Abyssal Persecutor MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Demon
Abilities Flying,Trample
Power 6
Toughness 6

Key Takeaways

  1. Abyssal Persecutor offers board control as a powerful 6/6 flyer with a reasonable mana cost.
  2. Its downside necessitates a sacrifice outlet to allow the player to achieve victory.
  3. Strategic inclusion in a deck can lead to unexpected combo potential and game wins.

Text of card

Flying, trample You can't win the game and your opponents can't lose the game.

His slaves crave death more than they desire freedom. He denies them both.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Abyssal Persecutor provides a significant advantage with its ability to dominate the board. Its formidable presence as a 6/6 flyer demands immediate answers from opponents, potentially depleting their hand of valuable removal spells and leaving them at a disadvantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although this card itself does not directly accelerate resources, its low casting cost for its power and toughness ratio enables earlier gameplay domination. Moreover, synergies with sacrifice mechanics can quickly pivot the board state in your favor when it’s advantageous for you to regain the ability to win the game.

Instant Speed: While Abyssal Persecutor operates at sorcery speed, its impact on the game feels immediate. Its entry into the battlefield can swing momentum by presenting a swift clock—forcing opponents to react or make unfavorable trades at a pace they may not be ready to handle.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Holding onto Abyssal Persecutor can become a liability if you don’t have the means to sacrifice it when needed, potentially keeping victory just out of reach.

Specific Mana Cost: Demanding a precise blend of two black mana types, this card’s cost structuring can be tough to meet in multicolored decks, limiting its versatility across varied deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Needing four mana, two of which are color-specific, makes it a sizable investment. In a fast-paced game, there are cards with lower cost that could be played earlier, providing an advantage sooner.


Reasons to Include Abyssal Persecutor in Your Collection

Versatility: Abyssal Persecutor is not your ordinary creature card. It brings power to the table with its commanding 6/6 stats for a four mana cost, making it a formidable presence in aggressive and midrange decks alike. Its flying and trample abilities ensure that it’s more than just a defensive blocker, giving it an edge in various game situations.

Combo Potential: This card offers unique interactions. Its ability that prevents opponents from losing the game opens up interesting combo possibilities. Pair Abyssal Persecutor with sacrifice outlets or spells that target your own creatures to eliminate the downside at the right moment, ensuring your victory. Its potential to alter the endgame scenario is a tool savvy players can exploit.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where high-powered creatures dominate, Abyssal Persecutor matches up well. It contends with many top-tier threats while maintaining a lower casting cost. Keeping one step ahead of the meta, Abyssal Persecutor could give players the edge they need when facing down the competition in both casual and more competitive scenes.


How to beat

Abyssal Persecutor is a powerful Demon creature card that presents a unique challenge in MTG. This intimidating flyer boasts significant combat stats that can dominate the battlefield, yet it comes with a distinct drawback—the inability for its controller to win the game while it’s on the field. To overcome this potent adversary, players need to employ clever strategies that either bypass the combat phase or can remove the Persecutor from play.

One effective tactic is to use removal spells that can target the Persecutor directly, such as Path to Exile or Murder. Alternately, one can take advantage of its downside and aim to control the Persecutor with spells like Control Magic. This way, you shift the onus onto the opponent who can’t claim victory until they deal with the usurped creature themselves. Enchantment-based exile effects, like Oblivion Ring, also provide answers that neutralize the threat without triggering death-related abilities. It’s essential to have these answers ready, ensuring that the Persecutor’s presence doesn’t lock you away from reaching your final goal of winning the game.

Understanding its strengths and weaknesses, Abyssal Persecutor can serve as both an asset and a liability. A well-timed removal or control shift can swiftly transform this intimidating threat into a path towards victory for savvy players.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of Magic the Gathering is a constant adventure, with each card offering new strategies and opportunities. The Abyssal Persecutor is a card surrounded by as much potential as it is peril. It can be a game-changer on the battlefield, but also demands tactical savvy to overcome its unique drawback. Integrating this mighty creature into your deck can enhance your strategy, especially when paired with effective sacrifice outlets or control elements to pivot its weakness into a win condition. Ready to harness the dark power of Abyssal Persecutor and tip the scales in your favor? Join us to dive deeper into strategies that will not only challenge your opponents but also define your path to victory in MTG.


