I myself am Red/Black/Blue, so I agree Red/Black is a correct mindset. To lie to yourself will only lead to a faulty compass, a mind filled with fog, and troubles in all aspects in life. In the end, our very souls ARE Red/Black (primarily Red) and to lie and say we are not emotional, not selfish, and to not be proud of ourselves leads to only a terrible wretched path
I think that yes, all people want the freedom to love our lives. At the same time, anyone worth the space they take up has compassion and love for others. Black, due to the amorality and usually even malevolence deserves no support and existence would be better without Black. On this hill I'll die.
Rakdos is not my style. I am an Izzet and Jeskai kind of person. This video is very good. Rakdos is the remake pair I was looking forward to the most. Wow. This is a huge improvement. The old Rakdos video was good. However I noticed that you were struggling with finding something nice to say about the color pair. I can understand since Rakdos has demonic imagery. It also has aggressive mechanics. Sacrifice is a major one. Then both red and black have powerful removal spells. Then there was the Mardu video. Mardu has the Rakdos colors plus white. You were able to put some nuance in the brief description of Rakdos. So I was looking forward to a Rakdos remake. This new video blew my mind. It was mostly positive, while still being true to the Rakdos way. This makes Rakdos on the same level as other pairs, and so it isn't made out to be the bad guy. That is fair. I can accept Rakdos as a possible philosophy in life. A big example is capitalism with the emphasis on free markets. People compete with each other and gain profit for themselves. That is like black. There is also freedom from the government and social pressure, which is like red. A specific political ideology is libertarian capitalism. A good example of this Rakdos idea is Ayn Rand. She got ideas of freedom, individualism and capitalism. She had her own philosophy of objectivism. This is a case where the ideas make sense in the context. Rand came from the Soviet Union, and moved to America. She really opposed the communist regime from her country of origin. Communism uses a lot of red imagery. However the idea fits white very well. There is the authority. There is also doing good for others in the community. These ideas got extreme. There was tyranny, and people had to make huge sacrifices. This is a case where white has gone bad, and Rakdos is actually the good guy going against it. Personally I am not into this kind thing. A big reason why is that I live in the United States. This is where the upper class and the big business are the tyrants of society. I have taken political tests. I found that I was in libertarian left. This is opposed to the tyranny of buisiness. I figured that this idea may be Boros. Red has the freedom. White has the benefit of the people and community. Together they make Boros. I am not into knights and the military, which is shown a lot in Boros cards. However I do feel the urge to do actions in order to do the right thing. That is the same feeling that a Boros soldier gets. I was originally into Izzet. I am a major nerd. I am also super creative as an artist. Then when you had the three color videos, I got into Jeskai. Now I see that all pairs of Jeskai fit me. I am fascinated with politics. So that is like Azorious. I do like philosophy, which may fit the color pair too. I wasn't into Boros at first due to the lack of blue. Blue is the color I most fit in. Now I see that Boros does fit the side of me that is less intellectuall. This is an idea of doing action to do the right thing. There is a benefit for the people with freedom and equality. That is cool. Together the three parts form in Jeskai. On one hand, I like to use my art to benefit others. I like to use deep themes to move people. On the other hand, I like to test ideas to see how valid they are. I don't like adhering to ideals rigidly. In spirituality, one should be free to go with whatever beliefs and practices work for them personally. In politics, one should use whatever ideas will benefit people.
Rakdos has to be the worst combination to live by. It's red's drive for freedom mixed with black's selfishness, making it a prideful indulgence in the self. It strives to be it's true self, which on it's face doesn't seem bad, but a part of who you are is how other members of your community see you (Humans being social creatures). Rakdos will never fully get what it wants because, without white's sense of community, self control, and morality; it will demand others act to affirm whatever image it wants for itself. It must have the part of the self that is given from others, but it does not have control over others; Rakdos will then seek to force others to give it what it wants like an insane addict. Rakdos is prideful, glutenous, and uncontrolled. It will impose tyranny over others to get what it wants because it believes that its personal experience is the only thing that matters in life. It is chaotic evil. It is demonic.
@@crazyrabitbob5891 Depends on the context. Having the bravery to fight for your own pleasure, the pleasure of others, can absolutely be heroic. The denial of your own pleasure, or another’s pleasure can absolutely be cruel and evil. My point was that for Rakdos, based on what Red and Black represent in Magic (passion and self-interest), such a hero would be one that chooses to fight for their hypothetical passion and self-interest against a society that forces conformity and pain upon them.
There is actually a Disney movie with a pretty Rakdos hero/plot: Encanto. The family suffers from its own Bant ideals: perfection, order, tradition/destiny. To heal her siblings (and the family as a whole), Mirabel has to itnroduce elements of "Rakdosness" to the family: Room for individual feelings and ambitions. Heck, "What else can I do?" has to be one of the most "good Rakdos" songs there is: "What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect? It just needed to be? And they'd let me be?"
That was absolutely beautiful, I loved that you included the contrast to the shared enemy colour. This was a worthy entry to the allied pairings and you have truly redeemed this colour combination, amazing job!
I feel like this taps into the hidden meaning of why some of us connect to this color combo so much. It's not about embracing evil, but about so much more - the desire for freedom without structure; to follow one's own compass without apology.
I agree especially since the combination of the colors of "self-interest" and "passion/freedom" means that by default a rakdos would only drawn to good or evil (for the sake of simplicity) acts based solely whatever their own personal whims are. Regardless of how many people get hurt or even die because only ones self matters. At least that is how I tend to see the Rakdos pair considering I regularly drift between Bant, Esper and Jeskai so I am not exactly unbiased.@@Dawnrunner42
Rakdos is often viewed as the least unlikely color pair to produce heroes. This might be the case, but where Rakdos excells is being the Anti-Hero. The Hero is most of the time bound by Laws, morality, fate or Logic. Rakdos cast all these aside when becoming the hero. They do what needs to be done, freed from all shackles. Many of our beloved Heroes in Media are Rakdos. They reject Fate and the natural order of things casting away green. They don't give a f*** about Laws and Moral, because they stand in the way of what needs to be done. And they even reject Logic as it is not really helpfull. One of the most beloved Icons, that embodies this to a Tie is Deadpool. He does what he what's Laws, moral, natural order and even Logic aside. But there are many other examples like Punisher. If we go to DC instead of Marvel we have Constantine. And if we leave the world of Superheroes we need to look no further than Rambo. Pop Culture is littered with Rakdos aligned (Anti-)Heroes and yet we don't really see them represented that way in MtG. A shame really.
I would say you can have a genuine heroic character who does good not because of outward social pressure, but because they themself gain internal satisfaction. And these heroes could help regardless of allegiance or creed, but because they felt it was the right thing to do.
@AbstractStew He is considered an anti hero due to motivations, methods, and consequences. In motivations, we see Frank Castle is typically avenging his family who were killed right in front of his eyes, only to find out cooruption, greed, and the most vile of people are responsible for the suffering done unto others. Let us compare Frank to say, Bruce Wayne. Bruce has so many more resources, so much more power and influence, and yet is failure of a hero despite often being seen as one of the greatest heros of all. Frank would look at Bruce as he looked at Daredevil, and pronouce that they don't finish the job. This is a core in methods for Frank Castle being an Anti-Hero, heros hold themselves to a higher moral code, one that while many might aspire to, not many can actually hold. Anti-Heros on the other hand, refuse to be held back, refuse to let anything get in the way of what they set out to do. If I wanted to compare Frank to someone in DC, look no further than Jason Todd, a complete rejection of what it means to be a hero, and demonstrates everything wrong with Batman's Philosphy, and its core value on no killing. Both Jason and Frank are Anti-Heros due to their methods being in pure opposition to a true heros, while having common ground with motivations. This finally brings us to consequences. With other heros, we see that the problems are never really solved, to look at Batman again, how many untold millions have died because the Joker is allowed to live? That is just 1 Villian, of 1 Hero, in just 1 city. How much more suffering has been caused because heros wont finish the job? When we look at Frank, he often runs up against the mobs, and as a result they change what they do in order to bend the knee to Frank. What gang with human traffic kids with a true madman loose with unlimited ammo when doing so will put a Target on your back? Frank Castle shows that when you are honest in your methods, others will respect that there is no doubt, and will adjust themselves accordingly. If I were to counter my own arguement, I'd point right to Peter Parker & Barry Allen to show that an Anti-Hero's methods aren't always right, but just because 1 method works in one setting doesn't mean it would work in another. If Peter Parker ended up in Gotham then I've always said if he had to stay he would get a lot more violent and dark as a charcter having to adjust to his enviroment. Strip Barry Allen of the God-Tier power that is the Speed Force, and can he really say his methods can work? When you know you are fighting someone who could kill you in 37 different ways all within a single heartbeat at the same time, of course you'll chat him up, make him feel bad for you, and have a sob story.
Rakdos philosophy definitely resonates with me. But I think Grixis is closer to who I am. My interpretation of Grixis is: "Yes, Rakdos, be true to yourself, but also be smart about it."
To me maybe the most interesting aspect of red'd philosophy that rarely goes addressed is how love is an emotion. So passion and feelings of love are in red's wheelhouse. If we add black to this we can, through Rakdos, actually have a character that acts incredibly selfless because to them and their own happiness, the love they feel is the most important thing.
Interesting. I've always assumed that red's love and passion would just turn into harmful obsession when combined with the inerent selfishness of black. The type of love that results in someone keeping their loved one under permanent watch so that they may never leave their side, in them killing another out of jealousy or in them forcing themselves unto their victim after being rejected one too many times... Y'know, the kind of unhealthy, posessive love that can get you in jail.
@Silungar It can. But that's the negative expression of that combination. Selfishness does not necessarily require the absence of kindness and concern for others. It only requires those occur in service to the fulfillment of the self. If seeing those you love happy makes you happy, then if you are in black you will see to it that they remain happy. Black brings out the best and the worst of both red and white. Because black is an unfettered commitment to achieving what one has set out to do, by any means.
