Rakdos Scam, also known as Rakdos Midrange, is a combo-aggro deck in Modern that combines disruptive elements with explosive plays, making it a top-tier choice for competitive players.
1.1 What is Rakdos Scam?
Rakdos Scam is a combo-aggro deck in Modern that revolves around explosive starts and disruptive gameplay. It combines powerful discard spells, evokable threats, and deadly combinations to overwhelm opponents quickly. The deck’s name originates from its ability to “scam” wins through early-game interactions, such as Turn 1 Grief or Fury backed by undying effects like Undying Malice or Feign Death. By leveraging cheap, high-impact creatures and spells, Rakdos Scam punishes opponents for overextending. Its core strategy involves disrupting the opponent’s board while rapidly closing the game with a combination of discard, removal, and recurring threats. The deck is known for its flexibility, balancing aggressive plays with midrange elements, making it a formidable force in competitive Modern tournaments.
1.2 Why Rakdos Scam is Popular in Modern
Rakdos Scam has surged in popularity due to its versatility and high win rate in the current Modern metagame. Its ability to disrupt opponents with Thoughtseize and Fury, while also delivering a fast clock with creatures like Orcish Bowmasters, makes it a top choice for competitive players. The deck’s explosive potential, particularly with Turn 1 Grief or Fury combos, allows it to dominate games quickly. Additionally, its adaptability to various matchups through a well-tuned sideboard ensures consistent performance. Seasoned Pyromancer and Orcish Bowmasters are key cards that enhance its power level. As a result, Rakdos Scam has become a staple in Modern tournaments, attracting players who value aggressive strategies with strong disruptive elements.
Key Cards in Rakdos Scam
The deck revolves around Seasoned Pyromancer, Orcish Bowmasters, and the Fury and Grief combo, which enable explosive starts and strong board control, making it a formidable force in Modern.
2.1 Seasoned Pyromancer
Seasoned Pyromancer is a versatile threat in Rakdos Scam, offering both discard value and board presence. Its ability to generate card advantage through its evoke cost makes it a key early-game play, allowing the deck to maintain tempo and disrupt opponents. Pyromancer’s 3/3 body also provides a credible threat on the battlefield, enabling aggressive starts. Additionally, its ability to be sacrificed for card draw ensures that even if removed, it provides consistent value. This makes it a staple in the deck, often leading to advantageous trades and fueling the combo potential with Fury and Grief. Its synergy with the rest of the deck’s strategy solidifies its role as a cornerstone card in Rakdos Scam.
2.2 Orcish Bowmasters
Orcish Bowmasters is a game-changing addition to the Rakdos Scam deck, hailing from the Lord of the Rings set. Its ability to interact at instant speed makes it a powerhouse in many scenarios, particularly in disrupting opponents and securing quick victories. By deploying two creatures at once, it can rapidly swarm the board, creating an overwhelming advantage that forces opponents into defensive positions. This card is a key reason for Rakdos Scam’s dominance in the current metagame, offering both tempo and card advantage. Its synergy with the deck’s aggressive strategy allows for explosive starts, making it a staple in modern builds. Orcish Bowmasters has become indispensable, enabling Rakdos Scam to outpace even the fastest decks in the format.
2.3 Fury and Grief Combo
The Fury and Grief combo is the bread and butter of Rakdos Scam, enabling the deck to deliver explosive starts that can end games prematurely. Fury, when combined with Undying Malice or Feign Death, allows for repeated activations, creating a relentless offensive that opponents struggle to counter. Grief, on the other hand, serves as a powerful removal tool, often clearing the way for your creatures to attack unopposed. Together, these cards form a lethal synergy that punishes opponents for overextending. The combo’s effectiveness is further amplified by the deck’s ability to disrupt opponents through discard and creature-based aggression, making it a cornerstone of Rakdos Scam’s strategy. This combination ensures that the deck can quickly establish a dominant board presence, leaving opponents with limited options to recover.
2.4 Undying Malice and Feign Death
Undying Malice and Feign Death are integral to Rakdos Scam’s strategy, enabling the deck’s combo potential and providing a persistent threat on the battlefield. Undying Malice allows creatures like Fury or Grief to recur their effects, turning them into virtual must-answer threats. Feign Death, on the other hand, acts as a protection spell, saving your creatures from removal while also enabling additional attacks. Together, these cards create a nightmare scenario for opponents, as they struggle to keep up with the constant pressure and value generation. Both cards are often included in the maindeck to maximize their impact, and their synergy with the rest of the deck’s pieces makes them irreplaceable in the current build. Their inclusion has been a key factor in Rakdos Scam’s rise to prominence in Modern.
Sideboard Guide
The sideboard in Rakdos Scam is tailored to address specific matchups, with cards like Leyline of Sanctity against Burn and Nihil Spellbomb for graveyard-heavy decks. Blood Moon shines against combo decks, while other cards adapt to the metagame, ensuring flexibility and strength in various matchups.
3.1 Common Sideboard Cards
The Rakdos Scam sideboard is built to address a wide array of matchups, focusing on versatility and targeted disruption. Leyline of Sanctity is a staple against Burn decks, shutting down their ability to target you with direct damage. Nihil Spellbomb and Path of Peril are excellent against graveyard-centric decks like Dredge or The One Ring, providing both graveyard hate and creature removal. Blood Moon is a powerful card to disrupt combo decks and mana-heavy strategies, while Engineered Explosives offers a flexible way to remove problematic permanents. These cards are chosen for their ability to swing matchups in your favor, ensuring you have answers for the most common threats in the Modern metagame.
