Discover the Rakdos Scam Sideboard Guide, a comprehensive resource for mastering this explosive Modern deck. Learn how to adapt against top matchups and optimize your strategy for victory.
What is Rakdos Scam?
Rakdos Scam, also known as Rakdos Evoke, is a midrange deck in Modern that combines aggressive elements with explosive potential. It leverages the powerful interaction between Grief and Undying Malice, creating a devastating engine that disrupts opponents while generating card advantage. The deck thrives on its ability to deploy early threats like Fury and Grief, which can dismantle an opponent’s hand and board presence quickly. Pairing these with undying creatures like Bloodtithe Harvester allows for consistent pressure and value. Rakdos Scam is known for its adaptability, making it a top-tier choice in the Modern metagame. Its explosive starts and ability to pivot into a grindy game make it a formidable opponent for a wide range of strategies. This guide will help you master its sideboarding strategies to maximize your chances of success.
Key Cards and Strategies
Rakdos Scam revolves around its core cards, with Grief and Undying Malice forming the backbone of its strategy. Grief is a one-mana removal spell that also strips an opponent’s hand, while Undying Malice ensures recurring value from creatures with undying. These cards synergize perfectly, creating a powerful engine that disrupts opponents and generates card advantage. Aggressive creatures like Fury and Bloodtithe Harvester enable explosive starts, allowing the deck to apply early pressure. The strategy focuses on disrupting opponents with Grief and Fury while using undying creatures to maintain a persistent threat. Sideboarding involves adapting to specific matchups, such as bringing in graveyard hate against decks reliant on the graveyard or Leyline of Sanctity to neutralize Burn decks. Understanding these interactions is crucial for maximizing the deck’s potential in various metagame scenarios.
Core Cards in Rakdos Scam
Grief and Undying Malice are the backbone of the deck, enabling hand disruption and recurring threats. Fury complements these with explosive starts, while undying creatures provide sustained pressure and value.
Grief and Undying Malice: The Engine of the Deck
Grief and Undying Malice form the core engine of the Rakdos Scam deck, enabling explosive starts and recurring threats. Grief is a powerful tool for disrupting opponents by targeting key cards, while Undying Malice grants creatures an undying ability, ensuring they return to the battlefield after death. Together, these cards create a devastating synergy, allowing the deck to maintain pressure and control throughout the game. Grief’s ability to remove critical threats early ensures a strong start, and Undying Malice’s recursion capability maximizes the value of your creatures. This combination is what makes Rakdos Scam so formidable, as it forces opponents into difficult decisions while maintaining a consistent offensive presence. By leveraging these cards effectively, players can outpace and overwhelm their opponents, showcasing the deck’s explosive potential.
Role of Fury in Aggressive Starts
Fury is instrumental in enabling the Rakdos Scam deck to execute aggressive openings effectively. At just one mana, Fury provides an immediate threat that can attack on the first turn, applying pressure right away; This low mana cost allows the deck to develop its board quickly, forcing opponents into reactive mode. Fury synergizes seamlessly with other key cards like Grief and Undying Malice, enhancing the deck’s overall tempo and threat density. Its ability to pressure opponents early often leads to favorable trades or even free wins if left unchecked. Furthermore, Fury maintains its relevance in various matchups, making it a versatile and consistent performer in the deck’s aggressive strategy. By leveraging Fury, Rakdos Scam can dictate the pace of the game, creating a challenging environment for opponents to navigate.
Sideboarding Against Common Matchups
Adapt your strategy against popular decks by countering their strengths. Use specific cards to neutralize threats like Murktide or Burn, ensuring your sideboard is tailored to each matchup effectively to maximize your chances of success.
Murktide Regent and How to Counter It
Murktide Regent is a formidable threat in Modern, often appearing in Blue or Temur decks. To counter it effectively, bring in graveyard hate like Nihil Spellbomb or Rest in Peace to disrupt its synergy with Expressive Iteration or Opt. Additionally, Leyline of Sanctity can neutralize its ability to generate card advantage. Sideboarding in discard spells such as Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize allows you to proactively remove Murktide Regent before it becomes a problem. Timing is crucial—board out weaker creatures like Scam or Fury to make room for these defensive measures. By combining these strategies, you can mitigate Murktide’s impact and maintain control of the game. Proper sideboarding here is key to securing wins against these challenging matchups.