@@AdderMoray True that. As Ravnica shows: All color pairs can become horrificly evil without moderation - the only reason why we tend to accuse red/black of being "evil" first is that it is by far the pair with the least amount of moderation by it's very nature
@@AdderMoray Yeah, I feel like we might have a "Slytherin Issue" here... What I mean by that is: In a lot of the "What Hogwarts House are you?" quizzes, etc. Slytherin is just the "ambitiously clever" house, making people wonder why they're portraied as "evil" in the books, completely disregarding the fact, that in the books they're *also basically fantasy N*zi's* I feel like a lot of magic colors have the same issue. Dice Try even adressed this himself in his video on Sultai, since there a real-world blue/green/black would just live by some motto like "be ambitious and always think of the future, but don't forget to find the time to touch grass once in a while" while the fantastical Sultai almost behaves like a super villain. tldr: "mtg's black" is not necessarily the same as "real world black", since there's no black magic or pacts with demons over here last time I checked - and you also don't gain life and draw a card when you push someone off a cliff, you'd just get arrested
Thank you again for validating the deeper, almost hidden, essence for why we love rakdos for what it is and what it stands for in the context of our own lives.
They are simply being that try to live life how they want it and we really should learn a lot from them. The freedom of self expression and following one’s desires is something we all want more of which Rakdos has more of than any other color pair. Also I have to mention that red black goblins just feel right for my image on goblins and the color pair
I took a color pie quiz last night and discovered I’m Rakdos. Lately been doing some deep self reflection, and this video really spoke to me. Thank you for your insightful truths 👊
I have recently discovered the colour pie and your content and instantly, I am drawn in. I only wanted a tool for quicker responses when roleplaying but, I was surprised by how much introspection your content offered. After research and several quizzes, it looks like I am Rakdos (maybe Jund). I'm surprisesd by how much I identify with many of the concepts in the video. I was also surprised to realise how many of my characters to date have effectively been self inserts. I am primarily red and have don't think I've ever written a character with anything less than a lot of red mana.
Rakdos and Mardu are the Max Stirner of Magic the Gathering color combos. “Away, then, with every concern that is not altogether my concern! You think at least the "good cause" must be my concern? What's good, what's bad? Why, I myself am my concern, and I am neither good nor bad. Neither has meaning for me. The divine is God's concern; the human, man's. My concern is neither the divine nor the human, not the true, good, just, free, etc., but solely what is mine, and it is not a general one, but is-unique, as I am unique.” Excerpt From The Ego and His Own Max Stirner
This was well done. Felt like it was speaking to me and at times speaking a little about me. I'm glad you went at it this way and not just (it's evil etc). Well done.
A truly insightful video. I view myself as grixis, and as of late I have been overthinking too much, doubting myself, being unsure of what I know, but this has been a great reminder of how to have faith in myself, how to find that bold person I know is in me, thank you.
Though I lean more towards Red/Green as a person, Red/Black is definitely my favourite colour pairing to play and in terms of aesthetics. Playing an Ob Nixilis New Capenna deck was the most fun I've had with magic in recent times.
If anyone wants to learn more about philosophies, that align with this type of world view, I would suggest reading The Ego and His Own. It’s a fascinating book in which Max Stirner proposes that concepts like religion, morality, family, property, and nation are ghosts in the mind, and that expression of self is the only true goal
Thank you. This video has helped me out a lot today. Lately I have been having doubts about myself and this video has helped me gain a better understanding of where I am at as a person. I also know understand why I want what I want in life. I now have a motivation to strive for. These doubts that I have about myself are like shackles that bind me to the preconceived notions of others. Looking back at it I missed out on a lot because I just didn’t take the steps towards my own freedom at all. I didn’t want to be a burden so I kept myself away from others. But in doing so I locked away my own future. My own potential was being squandered not by others but by myself. I will from here on out take the steps needed to express myself for who I truly am. Split personality or not that doesn’t matter. I should not have to hide that part of me. The duality between my two halves is a major part of who I am. So what if one half of me is nihilistic and brutal. I can make use of it. I have been focusing so much on the negatives that I was avoiding the positives. And by doing so I was overlooking the reality that I find myself in. So I feel like I should thank you once again for helping me with this.
You wanna read something funny? Rakdos philosophy is something that you can find in mexican culture. All that about "enjoy your life to the fullest cause it won't last forever" is Mexico at its core. You can find lots of songs like "Puño de tierra", "Cruz de madera" and stories about that same teaching. Even, Day of the Dead is basically that: The souls of those gone come back to party once more in company of their loved ones. There's probably more examples around the world, but as a mexican, of course is my own culture that I identify first in Rakdos. Although is also funny how the color pair that is viewed like most negative or most evil, is the one where I identify my own culture.
I gotta get this out first and foremost ; AAGHH FUCK YES HOT DAM FUCK OH HELLS YES OH THIS MADE MY FREAKING DAY! THANK YOU DICE YOU ARE OUTRIGHT AMAZING!!! I have been watching on repeat since I got out of work, and I love how much you have grown so much and improved on the treatment given to this combination. This is the one combination that NEEDED IT the most, and you have redeemed this combination on your channel when compared to your last visit to these colors in depth.
Whenever a color goes bad, it's almost entirely due to a disregarding of the happiness of others. When White goes wrong, it's because it sacrifices the will of the people (or certain people) for the sake of order and peace. When Green goes wrong, it's because it values the natural order more than the happiness of any one group or individual, and thus allows these forces to steamroll without care for who gets hurt, and so on. That's why I have such a hard time getting behind Black ever having real heroes in it. Black, by its very nature, has the hardest time caring about anything other than itself, and whenever it's mixed with any other color it tends to bring out the very worst of that side. It turns White into forceful conquerors who dehumanize others. It turns Blue into paranoiacs who need to control everything around them, and it turns Red into Rakdos. The fact of the matter is that Rakdos doesn't care if the world is burning unless that world happens to be where it's keeping it's first-edition comic book collection. It's been said in the comments that a Rakdos hero does what needs to be done without any artificial impediments, but that's not quite true. Rakdos doesn't do what must be done: Rakdos simply does what it feels like.
From the top of my head, Monkey D. Luffy comes off as pretty Black/Red. His chief motivation is to be the most free person on the sea by becoming the Pirate King, and he's both selfish and pasisonate, while still being rather heroic. The thing that makes Luffy Red/Black is that while he does accomplish heroic things, they rarely stem from a sense of moral obligation or outrage, but rather because external factors hurt people he's become attached to.
Oh look at Dice, making a masterpiece again. Can he ever be stopped? LETS HOPE NOT! 😂 This was an absolute beauty of a video! It truly did the Colour Pair true justice. It’s often easy to forget that the colours in MTG are portrayed the way they are in cards because of the nature of the game. It’s aggressive! You fight other players with monsters and magic! But the colours are more complex than that, and this video really does Rakdos justice! It also helps that I truly relate to Rakdos as how you’ve described it here. Black is the single most dominant colour in me and Red is definitely a close second! (With Blue and White tied for third) Masterfully done!
I love these more realistic and subtle depictions of Rakdos. I consider myself to be aligned with Grixis (primarily blue with black as a close second). I see my red side mainly coming from spite and jealousy, but I would like to lean a bit further into these Rakdos concepts of confidence and authenticity. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to.
That's interesting. I aways was mostly a blue and black person, but after a real scary near death experience I had a memento mori that shifted me to red/black. I still value blue very much, knowledge is a valuable thing that opens many doors, but it's not as important as being truthful to myself despite what others may think of me.
On the subject of why we have religion and gods, I feel as if these things don't MAKE us good people, but they can help inspire us. Life's uncertain. So, faith gives us something to be certain about. Though, personally, I prefer to have multiple gods than just one.
Wow... just... wow. It's as strong as a punch in the gut. Like... I don't even know what to say, it was very strong, I need to think it all over. It was like Rakdos burst into my house like a hurricane, grabbed my arm and dragged me somewhere to show me their amazing new world... whether I like it or not.
Love how you continue to convincingly and accurately describe colors in a way we can all relate at least to some degree if not entirely. I've watched almost all your color study videos over the years (I might have missed a couple), and you always find a way to add to previous philosophy or reinvent the philosophy with a different angle.
I made a Rakdos knight deck. The goal is to get Haakon, Stromgald Scourge into the graveyard then use all creatures in my hand as a new discarting resources for other spells, so I can summon them from the graveyard afterwards. The core philosophy of this deck is to find strength in your own sacrifices and therefore, having nothing else to lose, becoming unstoppable. I play cards like Thrill of Possibility, Lim-Dul's Paladin, Stormfist Crusader and Olivia, Mobilized for War as ways to get the most of my own life and hand. White knight's decks relies too much on the perfection of self and has a hard time dealing with failures, choosing to cast away what it considers unpure in others. Wich is why I have one copy of Ihsan's shade to show them how so wrong their righteousness can be. It is one hell of a deck to deal with because its opponents have to face an entity that embodies the very power to never give up.
I'll put my bid forward, let the next combination be BLUE & BLACK! Given how you have improved so much on your combinations, I would like to see how your new perspective shows Dimir in this new light, or rather for Dimir, these new shadows
As someone who will be a Rak-sac afficionado until my very last day- Priest of the Forgotten Gods could me my all time favourite MTG card of all time, it's no surprise to say that your video especially touched me. Always felt attuned to anti-heroes and this pair of colours is for me the epitomy of that concept, from Don Quichotte to Deadpool- 100% approuved colours!- , from Butch Cassidy & Billy the kid to the stranger. Or even Han Solo or Cassian Andor. It's so freaking to be yourself all the time, but it's so rewarding when you finally manage to stick to that concept. Plus as an anarcho-communist, I freaking love that pair of colours to say the least. Awesome job man, cheers and long live to Judith!
I have to say this one was extremely well done. Not only did it show me how much of Rakdos I truely am. It also made me think that I need to be true to myself and to others. To stop hiding in the shadow of exceptence.
