite
Spells 8
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
Sideboard 15
4 Dreadbore
4 Mizzium Mortars
3 Rakdos Charm
2 Sever the Bloodline
2 Olivia Voldaren
[/deck]
[Deck=windstrider's version]
Lands 24
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
11 Mountain
2 Rakdos Guildgate
3 Swamp
Creatures 26
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Ash Zealot
4 Knight of Infamy
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
Spells 10
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Dreadbore
2 Mizzium Mortars
4 Searing Spear
Sideboard
2 Duress
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Ultimate Price
2 Hound of Griselbrand
1 Olivia Voldaren
2 Slaughter Games
2 Zealous Conscripts
[/DECK]
Lands 24
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Godless Shrine
12 Mountain
Creatures 28
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ash Zealot
4 Thrill-Kill Assassin
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
2 Hellrider
2 Zealous Conscripts
Spells 8
3 Searing Spear
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Ultimate Price
1 Traitorous Blood
[/deck]
Other recent versions of the deck look like this:
[deck=Redthirst's version 02/07/13]
Lands 23
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Rakdos Guildgate
10 Mountain
Creatures 29
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Stonewright
4 Ash Zealot
4 Knight of Infamy
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
n2 Thundermaw Hellkite
Spells 8
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
Sideboard 15
4 Dreadbore
4 Mizzium Mortars
3 Rakdos Charm
2 Sever the Bloodline
2 Olivia Voldaren
[/deck]
[Deck=windstrider's version]
Lands 24
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
11 Mountain
2 Rakdos Guildgate
3 Swamp
Creatures 26
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Ash Zealot
4 Knight of Infamy
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
Spells 10
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Dreadbore
2 Mizzium Mortars
4 Searing Spear
Sideboard
2 Duress
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Ultimate Price
2 Hound of Griselbrand
1 Olivia Voldaren
2 Slaughter Games
2 Zealous Conscripts
[/DECK]
These creatures and spells deserve the spotlight and main billing.
Creatures
Maindeck
CMC 1
[card]
Rakdos Cackler[/card] The little demon who could. Early pressure is a good thing, and this guy provides it, especially on the play with his newest friend, Spike Jester. Unleash him and let him go. He's such an unassuming little fellow that still gets in for a good 4-6 points of damage.
Stromkirk Noble The best red 1-drop. Get him down turn one and watch the opponent cringe. If they can't answer him or block him, then the Noble can take over a game by itself. Not optimal as a top-deck card in the mid to late game where he becomes a chump blocker or an Aristocrat snack. Still, that's the price you sometimes pay for awesomeness.
Stonewright One of the weaknesses of red/black is that our creatures tend to be packed with value but attached to a smaller body. Enter the Stonewright to even the odds. Stonewright paired with Rakdos Cackler, [card]Ash Zealot[/
card], or Spike Jester, allows those creatures to trade with much bigger threats. He's an excellent topdeck draw in the later stages of the game when you can abuse him like the mana sink he is. He's fragile but potentially very powerful.
CMC 2
Ash Zealot Talk about value. Haste, first strike, and flashback hate all stapled to a respectable 2/2 body. An auto 4-of in almost every build. There had better be a very good reason she's not in the deck. She's an all-star.
Spike Jester is the best new toy we got from Dragon's Maze. The Jester provides a lot of early pressure. His 3-power and haste make him a Lightning Bolt on legs. He trades with much bigger guys and can prevent a lot of decks from establishing a good board presence. His [mana]rb[/mana] casting cost requires a heavier concentration of black sources to
cast him on curve, so adjust your mana accordingly.
CMC 3
Boros Reckoner One of the best creatures to appear in years, the Reckoner is a force to be reckoned with. He can kill creatures much bigger than him though damage redirection, and his first-strike can kill anything similarly sized. His triple-red/white casting cost is his only real drawback in a dual-colored deck, though the addition of Godless Shrines to the manabase helps get both him and our black creatures out more easily.
[card]Chandra's Phoenix[/card] A weenier hasty, evasive creature with value recursive to each red burn source played.
CMC 4
Falkenrath Aristocrat One of the reasons to play Dos Rakis. Do not be fooled by her 1 toughness. This sexy, hasty, evasive, resilient vampire laughs at most damage and can quickly end games.
