I wouldn’t be surprised to see Be’lakor, the Dark Master become the most popular Demon commander in the format. Rakdos had a good run, but Be’lakor’s suite of abilities – plus the fact that you can play some key blue cards – mean that Demon decks are getting a significant power bump with the rise of their new dark master.
Already, people like ReallyBadWizard are brewing with Be’lakor, perhaps taking existing Demon decks and making some tough cuts in order to find room for blue cards. And as Gyruda is a Demon (who knew?), today’s deck only features cards with an even mana value! Sure, we lose out on Rune-Scarred Demon and Doom Whisperer, but there are plenty of even-costed Demons that make up for it, as you’ll see!
Commander: Be'lakor, the Dark Master Companion: Gyruda, Doom of Depths 1 Dockside Extortionist 1 Dream Devourer 1 Nightscape Familiar 1 Phantasmal Image 1 Anger 1 Chainer, Nightmare Adept 1 Clever Impersonator 1 Dack's Duplicate 1 Delina, Wild Mage 1 Displacer Kitten 1 Evil Twin 1 Jaxis, the Troublemaker 1 Mirrorhall Mimic 1 Orcus, Prince of Undeath 1 Phyrexian Metamorph 1 Rakdos, Lord of Riots 1 Sakashima of a Thousand Faces 1 Sakashima the Impostor 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Spark Double 1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling 1 Vizier of Many Faces 1 Callidus Assassin 1 Deadeye Navigator 1 Demon of Dark Schemes 1 Demonlord Belzenlok 1 Olivia, Crimson Bride 1 Rakdos, the Showstopper 1 Sakashima's Protege 1 Sedris, the Traitor King 1 Worldgorger Dragon 1 Archfiend of Despair 1 Prince of Thralls 1 Vilis, Broker of Blood Noncreature spells 1 Persist 1 Shatterskull Smashing 1 Stitch Together 1 Dread Return 1 Mandate of Abaddon 1 Kindred Charge 1 Pact of Negation 1 Cabal Ritual 1 Counterspell 1 Drown in the Loch 1 Jwari Disruption 1 Lim-Dûl's Vault 1 Mana Drain 1 Rakdos Charm 1 Hagra Mauling 1 Illusionist's Stratagem 1 Sublime Epiphany 1 Dig Through Time 1 Jeweled Lotus 1 Arcane Signet 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Talisman of Creativity 1 Talisman of Dominance 1 Talisman of Indulgence 1 Panharmonicon 1 Vedalken Orrery 1 Whip of Erebos 1 Animate Dead 1 Dance of the Dead 1 Heartless Summoning 1 Molten Echoes 1 Sneak Attack 1 Warstorm Surge Lands 1 Ancient Tomb 1 Arid Mesa 1 Blood Crypt 1 Command Beacon 1 Command Tower 1 Crumbling Necropolis 1 Dimir Aqueduct 3 Island 1 Izzet Boilerworks 1 Luxury Suite 1 Morphic Pool 3 Mountain 1 Otawara, Soaring City 1 Path of Ancestry 1 Plaza of Heroes 1 Polluted Delta 1 Rakdos Carnarium 1 Reliquary Tower 1 Scalding Tarn 1 Steam Vents 3 Swamp 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire 1 Training Center 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 1 Watery Grave 1 Xander's Lounge
Demon decks are known for making huge plays with big, expensive monsters, and this deck doesn’t shy away from the stereotype. The top end of town is filled with enormous Demons like Archfiend of Despair, Demon of Dark Schemes and Prince of Thralls, and there are even a few lower down the curve, such as Rakdos, Lord of Riots and Orcus, Prince of Undeath. Right down at the bottom of the curve the Demons are a little lacking, of course, but that’s why there are plenty of mana rocks and utility creatures like Dockside Extortionist.
You might have noticed, however, that this deck isn’t all about Demons. There are a lot of clones in here, too. Like, a lot. Phantasmal Image, Vizier of Many Faces, Sakashima’s Protege – they’re all the way through the curve. Why? Because if you play Gyruda and flip a clone, you can clone Gyruda and do it again. Better yet, if you flip a Spark Double, you make a nonlegendary copy, which future clones can copy to make an army of Gyrudas!
Blue doesn’t just enable you to play clones in Demon deck, however. Now you can include Counterspell and Mana Drain, Sublime Epiphany and Dig Through Time, or… Cyclonic Rift, which is notably absent from this list. Having tricky instant-speed interaction in addition to the best card selection and draw in the game is only going to make Demon decks more powerful – but it’s not just about interaction, any more than it’s just about clones.
Blue also lets you flicker things. Thassa can flicker your Gyruda, as can Deadeye Navigator and Displacer Kitten, and all this Gyruda-cloning nonsense also fills up your graveyard, making Sedris, the Traitor King into a Demon-spawning maniac, and giving Persist, Dread Return and all the other reanimation spells some juicy targets.
Keep in mind that all the while you’re flipping clones with Gyruda, if you have Be’lakor out, you’re also drawing card and dealing damage – and losing life, but hey, let’s focus on the positives here. In fact, the legend rule is actually your friend in that you won’t lose too much life as you churn through cloned Gyrudas, while all those instances of six damage are certainly going to add up.