In a previous video, on the subject of horror and the color pie, I mentioned how, due to my journey with autism, I tend to favor black and red but hate green and white. For me, Rakdos is a lot of things. In fact, at its core, it is the most good out of all of the colors. Red and black reflects the basic nature of what it means to be human. And that right there makes it complex because of how complex human existence is. We are by nature self-centered, materialistic, and carnal creatures. But we are also social creatures who crave friendships and are capable of compassion. We both thrive off of peace but evolve through conflict. I believe that rakdos is the act of becoming aware of our basic nature, and being willing to do what it takes to satisfy it. But because of how complex the human being is, it is also capable of self-regulation. Sure, red would LOVE to throw caution to the wind, but it is tempered by black. And one thing that I think we don't give black credit for is how it's willing to make a sacrifice to further its own interests. Meaning, black is willing to compromise with others, even white, to get what it wants. Mtg likes to paint Rakdos as the ultimate expression of evil, and Selesnya as the most good. However, I feel that where Rakdos shines (with crimson fiery light) is that, any act of goodness or compassion Rakdos would commit comes straight from the heart. Even if it's to hopefully get something in return, Rakdos will let us know (considering that red likes to be upfront). Selesnya, though, is a combination of white (religion and law) and green (culture and tradition). Sure, it will do something good, but usually out of some moral expectation. And to top that off, Selesnya will judge you if it thinks you don't fit in, maybe even attack you. Rakdos, though, will accept you if it relates to you, or even embrace you if it thinks you are interesting enough. That isn't to say Selesnya is bad. Selesnya is necessary for a society to function when it's not deluding itself with arbitrary notions of morality and purity based on a god that may or may not exist. Though, Rakdos is also important. It's a balance. Course, adding blue to get grixis also adds reason to Rakdos as well. So, you have a trifecta of virtues; self-preservation, reason, and passion.
WOTC always portrays Black's character as bad people (Ashiok, Lim-Dul, etc) or "so-so" people (for example, Liliana Vess). Even Sorin Markov (the man who said "I have seen planes leveled and all life rendered to dust. It brought no pleasure, even to a heart as dark as mine") started as WB (Sorin Marvok, Lord Of Innistrad). Sorin isn't B, he was overwhelmed by the circunstances (Avacin's death, the eldrazi invasion, Nahiri betrayal, the fall of Marvok's mansion, etc). When Black is combined with other colors (Geralf, Lazav, Teysa, Rakdos, Vaskra, etc), characters are still morally questionable, they still show elements of psychopathy, sociopathy or antisocial disorder. In my opinion, Black and Blue equally fit the concept of evil, psychopathy, sociopathy and antisocial disorder. Even Red fits them. Blue values logic, control, trickery, perfection...and rejects emotion. Black values deceit, manipulation, corruption, machiavellian thinking, individualism, the sacrifice of others, self-absorption, to use of fear, sadness, depression, disease...for archieving objectives, etc. Red values emotions (it includes anger), violence, brutality, destruction, mischievouness, fighting, hedonism..and rejects logic. Red can be reckless. Red can drive a car at 220 km/h without caring about itself and others.
All colors have a "bad side". Each color has many elements. We can make many combinations with different elements of the same color. I think your perspective fits Red and Black. I think your perspective is interesting because you link some things (reality, the nature of human specie, the social nature of the human specie, the natural competition, the natural need of rules, the complexity of the human specie, the importance of Balance, to compromise with others, etc) that I link to Green
@@DuskSunDawn I've always thought of green as being apathetic to human life. I mean, green is about nature, and nature can be cruel. Green is like the boss at work who cares more about the system being maintained than the individual people working under them. I mean, when you think about it hard enough, man has ALWAYS been at war with nature. Everything we've done as a species has, in some form or manner, been about combating both the natural world and the ravages of time. All to shape our lives, destinies, and environments to what suits us individually. To this point, I think that black is the basis of human nature. Self-interest and self-preservation for the individual. But we are also affected by our environment, so taking care of the community or ecosystem is as much a selfish act as anything else.
@@DuskSunDawn That's true, but I don't feel like they're using the colors to their full potential. Wizards typically seems to play off of classical fantasy tropes. Light is always good and dark is always evil, or just morally ambivalent. All are based on classical Abrahamic mindsets (to some degree). But if they were to think outside of these tropes, they can make some really cool stuff. I mean, white can definitely be evil too. It can be fanatical and/or hypocritical. And those to things can be really REALLY bad. All I know is I fell in love with dark imagery when I first saw Devimon in Digimon. So, since then, I've been obsessed with the idea of creating dark heroes and light villains.
The way I see it, if Azorious can produce villains, then Rakdos can make heroes. Rebellion and chaos can lead to liberation and freedom. Toppling down structure in favor of allowing people to openly express their deepest passions can be a heroic deed. It may not be the paragon "pure of heart" kind of hero we would find in combinations like Selesnya or Boros, but chaos can be necessary to get the job done. What is life without risk or chance? If everything is guranteed to happen or not happen, where is the thrill or excitement in life? What happens to those who are dealt a bad hand or don't wish to follow the path set for them? Rakdos may have villains, but it's not an entirely evil color, as no color is entirely good or entirely evil.
@@TunnelSnakesrule13 its mostly about potential. There are plenty of Azorious characters who are morally "good", but its also good to know that as much as UW values community, progress, and knowledge, they are known as one of the most powerful control combinations. Which is a product of white's need for order and law and blue's distate for recklessness and aggression.
This video was a nice and relaxing video. The way you have presented a colour pairing for magic the gathering as a valid philosophical stance is impressive haha ...... Keep up the good work and thanks !
The Rakdos are not naturally evil. They are a force of destruction bent on upending the order and enlightenment of this world. Bant is the only alignment that truly provides benefit to the world and society.
I really enjoyed the 'enjoy self satisfaction' and 'true self' tidbit. It really resonates with me irl. It's weird because rakdos along side with simic is my least favorite color pairing. I think its a good combative against depression, losing a sense of identity, dealing with nihilism and be able to lean more towards absurdism and fulfillment. Rejection of self doubt is to embrace the life that which is given and it must be experienced to the fullest. The sense of self is then made of steel and anything in the external world cannot easily penetrate or influence the spirit or mind. I don't ever think I got that impression from rakdos cards though. Are there any cards that express this?
I've been looking forward to this one for awhile and it is certainly gave some ideas. It also makes sense that the allied colors would have more points of commonality but I have to wonder if that doesn't mean they have a greater number of variations of the pair.
For anyone who played any mainline Shin megami tensei game Rakdos is pretty much being chaos aligned. It doesn't mean you're inherently evil, but free. Even if freedom comes from conflict a lot of times it is still better than being in a leash. Btw I'm getting a Rakdos sigil tattoo when I can, did some guild tests 5 times or so and it aways came to that, annnnnd it pretty much how I've decided to ve my whole life.
Hmm…i don’t necessarily jive with the Ravinca perspective of Red & Black though I do recognize its influence. For me the RB is idea of the taboo & passion made manifest. If I think of orderliness like a Waltz or a ballroom dance at a wedding then the red & black is the tango; the dance of Uruguay & Argentina, and I allude to the history of the tango in that comment. RB is root of the taboo that I think the Maestros of New Capenna start to unveil a bit. Simply put it is less Kiss of the Amesha & more Kiss of Death or the Crimson Vow.a very carnal truth of mortality if you will.
Rakdos is often seen as the villain because it does reject just about everything that society stands for. White preaches peace, law, order, and protection. Well...Rakdos breaks these ideals down in a few ways. To Rakdos, peace is a lie that is used as propaganda to control people. Laws are imposed to keep those at the top in power and crush those beneath them. Order is just a system that is again meant to maintain control and leads to a stale existence. And as for protection...well, you should be able to protect yourself. And if you can't, then you are a sheep, not a wolf. Rakdos personalities are wolves! They are predators! They take what they want from this world to not just survive, but thrive and experience all that it has to offer. Rakdos practically lives by the phrase "Life is too short," for it sees that inevitable end and doesn't want it to be wasted. It is certainly volatile and can easily tread the paths of scum and villainy, but is that not just a label created by society to mark them as dangerous and thus conveniently exclude them from society? Rakdos can have morality as well, but not some dogmatic morality crafted by society. Instead, it is a personal morality that is guided by their red side and reinforced by their black side. And my final thought here...is that due to these labels, one would think that a Rakdos personality would not be very nice or a good friend. This is mostly untrue. But where Rakdos really shines, and bear with me here...is in being a parent. Some parents looks at their child and says that they would do anything for them, sacrifice everything to make sure they get ahead in life. Those that truly believe this fall into Rakdos and they will raise their child to be just as confident as they are. They will also want to experience all the joys and privileges that come from being a parent; cheering them on at a sports event, taking them fishing for their first time, being there for their weddings or the births of their grandchildren. They do not sit by the sidelines and let society as a whole raise their children. They are always there, teaching and playing with them every single step of the way. Some of us might look back and think our parents just would not leave us alone or give us our space. But have we considered that perhaps...they just wanted to live vicariously through us and feel that same personal pride in themselves that they did a good job in raising us to, once again, be the best people that we can be; confident in ourselves and striving for greatness. A little rambly at the end perhaps, and a bit chaotic...but Rakdos would not have it any other way, and sometimes when I get going and just get going on a topic, I find it hard to stop as more and more thoughts spring to mind.
If they adhere to their true self, why are they so demonstrative (at least their aesthetics seem to borrow a lot from circus, cabaret and performative arts of the kiind)?
Art is usually associated with expressing oneself (personality, desires, life experiences, etc) adn the freedom of being able to do it. People usually see them (musicians, painters, dancers etc) as people who want to express something and people who have historically used their art as a way of expressing ideologies and fighting ideologies, groups and regimes.
Rakdos, or at least the color combo of red and black is the "be gay do crime" philosphy. To quote someone on an anarchy thread, "When your very existence is a crime, everything else about society and the so-called "social contract" ought to be called into question, too, especially when the things society calls law are at odds with your literal survival."
