Hellrider

Creature — Devil

Haste

Whenever a creature you control attacks, Hellrider deals 1 damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.

Combos

• Curiosity + Hellrider
• Embermaw Hellion + Hellrider + Torbran, Thane of Red Fell

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Freeform	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (46)

hyalopterouslemur on Thinking about how we evaluate …

2 months ago

So, I've been thinking a lot about how cards are evaluated. Specifically it comes down to two cards: Regrowth and Eternal Witness.

I've also been watching a lot of Magic YouTUbe, and there's a hipster movement to hate on Eternal Witness, among other EDH mainstays. Supposedly Regrowth is better, and I want to talk about that, and the two ways to evaluate cards.

First, Regrowth. In a vacuum, Regrowth is better. It costs {1}{G}, in contrast to Eternal Witness's {1}{G}{G}. That's one mana less. The 2/1 body is unimpressive in combat. This is all true.

But then you look at Eternal Witness. She's a creature, meaning Cryptolith Rite or Earthcraft turns her into a mana dork. Meaning you get two cards back with Panharmonicon. Meaning you get to trigger Cathars' Crusade or Aura ShardsGC. Meaning her death triggers Dictate of Erebos. Meaning she can be blinked or bounced. Meaning cards that count creatures (e.g., Shamanic Revelation, Pennon Blade, Gaea's CradleGC) count her. Meaning she can attack, triggering Hellrider, even if she's likely to just be blocked and killed. Meaning her entering triggers Purphoros, God of the Forge and Warleader's Call and related cards. Meaning Yeva, Nature's Herald gives her flash, which opens up other forms of abuse. (Seedborn MuseGC, anyone?) Meaning you can bring her 2/1 self back with Smile at Death. And no one's playing either card on turn 2 anyway.

Which one you pick says a lot about your personality, though neither choice takes away your Spike card, and there is no wrong answer. I tend to favor instants over creatures where applicable, for instance. And this doesn't make, e.g., Silverglade Elemental, good in most decks; mana cost still matters.

In reality, both are good cards, and you should probably play both if you can. but it depends on what you're trying to do. But which card you choose if you must choose one is far more complicated than simple rox/sux arguments.

hyalopterouslemur on Naya tricks

5 months ago

Yeah, when most players talk about combat tricks, they mean cards like Giant Growth.

Anyway, I have to second Sun Titan works well with your aura theme.

Hellrider can do a lot of damage.

May I suggest Curse of Stalked Prey? That damage can add up, and it lets you play a little bit of politics by encouraging other players to attack the enchanted player.

While not on theme, Balefire Liege is just great. Speaking of Eventide, Scourge of the Nobilis is a great mana sink.

If you want creatures to get through, may I suggest Trailblazer's Boots? In fact, hating on nonbasic lands is surprisingly effective in my metagame (where most people run four or five colors).

Warstorm Surge is a bit expensive, but it's a removal engine all on its own.

Crow_Umbra on Best color for this type …

1 year ago

My main play group runs various flavors of Goad, or combat manipulation (we love swinging at each other). Why swing at other people, when you can force them to hit each other? A few suggestions off the top of my head:

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant/Kardur, Doomscourge - Either of these could be the commander of the deck. Karazikar simultaneously incentivizes and punishes your opponents for smacking each other. Playing in Red/Black also opens up access to all the direct burn stuff in Red, as well as attack trigger group slug like Hellrider, Vicious Conquistador, or Far Fortune, End Boss.

• Breena, the Demagogue - Help your opponents draw cards from hitting each other. The access to white also gives you plenty of options for the Ghostly Prison effects in white, plus its suite of removal.

• Gonti, Night Minister is a new option that could also slot into the 99 of some of the other commanders mentioned above. The theft aspects will likely draw the ire of the table, but if everyone is stealing from everyone...

• Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos or Slicer, Hired Muscle  ^Flip- You could donate a big Voltron threat around the table and make the table kill each other for you. One of my friends runs Alexios, and it feels like a game of hot potato with Voltron damage. Technically, you're not the one hitting people.

• Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser can Goad your opponents creatures, but also rewards your opponents for hitting each other. You can Goad everyone while hiding behind the Ghostly Prison/Propaganda effects.

