Art by Victor Maury
Commander deckBR
Rakdos, the Muscle
Sacrifice recursive creatures and tokens to Rakdos, the Muscle to impulse draw from all players' libraries while triggering aristocrats drain effects. Synergize with cast-from-exile payoffs like Prosper and drain opponents while stealing their best cards.
Asked for“rakdos the muscle deck focused on rakdos strat”
Deck anatomy
What this list actually runs on: how cheaply it casts things, and whether it has enough ramp, card draw and interaction to keep up at the table. Each block is one card — hover for its name.
Mana curve · 62 nonland cards
The working parts
Counted from Scryfall’s community card tags, not from the builder’s own labels. A card that does two jobs counts twice, so these add up to more than the deck. The hatched band is a common rule of thumb, not a law — combo decks run leaner, battlecruiser decks heavier.
Colored mana symbols
Commander
1Rakdos, the Muscle
2BBRLegendary Creature — Demon Mercenary
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Card Draw
10
Skullclamp
1Artifact — Equipment
Insane card draw engine with small recursive creatures and tokens
Morbid Opportunist
2BCreature — Human Rogue
Draws cards steadily whenever creatures die
Midnight Reaper
2BCreature — Zombie Knight
Triggers on non-token creature deaths to draw cards
Grim Haruspex
2BCreature — Human Wizard
Rewards creature sacrifices with fresh card draw
Disciple of Bolas
3BCreature — Human Wizard
Sacrifices high mana value creatures exiled or played for massive draw
Species Specialist
2BBCreature — Human Warrior
Card draw engine naming common creature types in the deck
Braids, Arisen Nightmare
1BBLegendary Creature — Nightmare
Sacs fodder for card draw, damage, and board pressure
Removal
10
Dictate of Erebos
3BBEnchantment
Flash enchantment that forces opponents to sacrifice creatures
Grave Pact
1BBBEnchantment
Clears opponent boards whenever you sacrifice your creatures
Attrition
1BBEnchantment
Sacrifice outlet that turns creature tokens into removal
Threats/Wincons
24
Prosper, Tome-Bound
2BRLegendary Creature — Tiefling Warlock
Generates treasure tokens whenever cards are played from exile via Rakdos
Zulaport Cutthroat
1BCreature — Human Rogue Ally
Drains opponents whenever your creatures die
Marionette Apprentice
1BCreature — Human Artificer
Drains opponents on creature or artifact deaths and creates a token
Mayhem Devil
1BRCreature — Devil
Deals damage to any target whenever any player sacrifices a permanent
Pitiless Plunderer
3BCreature — Human Pirate
Generates treasures whenever friendly creatures die
Pawn of Ulamog
1BBCreature — Vampire Shaman
Creates Eldrazi Spawn tokens on non-token creature deaths
Sifter of Skulls
3BCreature — Eldrazi
Creates Eldrazi Scion tokens to ramp and sacrifice
Reassembling Skeleton
1BCreature — Skeleton Warrior
Endlessly reusable sacrifice target
Bloodghast
BBCreature — Vampire Spirit
Recurs from the graveyard automatically on land drops
Nether Traitor
BBCreature — Spirit
Cheap recursive creature with shadow whenever another creature dies
Tenacious Underdog
1BCreature — Human Warrior
Blitzes out of the graveyard to draw cards and feed Rakdos
Cult Conscript
BCreature — Skeleton Warrior
Low-cost creature that returns easily from the graveyard
Ophiomancer
2BCreature — Human Shaman
Creates a Snake token on every upkeep for constant sacrifice fodder
Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia
1BLegendary Creature — Human Wizard
Generates a decaying Zombie token every end step
Mahadi, Emporium Master
1BRLegendary Creature — Devil
Generates treasures for every creature that died during your turn
Chainer, Nightmare Adept
2BRLegendary Creature — Human Minion
Discards cards to recast sacrificed creatures from the graveyard with haste
Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
2RRLegendary Creature — Dragon Spirit
High mana value death trigger yields treasure or exile draw
Junji, the Midnight Sky
3BBLegendary Creature — Dragon Spirit
Generates immense value or reanimation on death
Syr Konrad, the Grim
3BBLegendary Creature — Human Knight
Pings all opponents on creature deaths, mill, and graveyard movements
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
2RLegendary Creature — Goblin
Generates exponentially growing Goblin tokens on attack
Ogre Slumlord
3BBCreature — Ogre Rogue
Creates Rat tokens whenever non-token creatures die
Solemn Simulacrum
4Artifact Creature — Golem
Ramps on entry and draws a card when sacrificed
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
3BBBLegendary Creature — Zombie Cleric
Grants undying to non-Human creatures for double sacrifice value
Utility
8
Viscera Seer
BCreature — Vampire Wizard
Free zero-mana instant sacrifice outlet with scry
Carrion Feeder
BCreature — Zombie
Free creature sacrifice outlet that grows in power
Goblin Bombardment
1REnchantment
Free sacrifice outlet that deals damage directly to any target
Ashnod's Altar
3Artifact
Converts creature fodder into colorless mana to cast exiled spells
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
Protects Rakdos from single-target removal and grants haste
Lightning Greaves
2Artifact — Equipment
Free haste and shroud for commander protection
Passionate Archaeologist
1RLegendary Enchantment — Background
Burns opponents based on mana value when casting spells from exile