[card]
Chandra, Pyromancer[/card] Compliments our initial plan to play fragile creatures, then transition to evasive/reach cards. Her +0 allows us to see more of our threat-dense deck.
CMC 5
Thundermaw Hellkite The best dragon in Standard and the bane of flying creatures everywhere. Hellkite is the finisher of choice in most sledgehammer builds.
Sideboard options
Frostburn Weird The Weird is more attractive now that the fast aggro lists are on the rise. Good on defense, it can also get in for a respectable amount of damage.
Knight of Infamy Don't be deceived by his small stature. This Knight packs quite a punch. His exalted provides pseudo-haste for our one drops, enabling them to trade with bigger guys. And his pro-white allows him to ride right on past bigger white creatures and avoid white-based counters to swing in for 3 or more damage. A very
good card, and one of the best reasons to go with black, especially with white cards everywhere. He's fallen out of favor recently as the deck has transitioned into a faster early game.
Lightning Mauler A lot of our guys have haste already. Mauler is there for those who don't, like Boros Reckoner or Olivia Voldaren. If you need even more haste, bring him in.
Olivia Voldaren Against the right decks, she's a monster. If they can't answer her, they die to her. She's a very powerful creature with a lot of interesting options. Bring her in against Aggro and Midrange.
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch A very powerful option from Dragon's Maze, Exava is currently overshadowed by Falkenrath Aristocrat and Olivia Voldaren in the 4-drop slot. As a hasty 4-power, first striker, she is very tempting and could serve as a pseudo-Falkenrath 5-6.
n
Hellrider Once a headliner for Dos Rakis, Hellrider was replaced by that sexy monster Falkenrath Aristocrat for more resiliency. If you run a lot of smaller creatures, he's worth another look. His reach is amazing, and two of them on the field are just glorious together. He dies a lot, though, which is something to consider in a removal-thick meta.
Zealous Conscripts She's a hasty 3/3 that steals their best permanent (creature, planeswalker, artifact, or land) and uses it against them. The Conscripts works very well with Falkenrath Aristocrat since you can sac their creature to her after you're done beating them with it. A lot of interesting options in one card.
Maindeck
CMC 1
[card]
Rakdos Cackler[/card] The little demon who could. Early pressure is a good thing, and this guy provides it, especially on the play with his newest friend, Spike Jester. Unleash him and let him go. He's such an unassuming little fellow that still gets in for a good 4-6 points of damage.
Stromkirk Noble The best red 1-drop. Get him down turn one and watch the opponent cringe. If they can't answer him or block him, then the Noble can take over a game by itself. Not optimal as a top-deck card in the mid to late game where he becomes a chump blocker or an Aristocrat snack. Still, that's the price you sometimes pay for awesomeness.
Stonewright One of the weaknesses of red/black is that our creatures tend to be packed with value but attached to a smaller body. Enter the Stonewright to even the odds. Stonewright paired with Rakdos Cackler, [card]Ash Zealot[/
card], or Spike Jester, allows those creatures to trade with much bigger threats. He's an excellent topdeck draw in the later stages of the game when you can abuse him like the mana sink he is. He's fragile but potentially very powerful.
CMC 2
Ash Zealot Talk about value. Haste, first strike, and flashback hate all stapled to a respectable 2/2 body. An auto 4-of in almost every build. There had better be a very good reason she's not in the deck. She's an all-star.
Spike Jester is the best new toy we got from Dragon's Maze. The Jester provides a lot of early pressure. His 3-power and haste make him a Lightning Bolt on legs. He trades with much bigger guys and can prevent a lot of decks from establishing a good board presence. His [mana]rb[/mana] casting cost requires a heavier concentration of black sources to
cast him on curve, so adjust your mana accordingly.
CMC 3
Boros Reckoner One of the best creatures to appear in years, the Reckoner is a force to be reckoned with. He can kill creatures much bigger than him though damage redirection, and his first-strike can kill anything similarly sized. His triple-red/white casting cost is his only real drawback in a dual-colored deck, though the addition of Godless Shrines to the manabase helps get both him and our black creatures out more easily.
[card]Chandra's Phoenix[/card] A weenier hasty, evasive creature with value recursive to each red burn source played.
