Rakano Aggro (Feb 26, 2019 Update)

Overview

This guide is to help all players better understand the power and choices behind Rakano Aggro. I will attempt to update this guide monthly and discuss the various changes I have made to my own deck. For newer players, I will be creating many cheaper versions of this deck and discuss how to upgrade over time to get the most out of your shift stone. Sunyveil has provided a great budget Rakano Aggro here: https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/-9JEZvMOT_Q/budget-rakano-aggro-set-5

Strategy

Rakano Aggro
Okay, lets talk. Aggro means aggressive. This means you will often be swinging for the face; however, this deck also requires some substantial finesse (or at least I like to think so). "The only health that matters is your opponents" works until it doesn't. To pilot this deck correctly you need to recognize when to shift from aggro to playing passive hoping for a solution to the problem your opponent has put out there.

Staples

Oni Ronin
The Oni Ronin (onion) is your turn 1 drop. It has two jobs: 1) swing once for the warcry; 2) eat early removal. Do not get too attached to these units, they are really there to quickly do damage and pump an incoming draw. If they get more than one swing off, then awesome; if not, then they did their job. Use Oni Ronin to trade early on attack; don't hold them back if you can attack and get a trade during the attack.

Highland Sharpshooter
This is one of the most impactful cards you have in this deck, and is a monster when combined with Warhelm. If I have an attachment or spell which can trigger the renown, then I will often use that proactively to buff an incoming unit. In most situations, it is great to hold back dropping this card until turn 3 if you have a Warhelm in hand. Remember: Buff and then declare attack.

Hojan, Crownbreaker
The Crownbreaker is another powerhouse card and staple in this deck. This card gives you lifesteal and provides some massive hits when combo'd correctly. Your attachments and spells can be used to buff the Crownbreaker; additionally, this is a great way to build up power if you are running into a power drought. It is important to save power for this card so you can empower the Crownbreaker to have +2/+2 and lifesteal.

Red Canyon Smuggler
This card serves two purposes: 1) it gives you access to your black market; 2) the double damage is a game-changer. Your market gives you options to end the game. With cards like Elder's Feather and Deepforged Plate in the market, you have some great options to use with the double damage. I will discuss market options later in this article and when to use them.

Whirling Duo
Despite the amount this card is used in Rakano Aggro decks, I still see this card catching people off-guard. 3/3 for 3 with Charge/Lifesteal is huge to play on turn 3 (and 4, and 5). Other than that, it is pretty straightforward.

Warhelm
The Warhelm is a very important card in this deck, and while I have put it in the market before, I think it belongs in the main deck. The primary targets of this card are the Highland Sharpshooter & Hojan, Crownbreaker; however, it can be used effectively in other situations. An example of an edge-case might be to drop this on an Oni Ronin turn 2 and go for the 2x Warcry.

Vanquisher's Blade
The Vanquisher's Blade provides three amazing uses. First, it is a +2/+2 weapon in a deck full of renown. Second, it locks down the enemy void. Third, it comes with vanquish when the 3 cost spellcraft is played. Protip don't do this: https://youtu.be/6fYGl5gaI00 & This: https://youtu.be/mpBKlMrPSGo . I prefer to play 4x Vanquisher's blades and only 2x vanquish for these reasons. One trap I see players get into is saving Vanquisher's Blade for the spellcraft; DON'T! If you have a target with renown early, then be aggressive. Obviously use the spellcraft as a solution to a bomb the opponent dropped; just don't think of it as a singular use card.

Finest Hour
Probably the most self-explanatory card in this deck. While there are several tricks you can pull off with this card, it lines up similarly to the previously described tactics. I will often use this to trade, protect a unit, or finish a game. Shugo Standard & Crownwatch Standard both have similar uses in this deck; each have their own special trait though (overwhelm and life steal).

Torch
Torch took me a while to fully understand; mostly because I was thinking too much about the situations where it would be the card which does the final 3 damage to the enemy. Often, Torch is good for removing obstacles and finishing off units as a combat trick. I use it for board clear a lot more now.

