Highlights

• Rakdos decks in Magic: The Gathering are aggressive and focus on dealing damage to all players, making them polarizing.
• The article lists the best commanders for Rakdos decks, including Raphael, Valki, The Scorpion God, Chainer, The Master, Olivia Volderen, Xancha, Olivia Crimson Bride, Obosh, and Kardur.
• These commanders offer various synergies and strategies, from fiendish creature types to graveyard-oriented playstyles and manipulating opponents.

Few of Magic: The Gathering's color identities are as aggressive and focused on dealing damage as the black and red pairing, Rakdos. Often dealing large sums of damage to every player (including themselves), Rakdos decks are some of the most offense-oriented in the game, resulting in them being rather polarizing for players.

Due to the massive card pool Rakdos has amassed over Magic's history, you have many viable options to choose from when constructing a Commander deck. Selecting a commander is often a daunting task, as each potential leader comes alongside its own set of pros and cons. So without further ado, we're going to dive into our list of the best commanders that Rakdos has to offer!

Updated December 7, 2023 by Ryan Hay: Drawing upon the dangerous color combination of red and black comes some of the most deadly legendary creatures Commander has ever seen. Despite being in two of the more limiting color combinations, Rakdos decks have plenty of ways to close a game through deadly combat tricks, painfully punishing spells, and brutally powerful creatures. We trimmed a few commanders from this list who have fallen off in popularity or who have been outclassed by more recent commanders.

20 Raphael, Fiendish Savior

Demon, Devils, Imps, and Tieflings, Oh My!

Raphael, Fiendish Savior is a commander that synergizes with several fiendish creature types, providing other Demons, Devils, Imps, and Tieflings you control with +1/+1 and lifelink. While this simultaneously provides an offensive benefit and access to additional life, Raphael can make great use of powerful sacrifice outlets like Ashnod's Altar. This is because at the beginning of each end step, if a creature you controlled died, you can create a 1/1 Devil token.

Not only can sacrifice outlets be used to create Devils but if these Devils are sacrificed, they can be used to deal one damage to any target, potentially serving as removal for opponents' utility creatures. Get enough of these creatures on the board and blocking quickly becomes an absolute nightmare for opponents.

19 Valki, God Of Lies

It's Just A Little Fib

Valki is a unique commander, in that he functions as a creature that can provide information about opponents' plans and potentially slow them down from playing creatures in the early game, while offering extreme value as a planeswalker in the late game. Thanks to Valki's enter the battlefield trigger hitting each opponent, a turn two Valki cast lets you know what everyone's holding in their hand.

This can be extremely useful information in a game of Commander, as it lets you know what everyone's up to in the very first turns of the game. Additionally, you can use this information to try and influence opposing players into attacking one another.

In some cases, you may even be able to barter with the information. A last thing to note is that since Valki allows you to see all of your opponents' hands, he lets you know when it's "safe" to cast himself as you become aware of whether people have removal in hand.

18 The Scorpion God

Watch Out For That Stinger

One of the three forgotten Gods of Amonkhet, The Scorpion God is a commander who synergizes with -1/-1 counters. While you can't play more than a handful of games of Commander without stumbling upon numerous +1/+1 counter synergies and decks, -1/-1 counter decks are few and far between.

When it comes to commanders who benefit from inflicting -1/-1 counters upon your foes, The Scorpion God is one of the best. A 6/5 for five mana, The Scorpion God draws a card for its controller each time a creature with a -1/-1 counter on it dies. This ability both works well in conjunction with effects that place -1/-1 counters on opponents' creatures, as well as your own creatures that enter the battlefield with these counters on them already.

While a Scorpion God deck would likely be constructed to contain numerous effects that put -1/-1 counters on creatures, in case one is ever in need, for three mana, The Scorpion God can put a -1/-1 counter on a creature at any time.

17 Chainer, Nightmare Adept

The Grave Is Temporary

A relatively straightforward graveyard-oriented Commander, Chainer, Nightmare Adept is a commander who enables and incentivizes its controller to cast creatures from their graveyard. A problem that some graveyard commanders run into is a lack of consistent access to their graveyard. Chainer fixes this problem immediately, but allowing its controller to discard a creature in order to be able to cast a creature from their graveyard that turn.

This simultaneously fills the graveyard while utilizing it for value. Additionally, non-token creatures that enter the battlefield that entered from somewhere besides the Chainer player's hand gain haste, further incentivizing the use of the graveyard.

16 The Master, Multiplied

We All Are Me Now

There's a lot going on with The Master, Multiplied. First up, it has the very unique myriad mechanic, which creates copies of itself for each opponent you have when it attacks. Normally, on a legendary creature, this is very bad, but The Master planned ahead with this and comes with a fun anti-legend rule clause, letting you have as many token copies of it as you like. You then get to keep those creatures since The Master also makes it so you don't have to sacrifice or exile creatures you control because of a built-in triggered ability.

