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Be'Lakor's Panoply

Commander / EDH Demons Goodstuff Sacrifice Theme/Gimmick Tokens UBR (Grixis) Vorthos

Andramalech

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Land (35)

Planeswalker (1)

Creature (29)

Instant (8)

Commander (1)

Commander: Be'Lakor, the Dark Master

Artifact (10)

Sorcery (9)

Enchantment (7)

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Creature (30)

Land (33)

Sorcery (8)

Artifact (11)

Enchantment (8)

Instant (8)

Planeswalker (2)

This is a Grixis () deck, that is a strengthened coalition of the unholy. Properly ruled and repurposed from a build I've previously used, this deck is mantled by Be'Lakor, the Dark Master. This build is meant to prosper by using demons, associated mechanics, and flavorful cards depicting demons. I constructed this with the intention of it to feel futile to resist, overwhelming to stand against, and treacherous at all times. It is now an adapted project, which will be apart of a collaborative effort alongside NoobNoob275 to create creature based decks.

Iconic Creature Archetypes

This deck is a part of a collaborative project involving NoobNoob275. My concept is a Grixis-colored () deck built to prosper by using demons, associated mechanics, and flavorful cards depicting demons. The commander is by request of the formerly mentioned associate, so I am using a previous build to provide the basis of the deck. This time around the priority is really going to be flavor driven, so I'm already super pumped about how this will shake out. Mechanically, other cards would suit the deck better so this list is a theme/gimmick type of constructions as a whole, and representative of a casually powered idea, with competitive capabilities. Enjoy!

I'm beginning my thought process as the spoiler season for Warhammer 40k Edh Pre-Cons are happening.

The associated-colored build has a lot of incredible Demons capable of making this build flourish.

Had to wait awhile to update my list and include the newest demons but I think I'll put Be'Lakor, the Dark Master at the helm of my build. (Building in Sept. 2022.)

The ones I'm most interested in using include:

There's a lot of value in a demon tribal deck if I can manage to pack it full of supporting nonsense. Up until now, I never had a cool enough Demon (imo) worth building an edh around.

During the Shards of Alara block, we saw some multi-colored demons printed such as Prince of Thralls. Defiler of Souls also came from around this time period, and most of the representation we see in sets from here forward is .

A notable amount of time later we see things like Malfegor and then with Kaldheim we get a nice reprisal of them, leading to New Capenna where we see Lord Xander, the Collector.

Overall, demons do NOT have the means to go outside of "Chaos" colors (minus ) unless it is devoted to a Kaalia of the Vast build or likewise a Kaalia, Zenith Seeker build.

More recently has seen love with Liesa, Forgotten Archangel at the helm and Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim adding a lot of synergy to decks that wanna use Shadowborn Apostle.

For those looking for a more direct look at how the deck functions, I detailed how I intend to use some of the more important cards below.

Another key development for this deck I want to incorporate is my favor for Demonology, and some interesting lore surrounding how that influenced my card choices.

"Why Demons?"

I have had a fascination for demons since childhood, in several different forms of media.

As a kid I had a love for mythology, specifically Gargoyles, and Demons. My dad encouraged my fascination with Gargoyles specifically, testifying that they were guardians and protectors.

"..Not all things dark do harm.."

Those words stuck with me, and hence the following chronicle about demons, and associated nerd stuff.

Demons are classified under one of four distinct categories throughout Demonology:

  1. The traditional Christian angels depicted to have fallen from grace, into the discarded depths of Hell.

  2. Malevolent spirits associated with the mortal realm, and sometimes familiars.

  3. Ethereal beings that receive worship from cultists.

  4. Ghosts, and various other types of beings associated with the concept of the afterlife (i.e.; Revenants, etc.)

The Zoroastrian faith teaches that there are 3,333 Demons, some with specific dark responsibilities such as war, starvation, sickness, etc.

There are also several other ways demons have been classified, notably by "office" or their rank:

In the study of demonology, many spirits are classified by office, rank, or titles which theologians believe were once held in heaven before the fall, or which they currently hold in their infernal dwelling.

