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COMMANDER(S)
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
QR Code
B R
- Rakdos
Bracket
4.5 - 5.0
Bracket 3
Average CMC Average CMC
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ANALYSIS

Overview:

This Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls deck focuses on incremental life loss and damage amplification to trigger the commander's card draw/counter engine. While lacking infinite combos, it leverages redundant ping effects, damage multipliers, and delayed triggers (e.g., Wound Reflection) to grind opponents down. The deck operates at a midrange pace with moderate interaction and resilience.

Primer:

Core Strategy: This Rakdos deck aims to trigger Valgavoth's ability ("first life loss per opponent turn") through 40+ damage-on-life-loss sources like Blood Artist, Kederekt Parasite, and Roiling Vortex. Key phases:

  • Early Setup: Deploy pingers (Harsh Mentor, Stormfist Crusader) and mana rocks to enable Valgavoth casts by T3-4.
  • Midgame Amplification: Resolve damage multipliers (Solphim, Mayhem Dominus, Fiery Emancipation) and delayed triggers (Wound Reflection, All Will Be One).
  • Late Finishers: Convert accumulated counters/draws into lethal via Gray Merchant of Asphodel recursion, Heartless Hidetsugu bursts, or Blasphemous Act + damage enhancers.

Mulligan Priorities:

  • 3 lands (prioritize untapped BR sources)
  • 1-2 early enablers (Blood Seeker, Fellwar Stone)
  • At least 1 midgame payoff (Mogis, God of Slaughter, Solphim)

Key Tips:

  • Sequence Valgavoth after establishing 1-2 passive damage sources to guarantee immediate triggers.
  • Use Bolt Bend/Armor of Shadows to protect key pieces during critical turns.
  • Braids, Arisen Nightmare sacrifices artifacts/lands when opponents are tapped out to force life loss.

Avoid Traps:

  • Overextending with fragile pingers into board wipes
  • Casting Valgavoth without protection in removal-heavy metas
  • Forgetting Wound Reflection doubles ALL life loss (including fetchlands, Sign in Blood, etc.)

Weaknesses:

Moderate:

  • Vulnerable to lifegain strategies (limited answers to Exquisite Blood/Authority of the Consuls)
  • Relies on board presence for triggers (weak to mass removal)
  • Mana base has 8 enters-tapped lands (slows early development)

Most Important Cards:

  • Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
  • Wound Reflection
  • Gray Merchant of Asphodel
  • Fiery Emancipation
  • Heartless Hidetsugu
  • All Will Be One
  • Mogis, God of Slaughter
  • Roiling Vortex
  • Braids, Arisen Nightmare
  • Kardur, Doomscourge

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

  • Earliest kill T6-7 via Heartless Hidetsugu + damage doubler (24-48 damage)
  • Grindier wins typically T8-10

Resilience: 6/10

  • Redundant pingers (12+ "when opponent does X, lose 1 life" effects)
  • Limited recursion (Suspended Sentence, Chandra, Awakened Inferno emblems)

Consistency: 6/10

  • 8 card advantage engines tied to life loss (Valgavoth, Florian, Theater of Horrors)
  • 4 tutors (Grab the Prize, Cathartic Reunion, Bedevil, Vandalblast)

Interaction: 5/10

  • 6 targeted removal (Infernal Grasp, Bedevil)
  • 2 board wipes (Blasphemous Act, Massacre Wurm)
  • No free counterspells; relies on redirects (Bolt Bend)

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Focused Casual" (4.5) and "Optimized Casual" (5.0) on the rubric. It has:

  • Better redundancy/wincons than precons (4.0)
  • Synergistic damage multipliers akin to upgraded jank (4.5)
  • Lacks the speed (T8-10 vs T7-9) and protection of optimized lists (5.0)

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0

DECK LIST
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
Planeswalker: 1
($9.23)
1
Chandra, Awakened Inferno
4 R R
Creature: 32
($110.97)
1
Blood Artist
1 B
1
Blood Seeker
1 B
1
Braids, Arisen Nightmare
1 B B
1
Brash Taunter
4 R
1
Falkenrath Noble
3 B
1
Far Fortune, End Boss
2 B R
1
Fate Unraveler
3 B
1
Florian, Voldaren Scion
1 B R
1
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 B B
1
Harsh Mentor
1 R
1
Heartless Hidetsugu
3 R R
1
Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant
3 B R
1
Kardur, Doomscourge
2 B R
1
Kederekt Parasite
B
1
Massacre Wurm
3 B B B
1
Mayhem Devil
1 B R
1
Mogis, God of Slaughter
2 B R
1
Morbid Opportunist
2 B
1
Nightshade Harvester
3 B
1
Orcish Bowmasters
1 B
1
Rampaging Ferocidon
2 R
1
Razorkin Needlehead
R R
1
Rowan, Scion of War
1 B R
1
Solemn Simulacrum
4
1
Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
2 R R
1
Star Athlete
1 R R
1
Stormfist Crusader
B R
1
Tectonic Giant
2 R R
1
The Red Terror
3 R
1
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
1 R R R
1
Valgavoth, Terror Eater
6 B B B
1
Vial Smasher the Fierce
1 B R
Artifact: 8
($11.81)
1
Arcane Signet
2
1
Basilisk Collar
1
1
Decanter of Endless Water
3
1
Fellwar Stone
2
1
Lightning Greaves
2
1
Rakdos Signet
2
1
Sol Ring
1
1
Talisman of Indulgence
2
Enchantment: 8
($23.94)
1
All Will Be One
3 R R
1
Bastion of Remembrance
2 B
1
Fiery Emancipation
3 R R R
1
Phyrexian Arena
1 B B
1
Roiling Vortex
1 R
1
Spiteful Visions
2 B/R B/R
1
Theater of Horrors
1 B R
1
Wound Reflection
5 B
Instant: 8
($6.57)
1
Armor of Shadows
B
1
Bedevil
B B R
1
Bolt Bend
3 R
1
Chaos Warp
2 R
1
Infernal Grasp
1 B
1
Rakdos Charm
B R
1
Suspended Sentence
3 B
1
Withering Torment
2 B
Sorcery: 5
($4.83)
1
Blasphemous Act
8 R
1
Cathartic Reunion
1 R
1
Grab the Prize
1 R
1
Sign in Blood
B B
1
Vandalblast
R
Land: 37
($57.26)
1
Blackcleave Cliffs
1
Blazemire Verge
1
Blood Crypt
1
Bloodstained Mire
1
Command Tower
1
Dragonskull Summit
1
Exotic Orchard
1
Fabled Passage
1
Foreboding Ruins
1
Graven Cairns
1
Leechridden Swamp
8
Mountain
1
Reflecting Pool
1
Shadowblood Ridge
1
Shivan Gorge
1
Smoldering Marsh
1
Spinerock Knoll
1
Sulfurous Springs
8
Swamp
1
Tainted Peak
1
Temple of Malice
1
Terramorphic Expanse
1
Witch's Clinic

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