Raphael, Fiendish Savior

Legendary Creature — Devil Noble

Flying

Other Demons, Devils, Imps and Tieflings you control get +1/+1 and have lifelink.

At the beginning of each end step, if a creature card was put into your graveyard from anywhere this turn, create a 1/1 red Devil creature token with "When this creature dies, it deals 1 damage to any target (creature, player or planeswalker)."

Tokens

• Devil 1/1 R

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	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
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (10)

Czarnian90 on Hellegion, Shadows and Flames (Raphael)

7 months ago

Commander Update: Shadows Rise, Flames Burn

After several games against tough opponents, I’ve made a few changes to the deck and, more importantly, swapped the commander of the Hellegion. The Balrog, Durin's Bane is still very much part of the deck—playing him as a commander was fun and flavorful, but I wanted a leader who can impact my board more directly and help set the pace of the game. The Balrog remains a force of nature, and having him lurking in the deck, ready to be unleashed, still feels great. I believe he’ll continue to be a major threat even when he's not always leading the charge.

Raphael, Fiendish Savior steps in as the new commander, supporting the game plan more consistently. He helps stabilize the board, buffs my army, and sets the stage for the Balrog’s arrival. I run several cards that can fetch him straight from the deck—Blood Speaker, Demonlord Belzenlok, Rune-Scarred Demon, Icon of Ancestry, Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted, and others—so even as a lurking horror, he’s never too far away.

I also added more damage-dealing spells for better control and direct pressure on opponents. Beyond classics like Devil's Play, Terminate, and Dreadbore, I’ve added Hell to Pay and Rakdos's Return to punish hands and boards alike. On top of that, I doubled down on devil token synergy and death-triggered burn effects. These little fiends now serve not just as blockers or sac fodder, but as a win condition on their own—especially when paired with Raphael’s lifelink boost. Every dying devil becomes pain for the enemy and healing for me.

I’ve now included four versions of Ob Nixilis — yes, it’s a bit much, but each fills a unique role. This one Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted punishes card draw and bolsters removal. Tibalt, Rakish Instigator is still here too, classic devil support: fueling tokens and preventing opponents from healing the damage my demons and devils dish out. They don’t live long, but if timed right, their impact is massive.

I’ve also added some recursion (Oversold Cemetery) and a spicy alternate wincon in Liliana's Contract.

Some bigger demons were swapped out for stronger synergy or pure flavor—welcome Asmodeus the Archfiend, Balor, Kardur, Doomscourge, and others to the Hellegion.

Sadly, a few cards had to go — Imskir Iron-Eater, Archfiend of Sorrows, some regenerating skeletons, and a handful of artifacts are no longer marching with the legion.

I still have a few cards waiting on the bench—Burn Down the House, Rakdos Keyrune, Doom Whisperer, Overseer of the Damned, Skirsdag High Priest, Spawn of Mayhem, Breath of Malfegor — and I’ll be testing space for them soon.

In the long run, I’d love to add some heavier hitters and staples like Kindred Dominance, Altar of Shadows, Bontu's Monument, Krav, the Unredeemed, Rite of Belzenlok, Demonic TutorGC, Sudden Spoiling, Grave Pact, Dark Prophecy, Attrition, Vilis, Broker of Blood, Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Pestilence Demon, Lord of the Void, Archfiend of Depravity, and especially Karlach, Fury of Avernus.

We’ll see where the Hellegion marches next—and who joins, or falls, along the way.

legendofa on

1 year ago

Welcome to the club, Kershin36!

I'm not a Commander expert, but there's a couple of cards here I'd like to poke at.

You don't have a lot of self-damaging effects to take advantage of Rowan, Scion of War--in fact, I only really see Blood Crypt and Bloodgift Demon that would reliably hit you. There are plenty of "damage target player" effects, but I assume you would want to use those on your opponents. There's also not really enough instants to use her ability on opponents' turns, either. I would cut her, or at least add more self-damage effects. Depending on budget and focus, Sulfuric Vortex, Phyrexian Arena, or Black Market Connections are all very good options, and Raphael, Fiendish Savior lets you recover the life loss easily enough.

Everlasting Torment is a very good card, but here it directly clashes with Raphael. I would simply cut it, unless you don't mind losing the lifelink or are willing to use a different commander.

