Many wild decks have emerged throughout the history of Modern as a format. One of the most intriguing decks that definitely fits this description was Rakdos Hollow One. This deck was heavily designed to make the most of its namesake card, and utilized fancy tools like Burning Inquiry that were rarely used in competitive play in other archetypes.

The power creep and the ban on Faithless Looting have really dampened Hollow One’s metagame presence. Well, surprisingly, recent tournament results suggest that this deck may be on the verge of a comeback. The pressure of several MH3 powerhouses has revolutionized the shell’s identity, making it even more explosive and resilient than before. With the ban announcement just a few days away, perhaps Rakdos Hollow One is on the verge of a comeback.

Old-school tools

• Mana value: 5
• Rarity: Rare
• Statistics: 4/4
• MTG Sets: Hour of Devastation, Time Spiral Remastered, Mystery Booster 2
• Card Text: Hollow One costs 2 less for each card you switched or discarded this turn. Cycling 2 (2, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

While this strategy has undergone significant changes since its peak, there is still a fair amount of overlap. The goal, as you’d expect, is to cast Hollow One as efficiently and quickly as possible. A 4/4 might not seem all that scary, but if it’s used on the first turn (or better yet, in multiple combos), the opponent will feel the pressure. Not to mention, many of Modern’s best removal spells, like Lightning Bolt and Fatal Push, can’t defeat the powerful artifact creature.

To activate Hollow One, you need cheap ways to discard multiple cards at once. At the top of that list is undoubtedly Burning Inquiry. Burning Inquiry is a deceptively powerful card. Of course, discarding cards randomly is risky, but your deck is almost certainly better equipped to exploit the discard clause than your opponent’s. While the card does offer variance, the benefit of being able to cast any Hollow Ones you don’t discard for free is huge. And as we’ll see in the next section, discarding cards has additional benefits.

Alongside Burning Inquiry, Goblin Lore serves a similar purpose. It’s a bit more expensive and doesn’t interfere with the opponent’s hand, but it adds a nice layer of redundancy. Both Goblin Lore and Burning Inquiry are also great successors to Flameblade Adept, another tool from back in the day that’s making its presence felt again. Flameblade Adept gives you a nice alternate line of attack if you don’t draw Hollow One.

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Hollow One’s new tools

• Mana value: B
• Rarity: Mythically Rare
• Statistics: */1+*
• MTG Set: Modern Horizons 3
• Card Text: Nethergoyf’s power is equal to the number of card types in your graveyard, and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1. Escape – 2B, Exile any number of other cards from your graveyard that contain four or more card types. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.)

Over the last year and a half, Rakdos Hollow One has received a variety of upgrades that add a lot to its consistency. One of the reasons Rakdos Hollow One died was because it was too reliant on finding Hollow One or Flameblade Adept to close games. Sure, using Gurmag Angler was a good plan some time ago, but that card is pretty outdated now. Now the deck has access to additional first and second turn elite plays, as well as additional reach.

In the one-drop slot, Nethergoyf is an incredibly strong addition. With Fetchlands, Burning Inquiry, and Street Wraith, it’s a breeze to power up Nethergoyf in a short amount of time. Nethergoyf can play a similar role to Gurmag Angler, just as a big brawler, except Nethergoyf can go down on the first turn, doesn’t require delving cards to activate, and even offers the bonus of being able to escape him later in the game to win battles of attrition.

Speaking of wars of attrition, Inti, Seneschal of the Sun delivers more than just card advantage. Inti is great in the long game, but it also serves as a way to pump up your Nethergoyfs, Hollow Ones, and Flameblade Adepts and give them trample. In that sense, Inti fits well with the aggressive nature of the archetype while also giving it more staying power.

One card that fits a similar pattern is Detective’s Phoenix. Cards like Street Wraith help you reliably apply Detective’s Phoenix to your big threats. Even if those creatures are answered, you’re still left with a 2/2 Flier for your troubles. Burning Inquiry and Goblin Lore will continue to energize your graveyard, allowing you to recast them from the graveyard and give a Hasty boost to any burly body you play in the future. It’s amazing how much extra damage you can do with Detective’s Phoenix over the course of a game.

The last addition worth mentioning is the Orcish Bowmasters. The Orcish Bowmasters are a great card on their own, but when you combine them with Burning Inquiry, things can really get out of hand. Burning Inquiry forces the opponent to draw three additional cards, which provides a whole lot of Bowmaster triggers. Burning Inquiry works synergistically with pretty much everything this deck has to offer.

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The metagame as a whole

• Mana value: 1GU
• Rarity: Rare
• Statistics: 3/4
• MTG Set: Modern Horizons 3
• Card Text: Flying. Creatures you control have “Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, reveal the top card of your library. If it’s a land card, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, put it into your hand. This ability only triggers twice per turn.”

Overall, Rakdos Hollow One has a lot to offer. The explosive nature of the deck gives you a good chance to compete against Eldrazi variants. At the same time, your threats are massive enough to hold up well against Jeskai Control’s removal package. You can also cause game block against Energy variants. In games two and three, adding Pyroclasm makes your job even easier.

Unfortunately, it is the existence of Bant Nadu that may prevent Rakdos Hollow One from being more successful. Rakdos Hollow One doesn’t play many removal spells for Nadu, Winged Wisdom, and it can be difficult to win before the opponent puts the combo together.

Assuming Nadu is banned on August 26, perhaps Rakdos Hollow One could continue to gain popularity. A deck as explosive and versatile as Rakdos Hollow One deserves respect. It will be cool to see how the deck performs in the future.

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