Back when Oni-Cult Anvil was printed in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, the powerful artifact received a lot of hype for Pioneer. This card is singlehandedly capable of grinding opponents into dust.
Unfortunately, Rakdos artifact shells utilizing Oni-Cult Anvil quickly fell by the wayside. The archetype’s lack of consistency and power, especially in games where you didn’t draw Oni-Cult Anvil, proved to be a bit difficult to overcome.
Interestingly, though, thanks to an elite Edge of Eternities support piece, Rakdos artifacts is back in the spotlight. Rakdos artifacts quickly boasted an undefeated run in a Magic Online Pioneer League, showcasing just how strong the new addition is to the deck. Could Oni-Cult Anvil finally have its time to shine? Let’s dive in and discuss.
Traditional Grindy Elements
At its core, this deck shares a lot in common with artifact sacrifice shells in the past. The goal is to utilize small trinkets alongside value generating engines that can out-grind your opponents.
As mentioned, one of the premium options in attrition matchups is Oni-Cult Anvil. Oni-Cult Anvil does a lot for two mana. So long as you have a consistent flow of cheap artifacts to sacrifice, it’s easy to flood the board with Constructs. These 1/1s combined with the life drain ability of Oni-Cult Anvil buys you a lot of time against aggressive archetypes.
In addition to Oni-Cult Anvil, another card that gives you a great late game is Deadly Dispute. Drawing two cards for two mana is great, and the Treasure goes a long way. Deadly Dispute pairs well with Oni-Cult Anvil, too, triggering it and providing sacrifice fodder for future turns.
In order to get the most out of these cards, you need low-cost artifacts to sacrifice. Fortunately, there are a multitude of one-mana options that all replace themselves when they die.
First up, Experimental Synthesizer is great in the mid to late game. You have such a low curve that it’s trivial to get your card back. The same can be said of Clockwork Percussionist.
From there, Implement of Combustion serves as a simple cantrip alongside your sacrifice outlets. Your entire deck synergizes together, which is where its strength lies.
Improving in All Areas
The problem Rakdos artifacts has run into is mainly the lack of payoffs. If your opponent answers Oni-Cult Anvil, you run the risk of doing a lot of durdling without actually getting anywhere. While Synthesizer and Dispute provide card advantage in the long run, they’re individually slow and don’t directly impact the board.
This is why Weapons Manufacturing is such an essential addition. Any nontoken artifact you play with Weapons Manufacturing in play nets you a token that deals two damage to any target when it leaves. Against aggressive decks, this card is absolutely ridiculous.
Whether you’re using Oni-Cult Anvil, Torch the Tower, or Gleeful Demolition to get rid of your Munitions tokens, you’ll get to send extra damage to opposing creatures at will. Weapons Manufacturing gives you inevitability in this way.
Furthermore, because you can send damage to any target, including your opponent, Weapons Manufacturing also excels versus combo decks. This enchantment elevates your pressure immensely.
If you ever assemble the combination of Weapons Manufacturing and Rottenmouth Viper, your opponent is toast. Casting Viper for one mana sacrificing a bunch of Munitions tokens and sending a ton of damage anywhere you please gives you a strong kill condition that’s not easy to play around. In a similar vein, Shrapnel Blast increases your clock dramatically, especially in multiples.
Matchups
The fact that Weapons Manufacturing gives you a better shot at beating a variety of different styles of decks helps make Rakdos artifacts a lot better. You have tons of removal for the mono-red and Hammer Time matchups. You even get to bring in a playset of Fatal Push from the sideboard.
At the same time, Izzet Phoenix and Rakdos midrange can’t get Weapons Manufacturing off the board long term. Once you stick it, you should have no issue keeping Cori-Steel Cutter and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker tokens in check and eventually closing the game.
Even with the added pressure, matchups like Simic Scapeshift aren’t easy, though. Your removal spells don’t line up well against a fast combo kill with Spelunking.
Azorius control can be tough as well. Azorius control has plenty of ways to remove your payoffs. Temporary Lockdown in particular is a nuisance, since you don’t have answers to it.
Your one saving grace is that your Munitions tokens trigger when they leave the battlefield for any reason. As such, if you can flood the board with enough tokens before your opponent removes Weapons Manufacturing, you can burn your opponent out.
Edge of Eternities hasn’t been out for long, so it’s hard to say if Rakdos artifacts has what it takes to make a big splash in Pioneer moving forward. Nonetheless, this is the first real hint that Rakdos artifacts could make a comeback in quite some time, and we’re all here for it.
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