Overview:

This Rakdos (B/R) deck helmed by Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant focuses on forced combat politics and attrition damage. The strategy revolves around goading opponents' creatures to attack each other while generating card advantage from their conflicts. Secondary themes include sacrifice synergies, targeted removal, and incremental life loss through death triggers. Karazikar serves as both a goad enforcer and primary draw engine, though the deck lacks explosive win conditions and relies heavily on prolonged board states.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana rocks (Meteorite, Unstable Obelisk) and low-cost goad enablers like Footlight Fiend or Rakdos Roustabout. Cast Karazikar as soon as possible (ideally T4) to start triggering card draw from opponents' attacks.
2. Forced Combat Phase (Turns 3-6): Use mass goad effects (Disrupt Decorum, Agitator Ant) and targeted goad auras (Shiny Impetus) to redirect threats. Activate Karazikar's attack trigger to tap potential blockers.
3. Value Generation (Mid-Late Game): Leverage sacrifice outlets (Blazing Hellhound, Tymaret, the Murder King) to convert dying creatures from forced combat into direct damage. Stack life loss triggers with Warlock Class, Blood-Toll Harpy, and Howling Banshee.
4. Closing the Game: Finish opponents with accumulated combat damage from surviving creatures, direct damage spells (Lightning Bolt, Rakdos Firewheeler), and value engines like Thundering Raiju. Use reanimation (Macabre Mockery, Rise from the Grave) to steal key threats.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands (at least 1 B/R source)
• Prioritize Karazikar enablers: ramp (Meteorite), early protection (Footlight Fiend), or goad effects
• Avoid hands with only high-CMC cards (Phthisis, Specter of Mortality) without ramp
• Look for opening plays that enable T4 Karazikar (e.g., Meteorite + 3 lands)

Key Tips:

• Time mass goad effects (Disrupt Decorum) after opponents develop substantial creature boards
• Use Garna, the Bloodflame to recur creatures sacrificed during opponents' forced combat phases
• Prioritize protecting Karazikar with instant-speed removal (Doom Blade, Get the Point) against flyers
• Activate Warlock Class Level 3 only when you've established multiple life loss triggers per turn

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Heavy commander dependency - Losing Karazikar repeatedly cripples card advantage and goad enforcement
• Minimal board wipes (only Hex/Specter of Mortality) struggles against go-wide strategies
• No game-ending combos or overwhelming threats to close matches efficiently

Moderate

• Vulnerable to enchantment removal targeting key pieces like Shiny Impetus and Warlock Class
• Limited ramp (only 3 artifacts) leads to slow starts and difficulty recasting Karazikar
• Weak graveyard hate protection despite multiple recursion effects

Minor

• Life gain strategies outpace incremental damage output
• Susceptible to flying creatures bypassing ground-based goad tactics
• High variance due to numerous one-of effects with limited tutors

Most Important Cards:

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant (Card advantage engine/goad enabler)
• Disrupt Decorum (Mass goad for political redirection)
• Warlock Class (Scalable life loss engine)
• Garna, the Bloodflame (Recursion and haste enabler)
• Thundering Raiju (Scaling damage output)
• Macabre Mockery (Threat theft and burst damage)
• Hex (Only true board wipe)
• Tymaret, the Murder King (Sacrifice outlet and recursion)
• Rakdos Firewheeler (Flexible removal/damage)
• Shiny Impetus (Permanent goad with treasure generation)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• Wins typically materialize around T10+ through gradual attrition, lacking fast combo potential or explosive combat turns.

Resilience: 3/10

• Heavy commander dependency with limited protection and only 5 recursion spells. Board wipes often reset progress completely.

Consistency: 5/10

• Moderate card draw from Karazikar's triggers but lacks tutors and has high variance in goad/enabler density.

Interaction: 6/10

• Strong single-target removal suite (12+ spells) but lacks stack interaction and struggles against wide boards.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a Structured Jank level with slow, combat-dependent wins and moderate vulnerability to disruption. While possessing decent interaction, its commander dependency and lack of fast win conditions cap its power below precon consistency. The 3.5-4.0 range reflects its political elements but unreliability in focused metas.

Power level: 3.5 - 4.0