CMC 4
Falkenrath Aristocrat One of the reasons to play Dos Rakis. Do not be fooled by her 1 toughness. This sexy, hasty, evasive, resilient vampire laughs at most damage and can quickly end games.
[card]
Chandra, Pyromancer[/card] Compliments our initial plan to play fragile creatures, then transition to evasive/reach cards. Her +0 allows us to see more of our threat-dense deck.
CMC 5
Thundermaw Hellkite The best dragon in Standard and the bane of flying creatures everywhere. Hellkite is the finisher of choice in most sledgehammer builds.
Sideboard options
Frostburn Weird The Weird is more attractive now that the fast aggro lists are on the rise. Good on defense, it can also get in for a respectable amount of damage.
Knight of Infamy Don't be deceived by his small stature. This Knight packs quite a punch. His exalted provides pseudo-haste for our one drops, enabling them to trade with bigger guys. And his pro-white allows him to ride right on past bigger white creatures and avoid white-based counters to swing in for 3 or more damage. A very
good card, and one of the best reasons to go with black, especially with white cards everywhere. He's fallen out of favor recently as the deck has transitioned into a faster early game.
Lightning Mauler A lot of our guys have haste already. Mauler is there for those who don't, like Boros Reckoner or Olivia Voldaren. If you need even more haste, bring him in.
Olivia Voldaren Against the right decks, she's a monster. If they can't answer her, they die to her. She's a very powerful creature with a lot of interesting options. Bring her in against Aggro and Midrange.
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch A very powerful option from Dragon's Maze, Exava is currently overshadowed by Falkenrath Aristocrat and Olivia Voldaren in the 4-drop slot. As a hasty 4-power, first striker, she is very tempting and could serve as a pseudo-Falkenrath 5-6.
n
Hellrider Once a headliner for Dos Rakis, Hellrider was replaced by that sexy monster Falkenrath Aristocrat for more resiliency. If you run a lot of smaller creatures, he's worth another look. His reach is amazing, and two of them on the field are just glorious together. He dies a lot, though, which is something to consider in a removal-thick meta.
Zealous Conscripts She's a hasty 3/3 that steals their best permanent (creature, planeswalker, artifact, or land) and uses it against them. The Conscripts works very well with Falkenrath Aristocrat since you can sac their creature to her after you're done beating them with it. A lot of interesting options in one card.
Spells
Understudy cards: not quite ready for the main stage.Maindeck
CMC 1
Pillar of Flame Pillar is an excellent damage spell for
killing small guys, especially Silverblade Paladin, Champion of the Parish, and opposing Stromkirk Nobles and Ash Zealots. Bonus: It exiles problem cards like Voice of Resurgence and Blood Artist without triggering their abilities, which is an important consideration. If you're seeing lots of aggro, this is a good choice. Can also go to the face for a few points.
CMC 2
Searing Spear Other decks have begun using this precisely because it is an incredibly useful spell. Kill 3 toughness or less creatures instantly or go 3 to the face. Deceptively powerful, this card can get in those last points of damage to win. How many of your opponents have looked up after combat has reduced their life totals and said "You have a Spear, don't you?
"
Sideboard Options
Mizzium Mortars With all the 4-toughness things running around, this is an excellent removal spell for when Pillar falls short. There are those few special times when you get to overload this sucker and wipe out everything on the other side. Good times.
Dreadbore A kill spell without restrictions that also nukes opposing Planeswalkers. If you're playing this deck, you should be playing some amount of this card.
Ultimate Price Let's get this out of the way first: yes, there are a lot of creatures this does not kill. There are, however, a lot of creatures it does kill: Hellrider, Thundermaw Hellkite, Restoration Angel, Griselbrand, and Angel of Serenity, etc. If you see a
lot of mono-colored creatures like these, then this spell deserves a slot. I predict this card's value will rise with the release of the new sets.
[card]Rakdos's Return[/card] Direct damage is good. Discard is good. Put both of them together, and you get an excellent card. Very useful against control decks that like to draw a lot of cards. Control players like options. Deny them those options. Also a good late-game mana sink for getting in those last few points of damage. Works wonders against midrange decks.
[card]Devil's Play[/card] Like Rakdos's Return above, this is a great mana sink for dealing a lot of damage. Unlike Rakdos's Return, this can kill creatures. Use accordingly.
