Rakdos wants a deck that plays sturdy creatures that also deal with opponents' cards. It also suits a deck that loves coin flips, dice rolls and wild surprises.
Mana cost
Black, Red ()
Power / toughness6 / 6
RarityMythic
Flying, trample
When Rakdos enters, flip a coin for each creature that isn't a Demon, Devil, or Imp. Destroy each creature whose coin comes up tails.
Picked for what they do in Rakdos's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Rakdos'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.Open the full glossary
explain how Rakdos 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 Coast25 Jan 2019
All of the creatures whose coins come up tails are destroyed at the same time.
Wizards of the Coast25 Jan 2019
Players can't take any action between the time that coins are flipped and the time creatures are destroyed. For example, if they wish to cast a spell to have a creature gain indestructible, they must do so before Rakdos's triggered ability resolves, without knowing whether that creature's coin will come up heads or tails.
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.MidrangeMidrange decks play solid creatures that also deal with opponents' cards, attacking when it is safe and defending when it is not. They sit in the middle: slower than an all-out attacking deck, sturdier than a deck built to answer everything.Open the Midrange pageValue CreatureA creature that does two jobs: it deals with an opponent's card when it arrives, then stays as a real attacker. Its enter the battlefield ability destroys, damages, counters or bounces something, and it has 3 or more power or an ability like flying that makes it hard to block. Answering your opponent and pressuring them with the same card is what a Midrange deck is built on. Shriekmaw, Meteor GolemOpen the Value Creature pageBoard WipeA spell that destroys, exiles, or otherwise removes all creatures at once. Also called a sweeper or a wrath, after Wrath of God. One that deals damage or gives -X/-X counts only at 7 or more, enough to kill almost every creature people play, like Blasphemous Act. A smaller one is a Mini Sweeper.Open the Board Wipe pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value pageChaosChaos decks fill the game with random effects like coin flips, dice rolls and random swaps, so nobody's plan goes as expected. It is built for fun and big stories more than for winning quickly.Open the Chaos pageCoin Flip / Die RollLeaves part of the outcome to chance: a coin flip, a die roll, or a choice made at random. A flip that can only hurt you, like the one on Mana Crypt, does not count, because no deck is built around it. Ancient Copper Dragon, Delina, Wild MageOpen the Coin Flip / Die Roll 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 pageControlControl decks answer what everyone else plays, stopping spells and removing dangerous cards, then win slowly once they are in charge. Expect lots of removal, spells that cancel other spells, and extra card draw.Open the Control 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 page
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