3.2 Sideboarding Against Specific Decks
When sideboarding against specific decks, it’s crucial to tailor your strategy to neutralize their key threats. Against UR Murktide, bringing in Blood Moon can disrupt their mana base and limit their ability to cast spells. For Burn decks, adding Leyline of Sanctity protects you from direct damage and burn spells. Against combo decks like The One Ring, Nihil Spellbomb and Path of Peril are essential to dismantle their game plan. Similarly, against Dredge, Nihil Spellbomb shines by preventing their graveyard synergy. Engineered Explosives is versatile and can be brought in to remove problematic creatures or artifacts in matchups like Amulet Titan or Affinity. Each matchup requires a tailored approach to maximize your deck’s effectiveness and shut down the opponent’s strategy.
Strategy and Tips
Mastering Rakdos Scam requires understanding the metagame, knowing when to mulligan, and adapting your plays. Focus on explosive starts with Fury or Grief, while managing your life total carefully. Learn to balance aggression with caution, as the deck thrives on early disruption but can falter in prolonged games. Always prioritize disrupting opponents while maintaining a strong board presence to close out games quickly.
4.1 Understanding the Metagame
Understanding the metagame is crucial for piloting Rakdos Scam effectively. The deck thrives in a format dominated by fair, interactive strategies, where its disruptive elements shine. With the rise of decks like UR Murktide and Burn, Rakdos Scam’s ability to punish opponents with early Grief or Fury provides a significant edge. However, its effectiveness can wane against decks with heavy graveyard hate or protection, such as Eldrazi or Hammer Time. Players must also adapt to the increasing prevalence of Leyline of Sanctity in sideboards, which can neutralize the deck’s discard and synergy. By staying attuned to the metagame’s shifts, pilots can optimize their sideboard and strategy to maximize their chances of success. Always mulligan aggressively for hands that enable explosive starts or disruption.
4.2 When to Mulligan
Knowing when to mulligan is critical in Rakdos Scam, as the deck relies on explosive starts and key interactions. Mulligan aggressively if your hand lacks disruption (Thoughtseize, Fury) or payoff cards (Grief, Orcish Bowmasters). Avoid keeping hands with too many lands or redundant discard spells without a clear follow-up. Similarly, mulligan for unstable mana bases, such as hands requiring double black on turn one without enough sources. However, consider keeping hands with early interaction or combo potential, even if they seem risky. Post-board games may require adjusting your mulligan strategy based on the opponent’s deck. Always prioritize hands that enable a fast clock or disrupt the opponent’s plan, as Rakdos Scam’s strength lies in its ability to dictate the game’s early turns.
Matchups and Weaknesses
Rakdos Scam excels against midrange decks but struggles versus linear strategies like Burn or UR Murktide. Its reliance on key combo pieces makes it vulnerable to graveyard hate and card disadvantage scenarios.
5.1 UR Murktide
UR Murktide is a challenging matchup for Rakdos Scam due to its ability to mitigate discard effects with cards like Expressive Iteration and other cantrips. Murktide’s grindy nature and card advantage engines make it difficult for Scam to maintain a consistent threat. The deck’s reliance on graveyard interaction also allows it to recover from early disruptions, reducing the impact of Scam’s Fury and Grief combo. Additionally, Murktide’s ability to present a fast clock with The Ozolith or Murktide Regent forces Scam to race, which can be unfavorable given its midrange tempo-oriented playstyle. Sideboarding cards like Blood Moon or Chalice of the Void can help disrupt Murktide’s game plan, but the matchup remains tough due to Murktide’s inherent card quality and versatility.
5.2 Burn Decks
Burn decks present a significant challenge to Rakdos Scam due to their ability to deal direct damage quickly, bypassing Scam’s creature-based threats. Cards like Leyline of Sanctity are crucial in the sideboard to neutralize Burn’s strategy by preventing life loss and protecting against burn spells. Additionally, Scam’s reliance on Fury and Grief can be less effective against Burn’s low-toughness creatures, making it essential to focus on removing key threats like Eidolon of Greatness or Searing Blaze. Boarding in cards like Orzhov Pontiff or Zealous Persecution can help stabilize the board, but Scam must balance disruption with its own clock to avoid falling behind. Overall, the matchup requires careful sideboarding and precise play to mitigate Burn’s aggressive starts and maintain board control.
The Impact of Rakdos Scam on the Modern Metagame
Rakdos Scam has significantly influenced the Modern metagame, emerging as a top-tier deck due to its disruptive combo potential and aggressive strategies. Its ability to win quickly with Fury and Grief has forced opponents to adapt, leading to increased reliance on sideboard cards like Leyline of Sanctity and graveyard hate. The deck’s popularity has also spurred innovation, with players refining their lists and sideboarding strategies to counter its explosive starts. Rakdos Scam’s success has made it a favorite among competitive players, while its versatility ensures it remains a formidable force across various matchups. However, its dominance has also led to calls for bans, with Fury being a recent target. Overall, Rakdos Scam continues to shape Modern, driving metagame shifts and encouraging players to innovate in response to its strengths.
Final Thoughts
Rakdos Scam remains a powerful and versatile deck in Modern, offering a unique blend of disruption and aggressive plays. Its ability to adapt to various metagames through strategic sideboarding makes it a consistent performer. While its reliance on key combos like Fury and Grief can be vulnerability, the deck’s ability to pivot with cards like Undying Malice ensures longevity. As the metagame evolves, Rakdos Scam will likely remain a top contender, provided players stay updated with the latest sideboard strategies. For those looking to master the deck, understanding its core principles and adapting to matchups will be crucial. Despite potential bans or nerfs, Rakdos Scam’s impact on Modern ensures its place as a formidable and innovative deck in the format.