Flames of the Firebrand This card's usefulness rises and falls with the surrounding metagame. If you're plagued by lots of small creatures like mana dorks and spirit tokens, then this is a better choice than Mizzium Mortars. Its
ability to burn to the face should not be overlooked either. In a world full of big creatures, though Mizzium Mortars is better.
Brimstone Volley Five damage for three mana is pretty good, especially since it kills big monsters and players dead. And then there are times when it's a worse Searing Spear, which is ok too. With lifegain from 'tusk and Revelation running rampant in some areas, this becomes a good choice for dealing damage quickly.
Tribute to Hunger The instant-speed and the lifegain are what make this card attractive. Not-so-good with lots of dorks and tokens though with Hexproof Bant on the rise thanks to Unfinching Courage, this deserves consideration.
CMC 1
Pillar of Flame Pillar is an excellent damage spell for
killing small guys, especially Silverblade Paladin, Champion of the Parish, and opposing Stromkirk Nobles and Ash Zealots. Bonus: It exiles problem cards like Voice of Resurgence and Blood Artist without triggering their abilities, which is an important consideration. If you're seeing lots of aggro, this is a good choice. Can also go to the face for a few points.
CMC 2
Searing Spear Other decks have begun using this precisely because it is an incredibly useful spell. Kill 3 toughness or less creatures instantly or go 3 to the face. Deceptively powerful, this card can get in those last points of damage to win. How many of your opponents have looked up after combat has reduced their life totals and said "You have a Spear, don't you?
"
Sideboard Options
Mizzium Mortars With all the 4-toughness things running around, this is an excellent removal spell for when Pillar falls short. There are those few special times when you get to overload this sucker and wipe out everything on the other side. Good times.
Dreadbore A kill spell without restrictions that also nukes opposing Planeswalkers. If you're playing this deck, you should be playing some amount of this card.
Ultimate Price Let's get this out of the way first: yes, there are a lot of creatures this does not kill. There are, however, a lot of creatures it does kill: Hellrider, Thundermaw Hellkite, Restoration Angel, Griselbrand, and Angel of Serenity, etc. If you see a
lot of mono-colored creatures like these, then this spell deserves a slot. I predict this card's value will rise with the release of the new sets.
[card]Rakdos's Return[/card] Direct damage is good. Discard is good. Put both of them together, and you get an excellent card. Very useful against control decks that like to draw a lot of cards. Control players like options. Deny them those options. Also a good late-game mana sink for getting in those last few points of damage. Works wonders against midrange decks.
[card]Devil's Play[/card] Like Rakdos's Return above, this is a great mana sink for dealing a lot of damage. Unlike Rakdos's Return, this can kill creatures. Use accordingly.
Flames of the Firebrand This card's usefulness rises and falls with the surrounding metagame. If you're plagued by lots of small creatures like mana dorks and spirit tokens, then this is a better choice than Mizzium Mortars. Its
ability to burn to the face should not be overlooked either. In a world full of big creatures, though Mizzium Mortars is better.
Brimstone Volley Five damage for three mana is pretty good, especially since it kills big monsters and players dead. And then there are times when it's a worse Searing Spear, which is ok too. With lifegain from 'tusk and Revelation running rampant in some areas, this becomes a good choice for dealing damage quickly.
Tribute to Hunger The instant-speed and the lifegain are what make this card attractive. Not-so-good with lots of dorks and tokens though with Hexproof Bant on the rise thanks to Unfinching Courage, this deserves consideration.
These creatures and spells just don't quite make it right now, but their time may come. These are
options for a meta shift.
Creatures
Legion Loyalist A Gatecrash card that hasn't seen much play, Loyalist could give our guys a lot of power if we can make use of it. He's more of a build-around card.
Thrill-kill Assassin Her deathtouch and toughness make her special. Do you need a 1/2 deathtouch blocker or a 2/3 deathtouch attacker? In a meta full of big ground creatures, she can trade favorably with the biggest of them, but she just doesn't get there on her own. Worth a look if you can give her first-strike.
Gore-house Chainwalker Used a lot in previous builds, the Chainwalker has fallen out of favor. But with bigger creatures sitting across the field, his time might come again. A 3/2 can do quite a lot of damage on his own. Currently outclassed by Spike Jester.
