Yushkov Rakano Midrange. (Masters). Guide included.

This is an updated version of the deck I used to climb from 136 to 48 and eventually settling at 80 in Masters rank. Final record with the deck was 14-9. You can find the video of it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/339410625

Yushkov, the Usurper does a few different things.
- Exhausts newly played blockers allowing you to attack freely
- Pops aegis on newly played units letting you use your removal spells.
- Ramps you +1(or more) going into turn 5 putting you at 5-6 power.
While a deck could be built to utilize any one of these aspects, I think the style of deck that Yushkov best fits, is a deck that can utilize ALL three of these aspects. I feel that a Rakano midrange strategy best fits the bill due to its linear game plan of attacking, wanting to play high impact units at higher power costs, and the plethora of removal the deck uses.

Bulletshaper - Helps you achieve FFF and JJJ and also ramps you. Bulletshaper ramps you from 2 to 5 going from turn 2 to 3 so we want to keep that in mind when picking the top end threats and weapons.

Not every game is going to start off with a Bulletshaper so we need to include a few threats that we can play early. I feel that Valyrie Enforcer and Whirling Duo are the best ones. Duo has charge so can start the beatdown right away while also provides you with extra life that you will need against other aggressive decks. The enforcer goes over the top of ground units and disrupts opposing abilities with the silence. The silence makes the enforcer a fine draw in the late game as well.

Amilli Cloudmarshal, Rizahn, Greatbow Master, and Soulfire Drake - These are the top end units. The cost is the most important part. Remember, we want 5 and 6 drops so they fit the curve with Bulletshaper and Yushkov. Rizahn is self explanatory but the others may or may not be. I went with Amilli due to feeling that it's the best 5 drop available in these colors. The flying is great, her big butt makes her good at blocking the turn she comes down, and the "army in can" lets you go wide. The JJJ influence requirement can be a little awkward but is worth it for the high power level. Drake is still up the air, but it's been the best of the other 6s I've tested. The Entomb ability fits perfectly. Duo is guaranteed to get flying and Rizahn, Enforcer, and Amili are guaranteed to get charge.

The spells are all pretty standard. You want a high number of them to make sure you have one to discard to Bulletshaper and turn on Rizahn's lifesteal .

4x Vanquisher's Blade - Is that too many with 4x Vanquish as well? Absolutely not. The blade's ability is very strong right now against various scream decks, shutting off Last Chance against Talir combo, and even Feln decks running Dark Return. The spellcraft is good for obvious reasons. Don't forget about our curve requirements with Bulletshaper and Yushkov again. The blade+spellcraft is 5 power which is exactly the cost we were looking for.

The market contains options that are good for specific situations. Bore to deal with attachments (duh), Cookbook for longer grindy match ups, Plate to break stuns and go bigger, Rizahn #4 for consistency, and Flamestoker which is awesome against control decks.

I think this deck is very powerful and I've had a ton of fun playing it. Yushkov is MUCH better than I had anticipated. Give it a try!

As always, if you have a question or comment, leave it below.

Edit: After chatting a bit with ManuS on his stream, went down to 25 power removing the standards. Changed the Lingering Influence to a 3rd Privilege of Rank. Just works much better with Bulletshaper and still allows you to hit your power dorps without having to play so many. Added 3 Sheriff Marley. The deck lacked an additional thing to do on turn 4 if you didn't hit Bulletshaper or Yushkov, and Marley gives the deck some resilience against control decks.