MTG Salvation

Rakdos Cackler and Kolaghan's Command is what we run here.

Same. I'd have Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast and Dreadbore just behind those two.

Yep, same here. I'm running those four (Cackler, Command, Daretti, and Dreadbore) as well as Vial Smasher the Fierce. Vial Smasher has been excellent in the fifth slot. He's great in aggro decks for reach and he's even put up some good showings in a couple of Grixis decks. This is probably irrelevant for most, but I also saw a player who had to play Vial Smasher in his Worldknit deck and it did some heavy lifting there.

Vial Smasher is one of my favorite recent Magic cards. I loved Mengucci's various Legacy videos with Smasher, Temporal Mastery, Thunderous Wrath, Fireblast, and of course Force of Will. But it's so odd in cube and doesn't quite fit the guild. It's really a Grixis card, I think. That's why I built my main EDH deck around it. Having your Dig through Time burn an opponent for 8 is awesome. Mystical Tutoring a Bonfire and miracling it for x=11 is a great feeling. But I think it'd only go into a very few decks in cube, so as cool as it is, it's just too narrow there. Certainly not as good as Cackler, Kommand, and Daretti. I might consider it as the 4th card.

I agree with the above posters that Cackler, Command, Daretti, Vial Smasher, and Dreadbore are the top Rakdos cards. I wouldn't find fault in anyone running Grenzo either.

How did Olivia, Mobilized for War pan out for people? I never tested her.

Cheers,
rant

I had forgotten Vial Smasher. I think it's between Vial Smasher the Fierce and Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast over Olivia Voldaren, Kolaghan's Command will be replacing Murderous Redcap.

I am currently cheating and calling Rakdos Cackler a black card because it feels bad using guild slots for random 2-power 1-drops.

Thanks all.

If you support the artifact deck, Daretti is better. Otherwise, I think it can go either way.

Cheers,
rant

I still like Daretti more. Smasher is cool, but Daretti has exceeded my expectations.

I haven't had a chance to take Vial Smasher for a spin, but I still really like Falkenrath Aristocrat in my fifth spot. I may just be behind the times, though.

Quote from Cythare »

I haven't had a chance to take Vial Smasher for a spin, but I still really like Falkenrath Aristocrat in my fifth spot. I may just be behind the times, though.

That's the thing about guilds--there may be cards you could argue as being better, but Aristocrat is still good and is one of the rare cubeable sac outlets. Our cubes that have Muzzio's Preparations still run it for the persist combo.

Yeah, I mean, if I see something I like that I want to add, it's likely going to be the card that gets the axe, since I can't see myself removing Cackler/KCommand/Grenzo/Daretti, but I enjoy it for the sac outlet, especially since Xathrid Necromancer is also still kicking around the cube.

If you're at a low number of cards per guild, there's typically clear choices for what those cards should be if you're just looking to run the most powerful options. Once you start getting to four, five, or even six slots per guild the options start to become more diverse. I've really been impressed with Vial Smasher, but Falkenrath Aristocrat is also a great option for that slot. There's probably a few more solid options for slot number five in Rakdos as well.