I like red and black, I love their symbolism and meaning and Would love to have a deck around them especially with the hellbent cards. They remind me the infernity cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! With having lesser cards for greater effect though I can’t find any decks on sale
I have a Rakdos deck, it is absolutely wonderful and fun to play. I call it Rakdos Taxes, and basically inflict pain and suffering onto everyone who dares to take any step to hinder my deck. It is so much fun watching people strugge and try and resist it, only to end up submitting to an exposed truth
@@TheJamesGamel how well does hellbent do? I like living high on the edge at my best while simultaneously being at my lowest, I’m new to the games and I’ve only shown interest because somebody made a comparison of hellbent and a friend brought me into it
@orangesodaninja8882 I personally don't use the Hellbent mechanic in my deck, I use Kaervek the Merciless as the commander. The deck plays by punishing my opponents for starting their turn, drawing cards, having cards in their hands, playing lands, tapping lands, tapping any permanent for non-mana reasons, activating any ability, casting spells, having cards hit the battlefield, having their permanents be destroyed, having them hit the graveyard or end up in the graveyard for any reason, for tapping to attack with their creatures, for their creatures recieving damage, for dealing combat damage to me, for trying to end their turn. Oh and every time I make them pay, it can get doubled tripled or quadruled as a base to start (it can stack for a max of x48) and anytime they have to pay they can be forced to mill cards and can have to repay all costs at the end of their turn to be forced to mill again. It's simple, don't get in my way and you'll be fine!
@@TheJamesGamel sorry for responding so late, just wanted to I finally bought some magic decks mostly the warhammer ones but I did buy that goading demon commander deck kardur and I’ve searched up othe red and black cards and so far they have the most flavorist effects for me to enjoy, I think I’ll use it as my fun deck
@orangesodaninja8882 You will have a blast! Rakdos is by and far one of the most fun decks I have ever built, only trumped by my Krampus deck, the Anti-Christmas deck where the entire point is make sure the game never ends, the record for that deck is 10 hours so far. That game only ended because I reset the game again and the rest of the table quit all at once.
Scattered thoughts: When talking about society and morality I generally find it important to distinguish between society and morality per se and this or that actually existing society or morality. If there is no real and determinate true self then there could be no going against it, because it would be a nothing that could adapt itself to anything and everything. If the true self is determinate it could thus in principle determinately be told what to do. I think that the self assurance of black clashes with red. Black seems to introduce ideas of self and definite ideas of what a person should be. Also considering society. For white, and more especially for atorius, society as a whole is not to be obeyed. It is generally acknowledged that there are immoral elements of society, and I think it is impossible for white, or any colour whatever really, ever to say that a person should do what they should not do. I think that "you should do what you should do" is a background overiding claim that is inesxapable once it has been acknowledged. If black red thinks in a way that is genuinely contradictory, it simply fails to think and merely says words, thus losibg the black element and entering barbarism. You might say that if we need to put in effort to become our true selves we never were our true selves to begin with so why bother. Clash between "confidence in ones self" and "most people lie to themselves". To someone who does not believe in morality everything they did would be consostent with their beliefs. Since we are talking about the philosophies of individuals, as philosophy never exists outside of them, I woukd note that restraints like law or mirality are never capable of constraining a person to be moral or lawful, because to do so one would already have to be constrained by them. Avoiding immorality out of fesr of punishment is not properly morality. Red black sometimes does obey the laws, or at least tries to appear as such. Unless it wants to maintain that it must break the laws whether or no it is advantagous or desired or whatever. Blue white avoids regret by always doing what it should do, and it is immoral to regret a good deed. White aligned rulers also believe that no arbritairy conceptions should be forced on people.
my rakdos deck: 4abyssal persecutor 4army ants 4desecration demon 4dwarven miner 4gorilla shaman 4helldozer 4ragavan, nimble pilferer 4sinkhole 4stone rain 24lands(4blood crypt, 4graven cairns, 4mountain, 4rakdos carnarium, 4 swamp, 4westvale abbey) summary of gameplay: combination of aggro and land destruction, and late game opponent may be locked down with 0 lands, and can win the game with westvale abbey.
These sadistic jesters do nothing for Ravnica, all they do is kill innocent and worship there demon lord Rakdos. P.S Rakdos performances are at best a 3/10
I think that there is one big issue in red black, it says that "true" humanity is only unrestrained passion and desire, completely forgetting that hedonism isn't the core of humanity, there is also empathy, kindness and morality. Virtue is just as human as sin is, but Rakdos rejects this, in my eyes being just as artificial as Azorius.
Rakdos says swerve into traffic to crash into the bastard who dared cut you off and make them pay for their crimes. and I just tell them nah man it'll be a whole thing and then I lose time doing what I actually want.
Believe it or not anarchy is more on the Gruul side. Green/Red. R/B does have some sense of unity behind the scenes i forgot where i read that from. Artists, Performers, etc. They could be villains for sure but its also the mark of anti-heroes as well.
So what youre telling me is that ayn rand is rakdos? Also no, being selfish *is* evil, that doesn't mean completely ignoring your own needs or desires is right but being truly self centered and uncaring does make you a bad person, actually
To see Black tainted with chaos and lack of thinking from Red is quite sad really. Black is better than that. Fortunately its other ally fits it much better!
It really is a toxic philosophy. "You are the one true being that matters" If you can't see how this is toxic, I can't help you. You are a part of the universe. You are no more or less important than any other part of the univere.
As it sounds, you align a lot more with green or white, which makes sense why this philosophy goes against your outlook. Also, keep in mind this is not my philosophy but rather Rakdos itself explaining its philosophy
as a green enjoyer who embraces interconnectivity, i have to say you're dead wrong. sure, we're all equal in a sense that we all come from the same material world, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't live life for yourself. being a part of the universe doesn't mean you have some magical obligation to everyone and everything, and quite frankly, living as if you do is a sure way to absolute misery. but to add on further, solipsism and narcissism are a part of rakdos undeniably, but to write it off as toxic as a whole because of its worst sides is an intellectually dishonest move. i take it you're most likely white or white/green, or something like that. should i judge your colors based off of the absolute worst things white can do? sure, rakdos has Ted Bundy but your color has Hitler and Mao. how is your color not the absolute worst thing to happen ever or toxic now? if we were to follow your logic, your color would be as toxic as as a Venerated Rotpriest
As someone who finds himself aligning more with the philosophies of Jeskai or Temur, I can see what you are talking about. Why it may seem toxic, but that is from the perspective of either the larger interconnected "truths" found in green or the more order and social organization of white, because to find harmony, one must unify over what is simular and not through difference, to find truth one must separate it from personal subjective experience. For better or for worse, by aligning oneself with overarching threads and general socially constructed organization, you can lose the self. For example, and this may be the Izzet in me, but it can quite easy stifle creativity and self expression in art for example. Sure there may be a potential for art which brings the natural way of things or the more socially accepted way of things, but that is a restriction, even from a more Izzet perspective and not even through Rakdos, it is merely a way of things for the Large to stamp out the possibility of the small. As someone who often does lean into Temur though, this does in of itself give a sense of majesty to those large things, and makes me want to approach them as creatively as much I can, but again that shows what it does, "as much as I can".
Toxicity is subjective. I'll take dealing with hedonistic Rakdos neighbors over religious fundamentalist Orzhov or fascist Azorius neighbors any day. In the settings where Rakdos exists as a political force, it's the most honest and straightforward of the political forces in play. Sure, a couple people who go to the circus don't survive the "Splash Zone," but I find that death infinitely preferable to life imprisonment in a force bubble or having your ghost sold into eternal slavery.
![Truth in Zealous Expression [Mardu MTG Color Philosophy]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/np2r_yozwI8/mqdefault.jpg)
Do you think Rakdos has the right mindset and is it something that you recognize to be a truth about humanity or is it a selfish lie?
Yes it is a truth about humanity. The trouble is Rakdos is all or nothing and takes it to the extreme.
I myself am Red/Black/Blue, so I agree Red/Black is a correct mindset. To lie to yourself will only lead to a faulty compass, a mind filled with fog, and troubles in all aspects in life. In the end, our very souls ARE Red/Black (primarily Red) and to lie and say we are not emotional, not selfish, and to not be proud of ourselves leads to only a terrible wretched path
I think that yes, all people want the freedom to love our lives. At the same time, anyone worth the space they take up has compassion and love for others.
Black, due to the amorality and usually even malevolence deserves no support and existence would be better without Black. On this hill I'll die.
Rakdos is not my style. I am an Izzet and Jeskai kind of person. This video is very good. Rakdos is the remake pair I was looking forward to the most. Wow. This is a huge improvement. The old Rakdos video was good. However I noticed that you were struggling with finding something nice to say about the color pair. I can understand since Rakdos has demonic imagery. It also has aggressive mechanics. Sacrifice is a major one. Then both red and black have powerful removal spells. Then there was the Mardu video. Mardu has the Rakdos colors plus white. You were able to put some nuance in the brief description of Rakdos. So I was looking forward to a Rakdos remake. This new video blew my mind. It was mostly positive, while still being true to the Rakdos way. This makes Rakdos on the same level as other pairs, and so it isn't made out to be the bad guy. That is fair.
I can accept Rakdos as a possible philosophy in life. A big example is capitalism with the emphasis on free markets. People compete with each other and gain profit for themselves. That is like black. There is also freedom from the government and social pressure, which is like red. A specific political ideology is libertarian capitalism. A good example of this Rakdos idea is Ayn Rand. She got ideas of freedom, individualism and capitalism. She had her own philosophy of objectivism. This is a case where the ideas make sense in the context. Rand came from the Soviet Union, and moved to America. She really opposed the communist regime from her country of origin. Communism uses a lot of red imagery. However the idea fits white very well. There is the authority. There is also doing good for others in the community. These ideas got extreme. There was tyranny, and people had to make huge sacrifices. This is a case where white has gone bad, and Rakdos is actually the good guy going against it.
