Pioneer: Rakdos Prowess - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Pioneer continues to evolve around the recent bans that have affected the format. While the first week showed that Izzet Phoenix remains one of the best decks, archetypes such as Azorius Control, Gruul Prowess, Humans and even a new version of Jund Sacrifice with Ygra, Eater of All showed notable results in the first wave of Challenges.

Amidst one Top 8 and another, one strategy stood out during the weekend: Rakdos Prowess, a new red Aggro variant with a splash for sideboard cards and a bit more resilience with Claim // Fame.

This is the decklist I've been using for the past few days, and it runs the same 75 cards as over 80% of the other lists so far.

Rakdos Prowess is basically the exchange of for . While the previous splash guarantees better protection spells and access to Questing Druid, this version bets on more speed and resilience throughout the game with Claim // Fame, which can return any creature to the battlefield and turn it into a threat the moment it enters the battlefield.

Another difference is the cards in the Sideboard. Thoughtseize is very versatile in this list and deals with several problems that more linear aggressive decks usually have, and the possibility of including other specific cards for different Metagames can offer the versatility needed to respond to certain games, but with the concession of not dealing as well with enchantments without Pick Your Poison.

Maindeck

Our one-drops are fast creatures that punish the opponent for not interacting with them at the start of the game. Monastery Swiftspear is a classic for red Aggro and usually reduces at least 1/4 of the opponent's life in the first two turns, in addition to causing an impact the moment it enters the battlefield.

Heartfire Hero benefits from our pumps and punishes the opponent's removals - the biggest problem we have when we focus on increasing the power of our creatures. There are some executable combo-kill plays with it and Callous Sell-Sword

Emberheart Challenger gives more gas in the game with the spells we cast on it, being an extra draw per turn in addition to also having an immediate impact on the board.

Slickshot Show-Off is our biggest clock and demands an answer on most cases. If there isn't one, it ends the game in two turns with the right spell sequencing.

Our splash for in the maindeck is summarized in Claim // Fame and its ability to revive our main threats. It's the 5-8 Slickshot Show-Off that still guarantees a spell to deal 5 damage with a single card, or a draw and five damage with Emberheart Challenger, among other options.

Callous Sell-Sword is usually used by its Adventure - a one-mana Fling, but there are rare occasions where we use it after the combat phase to come into play with two or more +1/+1 counters.

Kumano Faces Kakkazan is another aggressive one-drop that increases the potential of our creatures on the second turn. It provides another clock, triggers Prowess, and doesn't interact well with Valiant, but it does enough to justify its inclusion in the list.

Hammerhand gets unwanted blockers out of the way while triggering our threats. It's not the best card in the list, but it's necessary in some matchups.

Our pumps focus on two factors: guaranteeing Trample for our creatures or significantly increasing their power. Monstrous Rage is the ideal example of what we want, but we don't have many variants of it in Pioneer today.

Ancestral Anger does a good job as extra copies of Rage while being a cheap cantrip on its own and triggering Valiant and Prowess, while Titan’s Strength filters our top and its power boost might win some games.

Our duals focus on coming into play untapped in the early turns. We don’t want to stretch the game out and need all the speed we can get to win in four turns.

Ramunap Ruins and Den of the Bugbear are classic red Aggro staples in Pioneer and give the deck more options in longer matchups. Rockface Village works with Heartfire Hero and Emberheart Challenger to trigger their abilities.

Sideboard

Thoughtseize is our main protection against many cards. From combo pieces to sweepers, it's a frequent side-in that doesn't make it into the maindeck because it doesn't interact with our plan and is a terrible card against the go-wide Aggro that grew after banning Amalia Benavides Aguirre.

Fatal Push is our answer against these “go wides”. Many threats can dodge the range of cheap removals, and we prefer to keep our interaction for one mana, so dealing with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Adeline, Resplendent Cathar with the same card has advantages compared to other cards. Push also doesn't limit its scope too much, unlike Rending Volley and similar cards.

Rampaging Ferocidon is another answer against go-wide and a must-have against Angels, which have reappeared in the format to answer Aggro. Its mana value is a bit high for the list, but it's the best option we have in its category.

Urabrask's Forge gives us resilience against removal and avoids some common hates against Prowess, such as Temporary Lockdown. Every turn it's in play means a bigger threat for the opponent to deal with.

Unlicensed Hearse is a must. In addition to dealing with Arclight Phoenix and giving us a long-term threat, it also answers Cauldron Familiar and/or combos with Ygra, Eater of All or Greasefang, Okiba Boss.

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Nykthos Ramp

IN

OUT

Niv-to-Light

IN

OUT

Humans

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!