POST 1/17/19 BALANCE PATCH: The nerf to Rizahn and FJS in general have helped Rakano Aggro out tremendously while hurting them very little. The rise of Reanimator also looks to be beneficial to the deck, though we'll see how things pan out. I think a much more linear path with more 1-drops in the form of District Infantry are the way to go now with less decks capable of gaining a ton of life at the end of the game and shutting you out of reach. Shoutout to chriseay who took this deck to 3rd place in the ECQ and evolved the deck into what I think was the best direction for it at the current time.
It is hard to say how the metagame will settle, but for the time being, I think this Rakano Aggro is very well positioned. The inclusion of x4 Vanquisher's Blade is particularly good as there are a lot of scream and reanimator lists that are vulnerable to the blade. Valkyrie Enforcer is also very good right now, which means it is a very worthwhile inclusion for our deck. Happy grinding!
_________________________________
Here are some tips for playing the deck.
1. Warhelm is here because it actually becomes pretty good with Renown targets. In particular, it is absolutely insane alongside Highland Sharpshooter. Helm + Sharpshooter gives your top unit +5/+3, Warcry, and Charge (+4/+2 from the Sharpshooter and another +1/+1 from the Warcry.) I don't think I ever lost a game where I got the combo. If you have the two in your opening hand, I would play them on Turn 3 and play another 2-drop on turn 2 if you have one. You should also save Warhelms for when you get another unit to get more surprise charging units.
2. Don't go out of the way to try and save Hojan. It's great if he lives but don't foil your whole game plan just to let him live. Just play him out on turn 2 and if they kill him then your 3 drops and charging units are more likely to live. You don't need to gain any life if they're just dead.
3. Redraw for an aggressive hand. Oni Ronin and District Infantry are nice, but not always necessary. Just make sure your hand has a plan and can put the opponent on a clock between it's 1 and 2 cost units.
4. This is accidentally budget friendly and can be made to be even more budget friendly. Inquisitor's Blade can be replaced by finest Hours or putting Elder's Feather's in the mainboard. The Deepforged Plate could also be replaced for an Elder's Feather or another big weapon or unit.
Good luck and have fun!
District Infantry
x4
1
Finest Hour
x2
1
Oni Ronin
x4
1
Torch
x4
1
Warhelm
x4
2
Champion of Glory
x4
2
Highland Sharpshooter
x4
2
Hojan, Crownbreaker
x4
2
Vanquish
x2
2
Vanquisher's Blade
x4
3
Red Canyon Smuggler
x4
3
Valkyrie Enforcer
x4
3
Whirling Duo
x4
4
Inquisitor's Blade
x2
Fire Sigil
x4
Justice Sigil
x7
Diplomatic Seal
x4
Rakano Banner
x4
Seat of Glory
x4
Shugo Standard
x2
View Deck on Shiftstoned
I too, facing the same issue currently as people already adapted to how this aggro deck works and will shift their tempo to out grind us. Therefore, to be honest, I think at the moment traditional aggro decks will have more volatility in terms of performance compared to early - mid season of Defiance.
But that aside, would you mind sharing what issues you are facing? For me is simply just opponent's creatures and board quickly outclass mine and their removals pin pointing correctly at the right units, making me powerless in front of their progressive board and removal piles. Therefore I opted for more Aegis units such as Kosul Battlemage and Crownwatch Paladin instead of Hojan and Whirling Duo.
That aside, I do have some fair success with Kosul Battlemage instead of Whirling Duo thanks to Aegis. The unit has been kind of underwhelming to me. Not sure about what other's experience.
I also have a long history of MtG, and while I do agree it's much more vulnerable there, in Eternal it's not as big a deal unless you're playing several 1-drops (like 8-12+). In general, your power curve in this game has been dramatically less important than in MtG due to the very pushed lifesteal cards which are likely to entirely reverse any life advantage you gained—there have been very few metagames in the past year or so where true linear aggro was actually a good strategy (at the higher parts of ladder.) Because of such pushed lifesteal cards, the main importance becomes just a) playing your cards in the first place and ensuring you have the influence you need, and b) just playing the most powerful cards with less concern for curve. This is why Haunted Highway exists: it's an aggro-combo-ish deck that is very slow out the gate with a heavy 3 faction requirement, but the combination of the cards available in those three factions make a deck so powerful that it makes up for the slow start. This Rakano deck here is not that way, but regardless, with only one 1-drop (which the old version had), the CIPD power just doesn't make a difference.
But, boy, if ever you needed proof that the gauntlet cheats, try spamming it with this deck. It truly gets quite comical xD.
This is the best Rakano deck for that reason alone.