Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord encapsulates everything a Vampire deck could want: he accelerates threats, removes creatures, and provides a relentless clock with his ultimate ability, which was notoriously used with Vein Ripper to create a two-card combo. Combined with the abundance of interaction in the Rakdos color pair, this transformed into the best deck in Pioneer, culminating in its ban.
In more established eternal formats, a linear Vampire plan can struggle because their individual card quality is low, but in Historic, it finds a perfect ecosystem. Far from universal threats like Solitude and without competition from Archon of Cruelty and Persist, Sorin becomes the centerpiece of a midrange machine that blends a combo viable enough for Timeless with a mix of the best value engines and interaction in the format.
The Decklist
This list uses Vampire synergy with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord to execute two parallel plans: the explosive combo with Vein Ripper, now complemented by Persist and Olivia, Crimson Bride, and gradual dominance through the accumulated value of Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and Overlord of the Balemurk, which provide card advantage and inevitability.
Our plan allows for very flexible lines and smooth transitions between games where we need to be a Midrange deck and hold off the opponent's clock, and matches where we are a combo deck aiming to end the game in as few turns as possible. This makes Rakdos Sorin very flexible in games two and three, capable of playing both an attrition game and having a "free-win button," though without the consistency to always execute the necessary role—a trait that proves notoriously lethal against Big Mana decks.
Maindeck
Bloodtithe Harvester is the best two-for-one in this deck. A 3/2 body that filters a card and can later become removal is precisely the type of card a midrange deck wants, and the Vampire type means it grows as a threat with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord.
Overlord of the Balemurk fuels the graveyard for Persist and Olivia, Crimson Bride in the early game and becomes a recursion tool in longer games, where it can find either Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord or creatures that were destroyed or sacrificed during the match.
The combo of Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Vein Ripper has already been explained extensively, and this list has no trouble casting Ripper for its mana cost if needed. However, we complement the package with Olivia, Crimson Bride, who reuses creatures from your graveyard when she attacks, preferably bringing along Overlord of the Balemurk or Vein Ripper.
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker does a bit of everything: puts a token on the board that accelerates mana in combat, filters your hand to fuel Persist, and also transforms into a notoriously powerful creature alongside Bloodtithe Harvester, Overlord of the Balemurk, or Vein Ripper, since it can copy them every turn.
Persist is the "plan B" for the combo. With tokens from Bloodtithe Harvester, Overlord of the Balemurk, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, we have enough ways to stock the graveyard with the cards we want to reanimate, enabling a Ripper as early as turn two if necessary, by using Thoughtseize to discard it. Remember it doesn't reanimate Legendary creatures and therefore doesn't work with Olivia, Crimson Bride.
Thoughtseize holds back explosive plays, protects against dangerous answers, and provides the necessary information to resolve Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord. In some cases, as mentioned above, we can use it to discard Vein Ripper on turn one and cast Persist to bring it back on turn two.
Fatal Push handles most early threats in the format but loses relevance against Eldrazi and other Big Mana decks, where Sheoldred's Edict and Go for the Throat offer more flexibility in dealing with the board.
Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, and Blazemire Verge are our untapped dual land package and ensure consistency in playing proactively in the early turns. We also have Raucous Theater to increase the number of Mountains and Swamps in the list without losing color flexibility, with the bonus of filtering the top of the library and potentially enabling a Vein Ripper on turn two via Persist.
Each utility land serves a distinct purpose.
Mutavault and Hive of the Eye-Tyrant are our manlands, with the bonus that Mutavault is a Vampire and can be used with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord—either as a Lightning Helix or as a growing threat.
Arena of Glory can grant Haste via its Exert ability. Ideal alongside Overlord of the Balemurk or Vein Ripper, but it can win games even with a Bloodtithe Harvester.
Castle Locthwain provides card advantage in longer games, while Takenuma, Abandoned Mire complements Overlord of the Balemurk in retrieving creatures or Sorin.
Cavern of Souls ensures our Vampires dodge Counterspells, while Phyrexian Tower can be used with Bloodtithe Harvester to accelerate casting Vein Ripper and Olivia, or to guarantee a Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord with Thoughtseize backup on turn three.
Sideboard
The trio of sweepers covers all scenarios where we need them.
Brotherhood's End is versatile, clearing the board from creatures or destroying artifacts from Affinity, including artifact lands, making it potent against both Boros Energy and Izzet Wizards, as well as handling most creatures from other go-wide decks.
Path of Peril also works well against smaller threats and complements Brotherhood's End against Boros Energy.
The Meathook Massacre's primary function is to punish decks like Sacrifice or engines like Goblin Bombardment or Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, with the bonus of also clearing the board of small creatures.
Duress complements Thoughtseize against Control and Combo, serving as a safety valve to execute our game plan.
Disruptor Flute is a powerful disruption against decks that rely on specific abilities, being useful against Planeswalkers, The One Ring, and others.
Unlicensed Hearse handles the graveyard repeatedly and transforms into a threat in longer games, being necessary against combos like Yawgmoth or Greasefang, Okiba Boss. We complement it with Surgical Extraction to permanently deal with troublesome cards and two-card combos.
The additional copy of Sheoldred's Edict comes in for matchups where we need to handle specific individual threats, like in the mirror or against Kappa Cannoneer.
Kolaghan's Command is another potent hate card against Affinity but also grants some extra attrition in games against Midrange and Control.
Sideboard Guide
Izzet Wizards
IN
OUT
Thoughtseize is inefficient against a deck that deals a lot of damage very quickly, and we need to focus on holding the game until we can assemble the combo and/or find a sweeper.
Boros Energy
IN
OUT
Boros Energy has a clock as fast as Wizards but with more board resilience. We need to use sweepers aggressively before executing the combo, as they can easily feed Vein Ripper's Ward ability, so we should focus on the medium-term game, where we first stabilize the board with a sweeper and then close out the match.
Eldrazi Ramp
IN
OUT
Their creatures are bigger than ours, and our best route to victory is to use cheap disruption and unconditional removal to hold the early turns and close the combo as quickly as possible. Once they start sequencing their bombs, the match is likely lost.
Rakdos Sorin
IN
OUT
The mirror is essentially a race to see who assembles the combo first and is left without Sheoldred's Edict or another answer to deal with Vein Ripper. A Surgical Extraction can end the game, but you can also use Harvester and Overlord to follow a Midrange line.
Boros Auras
IN
OUT
Sweepers are our best tool in this game, while Olivia is too slow and conditional. Duress is a consideration, but removing the creatures tends to matter more than trying to deal with the Auras.
Nykthos Ramp
IN
OUT
Disruptor Flute answers Karn, the Great Creator and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner, and from that point, we need a Vein Ripper on the board early to trample over the opponent's larger threats.
Affinity
IN
OUT
Sheoldred's Edict is our best route against Kappa Cannoneer, but they usually have an Ornithopter on the board when they cast it, so Fatal Push remains a useful card to disrupt that "all-in" line. Similar to other archetypes that can go off more efficiently, this is a game where we need to focus on deploying the combo as soon as possible.
Jeskai/Azorius Control
IN
OUT
This is a matchup where we need to focus on the long game because a sweeper answers our combo with relative ease, and Rest in Peace is a potential sideboard threat in games 2 and 3. The beatdown from Bloodtithe Harvester and manlands are key to pressure the board. Focus Surgical Extraction on Hymn to the Ages to break their primary card advantage engine.
Wrapping Up
That's all for today!
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