Strategies Against Burn Decks
Burn decks are aggressive and fast, making them a challenging matchup for Rakdos Scam. To counter them, prioritize bringing in defensive measures such as Leyline of Sanctity, which shuts down their ability to target you with direct damage. Timely Rebuff and Noxious Revival can also be valuable, as they provide additional ways to interact with their spells. Board out weaker creatures like Fury and Scam, as they struggle to keep up in a race. Instead, focus on preserving life total with cards like Undying Malice and generating card advantage through Grief. Post-sideboard games often come down to who can execute their plan faster, so mulligan aggressively for hands that can curve into your key defensive pieces. By adapting your strategy, you can turn the tables and emerge victorious against Burn decks.
Handling Control Decks
Control decks pose a significant challenge due to their ability to disrupt your game plan with counterspells and card draw. Against these matchups, it’s crucial to lean into disruption and protect your key spells. Bring in cards like Duress or Inquisition of Kozilek to strip their counterspells and card draw engines. Veil of Summer is also a powerful sideboard card that can protect your Grief or Fury from being countered. Focus on maintaining a low curve to outpace their removal and counters, and consider trimming weaker threats that don’t immediately impact the board. Cards like Blood Moon can be a game-changer, shutting off their mana and limiting their ability to cast spells. By combining disruption with a focused aggressive strategy, you can outmaneuver control decks and secure victory.
General Sideboard Tips
Mastering the Rakdos Scam sideboard requires adapting to the metagame, tailoring your cards to each matchup, and maintaining flexibility. Balance disruption with aggression to outmaneuver opponents effectively.
When to Bring in Graveyard Hate
Graveyard hate is crucial in matchups where opponents rely on recursion or graveyard synergy, such as Murktide Regent decks. Cards like Rest in Peace, Grafdigger’s Cage, or Nihil Spellbomb are effective. Board them post-Game 1 if recursion is spotted. Timing is key; ensure these cards fit your overall strategy without disrupting your own game plan. Be prepared for opponents’ potential responses, like removal spells. Synergize hate cards with other disruptive elements and stay updated on the metagame to adapt to new graveyard-centric decks. Practice makes perfect in understanding their impact across various matchups. Balancing disruption and aggression is vital for victory.
Using Leyline of Sanctity Effectively
Leyline of Sanctity shines against Burn decks and strategies reliant on discard spells. Its ability to nullify targeted removal and prevent life loss is invaluable. Opt to bring it in post-Game 1 when facing heavy Burn or combo decks. Ensure it complements your other sideboard cards without over-saturating. Timing its inclusion is key; anticipate opponents’ reliance on such effects. Be cautious of opponents’ potential artifact removal, so maintain a balance in your sideboarding strategy. Synergize Leyline with other defensive measures and adapt based on the evolving metagame. Properly timed, it can swing matchups in your favor, enhancing your deck’s resilience against aggressive strategies. Always assess the opponent’s deck before committing to its inclusion;
Adapting to the Meta
Adapting to the metagame is crucial for optimizing your Rakdos Scam deck. Stay updated on popular matchups like Murktide Regent, Burn, and Control decks. If Murktide Regent dominates, consider adding specific hate cards. Against heavy Burn decks, prioritize Leyline of Sanctity to neutralize their targeted removal. For Control decks, graveyard hate becomes essential to disrupt their strategies. Flexibility in your sideboard ensures you remain competitive. Regularly review tournament results and community feedback to refine your approach. Practice adapting your strategy to different scenarios to maximize your deck’s effectiveness. A well-tuned sideboard tailored to the meta can make all the difference in high-stakes matches. Stay proactive and keep refining your strategy to stay ahead of the curve.