Overview:

This Rakdos deck helmed by Magar of the Magic Strings focuses on reanimating high-impact instant/sorcery spells as unblockable 3/3 creatures to trigger their copied effects for game-ending damage or value. Magar is essential to the strategy, enabling the reanimation and evasion of spells like Searing Wind or Army of the Damned through equipment like Whispersilk Cloak. The deck leverages discard outlets, graveyard setup, and combat-triggered spell copying to overwhelm opponents, with secondary value from treasure synergies and creature recursion via Chainer, Nightmare Adept.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Setup Phase (Turns 1-4):
   • Ramp with Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, or land drops.
   • Discard high-impact spells (e.g., Searing Wind, Skull Storm) using Faithless Looting, Cathartic Reunion, or Oriq Loremage.
   • Cast Magar by turn 3-4 using ramp.

2. Reanimation Phase (Turns 4-6):

   • Use Magar’s ability to animate a key spell from the graveyard as a 3/3 creature.
   • Equip evasion tools (Rogue’s Passage, Whispersilk Cloak) to ensure combat damage.

3. Win Condition Triggers (Turns 5-8):

   • Deal combat damage with animated spells to copy them (e.g., Searing Wind → 20 damage total).
   • Overwhelm with tokens from Army of the Damned or Goldwardens' Gambit.
   • Utilize infinite combat steps via Fury of the Horde + Howl of the Horde for multiple triggers.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with Magar, 1-2 ramp pieces, and discard outlets (e.g., Faithless Looting).
• Prioritize early evasion enablers (Key to the City, Access Tunnel).
• Avoid hands lacking graveyard setup or with only high-CMC spells.

Key Tips:

• Protect Magar with Swiftfoot Boots or Mirror Shield – losing him stalls the engine.
• Use Storm-Kiln Artist to generate treasure for casting copied spells.
• Final Parting can tutor a wincon into the graveyard while fetching recursion.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander Dependency: Removing Magar repeatedly cripples the deck’s ability to animate spells.
• Graveyard Vulnerability: Bojuka Bog or Rest in Peace exiles key wincons.

Moderate

• Evasion Reliance: Fails to win if opponents block with artifacts/hexproof (counters Intimidation, Thieves’ Tools).
• Slow Setup: High-CMC spells and tapped lands delay critical turns.

Minor

• Limited Interaction: Minimal counterspells or stax to disrupt opponents’ combos.
• Artifact Fragility: Key equipment (e.g., Whispersilk Cloak) are vulnerable to removal.

Most Important Cards:

• Magar of the Magic Strings (Core enabler for spell reanimation)
• Searing Wind (Primary wincon: 20+ damage on hit)
• Whispersilk Cloak (Ensures unblockable triggers)
• Faithless Looting (Graveyard setup + flashback)
• Storm-Kiln Artist (Treasure generation for spellcasting)
• Army of the Damned (Secondary token wincon)
• Chainer, Nightmare Adept (Recursion for creatures/spells)
• Fury of the Horde (Extra combats for multiple triggers)
• Final Parting (Tutor + graveyard setup)
• Rogue’s Passage (Key evasion land)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten wins via combat-triggered spell copies by turns 7-8, but setup requires multiple steps and mana.

Resilience: 4/10

• Heavily reliant on Magar and graveyard; struggles against targeted removal or hate. Limited protection outside equipment.

Consistency: 5/10

• Moderate card draw and tutors (Profane Tutor, Final Parting), but high variance due to spell-heavy list.

Interaction: 3/10

• Minimal stack interaction (Imp's Mischief, Chaos Warp only). Focused on combat tricks over disruption.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a Focused Casual level, aiming for T9-11 wins through combat-triggered spell copies but hindered by slow setup and fragility. While it can generate explosive turns with cards like Searing Wind, its reliance on Magar and graveyard synergy caps its resilience and speed compared to optimized lists.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0