Deathless Behemoth MTG Card

Deathless Behemoth - Battle for Zendikar

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Eldrazi
Abilities	Vigilance
Released	2015-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Battle for Zendikar
Set code	BFZ
Power	6
Toughness	6
Number	5
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jason Felix

Key Takeaways

Deathless Behemoth offers robust board presence through its reliable recursion ability and vigilant stance.
Eldrazi Scions are key to Deathless Behemoth’s return, demanding strategic token management.
Despite its power, the card’s specific mana requirements and high cost can limit its versatility.

Guide to Vigilance card ability

In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.

Text of card

Vigilance Sacrifice two Eldrazi Scions: Return Deathless Behemoth from your graveyard to your hand. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.

"Over and over it rose. Over and over we fell." —Ganda, Goma Fada deserter

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The relentless recursion potential of Deathless Behemoth ensures you never fall behind in terms of board presence. By fulfilling its condition of sacrificing two Eldrazi Scions, you effectively maintain card advantage by continually bringing back this formidable creature from your graveyard to your hand.

Resource Acceleration: This towering creature can be a pivotal part of ramp strategies. Its synergistic design with Eldrazi Scions enables a quicker deployment than its six-mana cost suggests; by generating Scions through other cards, you accelerate your resources to summon this giant sooner.

Instant Speed: Although Deathless Behemoth itself does not operate at instant speed, its ability to return to your hand can be utilized at instant speed, giving you strategic flexibility. You can decide during your opponent’s end step whether to prepare for its return, ensuring you make the most informed decision based on the state of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Deathless Behemoth’s ability to return to your hand from the graveyard entails sacrificing two Eldrazi Scions, a condition that might not always be favorable or possible, especially if your board presence is lacking these specific tokens.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring six mana with a significant amount being colorless can pose challenges. This cost demands you have a mana base that can adequately produce colorless mana, potentially restricting the card to decks that can meet these requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At six mana to cast, Deathless Behemoth stands at a point on the mana curve where players typically have access to a plethora of impactful creatures or game-altering spells. This mana investment may not always align with its 6/6 vigilance stats, especially in formats teeming with versatile and lower-cost creatures.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Deathless Behemoth is a solid inclusion in decks utilizing the graveyard. Its ability to return to your hand from the graveyard when you sacrifice two Eldrazi Scions makes it a recurring threat in the late game.

Combo Potential: This creature synergizes well with strategies that generate Eldrazi Scion tokens, allowing you to exploit its recursion ability repeatedly. It’s also a great fit for sacrifice-focused decks that can utilize the Scions for mana acceleration or other synergistic effects.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where games tend to drag into the later turns, Deathless Behemoth serves as a resilient threat that can keep coming back. Against control decks, this can tax their resources and against aggro, its 6/6 vigilance provides a formidable blocker. Its ability to persist on the battlefield can offer you a significant advantage.

How to beat

Deathless Behemoth is a creature card in MTG that packs quite the punch with its 6/6 stats and the notable ability to return from the graveyard to the player’s hand by sacrificing two Eldrazi Scions. This regeneration capacity can quickly become frustrating for opponents who are not prepared. Contending with this creature requires strategic play and an understanding of your own deck’s strengths.

Removal spells that exile, such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, can effectively eliminate Deathless Behemoth from the game, bypassing its recursion ability. On the battlefield, using cards that reduce its power or toughness can make it more manageable. Ensnaring creatures or spells with Deathtouch can also serve as a deterrent or even as a removal option for this behemoth. Board wipes like Wrath of God can reset the field, although players should be mindful of the creature’s return potential.

Ultimately, dealing with Deathless Behemoth comes down to timing, removal choice, and keeping pressure to prevent your opponent from assembling the required Scion tokens to trigger its return. A well-rounded strategy will contain the correct answers and apply enough counterpressure to keep Deathless Behemoth at bay.

Cards like Deathless Behemoth

The Deathless Behemoth is quite the force in decks that need resilient creatures. Within the vast library of Magic: The Gathering, there are few that match its recursive capabilities, such as the Ghoultree. While Ghoultree can potentially be cast for merely one green mana given enough creatures in your graveyard, it lacks the inherent ability to return to your hand like the Deathless Behemoth, which can be a game-long nuisance for opponents.

Vorapede is another comparable card, offering vigiliance, trample, and undying, positioning itself as a persistent threat. However, the ability of the Deathless Behemoth to bounce back to your hand if you control four or more colorless creatures gives players a distinct edge in Eldrazi-centric or artifact-heavy decks, ensuring its presence is felt repeatedly. Lastly, comparing it to Desolation Twin, although the latter brings a massive 10/10 creature token to the battlefield upon casting, it lacks the tenacity of the Deathless Behemoth which can be a relentless creature in your arsenal.

With these comparisons in mind, it’s evident that the Deathless Behemoth holds a unique spot among high-cost creatures, particularly in synergistic colorless or Eldrazi decks, rewarding strategic play with its return-from-the-graveyard feature.

Cards similar to Deathless Behemoth by color, type and mana cost

Kozilek's Pathfinder - MTG Card versions

Zhulodok, Void Gorger - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Deathless Behemoth MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Deathless Behemoth and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Deathless Behemoth has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2015-08-25	Eldrazi Scions are similar to Eldrazi Spawn, seen in the Zendikar block. Note that Eldrazi Scions are 1/1, not 0/1.
2015-08-25	Eldrazi and Scion are each separate creature types. Anything that affects Eldrazi will affect these tokens, for example.
2015-08-25	Sacrificing an Eldrazi Scion creature token to add to your mana pool is a mana ability. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
2015-08-25	Some instants and sorceries that create Eldrazi Scions require targets. If all targets for such a spell have become illegal by the time that spell tries to resolve, the spell won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen. You won’t get any Eldrazi Scions.