What’s the most powerful, devious, or interesting build-around Rakdos Commander in Magic: The Gathering? That’s the question we’re about to answer.
Rakdos is a color combination for players who enjoy aggressive, powerful, and controlling games of Commander. Surprisingly, the Rakdos color pairing is quite versatile.
There are options for players who want massive card advantage, huge creatures or spells, the ability to goad opponents into attacking each other, vampire or goblin tribal builds, and many other strategies.
It’s time to wreak some havoc! Here’s our guide to the Best Rakdos Commanders in MTG:
#1 Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
March of the Machine: Aftermath may have flopped, but it did give us this gem of a Commander. Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin, is powerful enough to be a formidable cEDH Commander and versatile enough to be played in a variety of casual decks.
The card advantage here is next level. Unlike Prosper, Tome-Bound, which gives you a respectable one card per turn, Ob Nixilis can exile stacks of cards in a single turn.
Pair it with cards that ping for damage, such as Kederekt Parasite, Iridescent Vinelasher, and Orcish Bowmasters. Grapeshot is particularly spicy in this deck since each point of damage is a separate spell resolving, creating multiple triggers.
#2 Rowan, Scion of War
Commanders keep getting more and more powerful, and Rowan, Scion of War exemplifies that trend. There’s no shortage of cards that cause you to lose life, and Rowan takes full advantage of them.
Rowan synergizes with anything that lowers your life total, from Mana Crypt to Ancient Tomb and Treasonous Ogre. Don’t forget you can use Phyrexian mana to cast spells for cheaper and cause life loss with cards like Dismember and K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth.
What’s great about Rowan is that so many powerful Black and Red cards in Commander require life payment, like Snuff Out, and Rowan rewards you for playing them. Combine Rowan with big-mana, top-end cards to close out the game quickly. Vilis, Broker of Blood is particularly brutal in this build.
#3 Prosper, Tome-Bound
Prosper used to be the #1 Rakdos Commander in Magic. He’s still pretty darn good and worth considering today. Not only does he give you a card every turn, but you also get a treasure when you cast a card from exile.
Now, that treasure might not seem like much, but making every card you cast from exile essentially cost 1 less can add up over time, leading to some explosive turns.
This is the kind of deck where Jeska’s Will really shines. Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin also works great in the 99 here, as they synergize with each other quite nicely.
#4 Juri, Master of the Revue
Juri is the go-to Commander for Rakdos sacrifice decks. Did you make 10 treasures with Dockside Extortionist? When you sacrifice them, Juri, Master of the Revue, becomes an 11/11 and deals 11 damage when it dies.
Juri is also one of those Commanders that nobody wants to target because they know they’ll be the one dealt damage when it goes to the bin. Even if opponents have exile effects like Swords to Plowshares, you’ll be running sacrifice outlets like Ashnod’s Altar, which will guarantee the damage goes through.
#5 Rakdos, Lord Of Riots
You better be running all the dual lands you can because Rakdos, Lord of Riots demands it. This is a deck where you might even consider cutting Sol Ring (but will you really?).
Rakdos, Lord of Riots is a bit like the inverse of Rowan, Scion of War. Rather than making things cheaper when you lose life, Lord of Riots makes creatures cheaper if opponents have lost life. Thanks to its flying and trample, it shouldn’t be too hard to hit an opponent for six and get a six mana discount.
Commander decks that play Rakdos, Lord of Riots tend to run Eldrazi at the top end to really take advantage of the mana reduction. I particularly recommend running Hideous Taskmaster. It’s easy to cast in this deck and can do some real damage, even if it’s countered.
#6 Judith, Carnage Connoisseur
Judith, Carnage Connoisseur, who bears a striking resemblance to Liliana, is perfect for a Rakdos spellslinger deck.
Creature-based decks are devastated by Judith when you pair her with cards like End the Festivities and Blazing Volley. You’ll also be gaining a fair amount of life as a result.
If the board is clear, you’ll be generating creatures that deal damage with every spell cast. That adds up over time. If you’re running cards in the 99 like Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might, this deck can start to dish out some serious damage and lifelink.
#7 Kardur, Doomscourge
Kardur, Doomscourge is the kind of Commander made to abuse Conjurer’s Closet. Find ways to let Kardur go to the graveyard and reanimate it repeatedly to keep your opponents fighting each other.
Goad decks like Kardur virtually guarantee you won’t be the first to die in a game, but they also struggle to finish. Be sure to include finishers or find ways to punish the strongest players so you can capitalize on the early advantage Kardur provides.
#8 Strefan, Maurer Progenitor
Strefan is the premier Vampire Commander in Rakdos for those looking for something different from Edgar Markov.
Strefan’s first ability triggers for each player who lost life, including yourself. This means you can end your first turn with him in play and have 4 Blood tokens. On your first attack, you can cheat in some pretty big vampires, such as Butcher of Malakir, Necropolis Regent, and Markov Enforcer.
#9 Anje Falkenrath
Anje Falkenrath is arguably the best madness mechanic enabler in the game. Not only do you get a free way to discard your cards with madness, but you also get to untap for an additional trigger.
Since there are only so many good madness cards available in Commander, people tend to pair Anje with big creatures and reanimator cards to get the most value.
#10 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Last but not least is Grenzo, Dungeon Warden. He’s been a staple Rakdos Commander since he was originally printed in Conspiracy in 2014.
Grenzo is all about building a creature-based deck that wants to cheat creatures from the bottom of your library into play. He can be played effectively in a variety of Commander decks thanks to his powerful two-mana ability.
Whether you want to run a goblin deck, an aristocrat build, or create a Shadowborn Apostle or Rat Colony deck, Grenzo offers a little bit of something for a variety of strategies.
That’s our list of the best Rakdos Commanders in MTG for EDH! If you really want to juice up a Rakdos deck, consider reading our article on the Best Black Tutors in Commander.
ALSO READ: The Best Goblin Commanders in Magic: The Gathering
