General Jank Spotlight
- Thread starter Brad
- Start date
Nice catch, it even triggers the other Horror dude
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I thought I was so clever when I put these together in my first cube. Lich and Summoning will always be favorite cards of mine.
I think it's completely viable and incredibly flavorful, and therefore leans closer to the 'Genius' end of the spectrum. I love Demons because they perfectly embody the "Greatness, at any cost" ethos of the Black color identity.
I will say I find them to be sometimes... incongruent with each other, unfortunately? But it makes sense, I could see Demons being self-centered pricks to one another.
As a thought experiment, I thought about how I would implement a lower powered Demon archetype in my current list:
Demon Aggro
I think some Demons fall deeply into a more 'aggressive' line of work. That isn't to say they cannot pull weight in other places, but they primarily enjoy flying into an opponent's gob
Just an incredible aggro beater. 3/1 with menace for 2cmc is nothing to scoff at as a baseline, and the potential to scale into the later game is a boon for aggro while also extending viability into Midrange.
A 3-mana 5/5 with flying hits pretty hard and quickly kills em' dead. The downside is unfortunate, but the timing of the trigger gives you as the caster time to set up interactions in your favor. Gross with haste-enablers and can be self-sac'd away to deny paying the demon its toll. Although not its primary application, it *can* survive a Wildfire, so I am curious if it could find a home in one of those shells.
Demons often need pawns to do their bidding. Some say these most dutiful of servants can sometimes find themselves... rewarded. I like it, turning fodder into a sizeable / evasive threat is powerful on its own, but this cards interactions with Discard / self-mill pushes it over the top for me.
A flying firetruck that can beat the ever-living daylights out of anything that breathes. On a more charming note, its never lets its victims experience the sweet release of death. Strong with Haste and fun as an aggro finisher with its one-two-punch: Smack em' then Sac' em'. Probably has potential in a Wildfire shell.
Generically Solid Demons
These generous fellas often times give more than they take, making them viable in an abundance of strategies.
Honestly a 4/4 with flying at 4cmc is a completely acceptable baseline. On top of that, this Demon's triggered ability is very flexible and incredibly powerful. I think it could easily find a home almost any shell involving creatures while excelling in Aristocrats and Pox.
If I ever curate a cube without supporting Mardu Aristocrats I have probably been abducted and you should call the police. I like free sac-outlets and I think Butcher here is pretty good.
A bit dull, but I can't bring myself to complain much about a Phyrexian Arena on a Demon that can also hit your opponents.
I actually love Rune-Scarred. It's just super clean, powerful, and easy to understand. Lovely reanimation / ramp target. The M12 foiling accenting the runes etched into its skin is awesome as well.
Pox Demons
Cackle in delight as the weak wither and the strong survive. If you run out of fodder, you might find yourself becoming payment. The following Demons excel in slower, attrition-focused shells that can satisfy their demands and exploit their strengths.
An extremely threatening body with an excellent ETB-trigger. Find yourself in the wrong situation and the downside can be outright brutal. In the right shell the downside can even be turned into an advantage. I think it is really good.
I like both of these, but I would probably only include one or the other. I think Reaper overall fits the feel of Pox better but I love the art on Xathrid and flinging corpses at your opponent is probably fun for at least one person.
Affinity Demon
Thanks to @Nanonox for sharing the affinity demon. I think Imskir has the potential to be a really cool finisher in a RB Wildfire draft-list that includes a lot of mana rocks.
Demon Payoffs
Ready to make a deal with the devil? Winning this cube draft Bo3 is really important, you can worry about your mortal soul later!
Liliana's Contract was the insert-rare included in my pre-release kit when I drafted M19. Unfortunately I didn't draft enough Demons to make it an active win-con then, but it was that day I learned that drawing 4 cards for 5-mana and some life can be pretty solid floor for a game-piece. I like this card quite a lot and think it can find homes outside of a demon-centric shell, so out of all the Demon-specific payoffs / support pieces listed in the OP this one takes the cake for me.
Sacrificing an Academy Rector away to a Demon to whip out the Contract seems very fun.
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