Rakdos Escape Burn

A graveyard recursion deck that wins by repeatedly escaping Kroxa, Ox, and Woe Strider to trigger Purphoros, God of the Forge, with help from mill, discard, and Unburial Rites.

Purphoros deals 2 damage to each opponent whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control. Escape creatures (Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger; Ox of Agonas; Woe Strider) can be cast directly from the graveyard, triggering Purphoros each time they enter. Millers like Stitcher's Supplier and Mire Triton, plus discard from Faithless Looting and Cathartic Reunion, quickly fill the yard with escape creatures and fodder to exile for escape costs. Tymaret Calls the Dead mills and creates a zombie token that itself triggers Purphoros, while its final chapter deals damage based on creatures in your graveyard. Unburial Rites reanimates a Kroxa or Ox directly from the graveyard for a massive Purphoros burst.

Keep any hand with two or three lands, a turn‑one or turn‑two graveyard filler (Stitcher's Supplier, Faithless Looting, Mire Triton), and a payoff card (Tymaret Calls the Dead, Kroxa, or Purphoros). Thoughtseize is excellent to protect your plan from graveyard hate. Mulligan hands that lack a play by turn two or have no black mana source.

Early game (turns 1–2): Play Stitcher's Supplier, Faithless Looting, or Mire Triton to mill and discard escape creatures and Tymaret Calls the Dead. Use Thoughtseize to strip graveyard hate or removal, and Fatal Push to deal with early threats. Mid game (turns 3–4): Cast Tymaret Calls the Dead to mill more and create a zombie token, triggering Purphoros if you've drawn it. Escape Kroxa or Ox to pressure the opponent's life total and hand, or escape Woe Strider to keep the graveyard stocked. Continue milling with additional Faithless Looting or Cathartic Reunion. Late game (turn 5+): Once Purphoros is on the battlefield, escaping Kroxa or Ox deals at least 2 damage and forces discard or draws cards. With a full graveyard, a single Unburial Rites on Kroxa can end the game. Repeatedly escape Woe Strider or loop escape creatures as needed to finish the opponent.

Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Unlicensed Hearse, Soul-Guide Lantern) shuts down escape entirely; keep Thoughtseize to disrupt it. Fast aggro decks can race before the engine is online, so rely on early interaction. Exile‑based removal on Purphoros can delay the clock, though escape creatures can still attack. The deck can flood out if it doesn't draw enough mill spells.