Turn 4 Valgavoth or Atraxa Is Finally Tier 1!

Rakdos Reanimation Deck with the Best Cards in Standard!

Introduction

This is a Rakdos reanimation deck, which plays the best cards in the Standard format and aims at reanimating Valgavoth, Terror Eater or Atraxa, Grand Unifier with Zombify or Valgavoth's Faithful. The deck features also power cards such as Overlord of the Balemurk and Fear of Missing Out.

New Cards

From Tarkir: Dragonstorm

Tersa Lightshatter acts as a discard outlet but can also provide card advantage.

Source

This deck is a slightly improved version of the following deck:

• Rakdos Reanimator Showcase Video by Arne Huschenbeth

Modifications

I have slightly adjusted the mana base and switched some cards in the deck. The deck features now:

• Two copies of Sheoldred, the Apocalypse — Sheoldred can be cast from hand and is good enough a creature to reanimated, too, if you are missing your regular reanimation targets.
• 1 Blast Zone instead of Demolition Field
• 14 lands that can be played untapped on turn 1 in both colors
• 1 extra Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Valgavoth, Terror Eater instead of Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness
• No Liliana of the Veil
• Only 3 copies of Tersa Lightshatter

Format

• The deck is for the Standard format with Tarkir: Dragonstorm being the last legal set.
• The deck should be Tier 1 caliber.
• The deck can be played in both Bo1 and Bo3.

Deck Design

Reanimation

• Count: 6

Two best reanimation spells in the format. Both of them make reanimation on turn 4 possible.

Discard Outlets

• Count: 9

Fear of Missing Out is great as a discard outlet and for providing extra attack turns. Also, if you have no cards in hand when you cast it, you will draw a card and discard nothing.

Reanimation Targets

• Count: 6

Valgavoth and Atraxa are the two most powerful creatures that you can reanimate at the moment.

Surveil Lands

• Count: 4

Milling

• Count: 4

Overlord is great for returning Valgavoth's Faithful to hand from the graveyard. It is also used to put Valgavoth, Terror Eater and Atraxa, Grand Unifier to the graveyard.

Spot Removal

• Count: 8

Torch the Tower can be bargained with enchantment creatures, such as Overlord of the Balemurk and Fear of Missing Out.

Abrade can be used to destroy problematic artifacts, such as Cori-Steel Cutter.

Bitter Triumph is a great removal spell that also works as a discard outlet.

Board Wipe

• Count: 1

Blast Zone can destroy enchantments, such as Rest in Peace.

Hand Hate

• Count: 2

Duress is useful against counterspells and such.

Life Gain

Sheoldred works nicely with looting-type of effects.

Atraxa and Valgavoth both have lifelink.

Direct Damage

Sheoldred can deal final points of damage in some scenarios.

Mana Base

Overview

• 25 lands in total

Land Types

• 4 dual-color fast lands
• 4 dual-color pain lands
• 4 dual-color surveil lands
• 4 dual-color Verges
• 8 basic lands
• 1 colorless special land

Design

Primary Color: Black

• 14 black-mana-producing lands that can be played untapped on turn 1 — an 86.1 % / 89.8 % chance to get
• 18 black-mana-producing lands in total

Secondary Color: Red

• 14 red-mana-producing lands that can be played untapped on turn 1 (doesn't include Blazemire Verge, which doesn't produce red mana on turn 1) — an 86.1 % / 89.8 % chance to get
• 18 red-mana-producing lands in total
• 4 lands that produce red mana if a Swamp or a Mountain is in play (there are 12 lands that count as a Swamp or a Mountain)

Card Types

• 25 lands
• 21 creatures
• 8 enchantments
• 8 instants
• 6 sorceries

Sideboard

Lands

Blast Zone

Against Rest in Peace.

1-Mana Spells

Duress

Against control and combo decks.

Ghost Vacuum

Cheap graveyard hate.

2-Mana Spells

Abrade

Against Cori-Steel Cutter and Ghost Vacuum.

Binding Negotiation

Against Kutzil's Flanker and stuff.

Bitter Triumph

Against big creatures and planeswalkers.

Pyroclasm

Against token decks and Cori-Steel Cutter.

3-Mana Spells

Blot Out

Against big creatures and planeswalkers with a ward ability.

Sideboarding

When sideboarding, it's best to try to leave the core of the deck as is and only change the cards that are not core to the reanimation idea of the deck.

Against Control Decks

Removed Cards

• -1 Mountain
• -4 Torch the Tower
• -2 Abrade

Added Cards

• +1 Blast Zone
• +2 Duress
• +4 Binding Negotiation 

Against Cori-Steel Cutter Aggro (Any Color)

Removed Cards

• -2 Duress
• -2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

Added Cards

• +2 Abrade
• +2 Pyroclasm

Against Jeskai Oculus

These changes are a bit debatable, because Torch the Tower is still pretty good against smaller creatures in a Jeskai Oculus deck.

Removed Cards

• -1 Mountain
• -3 Torch the Tower

Added Cards

• +1 Blast Zone
• +2 Ghost Vacuum
• +1 Bitter Triumph

Against Mono Red Aggro

A red aggro deck with these cards:

• Screaming Nemesis
• Sunspine Lynx

Removed Cards

• -2 Duress

Added Cards

• +1 Bitter Triumph
• +1 Blot Out

Against Esper Self-Bounce

Removed Cards

• -1 Mountain
• -1 Torch the Tower
• -2 Abrade
• -2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

Added Cards

• +1 Blast Zone
• +2 Duress
• +2 Pyroclasm
• +1 Blot Out

Against Abuelo's Awakening + Omniscience Combo

Removed Cards

• -1 Mountain
• -4 Torch the Tower
• -2 Abrade

Added Cards

• +1 Blast Zone
• +2 Duress
• +2 Ghost Vacuum
• +2 Binding Negotiation