Since all your token copies will also have myriad, you'll quickly have an overwhelming army of The Masters ready to take over the world. There's plenty of other ways to use The Master, Multiplied other than copying himself. Practically any effect that creates a token copy of something can be manipulated with this effect, including cards like Flameshadow Conjuring and Delina, Wild Mage.

15 Olivia Volderen

Why Don't You Join Us

Rakdos' premier option for a Vampire commander, Olivia Volderen is perhaps one of the most flavorful Vampires to ever be printed on a Magic card. A 3/3 Vampire for four mana, Olivia's controller can pay two mana at any time to have Olivia deal two damage to any other creature, turning it into a Vampire in the process, and putting a +1/+1 counter on Olivia.

While biting opponents' creatures and turning them into vampires is well and good, for five mana, Olivia can gain control of any other vampire. When working in conjunction with other vampires that buff other Vampires, such as Captivating Vampire, Olivia decks are capable of stealing creatures and making them more powerful than they were under their owner's control.

14 Xancha, Sleeper Agent

What's Mine Is Yours

An overtly political commander, Xancha, Sleeper Agent is a fun commander who incentivizes cooperation from other players. As Commander is a multiplayer format, it's important for players to remember that other players can be utilized as an alternative resource through mind games and deals. Xancha is a 5/5 for only three mana, who upon entering the battlefield, is put under the control of an opponent. While this ability may appear inherently terrible, Xancha's other abilities more than make up for it.

Firstly, Xancha attacks each possible combat, but cannot attack her owner or planeswalkers they control. This means that Xancha will be causing problems for other players at the commander table regardless of whose she's attacking. Additionally, Xancha has an ability that any player can activate which draws that player a card and causes Xancha's controller to lose two life, making the possession of Xancha more of a curse than a blessing.

13 Olivia, Crimson Bride

Put A Ring On This One Quickly

The central antagonist and bride of the wedding of Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Olivia, Crimson Bride is a great option for a Rakdos reanimator deck. A 3/4 with flying and haste for six mana, when Olivia attacks, you can put a creature from your graveyard onto the battlefield, tapped and attacking.

While that card is exiled if you don't have a legendary Vampire in play, Olivia can be a great way to cheat massive high-impact threats into play if your deck has an easy way of putting them into the graveyard.

12 Obosh, The Preypiercer

You Won't Even Believe It

Obosh, the Preypiercer is a five-mana commander printed in Ikoria that offers a simple yet very effective ability that can greatly increase its controller's damage output. A 3/5 hellion horror for five mana, Obosh states that if a source under your control with an odd mana value would deal damage to a permanent or player, it deals twice as much damage instead.

This allows efficient one-mana spells such as Lightning Bolt to deal six damage rather than six, and higher-mana creatures that cost three, five, and seven mana to deal absurd amounts of damage.

11 Kardur, Doomscourge

Goad Them All

Printed in Kaldheim, Kardur, Doomscourge is a 4/3 Demon Berserker for four mana that can cause one's opponents to deal massive amounts of damage to each other. Upon entering the battlefield, your opponent's creatures must attack on their next turn if able, and they must attack a player other than you if possible.

In an effect reminiscent of goading, this effect not only forces player to use their resources to deal damage to each other, but it temporarily protects you from harm. Kardur can even provide additional value from these forced attacks, causing each opponent to lose one life and its controller to gain one life whenever an attacking creature dies.

10 Juri, Master Of The Revue

Your Sacrifice Won't Go To Waste

Juri is a commander that synergizes with the most prominent subtheme in Rakdos: sacrificing permanents. Consequently, it could be said that Juri is the commander that best embodies Rakdos as a color pair. Thanks to Juri's low mana value, it's easy to cast him from the command zone again and again in order to rack up sweet sacrifice value.

While Juri can work great as an attacker once you've got a sacrifice engine going, his true power comes from the damage he deals when he dies. Since this damage can be pointed at any target, you can use it to take care of opposing creatures, planeswalkers, battles, and even go upstairs and finish off opponent's life totals. That's the kind of versatility we like to see in a commander.

9 Kroxa, Titan Of Death's Hunger

Your Opponents Won't Be Able To Escape

Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger is one of the most unique Rakdos commanders to ever be printed. Only two mana to cast, Kroxa essentially functions as a sorcery capable of being cast from the command zone. This is due to its ability that causes it to be immediately sacrificed as long as it wasn't cast from the command zone.

Upon being cast, Kroxa causes each opponent to discard a card, dealing three damage to those who chose to discard a land.

Additionally, Kroxa can be cast from the graveyard for four mana, as long as five other cards are exiled from the graveyard as he is cast. This means that, after initially being cast, Kroxa's controller will never be required to pay Commander Tax, as Kroxa can merely be cast from the graveyard.