Vampire Nighthawk A deathtouch, lifelink evasive
creature? What's not to love about this guy? He has double-black in his cost, he's slow, and he's just not resilient enough. It's an awesome creature, but it doesn't quite fit in this deck.
Hellhole Flailer Before Reckoner, this guy was used in quite a few lists. After Reckoner, he's been effectively sidelined. He's an aggressive monster, though, and can get in quite a lot of damage. Pair him up with Knight of Infamy, and those exalted triggers enable you to get in damage even against stalled board states. Might be an interesting choice for an Exava-themed deck, but he doesn't fit in Dos Rakis right now.
Rakdos Keyrune This card has been played in Dos Rakis before, both for its mana acceleration and as a 3-power first striker. It dodges sorcery-speed removal. It's a bit too slow for the current version of the deck, though.
Thrill-kill Assassin Her deathtouch and toughness make her special. Do you need a 1/2 deathtouch blocker or a 2/3 deathtouch attacker? In a meta full of big ground creatures, she can trade favorably with the biggest of them, but she just doesn't get there on her own. Worth a look if you can give her first-strike.
Gore-house Chainwalker Used a lot in previous builds, the Chainwalker has fallen out of favor. But with bigger creatures sitting across the field, his time might come again. A 3/2 can do quite a lot of damage on his own. Currently outclassed by Spike Jester.
Vampire Nighthawk A deathtouch, lifelink evasive
creature? What's not to love about this guy? He has double-black in his cost, he's slow, and he's just not resilient enough. It's an awesome creature, but it doesn't quite fit in this deck.
Hellhole Flailer Before Reckoner, this guy was used in quite a few lists. After Reckoner, he's been effectively sidelined. He's an aggressive monster, though, and can get in quite a lot of damage. Pair him up with Knight of Infamy, and those exalted triggers enable you to get in damage even against stalled board states. Might be an interesting choice for an Exava-themed deck, but he doesn't fit in Dos Rakis right now.
Rakdos Keyrune This card has been played in Dos Rakis before, both for its mana acceleration and as a 3-power first striker. It dodges sorcery-speed removal. It's a bit too slow for the current version of the deck, though.
Spells
The Competition: Decks trying to steal our spotlight[card:
3v6erh1r]Tragic Slip[/card] For the right price, this spell kills everything. If you can enable morbid, then this is an excellent choice for an instant-speed kill spell. It's not as good for Dos Rakis.
Duress There are quite a few things out there that we don't want to see: Blind Obedience, Rancor, [card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card], Assemble the Legion, planeswalkers, etc. Get rid of them before you need to worry about them.
Appetite for Brains With the rise of Reanimator and the prevalance of big creatures like Thragtusk, Resto Angel, Angel of Serenity, Craterhoof Behemoth, and Griselbrand, this card could be seeing more play. Right now, our removal options are so much better choices.
Electrickery There aren't as many 1-toughness creatures running
around right now, but they are there. If you're worried about mana dorks, this can kill Pilgrim and Arbor Elf and any buddies they bring along. Kills spirit tokens all day long. Potentially a 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1 for 2 mana. If you're looking for this effect, look at Flames of the Firebrand first since it can hit bigger creatures and burn to the face.
Rakdos Charm All three modes are useful. Reanimator getting you down? Exile their graveyard just as they cast Unburial Rites. [card]Runechanter's Pike[/card] hurting you? Blow it or their graveyard up. Assemble the Legion about to run you over? Smack them with their own soldiers. The choice is yours. Use it.
Devour Flesh An edict that gains the enemy life is not something we usually want to be using. However, if you're beset by an enchanted Invisible Stalker, this is
a good way to kill it. Note that you can use it on your own creatures for the lifegain as well.
Victim of Night One of the best instant-speed removal spells available if you have a heavy concentration of black. As with any double black mana costs, there will be times when this is a dead card in hand. That is not a good situation to be in.
Murder It's really a more expensive version of Victim of Night without restrictions. That three mana cost makes this much less attractive, however. Its ability to kill anything at instant speed is very tempting.
Traitorous Blood What's better than stealing their biggest creature and attacking them with it? Giving it trample. Steal the creature, attack, then sac it to Aristocrat. Note that you can also use this on your own creature to give it trample.
