When players draft a set for a good while, not only do their preferences become obvious, sometimes they tend to end up in a certain archetype more often than others. Whether it’s due to pick order preference, a perceived “open lane” in the meta, or a certain play style they enjoy, for better or worse (I think better), players develop a style for the set, and sometimes adopt a “pet deck.” I’m not typically much of a “pet deck” guy in Limited, but in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, I frequently end up in a sub-archetype that people are often shocked to hear about, many times replying that they’ve never tried it.
In this article, I’m giving away my pet deck: Rakdos Sacrifice. I’ll show you how to speculate on the deck, key cards, and some successful builds!
The Opportunity
I believe the main reason I often end up with this deck is the complete disregard for both Cutthroat Centurion and Awaken the Sleeper. A common pattern is beginning the draft with a heavy red start and then wheeling the combo pieces to the deck. 17Lands provides further data, with both cards being taken around Pick 10-11 (regardless of Best-of-One or Best-of-Three). While both cards are up for debate in terms of individual power level, the combination of the two is not.
The Centurion
Cutthroat Centurion is very misunderstood, and I actually think it has some potential outside this deck. It enables a range of creative plays, like eating a Barbed Batterfist during combat to change the equipped creature’s stats, blanking a Surgical Skullbomb (it’s happened three times so far), or negating lifelink from an opponent’s attacking creature. The more I’ve played with this card, the more I’ve come to realize that a lot of opponents don’t know what it does; though it’s an on-battlefield trick, they forget it’s there, or that it enables sacrificing artifacts.
The Sleeper
Individually, Awaken the Sleeper as a few applications. It can serve as a finisher for a hyper-aggressive deck, or take out problematic Equipment like Dragonwing Glider. Where it shines, however, is combining it with other sacrifice outlets. Besides the aforementioned Cutthroat Centurion, some personal favorites include Annihilating Glare and Shrapnel Slinger. This is the main card for the deck that you want to keep in mind when you see it during Picks 1-4, because it will wheel the majority of the time and is most often how I end up in the deck.
Role-Players
Barbed Batterfist and Vulshok Splitter are two of the best cards to pair with the neck-slicing Centurion, providing two things to sacrifice when needed. Chimney Rabble and Charforger are the premier creatures to include. Cacophony Scamp can be nice if you’re able to boost its power with Blazing Crescendo or Offer Immortality to take out a creature in combat, then sacrifice it to take out another!
The go-to splashing utility is Prophetic Prism, since it can be sacrificed at a later date. Axiom Engraver is another quality role-player for the deck, not only holding down the ground early but also ensuring you don’t run out of gas, as well as finding key cards. Lastly, Kethek, Crucible Goliath is a 4/4 in most decks, and for the most part goes unplayed. When paired with Awaken the Sleeper, however, it’s a backbreaking sequence that can swing games in a huge way.
Rakdos Sacrifice in Action
Below, I wanted to share my Arena Open Day 2 draft, which got me off to a 4-0 start.
Here are my full decklist and draft log, along with two more examples of drafting Rakdos Sacrifice.
There are tons of fun things to do with Rakdos Sacrifice in Phyrexia: All Will Be One Limited. I’m happy to keep exploring its potential while no one else is (or, at least, only my readers and I are).
Lose and Learn, Learn and Win!
