Standard: Rakdos Leyline - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

The first results of Tarkir: Dragonstorm in Standard are starting to appear on Magic Online. From new versions of Bounce decks to the inclusion of Tersa Lightshatter in several lists between Red Aggro and Jeskai Oculus, the new expansion shows what it's here to bring a few changes to the competitive Metagame.

One of the novelties of the Challenges was a new variant of Leyline of Abundance decks in Rakdos colors, using Desperate Measures as a new pump capable of guaranteeing up to four cards for its controller when the creature is destroyed, giving more breath to one of the most controversial archetypes in the current Metagame.

In this article, we analyze this new iteration of the red Aggro of Standard!

This is almost the same list that bunnyfat used to win the first Standard Challenge of the Tarkir: Dragonstorm season. Changes were made to the sideboard to replace Leyline of the Void with Ghost Vacuum and more copies of Sunspine Lynx, but these are flexible and can be adjusted to suit your Metagame or preference.

There is a split in Prowess lists today between variants that prefer Slickshot Show-Off or the mice package with Manifold Mouse. Show-Off is a more appropriate and explosive card for more traditional lists, but the permanent damage potential offered by Manifold Mouse with Heartfire Hero and Emberheart Challenger — two cards naturally ran in these lists — guarantees more resilience in games where we don't start with a Leyline of Resonance.

The difference in this version involves the new Desperate Measures. Although it seems like it does very little, it operates like the 5-8 copies of Might of the Meek that trade Trample for an extra draw. There are some extra interactions we can do with it and cards like Heartfire Hero or Cacophony Scamp to increase their damage, or in response to removals, not unlike what players used to do in Pauper with Deadly Dispute, but with the bonus of doubling the draws with Leyline of Resonance.

Maindeck

The heart of the deck.

Having Leyline of Resonance is a double-edged sword in Standard: you gain an Aggro-Combo line that is not possible without it, but you risk increasing the amount of bad topdecks in longer games, or becoming too glass cannon for some matchups.

Another difference between this version and other Red Aggro variants is the choice of one-drops. Cacophony Scamp becomes our first turn threat, where with the right combination of a pump and Callous Sell-Sword and Leyline of Resonance, we can win the game as early as turn three.

Ideally, we want to use Callous Sell-Sword's Burn Together ability to close out the game. In this list, we can also cast it as a complementary threat if needed, in addition to being another relevant target for Desperate Measures copied by Leyline of Resonance.

To complement the threats, we have the famous mice package that has sparked many ban discussions in Standard today.

Heartfire Hero has similar interactions to Cacophony Scamp and also deals double damage with Callous Sell-Sword. Additionally, it gains more power when you use your first pump spell, and has good interactions with Desperate Measures when you know it's going to die in combat and/or you're responding to removal.

Emberheart Challenger provides a clock with pumps and extends your reach in the match if the game goes on too long. It's far from ideal for us to go past turn five, but it can happen.

Manifold Mouse interacts with Emberheart Challenger and Heartfire Hero to grant evasion and/or a damage boost every combat. The main reason to use it over Slickshot Show-Off is the potential for permanent power and more reach in the game that it offers.

The pumps.

Monstrous Rage is one of the best cards in Standard today, and for good reason: three more power, permanent evasion, increased toughness to survive Torch the Tower — it does a little bit of everything Red Aggro needs in the format today.

Turn Inside Out provides a huge power boost and acts as another means of protecting against removal through Manifest Dread. A more straightforward list might try the new Wild Ride instead for more explosive topdecks, but resilience in combat or against removal is better in this version.

The draws.

Might of the Meek guarantees Trample for a creature, replaces itself in its owner's hand (or generates card advantage with Leyline of Resonance) and provides a small pump for our mice.

Desperate Measures is the new addition to Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and as mentioned, it gives the archetype more breathing room while also functioning as a conditional pump. Another advantage of it is the possibility of dealing with opponent's X/1 creatures, although it doesn't happen often. One case where it might be worth playing that line is when our opponent's Deep-Cavern Bat took a creature or Monstrous Rage out of your hand.