Cards like Abyssal Persecutor

Abyssal Persecutor stands out as a formidable creature in Magic: The Gathering with its intimidating combination of high power, toughness, and a relatively low mana cost. A peer to this dark titan is the iconic Demonic Hordes, which also offers a substantial power level but with the added utility of land control. Demonic Hordes, requires a heftier mana investment and has ongoing maintenance costs which Abyssal Persecutor avoids.

Meanwhile, Desecration Demon presents a comparable challenge to opponents, providing a sizeable flying threat that can grow. Unlike Abyssal Persecutor, it doesn’t prevent the controller from winning the game, which can be a nuanced yet critical difference in close matches. Lastly, Lord of the Void is another creature often weighed against Abyssal Persecutor, with its potent ability to steal cards from an opponent’s library. Though it requires a higher mana investment, it lacks the same daunting downside of delaying your victory.

Assessing these parallels, it’s clear that Abyssal Persecutor is a uniquely balanced card, blending both risk and reward for players who dare to wield its power.

Demonic Hordes - MTG Card versions
Desecration Demon - MTG Card versions
Lord of the Void - MTG Card versions
Demonic Hordes - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Desecration Demon - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Lord of the Void - Gatecrash (GTC)

Cards similar to Abyssal Persecutor by color, type and mana cost

Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
Filth - MTG Card versions
Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions
Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Deathgazer - MTG Card versions
Dirty Wererat - MTG Card versions
Faceless Butcher - MTG Card versions
Crowd of Cinders - MTG Card versions
Hell's Caretaker - Chronicles (CHR)
Rag Man - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Phyrexian Debaser - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Slinking Skirge - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Gravedigger - The List (PLST)
Scandalmonger - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Urborg Shambler - Invasion (INV)
Whispering Shade - Odyssey (ODY)
Filth - Judgment (JUD)
Demon of Catastrophes - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Bold Plagiarist - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Toxin Sliver - Legions (LGN)
Vampiric Spirit - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Nim Shambler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Scourge of Numai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Deathgazer - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Dirty Wererat - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Faceless Butcher - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
Crowd of Cinders - Shadowmoor (SHM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Abyssal Persecutor MTG card by a specific set like Worldwake and Commander 2014, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Abyssal Persecutor and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Abyssal Persecutor Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2010-02-05 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-02-05WorldwakeWWK 472003normalblackChippy
22014-11-07Commander 2014C14 1322015normalblackChippy
32015-11-18Legendary Cube Prize PackPZ1 382015normalblackChippy
42017-11-17Iconic MastersIMA 782015normalblackChippy
52023-06-23Tales of Middle-earth CommanderLTC 5252015normalborderlessGreg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Abyssal Persecutor has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Abyssal Persecutor card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2017-11-17 Abyssal Persecutor won't preclude an opponent's life total from reaching 0 or less. It will just preclude that player from losing the game as a result.
2017-11-17 Effects that say the game is a draw, such as the _Legends_(TM) card Divine Intervention, are not affected by Abyssal Persecutor.
2017-11-17 Even though your opponents can't lose the game, a player can't pay an amount of life that's greater than their life total. If a player's life total is 0 or less, that player can't pay life at all, with one exception: a player may always pay 0 life.
2017-11-17 If Abyssal Persecutor leaves the battlefield while an opponent has 0 or less life, that opponent will lose the game as a state-based action. No player can respond between the time Abyssal Persecutor leaves the battlefield and the time that player loses the game.
2017-11-17 No game effect can cause you to win the game or cause any opponent to lose the game while you control Abyssal Persecutor. It doesn't matter whether an opponent has 0 or less life, an opponent is forced to draw a card while their library is empty, an opponent has ten or more poison counters, an opponent is dealt combat damage by Phage the Untouchable, you control Felidar Sovereign and have 40 or more life, or so on. You keep playing.
2017-11-17 Other circumstances can still cause an opponent to lose the game, however. An opponent will lose a game if they concede, if that player is penalized with a Game Loss or a Match Loss during a sanctioned tournament due to a DCI rules infraction, or if that player's Magic Online® game clock runs out of time.

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