Market
There are many options which fit in the market of this deck. I have listed many of the options below, and how I use the cards.

Bore
The answer to artifacts and attachments. While I originally had this card in my deck for cards like Avigraft it still sees some occasional play against decks which require relics like Xenan Obilisk. This is not usually my first pull out of my market, but it has consistently made an impact in games.

Elder's Feather
For such a small attachment, this card sees the most play from my market. It can be used to provide a flying clock which is often the difference between winning and losing. At 4 power, you can play this on the turn you take it out of the market. It does work on any of the units.

Adjudicator's Gavel
While there are Vanquisher's Blades in this deck, they are not always available. This card provides solutions to reanimator builds.

Obliterate
This card is a very strong pick. It provides reach where you might not otherwise be able to get across the board. A lot of times, Rakano Aggro gets an opponent down to within 6 health and then runs into some serious obstacles. This card has two functions: remove the obstacle, or provide lethal damage.

Deepforged Plate
Provides +5/+5 and overwhelm which can clear a lot of board issues. Throwing this on a Red Canyon Smuggler and swinging will often lead to victory. Another strong pick; however, less impactful than obliterate and elder's feather. Do not worry if you do not have this card in your collection; just get it when you can.

Crownwatch Standard
This card is one I might trade out for Adjudicator's Gavel. This provides another combat trick and some lifesteal which can end the game.

Initial Draw
Some very general rules I go for. Look for a 1/2/3 curve for unit drops, but settle for 2/2/3 or 2/2/2 over going -1 on your hand. A dream hand would contain, Oni Ronin, Hojan Crownbreaker, Highland Sharpshooter, a Warhelm (played in that turn order), and 3 power. This would get your opponent very close to death and set you up with some great positioning to end the game.

I try my best to stay away from more than 1x 1 drop. This is to stay powerful going into the later rounds of the early game.

Recognition
I cannot say enough about many of the people who have gotten me to where I am as a player. Wushambudo, Sowersian, and BigGuyInBlack have acted as coaches since the very beginning. Additionally, finding Paradox's and LocoPojo's guides to Rakano Aggro set me off on the right path in becoming a better player with Rakano Aggro.

February 26, 2019 Update:
I made some adjustments to this deck since ECQ and the change in meta towards some of the reanimator decks. While some of the ECQ changes were justified, this deck has been able to get the damage across much quicker while still giving room for solutions post turn 5.

Added:	Removed:
3x District Infantry 2x Finest Hour 4x Oni Ronin 2x Seat of Glory 1x Adjudicator's Gavel	2x Crest of Glory 4x Crownwatch Paladin 1x Valkyrie Enforcer 4x Kosul Battlemage 1x Cauldron Cookbook (market)

Initial Deck:
For historical purposes, this was a deck I crafted to enter the February ECQ. I entered ECQ after achieving the rank of Masters during my first and second month of play with Rakano Aggro. Prior to entering the qualifying event, I was seeing and being challenged by control decks (example: FJP); specifically, early removal. Most of the deck's I was facing were removing Hojan, Crownbreaker immediately. I was also running into issues with running into unit droughts.

To counter the early control, I decided to put in 8x Aegis units in the form of Crownwatch Paladins and Kosul Battlemages. While these two cards did what they were supposed to, and held weapons really well; however, they slowed the deck down too much. I was playing a slower Rakano Aggro and paid the price.

To counter the unit droughts, I put 2x Crest of Glory into the main deck and 1x Cauldron Cookbook into the market. The crests did their job, and had minimal impact due to no longer having any 1 cost units in the deck. The Cauldron Cookbook was a failure; out of the 28 games I played, I did not use this card once.

I went 13-15 in my first ECQ. It was an amazing experience and I had a great team behind me. You can watch all 28 games here: https://youtu.be/0PYIsyQFrk8 & https://youtu.be/TZhar7gDpRU