Personally I am not into this kind thing. A big reason why is that I live in the United States. This is where the upper class and the big business are the tyrants of society. I have taken political tests. I found that I was in libertarian left. This is opposed to the tyranny of buisiness. I figured that this idea may be Boros. Red has the freedom. White has the benefit of the people and community. Together they make Boros. I am not into knights and the military, which is shown a lot in Boros cards. However I do feel the urge to do actions in order to do the right thing. That is the same feeling that a Boros soldier gets. I was originally into Izzet. I am a major nerd. I am also super creative as an artist. Then when you had the three color videos, I got into Jeskai. Now I see that all pairs of Jeskai fit me. I am fascinated with politics. So that is like Azorious. I do like philosophy, which may fit the color pair too. I wasn't into Boros at first due to the lack of blue. Blue is the color I most fit in. Now I see that Boros does fit the side of me that is less intellectuall. This is an idea of doing action to do the right thing. There is a benefit for the people with freedom and equality. That is cool. Together the three parts form in Jeskai. On one hand, I like to use my art to benefit others. I like to use deep themes to move people. On the other hand, I like to test ideas to see how valid they are. I don't like adhering to ideals rigidly. In spirituality, one should be free to go with whatever beliefs and practices work for them personally. In politics, one should use whatever ideas will benefit people.
Rakdos has to be the worst combination to live by. It's red's drive for freedom mixed with black's selfishness, making it a prideful indulgence in the self. It strives to be it's true self, which on it's face doesn't seem bad, but a part of who you are is how other members of your community see you (Humans being social creatures). Rakdos will never fully get what it wants because, without white's sense of community, self control, and morality; it will demand others act to affirm whatever image it wants for itself. It must have the part of the self that is given from others, but it does not have control over others; Rakdos will then seek to force others to give it what it wants like an insane addict. Rakdos is prideful, glutenous, and uncontrolled. It will impose tyranny over others to get what it wants because it believes that its personal experience is the only thing that matters in life. It is chaotic evil. It is demonic.
A hero in Rakdos is the individual(s) who choose self-love and pleasure in an authoritarian society demanding self-sacrifice and pain.
Sad part is thag by going against we're condembed to be screwed, but we can have fun in the way.
Eren from AoT
That is just hedonism dude, and no hero... a hero by definition is self sacrificing, rakdos is just having alot of fun doing it...
@@crazyrabitbob5891 Depends on the context. Having the bravery to fight for your own pleasure, the pleasure of others, can absolutely be heroic. The denial of your own pleasure, or another’s pleasure can absolutely be cruel and evil. My point was that for Rakdos, based on what Red and Black represent in Magic (passion and self-interest), such a hero would be one that chooses to fight for their hypothetical passion and self-interest against a society that forces conformity and pain upon them.
There is actually a Disney movie with a pretty Rakdos hero/plot: Encanto.
The family suffers from its own Bant ideals: perfection, order, tradition/destiny.
To heal her siblings (and the family as a whole), Mirabel has to itnroduce elements of "Rakdosness" to the family:
Room for individual feelings and ambitions.
Heck, "What else can I do?" has to be one of the most "good Rakdos" songs there is:
"What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect?
It just needed to be? And they'd let me be?"
I love encanto and OMG this is perfect. Always gonna think of Rakdos when I listen now hahaha
That was absolutely beautiful, I loved that you included the contrast to the shared enemy colour. This was a worthy entry to the allied pairings and you have truly redeemed this colour combination, amazing job!
It's something that truly defines allied pairs, this shared rejection of a shared enemy. I think Rakdos really showcases this.
True
❤🤗
I feel like this taps into the hidden meaning of why some of us connect to this color combo so much. It's not about embracing evil, but about so much more - the desire for freedom without structure; to follow one's own compass without apology.
The part that makes it evil is when one does so regardless of the cost to others.
I agree especially since the combination of the colors of "self-interest" and "passion/freedom" means that by default a rakdos would only drawn to good or evil (for the sake of simplicity) acts based solely whatever their own personal whims are. Regardless of how many people get hurt or even die because only ones self matters. At least that is how I tend to see the Rakdos pair considering I regularly drift between Bant, Esper and Jeskai so I am not exactly unbiased.@@Dawnrunner42
Love this shit
Rakdos is often viewed as the least unlikely color pair to produce heroes. This might be the case, but where Rakdos excells is being the Anti-Hero. The Hero is most of the time bound by Laws, morality, fate or Logic. Rakdos cast all these aside when becoming the hero. They do what needs to be done, freed from all shackles. Many of our beloved Heroes in Media are Rakdos. They reject Fate and the natural order of things casting away green. They don't give a f*** about Laws and Moral, because they stand in the way of what needs to be done. And they even reject Logic as it is not really helpfull. One of the most beloved Icons, that embodies this to a Tie is Deadpool. He does what he what's Laws, moral, natural order and even Logic aside. But there are many other examples like Punisher. If we go to DC instead of Marvel we have Constantine. And if we leave the world of Superheroes we need to look no further than Rambo. Pop Culture is littered with Rakdos aligned (Anti-)Heroes and yet we don't really see them represented that way in MtG. A shame really.
Well said as always!
I would say you can have a genuine heroic character who does good not because of outward social pressure, but because they themself gain internal satisfaction. And these heroes could help regardless of allegiance or creed, but because they felt it was the right thing to do.
I don't think the punisher is an anti-hero. He's a mass murderer. He is, basically, a villain who just happens to be the protagonist.
@AbstractStew He is considered an anti hero due to motivations, methods, and consequences. In motivations, we see Frank Castle is typically avenging his family who were killed right in front of his eyes, only to find out cooruption, greed, and the most vile of people are responsible for the suffering done unto others. Let us compare Frank to say, Bruce Wayne. Bruce has so many more resources, so much more power and influence, and yet is failure of a hero despite often being seen as one of the greatest heros of all. Frank would look at Bruce as he looked at Daredevil, and pronouce that they don't finish the job. This is a core in methods for Frank Castle being an Anti-Hero, heros hold themselves to a higher moral code, one that while many might aspire to, not many can actually hold. Anti-Heros on the other hand, refuse to be held back, refuse to let anything get in the way of what they set out to do. If I wanted to compare Frank to someone in DC, look no further than Jason Todd, a complete rejection of what it means to be a hero, and demonstrates everything wrong with Batman's Philosphy, and its core value on no killing. Both Jason and Frank are Anti-Heros due to their methods being in pure opposition to a true heros, while having common ground with motivations. This finally brings us to consequences. With other heros, we see that the problems are never really solved, to look at Batman again, how many untold millions have died because the Joker is allowed to live? That is just 1 Villian, of 1 Hero, in just 1 city. How much more suffering has been caused because heros wont finish the job? When we look at Frank, he often runs up against the mobs, and as a result they change what they do in order to bend the knee to Frank. What gang with human traffic kids with a true madman loose with unlimited ammo when doing so will put a Target on your back? Frank Castle shows that when you are honest in your methods, others will respect that there is no doubt, and will adjust themselves accordingly.
If I were to counter my own arguement, I'd point right to Peter Parker & Barry Allen to show that an Anti-Hero's methods aren't always right, but just because 1 method works in one setting doesn't mean it would work in another. If Peter Parker ended up in Gotham then I've always said if he had to stay he would get a lot more violent and dark as a charcter having to adjust to his enviroment. Strip Barry Allen of the God-Tier power that is the Speed Force, and can he really say his methods can work? When you know you are fighting someone who could kill you in 37 different ways all within a single heartbeat at the same time, of course you'll chat him up, make him feel bad for you, and have a sob story.
@AbstractStew he only mass murders criminals though.
Rakdos philosophy definitely resonates with me. But I think Grixis is closer to who I am. My interpretation of Grixis is: "Yes, Rakdos, be true to yourself, but also be smart about it."
To me maybe the most interesting aspect of red'd philosophy that rarely goes addressed is how love is an emotion. So passion and feelings of love are in red's wheelhouse. If we add black to this we can, through Rakdos, actually have a character that acts incredibly selfless because to them and their own happiness, the love they feel is the most important thing.
Interesting. I've always assumed that red's love and passion would just turn into harmful obsession when combined with the inerent selfishness of black. The type of love that results in someone keeping their loved one under permanent watch so that they may never leave their side, in them killing another out of jealousy or in them forcing themselves unto their victim after being rejected one too many times...
Y'know, the kind of unhealthy, posessive love that can get you in jail.
@Silungar It can. But that's the negative expression of that combination. Selfishness does not necessarily require the absence of kindness and concern for others. It only requires those occur in service to the fulfillment of the self. If seeing those you love happy makes you happy, then if you are in black you will see to it that they remain happy. Black brings out the best and the worst of both red and white. Because black is an unfettered commitment to achieving what one has set out to do, by any means.
@@AdderMoray True that. As Ravnica shows: All color pairs can become horrificly evil without moderation - the only reason why we tend to accuse red/black of being "evil" first is that it is by far the pair with the least amount of moderation by it's very nature
@@AdderMoray Yeah, I feel like we might have a "Slytherin Issue" here...
What I mean by that is: In a lot of the "What Hogwarts House are you?" quizzes, etc. Slytherin is just the "ambitiously clever" house, making people wonder why they're portraied as "evil" in the books, completely disregarding the fact, that in the books they're *also basically fantasy N*zi's*
I feel like a lot of magic colors have the same issue.
Dice Try even adressed this himself in his video on Sultai, since there a real-world blue/green/black would just live by some motto like "be ambitious and always think of the future, but don't forget to find the time to touch grass once in a while" while the fantastical Sultai almost behaves like a super villain.
tldr: "mtg's black" is not necessarily the same as "real world black", since there's no black magic or pacts with demons over here last time I checked - and you also don't gain life and draw a card when you push someone off a cliff, you'd just get arrested
I don't need my mind changed because Angrath is best boi.
Thank you again for validating the deeper, almost hidden, essence for why we love rakdos for what it is and what it stands for in the context of our own lives.
They are simply being that try to live life how they want it and we really should learn a lot from them. The freedom of self expression and following one’s desires is something we all want more of which Rakdos has more of than any other color pair. Also I have to mention that red black goblins just feel right for my image on goblins and the color pair
I took a color pie quiz last night and discovered I’m Rakdos. Lately been doing some deep self reflection, and this video really spoke to me. Thank you for your insightful truths 👊
I have recently discovered the colour pie and your content and instantly, I am drawn in. I only wanted a tool for quicker responses when roleplaying but, I was surprised by how much introspection your content offered.
