Explorer: Rakdos Transmogrify - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Transmogrify, a card designed to be a removal that became a way to put big creatures on the battlefield, ended up finding homes in Pioneer/Explorer. This deck ended up becoming more relevant in both of these formats, so let's take a closer look at it and see what it can bring to the game as a whole.

First, let's briefly go over the main interaction in this deck: Transmogrify. This 4-mana spell can exile any creature on the board, but afterward your opponent will be able to put another creature on the board directly from their deck. Usually, we'll play it on enemy creatures.

It is very heavy and slow, even more considering you can't be certain which creature will be put on the board afterward. Now, if you consider a deck that only plays one creature and many ways to get tokens, Transmogrify becomes a way to "cheat out" powerful creatures on the board, and they might just win the game for you.

Let's be honest, lists with this strategy are nothing new. Both Indomitable Creativity and Transmogrify have seen play in Pioneer/Explorer for some time now, be it in Izzet, Temur, Jund, or Rakdos lists. They all want to put in play Atraxa, Grand Unifier, Torrential Gearhulk, or Xenagos, God of Revels with Worldspine Wurm.

That being said, what could have happened to make Rakdos Transmogrify pop up in Leagues, Challenges, and the Arena ranked queue?

By reviewing the entire context of the metagame, we can see a few interesting factors straight away. For example, first, Sorin Imperious Bloodlord was banned on August 26th, 2024, so the interaction between him and Vein Ripper no longer sees play. It is clear that Sorin's departure created a vacuum in the entire ecosystem, which, in turn, needed Midrange decks centered around a powerful interaction that won the game by itself.

Of course, when we put it this way, the first thing that comes to mind is Greasefang, Okiba Boss bringing back Parhelion II from the graveyard. However, a deck that can play more board control, like Transmogrify, often performs better against one of the most popular decks in leagues and Arena's ranked queues: Rakdos Prowess.

I'm not saying this deck is as powerful as Rakdos Sorin, considering its deckbuilding is a lot more complex (particularly because you can't use any creature except Atraxa, Grand Unifier). This means we can't use many other powerful cards in these colors, like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger. They're often common in Rakdos strategies, and Sorin could easily use them, even if you'd rather use other vampires.

At the beginning of this article, we explained how Transmogrify can put in play a creature that can win the game on its own. Let's see which card does that.

After Atraxa, Grand Unifier was released, in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, she quickly became one of the most iconic creatures in strategies that "cheat out" big creatures into play, like Reanimate decks, and, of course, today's deck. What makes this card so great is its effect, which lets you put in play around four to five of your best cards in the top ten cards in your deck. This, on its own, is a lot of value, and will be difficult to overcome. A 7/7 body with flying, vigilance, deathtouch, and lifelink also creates a board state very few opponents can deal with. So, with just one card, you'll win both in terms of the board and cards in hand.

To complete this combo, you'll need a creature on the board and only Atraxa in your deck. What makes this Rakdos list so consistent is that it uses cards that play their part in the combo, but are still individually powerful. These many cards become creatures or create creature tokens, but also impact the game and create value on their own.

Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is already an old friend to many players. It has seen play in many professional tournaments, so it is certainly impactful. The fact it creates two bodies at two different times forces your opponent to play more removals and exhaust their resources. This means you'll have more chances to play your combo.

As for Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, it seems to have found its home, finally. Though most lists don't use more than two copies, this card does everything this deck wants: it creates tokens that you can play with Transmogrify, puts pressure on your opponent, deals damage, and removes resources from your opponent.

Reckoner Bankbuster is often found in midrange lists and goes well with Transmogrify, considering its Pilot token, which is just an extra bonus in many decks, might just put our four-color champion in play.

Case of the Stashed Skeleton is the weakest card in our list, but it also has the strongest synergy. Creating a 2/1 Skeleton with menace can be interesting, even if it can't block, but this case really shines when you resolve it. If this Skeleton leaves play, either by dying in combat or because you targeted it with Transmogrify, it becomes a Demonic Tutor, plain and simple. This is a powerful effect on its own, but, in a deck centered around a combo that wins the game, it is even better.

Hidetsugu Consumes All is a strong option, but we play it simply because it is great in the current meta: its first two chapters are strong against many decks. More specifically, its first chapter is great to clear a board with Heartfire Hero and Monastery Swiftspear, or even Food Sacrifice's most important cards (Cauldron Familiar, Scavenger's Talent, and Witch's Oven). Its second chapter is obviously strong against decks that rely on the graveyard, like the aforementioned Food Sacrifice, Izzet Phoenix, and Abzan Greasefang.

Other pieces that work really well in this combo but are a bit different from the cards I listed above are these lands.

These options become or create creatures we can target with the spell that names the deck, and, instead of only impacting the game individually, they barely occupy a space in the deck. All three cards above play similar, but slightly different roles.

Mutavault costs very little mana and is protected against removals that affect non-land permanents. Mirrex gives us colored mana on the turn we put it in play, which is definitely a bonus in a multicolor deck. Fountainport, a new addition from Bloomburrow, can be a "sac outlet" that also gives you cards in the process, which is always great.

Considering how slow this deck is, we'll need disruption. Luckily, these colors are great to deal with creatures. It plays many diverse cards that vary from list to list, but I'll highlight Pyroclasm, a Duskmourn reprint that brought this card to Arena (as well as Pioneer). This card is great to deal with faster decks that focus on smaller creatures, particularly alongside Extinction Event. Nonetheless, it is still welcome in this deck, even though it destroys some of our creatures too.

Furthermore, we also play the standard Explorer package of discards and removals in these colors. Thoughtseize will attack the opponent's hand and Torch the Tower / Fatal Push will attack the board bit by bit.

Monoblack Slasher

This matchup isn't bad, considering this is one of the newest decks in the format. Because their creatures need to deal damage to win the game, our removals are extremely useful, including Torch the Tower, which can resolve Unstoppable Slasher for good. Of course, the opposite is also true and monoblack will also try to remove all our tokens and prevent Transmogrify from being effective. We'll have more of them, though, particularly with Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary.

Furthermore, all critical enemy pieces cost more than 3 mana and act at sorcery speed, which means we'll have many chances to set up our most powerful play.

Out

In

Jund Sacrifice

As we said before, Jund Sacrifice struggles to deal with decks that can ignore the grindy gameplay created by their two main interactions, which is the case. If we resolve Transmogrify and Atraxa enters play, the only way they can win is if they combo on their turn.

Furthermore, we have a sideboard (and even maindeck) that are well-prepared to deal with graveyards.

Out

In

Rakdos Prowess

It is curious. This matchup isn't bad because of how many removals we play, but we'll need to be careful. Ideally, play your damage-based removal, like Torch the Tower and Pyroclasm, when your opponent has tapped out of mana, considering that, as they have so many creatures with prowess and "pump" spells, missing the timing with these removals can be fatal.

Otherwise, in this matchup, focus on exhausting your opponent's resources, and you'll win without even realizing it.

Out

In

Azorius control

This matchup is a bit complicated, as there are a few clear disadvantages we'll have to deal with. First, we can't use many of our cards to their full potential because they're mostly creature removals, and our main win condition is a four-mana spell that can easily be countered by all 8 counters in their deck. In addition, out of all their answers, their instant speed removals are the most disruptive.

So, I highly recommend you focus on extracting as much as you can out of your cards and try to get "2 for 1" instead of actually playing your combo. In this case, your sideboard is your best friend.

Out

in

This deck is responsible for more than a few good matches in the metagame, so it can be a very solid option.

What did you think of this list? What would you change in it? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!