There's no way to spread +1/+1 counters for Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch, and less than five creatures that use them at all. A 4/4 hasty first striker is pretty good as an attacker, but you're usually going to want more utility than that.

Here, I'm going to get into my personal tastes, so if these suggestions aren't what you're looking for with this deck, feel free to skip over them. I would add more sacrifice effects to control when your creatures die and help ensure you gain some advantage from it. Mayhem Devil will thank you. I would also add more mass removal and destroy effects. A lot of your removal options are single target and based on damage or toughness reduction, which isn't bad in moderation but won't help much against a token deck going off or a creature with double digit power/toughness, both of which happen pretty regularly. I'm a fan of discard, but choose your targets well.

And above all, have fun!

ThassaUpYo@ssa on Be'Elz A'Boot

2 years ago

Greetings, mlequesne! Great idea to add Whip of Erebos - I also threw in Exquisite Blood for another means of gaining life in addition to the Whip and Raphael, Fiendish Savior. Demons are my favorite tribe in Magic and are quite powerful as long as you don't succumb to the life loss required to fully utilize their power. Do you have a Demon tribal list I could check out? Always looking to upvote other builds, especially those that share a common theme with mine!

Eldrazi13 on Would Raphael's Lifelink effect trigger …

3 years ago

Would the effect of Raphael, Fiendish Savior cause the Devil tokens' Lifelink to work when they die or would it fade at that point? Would they deal 1 damage through thier own effect and trigger lifelink, I mean?

to_regatha_and_beyond on zdevil burn

3 years ago

Good first draft! A few things to consider-

• Since Raphael, Fiendish Savior isn't modern-legal, you might want to consider some alternatives. Maybe something like Rakdos, the Showstopper could work in Raphael's place? It's pretty powerful removal and a strong body on its own, so it makes for a good finisher, and more importantly, it's allowed in the format.
• Try to look for better options for cards whenever you can. A few of the cards you're running have strictly superior alternatives that I would check out, for instance Blaze could be replaced by Fireball or Banefire.
• Set up a sideboard so that your deck will be a bit more alterable. Cards like Devils' Playground, Wild Slash, Tibalt, Rakish Instigator and Vengeful Devil might make good sideboard options.

Consider these, and I'm excited to see where you take the deck from here! Very interesting first iteration.

legendofa on Ziatora Calls Upon the Demons

3 years ago

Okay, let's take a look at some of these. First note is, budget isn't really a concern, because pretty much all of my games are online these days, through servers like Cockatrice.

Master of Cruelty, Demonlord Belzenlok, and Burning-Rune Demon were all on my short list. Master of Cruelty is a little too build-around for my preference in this deck, but it's a great card. Belzenlok and B-R Demon would help to give it consistency, and Belzenlok in particular has a good chance of finding its way back in.

I had overlooked Dragon Tempest, so that's definitely going in.

I'll play around with Raphael, Fiendish Savior, Ob Nixilis, Unshackled, and Rakshasa Debaser and see what they do for this deck. I especially like the lifelink, since this deck plays more recklessly than my usual style.

This is my first Demon tribal deck, so I'm still working out the details. The 6-8 mana slots fill up fast. Incidentally, how do you submit a deck to EDHrec?

Once again, thanks for the suggestions!

TheVectornaut on juggling the health

3 years ago

I second the idea of looking into a sacrifice-matters strategy. It's a good archetype for Rakdos that can be played on a low budget in casual settings. In my deck, Sacrifice in Flame, I make use of free sacrifice outlets like Viscera Seer or Carrion Feeder to get value out of sacrificing things, especially if those things are actually my opponent's creatures stolen via Act of Treason effects like Kari Zev's Expertise, Claim the Firstborn, or Bloody Betrayal. You can also sac for damage with Thud, Rite of Consumption, and other Flings, something that makes big cards with downside like Abyssal Persecutor, Desecration Demon, and Goldnight Castigator much better without needing a Harmless Offering or the like. As you can see, demons often take a starring role in such decks and from what you have here, it does look like you enjoy demons. The tribe isn't super well supported, but you could take a look at Raphael, Fiendish Savior or Liliana's Contract.

griffstick on Demon King

3 years ago

Raphael, Fiendish Savior might be the new Demon king