Rakdos Midrange – Gladiator

Fans of Rivals of Ixalan or even Streets of New Capenna Standard may be familiar with running into this type of deck on the ladder. Rakdos Midrange is a list that can be done in many permutations, and this version is the most in the middle. It has cards to play the aggressive game, and cards to play the long game.

The important thing to remember is that midrange is more than any other deck type that is going to be impacted by the choice you make in adding or cutting cards. Say you want to add more aggressive creatures because that’s how you enjoy to play, and if you choose to cut, say, The Meathook Massacre for those aggressive creatures, you’re going to struggle more when you face the low to the ground aggressive lists.

For how the list actually plays – in Red and Black we have some of the best unconditional removal. We’ve got the likes of Lightning Bolt and Infernal Grasp that are able to make sure individual creatures won’t be an issue for us. We’ve got planeswalkers and creatures as ways to stabilize and generate value for us. While technically neither, I’m sure Standard players will be quite familiar with Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and will agree when I say that it is quick to take over the game with its ability to ramp the deck into double spelling quite early, and while this deck can’t make full use of the back side, getting a second Citystalker Connoisseur every turn is quite good.

It is important to note for this deck is that at times it can play a lot like a control deck. Don’t be too overly tempted to keep hands that are all removal and no threats – make sure you’re able to either set up a value engine like Prosper, Tome-Bound or Bank Job or make sure you have a clock.