Hellcarver Demon MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Mythic
Type	Creature — Demon
Abilities	Flying
Released	2010-04-23
Set symbol
Set name	Rise of the Eldrazi
Set code	ROE
Power	6
Toughness	6
Number	113
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Staples

Key Takeaways

Hellcarver Demon provides a massive card advantage by allowing you to cast spells at no cost.
It excels in decks designed for a high-risk, high-reward strategy, enhancing combo potentials.
Despite the risks, its ability can significantly alter the game state in your favor.

Text of card

Flying Whenever Hellcarver Demon deals combat damage to a player, sacrifice all other permanents you control and discard your hand. Exile the top six cards of your library. You may cast any number of nonland cards exiled this way without paying their mana costs.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hellcarver Demon offers a unique approach to drawing into a plethora of new cards. While it may require exiling your hand, casting the top six cards of your deck for free after dealing damage can swing the game in your favor, potentially providing a formidable advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although Hellcarver Demon itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources like a typical ramp card, being able to play six spells without paying their mana costs can serve as a sizeable tempo boost. This bypasses casting restrictions and allows you to utilize mana for other strategies or defensive maneuvers.

Instant Speed: While the demon isn’t an instant itself, the ability to use the exiled cards at instant speed after damage is dealt adds flexibility to your tactics. Maximizing this potential can make Hellcarver Demon an unpredictably powerful asset, as opponents must constantly be wary of what could be unleashed.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging in the power play of Hellcarver Demon necessitates a hefty price; upon resolution of its ability, your hand and all permanents you own are exiled, compelling you to forfeit your current game resources, which can drastically set you back if you’re not in a dominant position.

Specific Mana Cost: This formidable demon demands a precise blend of mana, three generic and three black, which steers it into a mono-black or at least heavily black-inclined deck, potentially restricting its versatility across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of six mana to summon this creature, it competes with other high-impact cards that could potentially offer more immediate or versatile benefits to your strategy without the substantial risk.

Reasons to Include Hellcarver Demon in Your Collection

Versatility: Hellcarver Demon offers a unique angle in deck building, incentivizing a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. This card can turn the tide in games, especially in strategies aiming to utilize the graveyard or cheat into play high-cost cards.

Combo Potential: When combined with cards that manipulate the top of the library, Hellcarver Demon can unleash devastating chains of spells that can overwhelm opponents. Its ability to potentially cast numerous spells for free makes it a key piece in combo-centric decks.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where surprise factor and out-of-the-box strategies thrive, Hellcarver Demon can break conventional patterns and catch unprepared opponents off guard. This card demands immediate answers, making it a noteworthy addition in metas that lack interaction.

How to beat

Hellcarver Demon is a formidable force in MTG, recognized for its high-risk, high-reward strategy that can upend the game in a single swing. Its daunting ability to exile the top six cards of your library and allow you to cast any number of nonland cards for free is balanced by the requirement to sacrifice all your other permanents. Overcoming this demon requires precision and a well-timed reaction.

Control decks can manage the threat by countering the demon upon cast or by removing it before the attack phase triggers its ability. Cards like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile are effective tools to dispatch it quickly. Permission decks shine against such all-in cards by keeping mana open to react. Disruptive cards that force your opponent to discard their hand also cripple Hellcarver’s effectiveness since it relies on having a substantial hand to maximize its ability.

To summarize, beating Hellcarver Demon revolves around swift removal, smart countering, and disrupting your opponent’s hand. Respect the power it wields but remain vigilant and ready to dismantle its dangerous synergy to maintain control of the game.

BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re keen on introducing an element of surprise in your encounters, Hellcarver Demon could be the wildcard your deck needs. Its capacity for a massive spell-flinging spectacle is unparalleled, crafting a high-octane scenario out of a single combat damage trigger. Yet, with great power comes great caution. Should you embrace this demon, you must be prepared for its demanding nature, designing your deck and strategies around its imposing presence. For those daring enough to harness the chaos, Hellcarver Demon offers a path to victory that is as thrilling as it is challenging. Dive deeper with us and discover strategies that can transform your game with this enigmatic card.

Cards like Hellcarver Demon

Hellcarver Demon represents a unique niche within the demon cards in Magic: The Gathering. When placed alongside other similar high-risk, high-reward cards, it makes for intriguing comparisons. The demon’s ability to exile cards from your hand and sacrifice permanents you control for an equal amount of demon-handled spells is a high-stakes gamble. This strategy stands in stark contrast to cards like Demonic Pact, which provides more controlled outcomes with its choice of benefits each upkeep before a detrimental final option kicks in.

Exploring further, Lord of the Void offers a comparable demon experience. It steals creatures from an opponent’s deck upon dealing combat damage, providing a potentially massive swing in your favor but at the cost of a higher mana investment. Both Hellcarver and Lord of the Void pivot the gameplay around high-impact moments, yet Hellcarver demands a larger immediate sacrifice. Abyssal Persecutor is another comparable demon, enabling a dominant board presence with its undercosted stats but preventing you from winning the game while it’s on the battlefield—a severe limitation that Hellcarver Demon does not share.

Concluding, though each of these cards offer their own pros and cons, the Hellcarver Demon excels for those favoring a daring and potentially game-flipping strategy, solidifying its exciting position among powerful demon-themed options in Magic: The Gathering.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hellcarver Demon MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi, 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 Hellcarver Demon and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hellcarver Demon has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2010-06-15	Any cards you can’t cast (because they’re lands or they have no legal targets, perhaps) or choose not to cast simply remain exiled.
2010-06-15	If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t pay any alternative costs. On the other hand, if the card has optional additional costs (such as kicker or multikicker), you may pay those when you cast the card. If the card has mandatory additional costs (such as Momentous Fall does), you must pay those when you cast the card.
2010-06-15	If you control two Hellcarver Demons that deal combat damage to a player at the same time, each Demon’s ability triggers. When the first one resolves, you’ll sacrifice all permanents except that Hellcarver Demon (meaning you’ll sacrifice the other one). Then you’ll exile six cards from your library and may cast nonland cards exiled that way. After those spells resolve, the other Demon’s ability resolves. You’ll sacrifice all permanents you now control (including the first Demon and any permanents put on the battlefield as a result of the spells you just cast), exile six more cards from your library, and cast any number of them.
2010-06-15	The cards from your library are exiled face up.
2010-06-15	The triggered ability is mandatory. All the permanents you control, including all lands, will be sacrificed.
2010-06-15	You cast nonland cards from exile as part of the resolution of Hellcarver Demon’s ability. You may cast those cards in any order. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type (such as creature or sorcery) are ignored. Other restrictions are not (such as “Cast -his card] only before the combat damage step”). You cast all of the cards you like, putting them onto the stack, then Hellcarver Demon’s ability finishes resolving. The spells you cast this way will then resolve as normal, one at a time, in the opposite order that they were put on the stack.