After research and several quizzes, it looks like I am Rakdos (maybe Jund). I'm surprisesd by how much I identify with many of the concepts in the video. I was also surprised to realise how many of my characters to date have effectively been self inserts. I am primarily red and have don't think I've ever written a character with anything less than a lot of red mana.
Rakdos and Mardu are the Max Stirner of Magic the Gathering color combos.
“Away, then, with every concern that is not altogether my concern! You think at least the "good cause" must be my concern? What's good, what's bad? Why, I myself am my concern, and I am neither good nor bad. Neither has meaning for me.
The divine is God's concern; the human, man's. My concern is neither the divine nor the human, not the true, good, just, free, etc., but solely what is mine, and it is not a general one, but is-unique, as I am unique.”
Excerpt From
The Ego and His Own
Max Stirner
What a great quote that truly does speak to Rakdos
This was well done. Felt like it was speaking to me and at times speaking a little about me. I'm glad you went at it this way and not just (it's evil etc). Well done.
A truly insightful video. I view myself as grixis, and as of late I have been overthinking too much, doubting myself, being unsure of what I know, but this has been a great reminder of how to have faith in myself, how to find that bold person I know is in me, thank you.
Though I lean more towards Red/Green as a person, Red/Black is definitely my favourite colour pairing to play and in terms of aesthetics. Playing an Ob Nixilis New Capenna deck was the most fun I've had with magic in recent times.
i feel this channel like “Eternalised” except is for Magic. i love the way you exposes all the ideas, thank you ❤
If anyone wants to learn more about philosophies, that align with this type of world view, I would suggest reading The Ego and His Own. It’s a fascinating book in which Max Stirner proposes that concepts like religion, morality, family, property, and nation are ghosts in the mind, and that expression of self is the only true goal
Thank you.
This video has helped me out a lot today.
Lately I have been having doubts about myself and this video has helped me gain a better understanding of where I am at as a person. I also know understand why I want what I want in life. I now have a motivation to strive for. These doubts that I have about myself are like shackles that bind me to the preconceived notions of others. Looking back at it I missed out on a lot because I just didn’t take the steps towards my own freedom at all. I didn’t want to be a burden so I kept myself away from others. But in doing so I locked away my own future. My own potential was being squandered not by others but by myself. I will from here on out take the steps needed to express myself for who I truly am. Split personality or not that doesn’t matter. I should not have to hide that part of me. The duality between my two halves is a major part of who I am. So what if one half of me is nihilistic and brutal. I can make use of it. I have been focusing so much on the negatives that I was avoiding the positives. And by doing so I was overlooking the reality that I find myself in. So I feel like I should thank you once again for helping me with this.
You wanna read something funny?
Rakdos philosophy is something that you can find in mexican culture.
All that about "enjoy your life to the fullest cause it won't last forever" is Mexico at its core. You can find lots of songs like "Puño de tierra", "Cruz de madera" and stories about that same teaching. Even, Day of the Dead is basically that: The souls of those gone come back to party once more in company of their loved ones.
There's probably more examples around the world, but as a mexican, of course is my own culture that I identify first in Rakdos.
Although is also funny how the color pair that is viewed like most negative or most evil, is the one where I identify my own culture.
Hmm very interesting, I was not aware of this. Thanks for the comment
I gotta get this out first and foremost ;
AAGHH FUCK YES HOT DAM FUCK OH HELLS YES OH THIS MADE MY FREAKING DAY! THANK YOU DICE YOU ARE OUTRIGHT AMAZING!!!
I have been watching on repeat since I got out of work, and I love how much you have grown so much and improved on the treatment given to this combination. This is the one combination that NEEDED IT the most, and you have redeemed this combination on your channel when compared to your last visit to these colors in depth.
Whenever a color goes bad, it's almost entirely due to a disregarding of the happiness of others. When White goes wrong, it's because it sacrifices the will of the people (or certain people) for the sake of order and peace. When Green goes wrong, it's because it values the natural order more than the happiness of any one group or individual, and thus allows these forces to steamroll without care for who gets hurt, and so on.
That's why I have such a hard time getting behind Black ever having real heroes in it. Black, by its very nature, has the hardest time caring about anything other than itself, and whenever it's mixed with any other color it tends to bring out the very worst of that side. It turns White into forceful conquerors who dehumanize others. It turns Blue into paranoiacs who need to control everything around them, and it turns Red into Rakdos.
The fact of the matter is that Rakdos doesn't care if the world is burning unless that world happens to be where it's keeping it's first-edition comic book collection. It's been said in the comments that a Rakdos hero does what needs to be done without any artificial impediments, but that's not quite true.
Rakdos doesn't do what must be done: Rakdos simply does what it feels like.
From the top of my head, Monkey D. Luffy comes off as pretty Black/Red. His chief motivation is to be the most free person on the sea by becoming the Pirate King, and he's both selfish and pasisonate, while still being rather heroic.
The thing that makes Luffy Red/Black is that while he does accomplish heroic things, they rarely stem from a sense of moral obligation or outrage, but rather because external factors hurt people he's become attached to.
Oh look at Dice, making a masterpiece again. Can he ever be stopped? LETS HOPE NOT! 😂
This was an absolute beauty of a video! It truly did the Colour Pair true justice. It’s often easy to forget that the colours in MTG are portrayed the way they are in cards because of the nature of the game. It’s aggressive! You fight other players with monsters and magic! But the colours are more complex than that, and this video really does Rakdos justice!
It also helps that I truly relate to Rakdos as how you’ve described it here. Black is the single most dominant colour in me and Red is definitely a close second! (With Blue and White tied for third)
Masterfully done!
I would say you can’t produce a hero out of this color combination but a antihero is still a hero
I love these more realistic and subtle depictions of Rakdos. I consider myself to be aligned with Grixis (primarily blue with black as a close second). I see my red side mainly coming from spite and jealousy, but I would like to lean a bit further into these Rakdos concepts of confidence and authenticity. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to.
That's interesting.
I aways was mostly a blue and black person, but after a real scary near death experience I had a memento mori that shifted me to red/black.
I still value blue very much, knowledge is a valuable thing that opens many doors, but it's not as important as being truthful to myself despite what others may think of me.
On the subject of why we have religion and gods, I feel as if these things don't MAKE us good people, but they can help inspire us. Life's uncertain. So, faith gives us something to be certain about. Though, personally, I prefer to have multiple gods than just one.
Personally, I don't want to take that from anyone. We all find our own path. This video was just Black Red would perceive such a topic
Wow... just... wow.
It's as strong as a punch in the gut.
Like... I don't even know what to say, it was very strong, I need to think it all over.
It was like Rakdos burst into my house like a hurricane, grabbed my arm and dragged me somewhere to show me their amazing new world... whether I like it or not.
Love how you continue to convincingly and accurately describe colors in a way we can all relate at least to some degree if not entirely. I've watched almost all your color study videos over the years (I might have missed a couple), and you always find a way to add to previous philosophy or reinvent the philosophy with a different angle.
You can do what you want to.
You can be what you want to.
You can say what you want to.
But mean it.
This really changed my perspective on Red and Black. 😮
It’s the only color pair that I havent yet built a deck with.
I made a Rakdos knight deck. The goal is to get Haakon, Stromgald Scourge into the graveyard then use all creatures in my hand as a new discarting resources for other spells, so I can summon them from the graveyard afterwards.
The core philosophy of this deck is to find strength in your own sacrifices and therefore, having nothing else to lose, becoming unstoppable. I play cards like Thrill of Possibility, Lim-Dul's Paladin, Stormfist Crusader and Olivia, Mobilized for War as ways to get the most of my own life and hand. White knight's decks relies too much on the perfection of self and has a hard time dealing with failures, choosing to cast away what it considers unpure in others. Wich is why I have one copy of Ihsan's shade to show them how so wrong their righteousness can be.
It is one hell of a deck to deal with because its opponents have to face an entity that embodies the very power to never give up.
I'll put my bid forward, let the next combination be BLUE & BLACK! Given how you have improved so much on your combinations, I would like to see how your new perspective shows Dimir in this new light, or rather for Dimir, these new shadows
I need more of a Rakdos mindset
As someone who will be a Rak-sac afficionado until my very last day- Priest of the Forgotten Gods could me my all time favourite MTG card of all time, it's no surprise to say that your video especially touched me. Always felt attuned to anti-heroes and this pair of colours is for me the epitomy of that concept, from Don Quichotte to Deadpool- 100% approuved colours!- , from Butch Cassidy & Billy the kid to the stranger. Or even Han Solo or Cassian Andor. It's so freaking to be yourself all the time, but it's so rewarding when you finally manage
to stick to that concept. Plus as an anarcho-communist, I freaking love that pair of colours to say the least. Awesome job man, cheers and long live to Judith!
13:04 a “Union of egoists“
I have to say this one was extremely well done. Not only did it show me how much of Rakdos I truely am. It also made me think that I need to be true to myself and to others. To stop hiding in the shadow of exceptence.
U put your FOOT in this!!! Mad good!!! Your videos stay helping me understand myself brotha. Many thanks to your hard work!!
In a previous video, on the subject of horror and the color pie, I mentioned how, due to my journey with autism, I tend to favor black and red but hate green and white. For me, Rakdos is a lot of things. In fact, at its core, it is the most good out of all of the colors. Red and black reflects the basic nature of what it means to be human. And that right there makes it complex because of how complex human existence is. We are by nature self-centered, materialistic, and carnal creatures. But we are also social creatures who crave friendships and are capable of compassion. We both thrive off of peace but evolve through conflict. I believe that rakdos is the act of becoming aware of our basic nature, and being willing to do what it takes to satisfy it. But because of how complex the human being is, it is also capable of self-regulation. Sure, red would LOVE to throw caution to the wind, but it is tempered by black. And one thing that I think we don't give black credit for is how it's willing to make a sacrifice to further its own interests. Meaning, black is willing to compromise with others, even white, to get what it wants.
