For the last few months, Magic: The Gathering Standard has essentially been held hostage by hyper-efficient Aggro. Gruul Prowess and Mono-Red ruled the roost pre-Tarkir, and Izzet Prowess entered the fray with the printing of Cori-Steel Cutter. Monday’s seismic bans addressed all of these decks, however, leaving a gaping power vacuum just waiting to be filled. Midrange decks are the lead contenders right now, with several making strides already. That said, other new MTG brews are also on the up, including a spicy Rakdos Max Speed deck.
Max Speed is a mechanic with a bit of a checkered history. It was panned on launch, but it has managed to put up some surprising results over time. With the best Aggro decks in the format out of the way, it may finally be time for Max Speed to step into the spotlight. Even if that isn’t the case, this deck makes a very strong case for Rakdos as a color combination. If you’re still looking to go fast in the new meta, red/black may be the way to go.
Rakdos Max Speed In MTG Standard
The Rakdos Max Speed deck we’ll be looking at today comes via MTG Online player Masterbrewer. In yesterday’s Standard League, they took the list to a crisp 5-0 finish. Given how unique the deck is, on several different axes, this is a remarkable feat.
Firstly, running Max Speed at all is a pretty radical move, and one that would’ve been unthinkable pre-bans. The mechanic, ironically enough, is just too slow most of the time. Now that there’s more room to breathe, however, Masterbrewer has found a window for it to thrive. They’re running all of the Max Speed enablers you’d expect, starting with Burnout Bashtronaut on one. This is worth playing to get your Speed going on the first turn alone, but it’s also a pretty scary later on, thanks to Double Strike.
After Bashtronaut, the deck runs Hazoret, Godseeker and Gastal Thrillseeker. Both can get Speed started on turn two, which is fine if you miss Bashtronaut. Thrillseeker is particularly nice here since it also deals a damage on entry, which will immediately bump your Speed up a notch. Its Max Speed ability isn’t super-relevant, but Haste is always nice later on. Hazoret is terrifying once you get Max Speed, but until then, it’s fairly tame. Sneaking through your small creatures is a great way to gain Max Speed, mind you.
To up the chances of starting Speed early a little more, Masterbrewer also runs three copies of Amonkhet Raceway. This is by far the best of the Raceway lands, and it’s honestly a fine turn one play in the deck as well. Since Bashtronaut is your only one drop, missing out on it to get Speed started isn’t the end of the world.
Oops, All Creatures
The Max Speed package is the core of Masterbrewer’s MTG deck, but there’s plenty of other Rakdos goodness to enjoy. What’s really interesting about this list is that it plays nothing but creatures and lands. Most deckbuilders aim for a healthy split between creatures and interaction, but not Masterbrewer. They’ve thrown caution to the wind and run a whopping 39 creatures in this one.
While the Max Speed cards suggest an aggressive slant, most of this deck is actually Rakdos Midrange. You’ve got classics like Deep-Cavern Bat for disruption, and Inti and Fear of Missing Out for card selection. Interestingly, it’s actually impossible for FOMO to hit its Delirium ability here pre-sideboard. It’s in the deck to sift through your cards and nothing more.
On the higher end, the deck has a bit of a graveyard theme going on. Urborg Scavengers ties it all together, inheriting the abilities of everything it exiles. This can be surprisingly effective with all the keywords this deck runs naturally. Exile a Hazoret from your graveyard, for example, and your Scavengers becomes a 3/3 Indestructible/Haste creature for three. Exile Bashtronaut on attack, and it becomes a 4/4, and gains Menace and Double Strike to boot.
Throw in keyword soup creatures like Qarsi Revenant, and Scavengers become a legitimate finisher for the deck. Tersa Lightshatter helps to set up your ‘yard with these creatures well in advance. For those you’d rather have in play, Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate makes a nice alternative top end. Its reanimation effect lets you play a grindier game, and can even bring back Scavengers right out of the box. With this package layered on top of the Max Speed stuff, you have a deck that can play well in both the early and mid game.
A New Sheriff In Town?
Thinking realistically, it’s unlikely that this specific Rakdos Max Speed deck becomes a staple of MTG Standard. Interaction is just too important in the format, and decks this wildly unbalanced rarely see success for long. That said, it could form the foundation for a more refined deck down the line.
Since the bans, Standard has shifted into a full-on Midrange format. Decks like Dimir, Golgari, and Naya Enchantments are excelling. Control decks like Azorius and Mono-White Token are putting in work, too. Aggro is almost entirely absent, outside of a few brave souls trying to keep the Izzet Prowess dream alive off the back of Vivi.
That leaves a significant gap in the market, and one that Rakdos decks like this could fill. Arena players are already seeing success with aggressive Rakdos Lizards lists, and Max Speed is very much in the same vein. Both are creature-heavy decks that can play to the board early, but really excel at grinding out wins in the midgame.
This is a marked difference from the explosive early plays of Mono-Red and Izzet. With the format slowing down significantly overall, however, Aggro decks may need to move more towards Midrange in order to survive. Trying to go all-in without the right tools will essentially hand wins to the likes of Dimir, who can handle whatever you throw at them.
If Aggro is looking to slow down a bit, Rakdos is probably the best color combination to be in. The creatures and removal are great, and there are stellar new cards like Sephiroth to try out.
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