Rakdos Affinity is a variant of one of Pauper's most famous decks. Unlike the Grixis versions, this one relies on combining damage spells like Lightning Bolt and Galvanic Blast with a more aggressive clock of Clockwork Percussionist and Frogmite to pressure the opponent earlier.
Despite the changes, the archetype still has the essence and structure of the combination between Ichor Wellspring and sacrifice effects to generate card advantage, in addition to including Refurbished Familiar and Blood Fountain as attrition tools.
The Decklist
This list is almost the same one used by the player and PFP member _against_ in the Magic Online Leagues and Challenges in recent weeks, with changes only occurring in the Sideboard to include Extract a Confession for more board interaction in exchange for fewer Sideboard slots against High Tide — which, at the time of writing, had just been banned.
Maindeck
The Affinity package.
Frogmite and Myr Enforcer are strong creatures that can be played for free. Frogmite, in particular, has a less relevant body today, but it's an important glue when sequencing threats on the second and third turns and can even be played for free with a combination of two lands and Blood Fountain.
Refurbished Familiar is one of the best creatures in Pauper today. For a low cost, it reduces the opponent's resources and/or offers more card advantage in attrition matches. It's also the best possible target for Blood Fountain.
The enablers.
Clockwork Percussionist is one of the benefits of betting on only two colors, as it offers an aggressive one-drop that also benefits its controller through the draw effects we run, in addition to counting towards Affinity.
Blood Fountain offers two artifacts for one mana and becomes an effective mana sink, where resorting to two copies of Refurbished Familiar or Myr Enforcer makes a considerable difference in attrition games.
Ichor Wellspring is still the best possible combination with the Deadly Dispute variants available in the format and offers an extra draw on its own.
Nihil Spellbomb remains an essential card in a format where Tolarian Terror and Dread Return are core pieces of some of the most played decks, in addition to offering another cheap artifact for Affinity and another way to guarantee extra draws.
Reckoner’s Bargain and Fanatical Offering guarantee a card advantage with the bonuses that our artifacts offer when destroyed. Both spells also have benefits in different matchups, with Bargain being better against Aggro while Offering guarantees another artifact on the board.
The interaction.
Galvanic Blast is an obvious choice for an artifact-based archetype, being the best one-mana removal in Pauper today and also the best damage spell in the format.
We complement it with Lightning Bolt as we prioritize mana efficiency and speed in less interactive matchups, while adding Cast Down to the sideboard for attrition games.
Makeshift Munitions feeds off our artifacts to serve as recurring removal against Faeries and Elves, while also guaranteeing more reach in longer games.
Our mana is too greedy to gamble on Darksteel Citadel, so we make the concession of adding some extra Bridges to increase the number of Artifact Lands without losing consistency in accessing colors.
Sideboard
Pyroblast is the standard answer against blue in Pauper. Mono Blue Terror is still the best deck in the format, and our best way to deal with the opponent is to resolve their threats that can block Myr Enforcer and survive, in addition to having benefits against Faeries and other archetypes.
Nihil Spellbomb complements the maindeck copies for matches against Terror, Dredge, Spy Combo, and also some Midrange mirrors where we need to worry about the recursive potential of a Blood Fountain.
End the Festivities deals with X/1 creatures while increasing our board pressure. Ideal against Faeries, Mono Red Rally, and Elves, but can be useful against Bogles.
Campfire is an artifact that keeps Burn and Red Aggro decks in check with two life per turn, which helps hold the game for long enough.
Cast Down is a traditional removal spell against creatures that dodge burn spells. Key targets include Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Writhing Chrysalis, but it can be useful in other matches where more targeted board interaction is needed.
Extract a Confession answers Bogles creatures and has high enough mana to pay the evidence cost, making it another way to deal with Writhing Chrysalis and similar cards.
Duress is a no-holds-barred interaction for attrition games and matches against Blue Tempo, combos, Bogles, and even Burn. More copies may be needed depending on the local Metagame.
Sideboard Guide
Mono Red Rally
IN
OUT
Mono Blue Terror
IN
OUT
Mono Blue Faeries
IN
OUT
Jund Wildfire
IN
OUT
Grixis Affinity
IN
OUT
Bogles
IN
OUT
Elves
IN
OUT
Spy Combo
IN
OUT
Wrapping Up
That's all for today!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
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