Mtg likes to paint Rakdos as the ultimate expression of evil, and Selesnya as the most good. However, I feel that where Rakdos shines (with crimson fiery light) is that, any act of goodness or compassion Rakdos would commit comes straight from the heart. Even if it's to hopefully get something in return, Rakdos will let us know (considering that red likes to be upfront). Selesnya, though, is a combination of white (religion and law) and green (culture and tradition). Sure, it will do something good, but usually out of some moral expectation. And to top that off, Selesnya will judge you if it thinks you don't fit in, maybe even attack you. Rakdos, though, will accept you if it relates to you, or even embrace you if it thinks you are interesting enough. That isn't to say Selesnya is bad. Selesnya is necessary for a society to function when it's not deluding itself with arbitrary notions of morality and purity based on a god that may or may not exist. Though, Rakdos is also important. It's a balance.
Course, adding blue to get grixis also adds reason to Rakdos as well. So, you have a trifecta of virtues; self-preservation, reason, and passion.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, and I'm also autistic.
WOTC always portrays Black's character as bad people (Ashiok, Lim-Dul, etc) or "so-so" people (for example, Liliana Vess).
Even Sorin Markov (the man who said "I have seen planes leveled and all life rendered to dust. It brought no pleasure, even to a heart as dark as mine") started as WB (Sorin Marvok, Lord Of Innistrad). Sorin isn't B, he was overwhelmed by the circunstances (Avacin's death, the eldrazi invasion, Nahiri betrayal, the fall of Marvok's mansion, etc).
When Black is combined with other colors (Geralf, Lazav, Teysa, Rakdos, Vaskra, etc), characters are still morally questionable, they still show elements of psychopathy, sociopathy or antisocial disorder.
In my opinion, Black and Blue equally fit the concept of evil, psychopathy, sociopathy and antisocial disorder. Even Red fits them.
Blue values logic, control, trickery, perfection...and rejects emotion.
Black values deceit, manipulation, corruption, machiavellian thinking, individualism, the sacrifice of others, self-absorption, to use of fear, sadness, depression, disease...for archieving objectives, etc.
Red values emotions (it includes anger), violence, brutality, destruction, mischievouness, fighting, hedonism..and rejects logic.
Red can be reckless.
Red can drive a car at 220 km/h without caring about itself and others.
All colors have a "bad side".
Each color has many elements.
We can make many combinations with different elements of the same color.
I think your perspective fits Red and Black.
I think your perspective is interesting because you link some things (reality, the nature of human specie, the social nature of the human specie, the natural competition, the natural need of rules, the complexity of the human specie, the importance of Balance, to compromise with others, etc) that I link to Green
@@DuskSunDawn I've always thought of green as being apathetic to human life. I mean, green is about nature, and nature can be cruel. Green is like the boss at work who cares more about the system being maintained than the individual people working under them.
I mean, when you think about it hard enough, man has ALWAYS been at war with nature. Everything we've done as a species has, in some form or manner, been about combating both the natural world and the ravages of time. All to shape our lives, destinies, and environments to what suits us individually.
To this point, I think that black is the basis of human nature. Self-interest and self-preservation for the individual. But we are also affected by our environment, so taking care of the community or ecosystem is as much a selfish act as anything else.
@@DuskSunDawn That's true, but I don't feel like they're using the colors to their full potential. Wizards typically seems to play off of classical fantasy tropes. Light is always good and dark is always evil, or just morally ambivalent. All are based on classical Abrahamic mindsets (to some degree). But if they were to think outside of these tropes, they can make some really cool stuff.
I mean, white can definitely be evil too. It can be fanatical and/or hypocritical. And those to things can be really REALLY bad.
All I know is I fell in love with dark imagery when I first saw Devimon in Digimon. So, since then, I've been obsessed with the idea of creating dark heroes and light villains.
The way I see it, if Azorious can produce villains, then Rakdos can make heroes.
Rebellion and chaos can lead to liberation and freedom. Toppling down structure in favor of allowing people to openly express their deepest passions can be a heroic deed. It may not be the paragon "pure of heart" kind of hero we would find in combinations like Selesnya or Boros, but chaos can be necessary to get the job done.
What is life without risk or chance? If everything is guranteed to happen or not happen, where is the thrill or excitement in life? What happens to those who are dealt a bad hand or don't wish to follow the path set for them?
Rakdos may have villains, but it's not an entirely evil color, as no color is entirely good or entirely evil.
It seems very obvious that anyone who values order as much as UW could be a villain.
@@TunnelSnakesrule13 its mostly about potential. There are plenty of Azorious characters who are morally "good", but its also good to know that as much as UW values community, progress, and knowledge, they are known as one of the most powerful control combinations. Which is a product of white's need for order and law and blue's distate for recklessness and aggression.
This is my youngest Brother's favorite color combination.
This video was a nice and relaxing video. The way you have presented a colour pairing for magic the gathering as a valid philosophical stance is impressive haha ...... Keep up the good work and thanks !
Huh. TIL why I love playing Rakdos. Fearless self actualization via cardboard.
The Rakdos are not naturally evil. They are a force of destruction bent on upending the order and enlightenment of this world. Bant is the only alignment that truly provides benefit to the world and society.
Jeskai and Naya
Wow this was a great way to show rakdos funny how this game has really found a way for me to think about the actions in my own life thank you so much
This is incredible video about rakdos philosophy is better than your last one.
I can't wait to see more update videos color pair philosophy! 😎👍
Maybe it's just because these are 2/3 of my own colors, but I love this SO MUCH. Dice, are you thinking of remaking your tri-color videos as well?
Maybe down the road, as it stands, I don't have anything to add to the tri colors.
If they count I think Denshi from chainsawman would be a rakdos hero(?), and Power would be an anti-hero(?)
Edit: forgot an a
Yeah he is a great example of a red black herp
I really needed this today. Thank you ❤
This cut me deep. I only play rakdos and because i feel i shouldnt live rakdos.
Well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks!
Jus got into mtg week ago immediately went to black then red and made a red black deck from scratch and it feels perfect
I really enjoyed the 'enjoy self satisfaction' and 'true self' tidbit. It really resonates with me irl. It's weird because rakdos along side with simic is my least favorite color pairing. I think its a good combative against depression, losing a sense of identity, dealing with nihilism and be able to lean more towards absurdism and fulfillment. Rejection of self doubt is to embrace the life that which is given and it must be experienced to the fullest. The sense of self is then made of steel and anything in the external world cannot easily penetrate or influence the spirit or mind. I don't ever think I got that impression from rakdos cards though. Are there any cards that express this?
I've been looking forward to this one for awhile and it is certainly gave some ideas. It also makes sense that the allied colors would have more points of commonality but I have to wonder if that doesn't mean they have a greater number of variations of the pair.
For anyone who played any mainline Shin megami tensei game Rakdos is pretty much being chaos aligned.
It doesn't mean you're inherently evil, but free.
Even if freedom comes from conflict a lot of times it is still better than being in a leash.
Btw I'm getting a Rakdos sigil tattoo when I can, did some guild tests 5 times or so and it aways came to that, annnnnd it pretty much how I've decided to ve my whole life.
Hmm…i don’t necessarily jive with the Ravinca perspective of Red & Black though I do recognize its influence. For me the RB is idea of the taboo & passion made manifest.
If I think of orderliness like a Waltz or a ballroom dance at a wedding then the red & black is the tango; the dance of Uruguay & Argentina, and I allude to the history of the tango in that comment.
RB is root of the taboo that I think the Maestros of New Capenna start to unveil a bit.
Simply put it is less Kiss of the Amesha & more Kiss of Death or the Crimson Vow.a very carnal truth of mortality if you will.
Hi dicetry I started wondering are the colors in mtg nature or nurture some important characters sometimes get a new color added to the card
red, and black is my first deck and i played it first
Rakdos is often seen as the villain because it does reject just about everything that society stands for. White preaches peace, law, order, and protection. Well...Rakdos breaks these ideals down in a few ways. To Rakdos, peace is a lie that is used as propaganda to control people. Laws are imposed to keep those at the top in power and crush those beneath them. Order is just a system that is again meant to maintain control and leads to a stale existence. And as for protection...well, you should be able to protect yourself. And if you can't, then you are a sheep, not a wolf.
Rakdos personalities are wolves! They are predators! They take what they want from this world to not just survive, but thrive and experience all that it has to offer. Rakdos practically lives by the phrase "Life is too short," for it sees that inevitable end and doesn't want it to be wasted. It is certainly volatile and can easily tread the paths of scum and villainy, but is that not just a label created by society to mark them as dangerous and thus conveniently exclude them from society? Rakdos can have morality as well, but not some dogmatic morality crafted by society. Instead, it is a personal morality that is guided by their red side and reinforced by their black side.
And my final thought here...is that due to these labels, one would think that a Rakdos personality would not be very nice or a good friend. This is mostly untrue. But where Rakdos really shines, and bear with me here...is in being a parent. Some parents looks at their child and says that they would do anything for them, sacrifice everything to make sure they get ahead in life. Those that truly believe this fall into Rakdos and they will raise their child to be just as confident as they are. They will also want to experience all the joys and privileges that come from being a parent; cheering them on at a sports event, taking them fishing for their first time, being there for their weddings or the births of their grandchildren. They do not sit by the sidelines and let society as a whole raise their children. They are always there, teaching and playing with them every single step of the way. Some of us might look back and think our parents just would not leave us alone or give us our space. But have we considered that perhaps...they just wanted to live vicariously through us and feel that same personal pride in themselves that they did a good job in raising us to, once again, be the best people that we can be; confident in ourselves and striving for greatness.
A little rambly at the end perhaps, and a bit chaotic...but Rakdos would not have it any other way, and sometimes when I get going and just get going on a topic, I find it hard to stop as more and more thoughts spring to mind.