..Demons categorized by office are often depicted in a militant hierarchy, in which a general may hold command over some designated legion..

Ars Goetia is the first section of The Lesser Key of Solomon, containing descriptions of the seventy-two demons that King Solomon is said to have evoked and confined in a bronze vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that he obliged to work for him.

The Ars Goetia assigns a rank and a title of nobility to each member of the infernal hierarchy, and gives the demons "signs they have to pay allegiance to", or seals.

Throughout magic, creatures given the typing of Demon are a majority associated with black .

I most directly associate the most powerful demons in magic with a concept through 'The Book of Abramelin', and the four Princes of Darkness.

..possibly written in the 14th or 15th century, lists four princes of the demons; Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan and Belial.

"..Demons know no food, know no drink, eat no flour offering and drink no libation.."

In some iterations, the Abrahamic religions depict some demons as these cryptic beings that ruled over empires, maybe mistaken as gods amongst men..

from Isaiah 14:3-20, which does speak of the defeat of a particular Babylonian King, to whom it gives a title which refers to the Morning Star, or Lucifer.

For the strongest, most effective demons for the role, I'd choose from the following. Others do exist but in terms of representative value I think mono-black demons are best.

There are also eight sub-princes; Astaroth, Magoth, Asmodee, Beelzebub, Oriens, Paimon, Ariton (Egin) and Amaymon.

If you noticed above, we actually already have Asmodee represented in an iteration that does him justice. In some Christian theology, he (Asmodeus) is represented as one of Satan/Lucifer's most prevalent Lieutenants.

Admirable History - Sebastien Michaelis

Detailed in the First Hierarchy, Asmodeus was a prince of the Seraphim.

Asmodeus...burning with desire to tempt men into wantonness. He is opposed by St. John the Baptist..

In terms of "demons that would definitely be your wingman", Asmodeus could be a great pick. For me, only one comes to mind:

He hits all our color requirements, represents some super nasty effects, and can potentially serve as the commander (heh) himself.

Others who make the roster include:

Out of all these auxiliary demons who seem to do a variety of dastardly deeds, none captured the full essence of the deck.

Some incorporate but fail to grab .

Arguably, demons are more noteworthy (within MTG) when lacking the third color but for representative purposes, they dont encompass all of what demons can do.

Hence, why they are the obvious Captains of their respective platoons, and not commandeering larger portions of the legion.

Under the rule of these there are many lesser demons.

There are so many options here. I'd recommend using somewhere between mana value 2-3 to represent your lower echelon of Demonic servants.

Devils are also representative of bottom-tier servants to Demons within the world of MTG. Some examples below:

There is also a lot to be said of the cultists' perspective provided through a lot of magics history, and some of the more effective ways to support your demons aren't demons themselves.

A variety of these one-off cards exist that might help this Demonic legion succeed.

And to quote one of my favorite characters amongst the realm of Magic, who I personally think has a lot of similar personality traits to a demon...

"The finest pawns are those with pawns of their own. - Nicol Bolas" - Rakka Mar

There are several iterations in "fiction" depicting an unnatural power associated with certain relics, those associated with Dark energy.

Notably, demons and spirits are the most prevalently associated causes of "cursed" relics.

The Derelict Baubles

The Demonic Medallions

Monuments to Sin

Cryptic Phylacteries

Tumultuous Talismans

Detail cool stuff here Brrr brr brrr I'll do this later I hope

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91% Casual

Competitive

Revision 14 See all

(1 month ago)

+1 Arcane Signet main
-1 Mox Amber main
Top Ranked
Date added 2 years
Last updated 1 month
Exclude colors WG
Splash colors UBR
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

16 - 0 Mythic Rares

53 - 0 Rares

14 - 0 Uncommons

11 - 0 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.74
Tokens Copy Clone, Demon 5/5 B, Demon X/X B, Devil 1/1 R, Faerie Rogue 1/1 B, Foretell, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Kobolds of Kher Keep 0/1 R, Plaguebearer of Nurgle 1/3 B, Wicked, Zombie 3/3 C, Zombie Army 0/0 B
Folders Demons
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