Vilis, Broker of Blood

Legendary Creature — Demon

Flying

{B}, Pay 2 life: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.

Whenever you lose life, draw that many cards. (Damage causes loss of life.)

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
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

Czarnian90 on Hellegion, Shadows and Flames (Raphael)

3 days 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.

TheoryCrafter on 5c Bridge Walkers

4 months ago

Considering you have no basic lands in your deck, having those mana rocks in there is a good move since cards like Blood Moon can hobble your deck. Also, if you choose to add Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge, that would make for extra ramp.

I've noticed you have a lot of mana and draw cards with lifeloss. If this was intentional, I would recommend any combination of Font of Agonies, Vampire Scrivener, and Vilis, Broker of Blood. Otherwise, the lifeloss seems like an unnecessary risk even with all the control you have.

If not, replacing the Talismans with Signets(including, but not limited to, Azorius Signet and Dimir Signet) and replacing some of the other nonland cards with the "Oath of..." Cards (especially Oath of Nissa and Oath of Liliana) would also help to benefit not only from card and mana advantage, but ETB triggers as well.

I hope this helps. Happy Hunting!

Flarhoon13 on Lazav and Gyruda (Companion): Doom Mind

6 months ago

May 3, 2024, I started a new quest. Having built 52 decks, I endeavoured to play them all, in roughly the same order as I created them.

Aug 15

Lazav and Gyruda (Companion): Doom Mind win, long game vs Evan's The Fifth Doctor, Rob's Bruenor Battlehammer and Blaine's Gods, bringing my record to 22-26-1. Bringer of the Last Gift finally won a game after my early Vilis, Broker of Blooddrew me a ton of cards, like 20, plus Kairi, the Swirling Sky held down the fort; and a late Altar of Dementia for self-mill sealed the deal for Bringer of the Last Gift to bring out an overwhelming number of powerful creatures. Win percentage goes to .458

Felipix on What commander should I run?

9 months ago

I see my self in the following situation, I build an deck for each color of the game, I did {B} Vilis, Broker of Blood (to play self-lifeloss, as a monoblack thing), Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant  ^Flip big {G}'s, Evra, Halcyon Witness (as mono {W} life gain) and mono {R} Krenko, Mob Boss goblins

What should I do in mono-blue

1. Budget, less than 4$ (the commander)

2. Casual, so not an thing like stax or extra turns

3. An bomb in the command zone (like an {INFINITY}/{INFINITY} creature or like that)

4. Some core strategy for the color (like counterspells)

And I need to keep this thread so someone else can come here and say "I want an commander that way"

mtgApprentice21 on The Lich

1 year ago

Vilis, Broker of Blood would also be hilarious.

Belfore on Healing Therapy with Mr. Oloro

1 year ago

Things that can be useful with life gain. Kuro, Pitlord, Doom Whisperer, Greed, Staff of Compleation, Unspeakable Symbol, Vilis, Broker of Blood, Vona, Butcher of Magan. Just a few of the things I found with a quick search that could be interesting.

Headers13 on Omnath

1 year ago

Cut / Ribbons

Dregs of Sorrow

Dread

Vilis, Broker of Blood

Azoth2099 on Kaalia Kicks Vast Ass

1 year ago

The best way I've found to help Kaalia of the Vast cheat all of those big ole chonkers creatures into play is by running a solid Reanimator package so that your deck doesn't rely solely on it's Commander to function. Entomb, Reanimate, Buried Alive, Victimize, Animate Dead, Necromancy, Phyrexian Reclamation & Final Parting do a lot of work.

I'd also recommend looking through the recent Dominaria Remastered & Commander Masters sets for spicy, cheap reprints like Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Sneak Attack & Gamble. Oh, don't forget to get Vilis, Broker of Blood in there at some point as well.

Here's my own Kaalia list if you wanna check it out: ANCIENT DRAGON TEMPEST (KAALIA)