That was a good read, I think you got the idea
If they adhere to their true self, why are they so demonstrative (at least their aesthetics seem to borrow a lot from circus, cabaret and performative arts of the kiind)?
maybe their true selves are performers
Art is usually associated with expressing oneself (personality, desires, life experiences, etc) adn the freedom of being able to do it.
People usually see them (musicians, painters, dancers etc) as people who want to express something and people who have historically used their art as a way of expressing ideologies and fighting ideologies, groups and regimes.
@@DuskSunDawn I agree.
Rakdos, or at least the color combo of red and black is the "be gay do crime" philosphy.
To quote someone on an anarchy thread, "When your very existence is a crime, everything else about society and the so-called "social contract" ought to be called into question, too, especially when the things society calls law are at odds with your literal survival."
What is you going to call the new color theory series you will make in like 2 years?
Absolutely final and perfect duality. Kinda a mouthfuls though lol
@@DiceTry And the series afterward?
I can't think that far ahead😶
fair
i love the guy in the intro screaming like man you went to the murder party
I like red and black, I love their symbolism and meaning and Would love to have a deck around them especially with the hellbent cards. They remind me the infernity cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! With having lesser cards for greater effect though I can’t find any decks on sale
I have a Rakdos deck, it is absolutely wonderful and fun to play. I call it Rakdos Taxes, and basically inflict pain and suffering onto everyone who dares to take any step to hinder my deck. It is so much fun watching people strugge and try and resist it, only to end up submitting to an exposed truth
@@TheJamesGamel how well does hellbent do? I like living high on the edge at my best while simultaneously being at my lowest, I’m new to the games and I’ve only shown interest because somebody made a comparison of hellbent and a friend brought me into it
@orangesodaninja8882 I personally don't use the Hellbent mechanic in my deck, I use Kaervek the Merciless as the commander. The deck plays by punishing my opponents for starting their turn, drawing cards, having cards in their hands, playing lands, tapping lands, tapping any permanent for non-mana reasons, activating any ability, casting spells, having cards hit the battlefield, having their permanents be destroyed, having them hit the graveyard or end up in the graveyard for any reason, for tapping to attack with their creatures, for their creatures recieving damage, for dealing combat damage to me, for trying to end their turn.
Oh and every time I make them pay, it can get doubled tripled or quadruled as a base to start (it can stack for a max of x48) and anytime they have to pay they can be forced to mill cards and can have to repay all costs at the end of their turn to be forced to mill again.
It's simple, don't get in my way and you'll be fine!
@@TheJamesGamel sorry for responding so late, just wanted to I finally bought some magic decks mostly the warhammer ones but I did buy that goading demon commander deck kardur and I’ve searched up othe red and black cards and so far they have the most flavorist effects for me to enjoy, I think I’ll use it as my fun deck
@orangesodaninja8882 You will have a blast! Rakdos is by and far one of the most fun decks I have ever built, only trumped by my Krampus deck, the Anti-Christmas deck where the entire point is make sure the game never ends, the record for that deck is 10 hours so far. That game only ended because I reset the game again and the rest of the table quit all at once.
have you done 3 color philosophy? i'd love to see how color pair philosophy relates to that. the way rakdos ideals impact grixis/jund sounds cool af
I actually have a video for each 3 color combo on my channel. Just check out my home page or playlists.
@@DiceTry i didnt realize i was gonna binge watch 20 deep dives today, but thanks for making interesting and informative content
Scattered thoughts:
When talking about society and morality I generally find it important to distinguish between society and morality per se and this or that actually existing society or morality.
If there is no real and determinate true self then there could be no going against it, because it would be a nothing that could adapt itself to anything and everything. If the true self is determinate it could thus in principle determinately be told what to do.
I think that the self assurance of black clashes with red. Black seems to introduce ideas of self and definite ideas of what a person should be.
Also considering society. For white, and more especially for atorius, society as a whole is not to be obeyed. It is generally acknowledged that there are immoral elements of society, and I think it is impossible for white, or any colour whatever really, ever to say that a person should do what they should not do. I think that "you should do what you should do" is a background overiding claim that is inesxapable once it has been acknowledged.
If black red thinks in a way that is genuinely contradictory, it simply fails to think and merely says words, thus losibg the black element and entering barbarism.
You might say that if we need to put in effort to become our true selves we never were our true selves to begin with so why bother.
Clash between "confidence in ones self" and "most people lie to themselves".
To someone who does not believe in morality everything they did would be consostent with their beliefs.
Since we are talking about the philosophies of individuals, as philosophy never exists outside of them, I woukd note that restraints like law or mirality are never capable of constraining a person to be moral or lawful, because to do so one would already have to be constrained by them. Avoiding immorality out of fesr of punishment is not properly morality. Red black sometimes does obey the laws, or at least tries to appear as such. Unless it wants to maintain that it must break the laws whether or no it is advantagous or desired or whatever. Blue white avoids regret by always doing what it should do, and it is immoral to regret a good deed. White aligned rulers also believe that no arbritairy conceptions should be forced on people.
What is the song that starts at 4:16? It does great things to me.
Edit: It's the Empty Moons of Jupiter.
what is the art at 11:12 , it is genuinely stunning
Uhhhh it’s an anime art from kamigawa I have it somewhere, ink wise infiltrator
Can anyone tell me what's the music called at 4:16?
Darude Sandstorm
my rakdos deck:
4abyssal persecutor
4army ants
4desecration demon
4dwarven miner
4gorilla shaman
4helldozer
4ragavan, nimble pilferer
4sinkhole
4stone rain
24lands(4blood crypt, 4graven cairns, 4mountain, 4rakdos carnarium, 4 swamp, 4westvale abbey)
summary of gameplay: combination of aggro and land destruction, and late game opponent may be locked down with 0 lands, and can win the game with westvale abbey.
i still cant tell where rakdos and mono red disagree to tell which i would be (same goes for red vs gruul)
These sadistic jesters do nothing for Ravnica, all they do is kill innocent and worship there demon lord Rakdos.
P.S Rakdos performances are at best a 3/10
I think that there is one big issue in red black, it says that "true" humanity is only unrestrained passion and desire, completely forgetting that hedonism isn't the core of humanity, there is also empathy, kindness and morality. Virtue is just as human as sin is, but Rakdos rejects this, in my eyes being just as artificial as Azorius.
He took 15 minutes to say that red and black be like: ''We live in a society''.
Rakdos says swerve into traffic to crash into the bastard who dared cut you off and make them pay for their crimes. and I just tell them nah man it'll be a whole thing and then I lose time doing what I actually want.
Also lava monsters
Play lots of kill spells
Lose to selesnya anyway
the rakdos philosophy lines up pretty well with satanism, the self above all else
Yes yay ya ya
So... anarchy, as in its original form.
Believe it or not anarchy is more on the Gruul side. Green/Red. R/B does have some sense of unity behind the scenes i forgot where i read that from. Artists, Performers, etc. They could be villains for sure but its also the mark of anti-heroes as well.
V
T
Anarchy!!! 😆
That's all I hear.😅
So what youre telling me is that ayn rand is rakdos?
Also no, being selfish *is* evil, that doesn't mean completely ignoring your own needs or desires is right but being truly self centered and uncaring does make you a bad person, actually
Honestly I hate this combination. I'm Rakdos intolerant.
I don't know why that got such a laugh out of me
What color do you think Trump and the maga movement in America is?
I’m thinking white red green
To see Black tainted with chaos and lack of thinking from Red is quite sad really. Black is better than that. Fortunately its other ally fits it much better!
libertarian
It really is a toxic philosophy.
"You are the one true being that matters"
If you can't see how this is toxic, I can't help you.
You are a part of the universe. You are no more or less important than any other part of the univere.
As it sounds, you align a lot more with green or white, which makes sense why this philosophy goes against your outlook. Also, keep in mind this is not my philosophy but rather Rakdos itself explaining its philosophy
as a green enjoyer who embraces interconnectivity, i have to say you're dead wrong. sure, we're all equal in a sense that we all come from the same material world, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't live life for yourself. being a part of the universe doesn't mean you have some magical obligation to everyone and everything, and quite frankly, living as if you do is a sure way to absolute misery.
but to add on further, solipsism and narcissism are a part of rakdos undeniably, but to write it off as toxic as a whole because of its worst sides is an intellectually dishonest move. i take it you're most likely white or white/green, or something like that. should i judge your colors based off of the absolute worst things white can do? sure, rakdos has Ted Bundy but your color has Hitler and Mao. how is your color not the absolute worst thing to happen ever or toxic now? if we were to follow your logic, your color would be as toxic as as a Venerated Rotpriest
As someone who finds himself aligning more with the philosophies of Jeskai or Temur, I can see what you are talking about. Why it may seem toxic, but that is from the perspective of either the larger interconnected "truths" found in green or the more order and social organization of white, because to find harmony, one must unify over what is simular and not through difference, to find truth one must separate it from personal subjective experience. For better or for worse, by aligning oneself with overarching threads and general socially constructed organization, you can lose the self. For example, and this may be the Izzet in me, but it can quite easy stifle creativity and self expression in art for example. Sure there may be a potential for art which brings the natural way of things or the more socially accepted way of things, but that is a restriction, even from a more Izzet perspective and not even through Rakdos, it is merely a way of things for the Large to stamp out the possibility of the small. As someone who often does lean into Temur though, this does in of itself give a sense of majesty to those large things, and makes me want to approach them as creatively as much I can, but again that shows what it does, "as much as I can".
Toxicity is subjective. I'll take dealing with hedonistic Rakdos neighbors over religious fundamentalist Orzhov or fascist Azorius neighbors any day.
In the settings where Rakdos exists as a political force, it's the most honest and straightforward of the political forces in play. Sure, a couple people who go to the circus don't survive the "Splash Zone," but I find that death infinitely preferable to life imprisonment in a force bubble or having your ghost sold into eternal slavery.
@@CitanulsPumpkin I don't think Toxicity is subjective.
It's about causing real harm to people.
Ive seen all of these videos, both old and new, and i am having so much trouble finding my colors 😅🥲 Does anyone have any tips?
Dk grac.l veddy hanelua