Overview:

This Rakdos deck helmed by Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls focuses on incremental life drain through symmetrical damage triggers and punishing opponents for common actions like drawing cards or playing lands. The strategy leverages persistent damage sources like Underworld Dreams, Sulfuric Vortex, and Kederekt Parasite to trigger Valgavoth’s card draw and +1/+1 counters. Secondary win conditions include explosive damage amplification via Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might and All Will Be One, with Wound Reflection acting as a late-game multiplier. Valgavoth serves as a key value engine but isn’t strictly essential, as the deck can function through its dense suite of passive damage effects.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Rakdos Signet) and low-CMC damage engines like Kederekt Parasite, Ankh of Mishra, or Blood Seeker. Use Faithless Looting or Thrill of Possibility to dig for key pieces.
2. Midgame Triggers (Turns 4-7): Cast Valgavoth or high-impact enchantments (Underworld Dreams, Roiling Vortex). Activate Wishclaw Talisman to tutor for Ojer Axonil or Wound Reflection. Use Phyrexian Reclamation to recur critical creatures.
3. Endgame (Turns 8+): Amplify damage with Ojer Axonil (turning 1-damage pings into 4 damage) or All Will Be One. Close with Wound Reflection doubling life loss or Chandra’s Ignition on a buffed Valgavoth.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands and at least one early damage source (e.g., Kederekt Parasite, Ankh of Mishra).
• Prioritize hands with a mana rock and a card draw/damage engine (e.g., Fate Unraveler, Scrawling Crawler).
• Avoid slow hands with only high-CMC cards (e.g., Massacre Wurm, Wound Reflection).

Key Tips:

• Use Imp’s Mischief to redirect removal targeting Valgavoth or key enchantments.
• Feign Death and Not Dead After All protect Valgavoth while triggering death synergies (e.g., Blood Artist).
• Saw in Half on Mayhem Devil or Blood Artist doubles their triggers.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Enchantment vulnerability: Key engines like Underworld Dreams and Bloodchief Ascension are soft to Austere Command or Cleansing Nova.
• Lifegain counters: Decks with Authority of the Consuls or Aetherflux Reservoir negate incremental damage.
• Slow combo setup: Relies on assembling 6+ CMC pieces (Wound Reflection, All Will Be One) without fast mana.

Moderate

• Commander reliance: Valgavoth’s card draw accelerates the deck, but ward-2-life is easily bypassed in multiplayer.
• Limited board control: Few answers to wide boards beyond Blasphemous Act.

Minor

• Graveyard dependence: Phyrexian Reclamation and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire are disruptable but not critical.

Most Important Cards:

• Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might (Damage amplifier for 1-damage triggers)
• Wound Reflection (Game-ending life loss multiplier)
• Underworld Dreams (Persistent draw-based damage)
• Bloodchief Ascension (Scaling life drain engine)
• All Will Be One (Converts counters to direct damage)
• Sulfuric Vortex (Uncounterable life loss and anti-lifegain)
• Kederekt Parasite (Early-game pressure with red permanents)
• Mayhem Devil (Sacrifice synergy and targeted damage)
• Wishclaw Talisman (Critical tutor for combo pieces)
• Phyrexian Reclamation (Recurs key creatures like Blood Artist)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Can establish early damage triggers (T3-4) but requires 6+ turns to assemble game-ending combos or Wound Reflection.

Resilience: 4/10

• Minimal protection for key enchantments; relies on recursion (Phyrexian Reclamation) but struggles against mass enchantment removal.

Consistency: 6/10

• Redundant damage triggers (10+ sources) and tutors (Wishclaw Talisman, Moonsilver Key) mitigate variance.

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Bedevil, Feed the Swarm) and counterspells (Red Elemental Blast) exist but lack breadth for complex boards.

Rating Justification:

The deck’s incremental damage strategy and moderate-speed combos align with Casual/Precon to Focused Casual tiers. While it can threaten wins by T9-11 through amplified triggers, its fragility to enchantment removal and reliance on high-CMC payoffs cap its power.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5