We want the most untapped duals to have access to and , but this list is mostly red. Therefore, we can't have a set of Blazemire Verge since it primarily generates .

Due to the high density of colored costs to play pumps, we also limited our number of Rockface Village to one copy, to provide another source of interaction with Heartfire Hero and Emberheart Challenger without seriously disrupting the consistency of playing multiple spells in a turn.

Sideboard

Blockers are our natural enemies, and we can't guarantee that we'll always be ahead on the clock. As such, Torch the Tower is the best answer we have in the Red Aggro mirror, but it also works against a dozen other archetypes with small creatures.

Pyroclasm complements Torch the Tower and works best against the format's go wide lines, such as some Red Aggro second-turn lines, or against Boros/Jeskai Convoke, Azorius Bunnicorn, among others.

Lithomantic Barrage answers several troublesome cards such as Beza, the Bounding Spring, Abhorrent Oculus, Zur, Eternal Schemer and even Overlord of the Floodpits for just one mana and also bypasses Sheltered by Ghosts's Ward trigger, making it essential for the list.

Sunspine Lynx is our complementary threat for longer games where it operates as a finisher. Ideal against Domain Overlords or archetypes where the opponent has few or no basic lands, such as against Esper Bounce.

Duress is the standard answer in Control matchups, can be used against Bounce to prevent the opponent from removing threats, and is also worth including on the draw against Domain Overlords, since the plan involves trying to win the game before Zur, Eternal Schemer and the enchantments take over the matchup.

Most lists include a full set of Leyline of the Void to deal with Jeskai Oculus and Azorius Omniscience. Four slots is a lot of graveyard hate for a proactive deck and given the current most relevant matchups in the Metagame, we replaced two copies with Ghost Vacuum and Lithomantic Barrage.

Sideboarding with Rakdos Prowess, or any Leyline of Resonance list, is always a challenge because we want to win the game as quickly as possible, and including too many interactive cards goes against the archetype's main game plan.

There are games where, on the play, we can just bet on playing on the race and go without changes, trusting that we will have a Leyline in the starting hand and the pieces to explode in the first three turns, but our opponents will include all the cards they have to stop us, so our best bet is to mix in some interactions without disrupting our game plan too much.

Mono Red Mice

On the Play:

IN

OUT

On the Draw:

IN

OUT

On the draw, it is possible to add Pyroclasm to deal with an early game around Heartfire Hero and Emberheart Challenger / Manifold Mouse, but it means betting on a slower approach for us.

Esper Bounce

IN

OUT

It may seem crazy to remove the main card from the list, but unless you want to bet on dodging removal in the first three turns and starting with a Leyline on the board, it will be the primary target of This Town Ain’t Big Enough at any point in the game.

At the same time, Bounce lists can deal with the Leyline with Sheltered by Ghosts, and they can get plenty of blockers very early. So this is the game where I recommend going interactive and getting the most out of Turn Inside Out and Monstrous Rage.

Domain Overlords

On the Play:

IN

OUT

On the Draw:

IN

OUT

This game is best played by trying to race and put as much pressure on the opponent's life total as possible to finish the game with Sunspine Lynx. On the draw, we need to be more careful about Temporary Lockdown and the possibility of a Ride's End on the second turn, so Duress becomes a way to protect our creatures.

Jeskai Oculus

IN

OUT

This is another game where playing the race is the most efficient way to win, and Ghost Vacuum comes in basically to avoid an Abhorrent Oculus on the first turns.

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Azorius Omniscience

IN

OUT

This is a turn four or five matchup, and Desperate Measures is a card that extends matches rather than ending them quickly. Since we have no guarantee of winning the game early, Duress and Ghost Vacuum are necessary.

It is possible to add Torch the Tower to respond to Omniscience when it becomes a 1/1 or Lithomantic Barrage for Fallaji Archaeologist to take out blockers, but we don't want to give extra turns to the opponent since they are much more resilient in long games.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!