Death's Gate

Casual Mono-Black

ClockworkSwordfish

Creature (20)

• 4x Demon of Death's Gate
• 4x Lazotep Reaver
• 4x Serrated Scorpion
• 4x Slitherhead
• 4x Whisper Squad

Artifact (3)

• 3x Lightning Greaves

Sorcery (11)

• 3x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Dread Return
• 3x Exhume
• 4x Sign in Blood

Instant (4)

• 4x Dark Ritual

Land (22)

• 1x Castle Locthwain
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 20x Swamp

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Sideboard

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Confront the Past
• 1x Environmental Sciences
• 2x Necrotic Fumes
• 2x Pest Summoning

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Maybeboard

Creature (6)

• 1x Delraich
• 1x Eyetwitch
• 1x Greedy Freebooter
• 1x Rottenmouth Viper
• 1x Sengir Autocrat
• 1x Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker

Instant (1)

• 1x Culling the Weak

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If a creature requires nine whole mana to play, it probably casts a pretty long shadow on the board. So imagine how much havoc it could wreak if you get that creature for free!

Demon of Death's Gate is a truly nasty 9/9 with flying and trample - the type of thing you'd expect to cost nine mana. You can sidestep its mana cost entirely, however, by feeding it three creatures instead. Line up a number of one-mana black creatures or tokens and you can pound the big bad demon out as early as turn one!

Lines of Play

Swamp, Dark Ritual, three copies of Serrated Scorpion, sacrifice them all to bring in Demon of Death's Gate. The Scorpions recoup your lifeloss, your opponent is at 14 life and you have a 9/9 with flying and trample on the first turn. How's that for pressure?

Too fragile? Okay, a turn one Ritual can instead net you a Slitherhead and Lightning Greaves. Play another two Slitherheads turn two, pitch them all for the Demon, then scavenge them all onto him, equip the Greaves and immediately swing in the air with a 12/12 trampler. Removal need not apply!

Cold feet about spending four cards just to get one creature? Whisper Squad can help ease your card disadvantage woes. A first turn Ritual can let you play a Squad and then immediately use its ability to pull out another one. On your second turn you can attack with them both, search up a third squad and then trade them all in for the Demon. Now you're only down the two from your hand - much better!

Lazotep Reaver also cuts down on your card disadvantage by providing two bodies from a single card. A first-turn Ritual can still score you the necessary three creatures with a Reaver and a one-drop, but without costing quite so many cards in hand.

Date added	3 years
Last updated	4 months
Exclude colors	G
Legality	This deck is Casual legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 5 - 1 Rares 8 - 2 Uncommons 23 - 3 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.37
Tokens	Pest 1/1 BG, Zombie Army 0/0 B