Demon cards in Magic: The Gathering are creatures that posses powerful abilities in exchange for a hefty price.
The upcoming Kaldheim set is adding a number of interesting Demons with various effects. While some have a personal boost to their stats, other have various abilities to impact the board.
Here are the five best Demon cards in MTG: Kaldheim.
Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire
- CMC: 3(B)
- Type: Legendary Creature – Demon Rogue
- Stats: 2/3
- Keyword: Deathtouch
- First ability: Boast for 2(B), target player searches their library for a card, then shuffles their library and puts that card on top of it. (Activate this ability only if this creature attacked this turn and only once each turn.)
Varragoth is a powerful three-mana cost Demon with 2/3 stats and Deathtouch. It has an amazing boast effect which you can activate just by attacking without even connecting to the target. It’s a great tutoring card for a certain combo piece you might be looking for. It’s strong for its cost and if left uncontrolled can take over a game.
Dream Devourer
- CMC: 2(B)
- Type: Creature – Demon Cleric
- Stats: 0/3
- First ability: Each nonland card in your hand without Foretell has Foretell. Its Foretell cost is equal to its mana cost reduced by two. (During your turn, you may pay two, and exile it from your hand face down. Cast it on a later turn for its Foretell cost.)
- Second ability: Whenever you Foretell a card, Dream Devourer gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
Dream Devourer is cheap two-mana cost Demon with weak 0/3 stats but a powerful effect of giving your cards Foretell. This card is going to be powerful in the EDH format to smooth out higher-curved deck and is going to help the Demon tribal decks in Standard and Historic.
Burning-Rune Demon
- CMC: 6(BB)
- Type: Creature – Demon Berserker
- Stats: 6/6
- Keyword: Flying
- First ability: When Burning-Rune Demon enters the battlefield, you may search your library for exactly two cards not named Burning-Rune Demon that have different names. If you do, reveal those cards. An opponent chooses one of them. Put the chosen card into your hand and the other two in your graveyard, then shuffle your library.
With a six-mana cost, Burning-Rune Demon is one of the more expensive Demons added in Kaldheim. It has great 6/6 stats and Flying for its cost and a nice effect, but it’s doubtful that it’ll see play. The effect is similar to Final Parting, where you can at least decide which card goes where. Your opponent having the choice of which card goes into your hand can backfire.
While it might see some play in additional to Final Parting to tutor certain cards which you might need for a combo, it’s certainly inferior even while having a 6/6 body attached to the same effect.
Frenzied Raider
- CMC: 2(R)
- Type: Creature – Demon Berserker
- Stats: 2/2
- First ability: Whenever you activate a boast ability, put a +1/+1 counter on Frenzied Raider.
Frenzied Raider is a cheap two-mana cost red Demon with 2/2 stats and the ability to grow even bigger whenever you use boast. It will be a strong card in the Limited format due to its cheap cost and ability to get out of hand. While the card would’ve been better if it received a +1/+1 counter whenever your opponent used boast as well, it could’ve been way too powerful.
Kardur, Doomscourge
- CMC: 4(BR)
- Type: Legendary Creature – Demon Berserker
- Stats: 4/3
- First ability: When Kardur, Doomscourge enters the battlefield, until your next turn, creatures your opponents control attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.
- Second ability: Whenever an attacking creature dies, each opponent loses one life and you gain one life.
Kardur is a four-mana Demon creature with an effect forcing your opponent to attack with their creatures if able to. It’s a similar card to Disrupt Decorum and will be welcome in aggressive Limited decks. The 4/3 stats might seem lackluster for the four-mana cost, but its second effect of giving you one life and damaging your opponent for each attacking creature death makes up for it.
