RakdosLegendary Creature — Ogre DemonHidetsugu, Devouring Chaos
Mana value4Rank#10,233
The Commander
: Guide
Gameplan
Use Hidetsugu's scry-on-sacrifice to set up the top of your library, then tap to exile and either cast that card or fling its mana value as damage at faces and creatures. You grind the table with aristocrats sacrifice value while turning impulse draw into a repeatable Lightning bolt cannon, eventually pointing big-mana-value spells at opponents' heads for the kill.
Strengths
- Repeatable, free card advantage via the impulse-exile ability every turn
- Built-in burn wincon that scales with the mana value of cards you exile
- Scry 2 sacrifice outlet smooths draws and fuels aristocrats synergies
- Cheap, recastable commander at four mana in aggressive Rakdos colors
- Doubles as removal, reach, and direct damage all in one card
Weaknesses
- The exile ability is slow: only one activation per turn without untappers
- Exiled cards are lost if not played that turn, causing card disadvantage if mana-light
- Highly commander-dependent; removal or repeated exile shuts the engine down
- No ramp, protection, or evasion built in—needs heavy support
- Color identity lacks blue's countermagic and white's protection
Key Cards
- Thousand-Year Elixir — Untaps Hidetsugu so you can activate the exile-and-burn ability multiple times per turn.
- Magus of the Wheel — Refills your hand and stocks the graveyard, and works as a scry/sacrifice target for value.
- Mayhem Devil — Turns every creature sacrifice and impulse-burn into extra pinging damage across the board.
- Fiery Emancipation — Triples Hidetsugu's exile damage, instantly converting big mana-value cards into lethal burst.
- Vandalblast — Cheap, recastable artifact sweeper that pairs well with the impulse-draw engine in Rakdos.
- Sneak Attack — Cheats fat threats into play that you can sacrifice to Hidetsugu for scry value.
Upgrade Path
Add untappers like Thousand-Year Elixir, Aphetto Alchemist, and Magewright's Stone to get multiple exile activations per turn, plus damage doublers (Fiery Emancipation, Furnace of Rath) to convert exiles into lethal burst. Tighten the curve with efficient ramp (Arcane Signet, Talismans) and a sacrifice-aristocrats core (Bastion of Remembrance, Pitiless Plunderer, Bloodthrone Vampire), and include protection like Lightning Greaves to keep the engine online against removal.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Repeatedly fling high-mana-value cards at opponents' faces for direct burn kills
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Mayhem Devil, Blood Artist, and Zulaport Cutthroat triggers
- ▸Cheating in and sacrificing large creatures for value and incremental damage
- ▸Wide token swarms backed by sacrifice payoffs and burn reach
Archetypes
- Aristocrats — The , sacrifice a creature ability rewards a deck packed with tokens, death triggers, and sacrifice payoffs.
- Spellslinger/Burn — The impulse-exile ability throws damage equal to mana value, enabling a direct-damage burn finish.
- Impulse Value Midrange — Hidetsugu generates card advantage from the top of your library, supporting a grindy Rakdos value plan.
- Reanimator — Sacrificing creatures fills the yard and scries to set up reanimation targets you then sac again.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BR), by popularity.
