[Standard][Budget][Pauper] Rakdos Aggro ($6.50 Paper/0.75 MTGO TIX)

Originally, this deck was a Budget Rakdos (B/R) Treasure deck because I was daydreaming about how Fleetwheel Cruiser could be a Budget replacement for Hazoret the Fervent. The deck had all sorts of goodies like Unlicensed Disintegration, Captain Lannery Storm, and Inventor’s Apprentice. After some more thought, I decided to challenge myself with a Pauper deck that gives a taste of what it’s like to pilot Rakdos Aggro at the mere price of building it out of a friend’s draft chaff. The MTGGoldish decklist can be found HERE, but I have also embedded it below:

THE DECK

THE CARD CHOICES

Both of our one drops, Fourth Bridge Prowler and Night Market Lookout, cost black mana, so it’s very important to get a Swamp in your opening hand. The Lookout provides early-game life pressure while the Prowler is early-game removal on-a-stick who can hopefully gain us some card advantage. Another option that I considered was Festering Mummy, but I liked that I could easily control when the Prowler’s effect happened. At one, we also have some disruption and removal in Duress, Supernatural Stamina, Shock, and Magma Spray.

At two, we get to see some of our more interesting creatures. Firebrand Archer loves all of our one-cost noncreature spells and Khenra Eternal is going to hurt your opponent whether he gets in unblocked for two or goes out in a blaze of glory dealing your opponent one and hopefully taking another creature with him. Death by a thousand cuts!

The “Pirate Package” consists of the cost-efficient 2/3 Desperate Castaways and the 3/3 Menace Headstrong Brute. However, both cards have conditional drawbacks which prevent them from optimally attacking. Be sure to play them on-curve and in the correct order. Also, remember that two Brutes can trigger eachother! Once the condition is fulfilled, the Brute is basically a Rampaging Ferocidon!

If you can’t fulfill their conditions, you may be in a little trouble. Your deck shouldn’t be doing too much blocking, so a 3/3 Brute for three mana isn’t that bad on its own. However, a 2/3 blocker Castaway for two is pretty bad. That’s why there are only two of them in the deck.

If you don’t like the “Pirate Package,” try Doomed Dissenter and Spireside Infiltrator instead.

Renegade Freighter is our finisher. Crew the freighter with a bored Desperate Castaways and you’ll be a Supernatural Stamina away from Value Town. You can also use Thresher Lizard in this spot, but be sure to give it Trample.

If you don’t play that Freighter on turn three, your Desperate Castaways may start to look a lot like Wilson from, well, Castaway.

WRAP UP

If you are just going for Budget Standard instead of full Pauper, beefing the deck up a little bit shouldn’t be too hard. Standard Rakdos Aggro lists use plenty of uncommons and are relatively inexpensive to begin with ($100-150). Cutting Fatal Push and Gifted Aetherborn already brings the deck down by about half. Whichever way you slice it, be sure to kill blockers, swing with the weenies, and slam in the back of Renegade Freighter.

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