8 Mogis, God Of Slaughter

There's Only One Way To Worship

Theros' black and red God, Mogis, God of Slaughter, is meant to represent the violent and morbid aspects of war. Costing four mana, after being cast, Mogis immediately becomes a taxing plague upon the rest of the commander table. At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, Mogis presents a choice: that player either sacrifices a creature or they take two damage.

While taking two damage may initially appear inconsequential, this damage quickly adds up and begins to take its toll, growing increasingly noticeable as a game progresses. When combined with other cards that modify damage, Mogis can be a steady clock on the game.

7 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden

Draw In Reverse

While there are numerous cards throughout Magic that manipulate and care about the top card of a player's library, Grenzo, Dungeon Warden has the distinction of being one of the few cards in the game to care about the bottom of a player's library.

A 2/2 for two mana, while being cast, you can pay any amount of mana. You then put that many +1/+1 counters on Grenzo. Not only does this allow Grenzo's size to scale with when it is cast in the game, it synergizes very well with this Goblin's second ability, by ensuring Grenzo has a higher power than the creatures on the bottom of your library.

6 Rowan, Scion Of War

Uneasy Is The Head That Wears The Crown

There aren't many ways to ramp up in mana in black and red decks. Sure, Mono-Black is very good, but once you start throwing in other colors and lands, it becomes a little rougher. That's where Rowan, Scion of War comes in. You can tap Rowan to make your all the spells you cast this turn cost X generic mana less to cast, with X equalling the amount of life you lost this turn.

This type of mechanic practically builds itself to be a splashy deck filled with all sorts of spells with X in the casting cost. Crackle with Power, Exsanguinate, and Torment of Hailfire are among some of the best you can play here, with plenty of spells to damage yourself to kickstart the mana ramp.

5 Anje Falkenrath

Turn Your Discards Into Value

The ability to draw numerous cards over the course of a game for small amounts of mana should not be taken lightly. For three mana, Anje Falkenrath is a Vampire with haste who has the ability to draw a card at the cost of discarding a card. While the ability to cycle unwanted cards from a player's hand is already decent, Anje makes this even stronger due to her ability that states if the discarded card has madness, Anje is untapped.

In a deck made up primarily of cards with madness, Anje can repeatedly cycle through numerous unwanted cards within the same turn. This ability paired with the fact that cards with Madness can be cast as they are discarded makes Anje Falkenrath a remarkable commander.

4 Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin

One Damage Goes A Long Way

Just because he's stranded on New Capenna doesn't mean that Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin is sitting around doing nothing. The once again desparked demon is making use of his time in the 20s inspired plane by taking down your opponents with a thousands cuts. Anytime an opponent loses exactly one point of life, Ob Nixilis gains a +1/+1 counter and you get to impulse draw a card.

There are plenty of spells in Magic that deal exactly one point of damage, especially in red. The easiest thing to do with Ob Nixilis is to play All Will Be One, the namesake enchantment from Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Once you get the trigger going, these two cards set up an infinite loop that will eventually take out all your opponents.

3 Rakdos, Lord Of Riots

The Original Demon

The namesake commander of the Rakdos color pairing, few encapsulate the color identity as well as Rakdos, Lord of Riots. A 6/6 Demon for four mana, Rakdos cannot be cast unless an opponent lost life within a given turn.

Once in play, Rakdos perpetuates the black and red playbook of aggression, causing all creatures cast to cost an amount of mana less equal to the amount of damage other players have sustained in a respective turn. This means that the more aggressive a Rakdos player is, the more value the player can accumulate, being allowed to cast creatures such as Eldrazi titans for little to no mana.

2 Strefan, Maurer Progenitor

Can Never Have Enough Blood

Though it will be hard to dethrone Edgar Markov as the definitive choice for a Vampire commander, Strefan, Maurer Progenitor makes a solid case for those looking to build a Rakdos Vampire deck. For four mana, Strefan is a 3/2 with flying that creates a Blood token for each player who lost life that turn at the beginning of its controller's end step.

While Blood tokens are normally solid, Strefan provides a stellar alternative use for them. Whenever this commander attacks, you can sacrifice two Blood tokens, putting any Vampire from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking if you do. This allows you to cheat the biggest and baddest Vampires in the game out onto the battlefield for a negligible cost.

1 Prosper, Tome-Bound

Treasure Your Time

Prosper, Tome is the face commander of the Planar Portal preconstructed Commander deck and is a staggeringly popular Rakdos commander that provides both card advantage and mana ramp.

A 1/4 with deathtouch for four mana, at the beginning of your end step, you exile the top card of your library, gaining the ability to play that card until the end of your next turn. This allows Prosper to effectively provide one additional card for its controller to access each turn.

Additionally, whenever you play a spell from exile, you receive a treasure token, effectively ramping just for casting spells through Prosper. As drawing cards and mana ramping are two of the most important things a player can do in a Commander game, it isn't hard to see why Prosper has become one of the most popular Rakdos commanders in the entire format.