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Rakdos the Defiler

Rakdos the Defiler

Legendary Creature — Demon

Rakdos the Defiler wants a deck that gives up its own cards on purpose to get something back. It also suits a deck that slows the whole table down with rules everyone must follow.

  • Mana cost2 genericblackblackredred
  • Black, Red ()
  • Power / toughness7 / 6
  • RarityRare

Flying, trample

Whenever Rakdos attacks, sacrifice half the non-Demon permanents you control, rounded up.

Whenever Rakdos deals combat damage to a player, that player sacrifices half the non-Demon permanents they control of their choice, rounded up.

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Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Rakdos the Defiler

Picked for what they do in Rakdos the Defiler's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Rakdos the Defiler's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Rakdos the Defiler

explain how Rakdos the Defiler works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 1 May 2006

A permanent with the subtype Demon, including Rakdos the Defiler itself, can't be sacrificed this way.

Wizards of the Coast 1 May 2006

To calculate the number of permanents that must be sacrificed, count the number of permanents the affected player controls that don't have the subtype Demon, then divide that number in half and round up. For example, a player who controls eleven non-Demon permanents will need to sacrifice six of them.

2 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Rakdos the Defiler, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBRPlayers write colors as letters: B for black, R for red.SacrificeSacrifice decks give up their own creatures, Treasures and other cards on purpose and get something back each time. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you want, is the heart of the deck.Open the Sacrifice pageForced SacrificeMakes opponents sacrifice their own permanents. Because they choose what to lose, it gets around protection and hexproof that ordinary removal cannot touch. Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Living DeathOpen the Forced Sacrifice pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax pageDemonsDemons are almost all black, and about half of them fly. Some are large but ask you to pay a price, such as sacrificing another creature.Open the Demons pageSaboteurTriggers when a creature deals combat damage to a player, so the reward comes from connecting rather than from the damage itself. Evasion makes these far more reliable. Ragavan, Nimble PilfererOpen the Saboteur page