Land (20)
- 4x Blightstep Pathway Flip
- 4x Blood Crypt
- 4x Bloodstained Mire
- 4x Mountain
- 3x Swamp
- 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Enchantment (4)
Creature (16)
Instant (10)
Sorcery (10)
Sideboard
Creature (4)
Instant (4)
Sorcery (2)
Artifact (4)
Enchantment (1)
Maybeboard
I was combing through the database looking at older cards, and came across Mayhem Devil. A true Rakdos poster child, I recognized potential and wanted to see what I could do building around this particular creature. I looked into a few different paths the deck could take, and finally settled on one themed around sacrificial offerings. To my surprise it turned out to be very engaging and rewarding to play. For those not fully convinced of the potential for fun here…
Turn 1 sees us looking to play primarily cards, although we transition to predominantly cards during the mid game. Since the split is roughly 2/3 in favor of , we can’t take too many chances with our mana setup.
•Running the best Fetches, Duals and MDFC lands means we don’t have to worry overmuch. Bloodstained Mire, Blood Crypt and Blightstep Pathway are the complete package.
•Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is included as a one-of to smooth over any rough edges.
•A handful of Mountains and Swamps top off our mana pool.
As a side note I’d like to draw specific attention to the artwork on the Dissension version of Blood Crypt.
By this time in the game’s lineage, WotC had already eschewed the vast majority of real world inspirations and had dove headfirst into lore/backstory of their own making. I never cared for most of this fictitious lore, so seeing this card was a fleeting reminder of my favorite era of this game of ours. I’m sure what’s depicted on this rendition of the card has some official explanation, but aficionados of history in the Near East will immediately recognize the subtle nod to ancient Carthage and Canaan, and the…things…that took place there.
Not the pharmacy, mind you. Rather, these are the cards that supplement and feed our main strategy. While not wincons in and of themselves, they serve as presage to our opponent as we invoke a most unholy liturgy.
•As drawing into Mayhem Devil is no guarantee, Thrill of Possibility and Cathartic Reunion supply additional draw power.
•Unearth serves as life insurance for Mayhem Devil, reanimating it for chump change in the event of removal. The same can be said for Vexing Devil, which can become quite problematic for the opponent toward the endgame.
•Seal of Fire can be cast at our leisure whenever we have a spare on hand in preparation for Mola Ram’s appearance. Once he arrives, sacrifice the enchantment at any time for a legitimate delayed Lightning Bolt.
•Speaking of, Lightning Bolt is included as traditional removal because it’s just too good, and has been ever since Alpha. If you’re as tired as I am of that stupid primate, zap it and enjoy some chilled monkey brains.
•Bone Shards is a most welcome addition from Modern Horizons 2, and would be part of the ‘god hand’ along with Unearth and Mayhem Devil. If Mayhem Devil isn’t afield yet, then discard it from your hand where it may be unearthed for a total of instead of .
If Mayhem Devil already is in play, then sacrificing a different creature as part of Bone Shards’ cost provides removal without the usual restrictions (“non-black”, “non-artifact”, “non-legendary” etc), as well as pinging for 1. Snipes Planeswalkers too!
•Sudden Edict forces a sacrifice, although it leaves the choice up to the opponent. Not ideal, but hey—at least we have Split Second working in our favor. At any rate it will absolutely trigger Mayhem Devil and keep the pressure on.
•I’ll go ahead and list Grief here as though it’s technically a creature we’ll really just be using it like a mana-less Thoughtseize most of the time.
•Mola Ram presides as High Priest in this blasphemous sacrament. Whenever any permanent is sacrificed by any player, 1 point of damage may be directed toward any target of our choosing. Most of the rest of our spells and creatures are complicit in triggering that ability.
•Vexing Devil finds itself a perfect home here. Early game will likely see it as a 4 damage burn spell for 1 mana, but that’s quite alright. Once Mayhem Devil enters play we can Unearth our little friend to present a lose-lose scenario for our opponent; either they torpedo him again for another 4pts. of damage plus an additional 1 for each Mayhem Devil in play, or else they let us compliment our boardstate with a 4/3.
•Desecration Demon was always one of those types of cards—a 6/6 Flyer for only 4 mana?! But then you read its rules text and get a good look at ‘the man behind the curtain’ and the façade comes crashing down. But what if things were different? With our key card in play, a Desecration Demon becomes something of a doomsday clock for our opponent. They’ll attempt to remove it, of course, which truth be told we can’t do much about in these these colors. But if it sticks it presents a real ‘money pit’. To stave off 6 points of damage, they’ll have little choice but to sacrifice a creature to tap it—draining their resources, buffing our demon, and pinging for 1. It’s all about keeping the sacrifices triggering and the ping damage flowing. When they inevitably run out of fodder to throw at it we can have it swoop in for the kill.
•What’s a High Priest without a repugnant pagan false god to worship? Enter Mogis, God of Slaughter. Stepping right out of the shadow of the sons of Ammon, Molo…*ahem*…Mogis is hungry and wastes no time demanding delectable morsels. The most persuasive method of ensuring a steady supply of sacrifices, the opposing player is faced with the prospect of 2 points of damage per turn or the option to deliver up one of their creatures…which will ping them for 1. Should this Abomination decide to go mobile, a 7/5 Indestructible god packs quite the wallop. Endgame stuff for sure, but what a way to go!
•With Mayhem Devil in play, force the opponent to sacrifice creatures with spells like Sudden Edict and our vile heathen god, while removing any potential threats with Bone Shards. Each sacrifice will trigger 1 point of damage sent in our opponent’s direction.
•Keep a copy of Unearth at the ready to return Mayhem Devil (or Vexing Devil) to play if he should fall, and finish off the opponent through large amounts of combat damage courtesy of Desecration Demon or Mogis, if he’s able to attack. Keep up the assault and you’ll have your opponents saying:
•Blood Moon is a precautionary measure against the faster archetypes and can really shove a broom handle in their spokes.
•Surgical Extraction can remove the firing pin in quite a few combos and strategies.
•Relic of Progenitus makes sure that what’s dead stays dead.
•Pithing Needle negates the effectiveness of a host of different cards bearing problematic abilities.
•Angrath's Rampage offers a multiple choice selection of desirable options for us, while Fury and Ingot Chewer each function as removal while triggering Mayhem Devil in the process if we Evoke them.
”No; but I say that what the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons…and I do not want you to become sharers with the demons.”
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Casual
92% Competitive
| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 2 years |
| Last updated | 2 years |
| Legality | This deck is not Modern legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 5 - 2 Mythic Rares 20 - 7 Rares 12 - 4 Uncommons 16 - 2 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 2.00 |
| Folders | Modern, Modern Decks, Inspirational decks, Just a collection, Baator's Collection |
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