• Isshin, Two Heavens as One can be built as a combat control deck, since he checks the attack triggers on most stuff I previously mentioned, and house those all in his 99. Additionally you can run stuff like Lightmine Field and Caltrops.

• The Lord of Pain is a lot of fun to play as a commander, and to play against. Maybe my friends and I are just masochists. A couple of my friends run the Lord of Pain as a commander, and typically play it very politically, where they "donate" the option to target the damage. You don't have to swing, and can run all the burn and damage multipliers to your heart's content.

Veghelia on Combat Superiority

1 year ago

Crow_Umbra, thank you for your feedback and suggestions!

If you're interested in sparring a bit, I've looked into your feedback and I have some thoughts. If any of this brings up other ideas or you have other suggestions, I’d love to hear it.

Regarding using more goad and embracing "being the villain":

I'm very much still experimenting with being as "supportive" with this deck as I can be, since that is really the desire I have that got me to make this deck. I derive enjoyment from seeing the table enjoy what I do and playing with me, and not forcing them to play along is an important part of that. I've made another deck (Death or Mogis) that a lot of my friends love to play against or play themselves, and I'm trying to do a similar thing here, but more combat-focused. I’ll leave the idea of embracing "being the villain" open, but I first want to figure out if I can make the "I'm your best friend in a game without allies" approach work before I fully switch (or more honestly, probably retire the deck).

Regarding Boros Battleshaper and Endbringer:

Yeah, you're right. I've noticed in goldfishing already that they don't feel good enough. Boros Battleshaper just feels like a cool idea that could work but doesn't, and Endbringer really is a remnant of the older version of this deck where I was more going for a mafia-style “broker” vibe, capable of “solving problems” on other people’s turns. Sadly, that’s a couple of steps removed from what the deck is now. I want them to be cool, but you’re right in that they really don't work in the deck.

Regarding your suggestions:

• Xantcha, Sleeper Agent creates a bit of a weird situation. I have to give it to someone, making me the bad guy in their eyes, and then they do get to benefit from my attack triggers (forcibly), but they are also the victim of the "drain and draw" ability. I think it's a bit too much of a mixed bag emotionally, and although it is not a bad card, I'll probably leave it out of the maybeboard, at least for a while or until I switch to embracing villainhood.
• Slicer, Hired Muscle  ^Flip is just not my jam aesthetically. I can appreciate some Universes Beyond stuff, but this is a no-go for me. I also think he might be too good and closing out the game himself, drawing too much ire as a result.
• Assault Suit has been on my list for a long time, and I've only really removed it from this deck's maybeboard because I'm thinking of trying it in a different, more equipment focused deck. I might re-add it later though.
• Ghostly Prison feels spot on. I hadn't considered it yet, and it feels like it would slot in reaaaaal good.
• Emberwilde Captain goes back on the maybeboard. It also gives a reason to attack me, and that's anti-syngery, but it could also be good recurring draw + punishment for trying to take it from me, and the deck is likely good enough at taking the crown back if necessary.
• Kardur, Doomscourge also goes back on the maybeboard. By far the best way to force my opponents to fight each other and have them break parity rather than have to try doing it myself :P. I had removed it together with some other goad cards, but he could be one of the few that still make the deck.
• Vengeful Ancestor has my doubts, mostly because its effect doesn't really excite me. I'm leaving it out for now, but I'll look down here if I ever can't find other good options.
• Brutal Hordechief is probably also a great suggestion. As I mentioned, I want Boros Battleshaper to work, but I've already noticed that it doesn't really, and I'm currently more fighting with the copium than leaving it in for good reasons. This would probably be the replacement. Both having some drain to add to the combat damage pressure is nice, and I could also force blocks on somebody else's turn, which is pretty cool.
• Enduring Courage is a great option. I've mostly not included it yet because it feels a bit off aesthetically, but it might just be the best option. The deck can use more haste enablers, and I’ve really just not found the one that feels the best yet.
• Hellrider probably doesn't make the cut, since the deck doesn't go-wide enough IMO, and the tokens I put in during combat don't trigger this effect, where I can buff them to hit harder.

Again, thanks for the feedback and the suggestions!