Sever the Bloodline There are times when you'll use
this to get rid of something big, and then there are times when you get rid of lots of something, kinda like Mizzium Mortars.
Slaughter Games If you really don't want to see a card hit the field, use this to make sure your opponent can't cast it or any other copy of it in their deck. Gets rid of Thragtusks before they become a 2-for-1 (or more) nuisance. Also good vs. [card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card]. It's best use is to steal away win conditions.
3v6erh1r]Tragic Slip[/card] For the right price, this spell kills everything. If you can enable morbid, then this is an excellent choice for an instant-speed kill spell. It's not as good for Dos Rakis.
Duress There are quite a few things out there that we don't want to see: Blind Obedience, Rancor, [card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card], Assemble the Legion, planeswalkers, etc. Get rid of them before you need to worry about them.
Appetite for Brains With the rise of Reanimator and the prevalance of big creatures like Thragtusk, Resto Angel, Angel of Serenity, Craterhoof Behemoth, and Griselbrand, this card could be seeing more play. Right now, our removal options are so much better choices.
Electrickery There aren't as many 1-toughness creatures running
around right now, but they are there. If you're worried about mana dorks, this can kill Pilgrim and Arbor Elf and any buddies they bring along. Kills spirit tokens all day long. Potentially a 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1 for 2 mana. If you're looking for this effect, look at Flames of the Firebrand first since it can hit bigger creatures and burn to the face.
Rakdos Charm All three modes are useful. Reanimator getting you down? Exile their graveyard just as they cast Unburial Rites. [card]Runechanter's Pike[/card] hurting you? Blow it or their graveyard up. Assemble the Legion about to run you over? Smack them with their own soldiers. The choice is yours. Use it.
Devour Flesh An edict that gains the enemy life is not something we usually want to be using. However, if you're beset by an enchanted Invisible Stalker, this is
a good way to kill it. Note that you can use it on your own creatures for the lifegain as well.
Victim of Night One of the best instant-speed removal spells available if you have a heavy concentration of black. As with any double black mana costs, there will be times when this is a dead card in hand. That is not a good situation to be in.
Murder It's really a more expensive version of Victim of Night without restrictions. That three mana cost makes this much less attractive, however. Its ability to kill anything at instant speed is very tempting.
Traitorous Blood What's better than stealing their biggest creature and attacking them with it? Giving it trample. Steal the creature, attack, then sac it to Aristocrat. Note that you can also use this on your own creature to give it trample.
Sever the Bloodline There are times when you'll use
this to get rid of something big, and then there are times when you get rid of lots of something, kinda like Mizzium Mortars.
Slaughter Games If you really don't want to see a card hit the field, use this to make sure your opponent can't cast it or any other copy of it in their deck. Gets rid of Thragtusks before they become a 2-for-1 (or more) nuisance. Also good vs. [card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card]. It's best use is to steal away win conditions.
dpaine88's analysis of the current metagame.
Naya Blitz/Mono Red
This is one of our toughest matchups as we don't race quite as well as other aggro decks, and our top end (Falkenrath) lines up poorly in defense. Ash Zealot, Boros
Reckoner, and Noble (for Blitz) are the key creatures to game 1 as they are amazing defenders. The maindeck burn can be used to kill difficult creatures such as Mayor of Avabruck and Hellrider/ Pyreheart Wolf. The other downside to this matchup is that we intend to 1-for-1 to start and stabilize the board to drop our big guys, but Burning-Tree Emmisary throws a wrench in that plan if your opponent can cast many creatures on one turn, but you might only be able to cast one spell a turn. Game 1 is not really in our favor, which explains the extreme aggro bias in the sideboard. In general, aside from zombies, we cannot realistically expect to race other aggro decks, although Spike Jester does certainly help there. The best plan of action in game 2/3 is the classic "Go Big" plan. Our 1-drops look pretty lackluster compared to Experiment One and Champion of the Parish and even Boros Elite, so we cannot compete here. We must transition into a midrangey control strategy. Our goal is to 1-for-1
them and keep the board clear until we can drop our bigger threats and win the game. Sideboard out your underpowered early beats for more removal and impactful creatures.
