Rhinar Intimates

Not just damage anymore

Introduction

Rhinar, Reckless Rampage transforms Classic Constructed through the synergy between his hero ability and the Beat Chest mechanic, creating a unique combo-control hybrid that punishes opponents for defending. Unlike traditional aggro strategies that simply race damage, Rhinar forces opponents into impossible decisions: defend with a severely reduced hand, or take massive damage and lose the game.

This guide explores the powerful synergy between Beat Chest and Rhinar's intimidate ability, the strategic layers of stacking multiple intimidates in a single turn, and how to leverage this mechanic to dominate competitive play. We'll break down key card combinations, resource efficiency calculations, and matchup-specific strategies that make Rhinar one of the most feared heroes in the format.

Check out this 3 card 21 value combo. If you like this kind of high variance high reward play, keep reading after that.

Quick Reference: Key Concepts

What is Intimidate?

When intimidate triggers, your opponent banishes a random card from their hand face-down until the beginning of the end phase, when it returns to their hand. Intimidate can appear as:

• A keyword on action cards
• A triggered effect from other cards like Rhinar's hero ability
• A conditional effect that activates when certain requirements are met

What is Beat Chest?

Beat Chest is an additional cost on cards that requires you to discard a card with 6 or more power. Once you've paid this cost once during a turn, all other Beat Chest costs that turn are automatically satisfied without discarding additional cards. It's a "turn on" mechanic that unlocks benefits across multiple cards.

Rhinar's Hero Ability

Rhinar, Reckless Rampage: "Whenever you discard a card with 6 or more power during your action phase, intimidate."

This is the KEY to the deck - when you discard high-power cards (like paying Beat Chest costs), Rhinar's ability triggers intimidate. This creates a powerful synergy where Beat Chest cards not only get their own benefits but also trigger Rhinar's intimidate.

The Synergy

When you play a Beat Chest card like Smell Fear:

1. You pay the Beat Chest cost (discard a 6+ power card)
2. Rhinar's ability triggers → intimidate
3. Smell Fear's effect activates ("If you've beaten chest this turn, intimidate")
4. Result: Two intimidate triggers from one card (2 for 2, instead of 1 for 2)
5. Any other Beat Chest cards you play this turn don't require additional discards, plus you get the benefits of the cards.

Why This Matters

Every intimidate trigger removes a random card from your opponent's hand temporarily. Multiple intimidates in one turn can severely deplete their defensive options, making it nearly impossible for them to block effectively. When they do block, they're blocking with a reduced hand, and when they don't, you're dealing massive damage.

The Problem Rhinar Never Solved (Until Now)

The Historical Weakness

Rhinar's intimidate strategy has always had a fundamental problem: what happens when they can't block?

After 3-4 intimidates empty their hand, opponents face a simple choice:

• Block with equipment and arsenal → preserve life total
• Don't block at all → take damage but keep cards in hand

Historically, many opponents simply chose to take the damage. Why? Because Rhinar attacks didn't punish them for NOT blocking. The damage was the damage - whether they blocked or not, the outcome was similar. Intimidate became an irrelevant keyword, and never had a great time with decks that don't plan on blocking. (it was still great vs fatigue decks)