Overview:

This Rakdos (B/R) deck helmed by Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls focuses on incremental life drain, forced opponent actions, and value generation through Blood Artist-style triggers. The strategy leverages Valgavoth's ability to grow and draw cards whenever opponents lose life for the first time each turn, supported by a dense package of symmetrical damage effects and death triggers. While lacking infinite combos, it aims to grind opponents down through persistent damage from sources like Mogis, God of Slaughter, Syr Konrad, the Grim, and Underworld Dreams.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
The deck pressures opponents via three overlapping engines:

1. Passive Life Drain: Cards like Blood Artist, Falkenrath Noble, and Bastion of Remembrance punish creature deaths.
2. Forced Pain: Mogis, God of Slaughter, Rampaging Ferocidon, and Kaervek the Merciless create unavoidable damage each turn cycle.
3. Draw Punishment: Underworld Dreams, Fate Unraveler, and Kederekt Parasite convert card draws into damage.

Valgavoth amplifies these effects by growing into a flying threat and refilling your hand whenever opponents lose life. Key turns involve deploying multiple overlapping damage sources (e.g., T4 Stormfist Crusader into T5 Valgavoth) and leveraging board wipes like Blasphemous Act for explosive Brash Taunter triggers or death-based payoffs.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2+ early damage sources (e.g., Harsh Mentor, Kederekt Parasite).
• Ensure access to 3 lands (prioritize untapped BR sources).
• Avoid hands without early interaction or damage engines.

Key Tips:

• Sequence Wisely: Deploy Valgavoth after establishing at least one damage engine to guarantee card draw.
• Leverage Symmetry: Spiteful Visions and Stormfist Crusader give opponents cards but punish them heavily.
• Protect Critical Mass: Use Basilisk Collar and Witch's Clinic to make Valgavoth a lifelinking threat.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander Dependency: Loses significant value if Valgavoth is removed 3+ times.
• No Infinite Combos: Relies on slow attrition; struggles to close against lifegain.

Moderate

• Graveyard Reliance: Syr Konrad and Massacre Wurm underperform against exile effects.
• Limited Fast Mana: Slow ramp (e.g., Talisman of Indulgence) delays key plays.

Minor

• Predictable Damage: Theater of Horrors and Florian provide card advantage but lack surprise factor.

Most Important Cards:

• Underworld Dreams
• Syr Konrad, the Grim
• Mogis, God of Slaughter
• Stormfist Crusader
• Brash Taunter
• Bastion of Remembrance
• Spiteful Visions
• Kaervek the Merciless
• Massacre Wurm
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10
No turn <7 wins; relies on incremental damage over 10+ turns.

Resilience: 5/10
Moderate recursion (e.g., Persistent Constrictor) but folds to repeated commander removal.

Consistency: 5/10
Multiple overlapping damage engines but minimal tutors (only Florian pseudo-tutors).

Interaction: 5/10
Spot removal (Bedevil, Chaos Warp) but lacks free counterspells or stax.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates in the "grindy midrange" space typical of upgraded precons, with focused damage synergies but no fast combos or high-tutor density. Its turn 8-10 win potential and moderate resilience place it squarely in casual tiers.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5