Bant Hexproof
This is a deck that got some real help from DGM in the form of Unflinching Courage, which is downright nasty, and Voice of Resurgence. Luckily, we are well positioned for VoR game 1 but it will give us some trouble if we don't have the corresponding Pillar of Flame. An Unflinching Courage on an Invisible Stalker can be really difficult hard to beat. Bant Hex is more consistent now and is quite strong. Logical consideration must be paid to including sacrifice effects into the sideboard, but it depends on your local meta.
Jund
Normally, I wouldn't feel very good in the matchup, especially with small sideboard options, but the full big package of flying baddies really
helps give our deck staying power opposed to the lower curve aggro decks that run out of gas and have low-impact topdecks turns 5+. If Jund uses their removal on your Cacklers and Zealots, Thundermaw will lead you to victory. Olivia is still a problem and must be stopped here. Bonfire is also really bad for us but mostly it is only effective if they miracle it. At least in game 1, be weary of holding too many cards back now with Sire of Insanity and Rakdos's Return. Also if they do get a board going, an overloaded Mizzium Mortars kills everything.
Esper Control
This deck is currently in decline, which is too bad because we are not that bad against control compared to some other aggro decks due to the high top end and Stonewright. The key to this matchup is to keep just 1-2 creatures on the board at a time and force their hand while keeping a strong array of follow-up cards. Stonewright is great here and is a must-answer or else you get incredible value of your lands while
holding onto your very valuable cards in hand. You don't get to draw another hand like they do, so your cards have to count. Aristocrat is your key to victory but do keep an eye open for Dissipate if they have been spending mana on your early guys. In the sideboarded games, just bring in Rakdos's Return, a game-winner against control. Keep your curve nice and low to get the pressure going early and often.
Reanimator
Sadly, I feel our deck is a bit weaker to Reanimator than your typical aggro deck that can kill faster than us. An Angel of Serenity can be back-breaking, and we rarely win by turn 4. Still have to kill quickly. Our flyers are really our key to victory here and getting your spells out asap to minimize the effects of Slime.
U/W/R
This really can go either way depending on the lists being run but this deck is losing popularity. Sometimes they just can 1-for-1 you every turn till t4 and then just Rev to get way ahead.[/spoiler:
3v6erh1r]
Matinee: Where we are now
The current iteration of the deck aims for more speed and more resiliency.
[deck]Post-GTC[/deck]
Sideboarding Plans
From Brother redthirst
There's not really one specific card you take out for any other card - the SB plan is a package deal:
Aggro: -4 Cackler, -4 Stromkirk, -2 Stonewright, -2 Jester; +4 Dreadbore, +3 Mortars, +2 Olivia, +2 Frostburn, +1 Reckoner
Midrange: -4 Cackler, -4 Stromkirk, -4 Pillar; +4
Dreadbore, +3 Mortars, +2 Olivia, +2 Rakdos's Return, +1 Reckoner
Control: -3 Reckoner, -4 Pillar; +4 Dreadbore, +3 Rakdos's Return
Reanimator: -4 Pillar, +4 Dreadbore
Against Aggro and Midrange, you take out your very low impact early game stuff and just play defense until you can start dropping superior threats that they can't deal with well. The bonus here is that your opponents will board in to deal with an Aggro deck, and you'll have a Midrange deck -- instead of both decks becoming better suited to take on the other, your deck becomes better and their deck becomes worse.
Against Control and Reanimator you do about the same thing -- remove spells that don't do much in those MUs for ones that do and race them.
Admin edit, 23th July 2013: windstrider passed the torch to Nuwen. Good luck to the new primer maintainer!
This is one of our toughest matchups as we don't race quite as well as other aggro decks, and our top end (Falkenrath) lines up poorly in defense. Ash Zealot, Boros
Reckoner, and Noble (for Blitz) are the key creatures to game 1 as they are amazing defenders. The maindeck burn can be used to kill difficult creatures such as Mayor of Avabruck and Hellrider/ Pyreheart Wolf. The other downside to this matchup is that we intend to 1-for-1 to start and stabilize the board to drop our big guys, but Burning-Tree Emmisary throws a wrench in that plan if your opponent can cast many creatures on one turn, but you might only be able to cast one spell a turn. Game 1 is not really in our favor, which explains the extreme aggro bias in the sideboard. In general, aside from zombies, we cannot realistically expect to race other aggro decks, although Spike Jester does certainly help there. The best plan of action in game 2/3 is the classic "Go Big" plan. Our 1-drops look pretty lackluster compared to Experiment One and Champion of the Parish and even Boros Elite, so we cannot compete here. We must transition into a midrangey control strategy. Our goal is to 1-for-1
them and keep the board clear until we can drop our bigger threats and win the game. Sideboard out your underpowered early beats for more removal and impactful creatures.
