Blakeizen's Rakombie (Rakdos Zombies)

Rule #1? Cardio.

Hello Spellslingers! Blakeizen here with the weekly Saturday build for you. Check out the game play on YouTube- Blakeizen's Rakombie. The video showcases the deck in action, with some game play commentary for those interested in picking it up! Today is a list I played fairly heavily last season, up to about Diamond 4. I love playing Zombies, and this current version does a great job of putting pressure on your opponent, and closing a game out with it's reach, or Graveyard recursion. Introducing, Rakdos Zombies!

As an Aggro deck, this deck has a lot of things working with each other to apply consistent pressure and to maintain that momentum with it's card advantage. We're running 7 cards that buff all of our creatures, and the deck we play actually has a fair amount of reach, so let's get started.

Dreadhorde Butcher is the all-star of the deck. When this guy gets started on 2, sometimes he will just run away with a game all on his own. His death effect benefits from both Death Baron and Judith, the Scourge Diva being on board. One super important interaction that comes up versus some of these fat bodied Gruul decks running around, is that when your Dreadhorde Butcher dies, and you have Death Baron on board, that damage will apply the Deathtouch given to him by our Zombie lord and saviour. 

Lazotep Reaver is the next MVP. This is a super important card in the RDW match up (you never run into that deck though, right?) creating an extra body for a blocker to trade, or to stop early/easy spectacle activations. Very important that we gain the extra creature, since it gets stronger via Death Baron and Judith, the Scourge Diva. Also something you need to be careful of when learning the deck is that Judith and Midnight Reaper only trigger off of non-token creatures, so if you're looking to force a block to gain some card advantage or ping damage, don't send the token in. 

Midnight Reaper will be the next card to carry you straight to victory in some games. Oh yeah, he's a zombie! Gaining the Death Baron buff makes this guy super hard to deal with, and as usual, you can use him to either catch up, or stay ahead on cards. One of the main decisions to make when playing Rakombie is which 3-drop do you want to put down. If you expect a board clear, or need to draw into an out it's this guy. If you want to pressure life totals, it's the other guys. 

Liliana, Untouched by Death is an absolute unit. She allows us a separate win condition than attacking face with our Zombies through her +1, her -2 can clear the way for a Victory, and her -3 let's us offer trades and come back from a Kaya's Wrath all on her own. This Planeswalker really shines in a Zombies shell. She's super flexible, and valuable in both Aggro and Control matchups. 

Now, one thing we have to mention is Gutterbones is not a Zombie. He's more like the best friend that comes over all the time, and eats all the food. He basically lives here, he's just not blood. He's not the Gravecrawler we deserve, but he still puts in work and gains benefit from Death Baron being down. He's a solid 1-drop that gives us staying power, especially when we're smacking the opponent on a stale board with Liliana, Untouched by Death's +1.

Your removal suite is also fairly flexible. Right now we have some number of Duress, Angrath's Rampage, and Lightning Strike, but if you're running into more Control, bring in more Duress. If you're seeing more Gruul, replace with Lava Coil, and if you're seeng Planeswalker piles, The Elderspell and Angrath's Rampage are clutch.

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I'll be streaming this tonight at 9:30PM Est with a focus on climbing in Bo1, and if anyone is interested, I will explain sideboarding plans. Help me out by checking out the YouTube video, and leaving me some feedback! I'm looking to make some friends that want to play and chat about MTG late night so come hang out or add me on Discord!