Crow_Umbra on Combat Superiority

1 year ago

I don't see combat control variants of Isshin as often as I do other variants, so kudos to you for taking a less conventional build path. My main play group plays with Goad pretty frequently, and Aggro in general, and I understand your concerns about "being the villain" for playing a lot of it. In all honesty, I think it's something that you should lean into if you're going to do it. Being the "table villain" can be fun.

I haven't read through all of your change logs, so my bad if I missed them as past edits, but have you considered any of the following:

• If you want a couple more "donation" creatures to support your Alexios, both Xantcha, Sleeper Agent and Slicer, Hired Muscle  ^Flip could be worth checking out. Assault Suit is also in line with this theme and what you're going for.

• It might be worth it to throw in a Ghostly Prison to further deter attacks at you. Emberwilde Captain is another deterrent that triggers with Isshin.

• Depending on the success you have had with them, it could be worth considering swapping out Boros Battleshaper and Endbringer for creatures in the 3-4 cmc range that can produce more tokens for your own defensive/aggro purposes. Kardur, Doomscourge and Vengeful Ancestor could be additional Goad pieces worth including as potential swaps if you don't go the token support route.

• Looking at stuff already in your Maybeboard, I think Brutal Hordechief or Enduring Courage could be worthy inclusions. Hordechief and similar group slug/drain effects, like Hellrider can help send damage straight to faces, especially since Isshin gives them an additional trigger. Takes some of the pressure off your reliance on combat damage for a deck like this.

Best of luck with the deck. I think a bit more Goad could help spice your deck up, especially if other players don't really want to "buy into" the support that you're offering them. Sometimes you have to pivot from suggesting they fight each other to actively forcing them to do so lol.

Icaruskid on Imagine Dragons | Budget Rosnakht [PRIMER]

1 year ago

Hey hey khayoz!

I went all in on go wide as my first version. It had all the Heroic spells and concentrated on buff and damage spells, no voltron:

Buff:
Metallic Mimic
Roar of Resistance
Heraldic Banner
Coat of Arms
Shared Animosity
Obelisk of Urd
Signal Pest
Konda's Banner
Eldrazi Monument
Dynacharge
Weapon Surge
Ogre Battledriver

Damage:
Throne of the God-Pharaoh
Hellrider
Impact Tremors
Witty Roastmaster
Livewire Lash

It played pretty well. Board wipes were absolutely the killer. The game becomes adding the right amount of creatures and damage without overextending. Also sometimes my little kobolds were outclassed by more powerful creatures and couldn't attack. I could have added Dolmen Gate and evasion but then we are leaving my playgroup's budget behind. This is where I discovered Descent of the Dragons and thought it would be a great finisher that's also a "buff" spell and on theme. Then that led me to Transmogrify and I've never looked back.

But the overlap approach can do work. Like Draconic Destiny adds to your voltron threat but it also enables Rosnakht to attack giving the kobolds the buff they desperately need. Dynacharge and Weapon Surge are modal so you can buff the whole team or sneak in a voltron kill.

I haven't tested all in voltron. But indestructibility might be important. Mithril Coat, Darksteel Plate, Commander's Plate, and Hammer of Nazahn might be worth a try. I just wanted something with more sizzle, style wise.

Hope this helps! Let me know what you learn!

Master_J on Attack Attack!

1 year ago

Out: Solemn Simulacrum, Austere Command, Hellrider, Revenge of Ravens

In: Mardu Ascendancy, Vanquish the Horde, Breena, the Demagogue, Fervent Charge

Bringing my curve lower. Vanquish the Horde is effectively a 2-drop emergency plan. And dropping some 4-drops for 3 drops will hopefully help. Mana doesn't seem to be a big issue with all the rocks I have in the deck (TBD).

Rhadamanthus on If a player attacks me …

2 years ago

If it wasn't clear from the above: this works and the other person was wrong about the Hellrider interaction. The game can only move to the next step or phase after both players pass priority over an empty stack. That means any triggered abilities that trigger during a given step have to be dealt with and fully resolved before the game moves forward. In both the Hissing Miasma and Hellrider examples, Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin will get the +1/+1 counters during the Declare Attackers step of combat. There's nothing in the ability or the rules of the game that tells you to wait and deal with the trigger later.