Bant Hexproof
This is a deck that got some real help from DGM in the form of Unflinching Courage, which is downright nasty, and Voice of Resurgence. Luckily, we are well positioned for VoR game 1 but it will give us some trouble if we don't have the corresponding Pillar of Flame. An Unflinching Courage on an Invisible Stalker can be really difficult hard to beat. Bant Hex is more consistent now and is quite strong. Logical consideration must be paid to including sacrifice effects into the sideboard, but it depends on your local meta.
Jund
Normally, I wouldn't feel very good in the matchup, especially with small sideboard options, but the full big package of flying baddies really
helps give our deck staying power opposed to the lower curve aggro decks that run out of gas and have low-impact topdecks turns 5+. If Jund uses their removal on your Cacklers and Zealots, Thundermaw will lead you to victory. Olivia is still a problem and must be stopped here. Bonfire is also really bad for us but mostly it is only effective if they miracle it. At least in game 1, be weary of holding too many cards back now with Sire of Insanity and Rakdos's Return. Also if they do get a board going, an overloaded Mizzium Mortars kills everything.
Esper Control
This deck is currently in decline, which is too bad because we are not that bad against control compared to some other aggro decks due to the high top end and Stonewright. The key to this matchup is to keep just 1-2 creatures on the board at a time and force their hand while keeping a strong array of follow-up cards. Stonewright is great here and is a must-answer or else you get incredible value of your lands while
holding onto your very valuable cards in hand. You don't get to draw another hand like they do, so your cards have to count. Aristocrat is your key to victory but do keep an eye open for Dissipate if they have been spending mana on your early guys. In the sideboarded games, just bring in Rakdos's Return, a game-winner against control. Keep your curve nice and low to get the pressure going early and often.
Reanimator
Sadly, I feel our deck is a bit weaker to Reanimator than your typical aggro deck that can kill faster than us. An Angel of Serenity can be back-breaking, and we rarely win by turn 4. Still have to kill quickly. Our flyers are really our key to victory here and getting your spells out asap to minimize the effects of Slime.
U/W/R
This really can go either way depending on the lists being run but this deck is losing popularity. Sometimes they just can 1-for-1 you every turn till t4 and then just Rev to get way ahead.[/spoiler:
3v6erh1r]
Matinee: Where we are now
The current iteration of the deck aims for more speed and more resiliency.
[deck]Post-GTC[/deck]
Sideboarding Plans
From Brother redthirst
There's not really one specific card you take out for any other card - the SB plan is a package deal:
Aggro: -4 Cackler, -4 Stromkirk, -2 Stonewright, -2 Jester; +4 Dreadbore, +3 Mortars, +2 Olivia, +2 Frostburn, +1 Reckoner
Midrange: -4 Cackler, -4 Stromkirk, -4 Pillar; +4
Dreadbore, +3 Mortars, +2 Olivia, +2 Rakdos's Return, +1 Reckoner
Control: -3 Reckoner, -4 Pillar; +4 Dreadbore, +3 Rakdos's Return
Reanimator: -4 Pillar, +4 Dreadbore
Against Aggro and Midrange, you take out your very low impact early game stuff and just play defense until you can start dropping superior threats that they can't deal with well. The bonus here is that your opponents will board in to deal with an Aggro deck, and you'll have a Midrange deck -- instead of both decks becoming better suited to take on the other, your deck becomes better and their deck becomes worse.
Against Control and Reanimator you do about the same thing -- remove spells that don't do much in those MUs for ones that do and race them.
Admin edit, 23th July 2013: windstrider passed the torch to Nuwen. Good luck to the new primer maintainer!
sources - what I have is good enough for the MD, but the SB plays a lot of non-creature B spells so I think I might need a few Guildgates in there.