Pestilence Demon MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Demon
Abilities Flying
Power 7
Toughness 6

Key Takeaways

  1. The Pestilence Demon provides significant board control and enhances card advantage.
  2. Its high mana cost and color specificity can limit deck versatility and speed.
  3. However, its game-changing abilities make it a valuable addition in the right meta.

Text of card

Flying : Pestilence Demon deals 1 damage to each creature and each player.

"I have schemed too long to be supplanted by dead gods. If I cannot have this world, no one can."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Pestilence Demon offers commanding board presence and the ability to clear away smaller creatures, effectively disrupting opponents’ strategies and swinging the momentum in your favor. Its ability can be used to whittle down an opponent’s life total while simultaneously managing the battlefield, helping you maintain the upper hand in card quality and board state.

Resource Acceleration: Though the demon itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its formidable presence can reduce the need for spending additional cards on creature control. This indirectly conserves your resources for other strategic plays, allowing you to use your mana and spells more effectively throughout the match.

Instant Speed: While the Pestilence Demon’s ability isn’t at instant speed, its flexibility allows you to use it at the end of your opponent’s turn, keeping your options open during their turn. This strategic timing can be devastating, clearing the board right before you begin your own turn and putting you in an ideal position to swing for the win.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Pestilence Demon excels in its power to clear the board, it lacks an essential ability that is common to many control cards – the absence of a discard requirement means it doesn’t directly disrupt an opponent’s hand, which can leave you at a strategic disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Pestilence Demon demands a steep mix of mana, specifically black. A total of four black mana in its casting cost can be restrictive, often confining it to mono-black or heavily black-focused decks, thereby limiting its versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an activation cost of one black mana to deal one damage to each creature and player, the efficiency of Pestilence Demon’s ability can be costly over multiple turns. Moreover, its summoning cost is eight mana, a significant investment that makes it a late-game play. In faster-paced games or in matchups against low-curve decks, this demon might just be too little too late.


Reasons to Include Pestilence Demon in Your Collection

Versatility: Pestilence Demon offers flexibility in its ability to be a game changer on both offense and defense. With flying and a significant 7/6 body, it can dominate the skies while its activated ability can clear the board or close a game.

Combo Potential: This demon’s ability to deal damage to each creature and player opens up synergy with life gain decks, damage doublers, and strategies that benefit from death triggers—making it a versatile combo piece.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Pestilence Demon can act as a powerful control element, deterring opponents from overextending on the board.


How to beat

Encountering a Pestilence Demon on the battlefield can certainly feel overwhelming. This formidable creature not only has flying, but also a potent ability to deal damage across the board. Dealing with this threat efficiently requires strategic planning and understanding of its weaknesses. The first approach could involve preventing the demon’s arrival altogether. Counterspell strategies effectively nip the problem in the bud by denying the demon’s casting.

Should the demon manage to land, though, swift removal becomes necessary. Targeted removal spells like Path to Exile or Murder can exile or destroy the demon before its ability becomes problematic. Alternatively, taking advantage of the demon’s ability to damage all creatures, one can craft a creature-based strategy. Playing creatures with high toughness or those that benefit from taking damage, like Stuffy Doll, can turn the demon’s ability against itself. Restricting the demon’s activation by attacking the opponent’s mana, with disruption tactics, also hinders their ability to capitalize on the demon’s power.

In essence, overcoming a Pestilence Demon involves a calculated mixture of prevention, prompt removal, or transforming its strengths into vulnerabilities. With the right plays, facing this nightmarish entity becomes a manageable task.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the mechanics around the Pestilence Demon can truly elevate your MTG gameplay. Its prowess in disrupting opponents and commanding the game is undeniable, and strategic deck building involving this card can lead to impressive victories. If you’re captivated by its potential and curious about integrating this demon into your arsenal or facing it in battle, we invite you to delve deeper. Understand its synergies, the metagame it thrives in, and the creative counterplays to harness its full potential. For those willing to brave its dark allure, visit us to explore comprehensive strategies and tips to refine your collection and gameplay.


Cards like Pestilence Demon

The Pestilence Demon stands as a powerhouse in Magic: The Gathering’s heavy-hitter demon category. This towering flyer shares the battlefield with the likes of Reiver Demon, an equally daunting creature that can clear the board of smaller minions upon entry. The Pestilence Demon offers a repeatable board-wipe ability with its black mana activated power to deal damage to each creature and player, a feature Reiver Demon lacks.

Another relative in this demonic gathering is Harvester of Souls, which, while lacking the mass damage ability, compensates by providing card draw whenever another non-token creature dies. This synergizes well with the destructive nature of Pestilence Demon. However, Harvester of Souls does not present the same immediate threat to an opponent’s creature base.

In sum, Pestilence Demon is a force to be reckoned with, bringing a unique blend of aerial power and widespread damage. Its ability to influence the board on every turn it’s active sets it apart in Magic: The Gathering’s realm of formidable demons, offering players a strategic advantage in controlling the game and decimating opponent forces.

Reiver Demon - MTG Card versions
Harvester of Souls - MTG Card versions
Reiver Demon - Mirrodin (MRD)
Harvester of Souls - Avacyn Restored (AVR)

Where to buy

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

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Printings

The Pestilence Demon Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2016-09-02. Illustrated by Justin Sweet.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-04-23Rise of the EldraziROE 1242003normalblackJustin Sweet
22010-04-23Rise of the Eldrazi PromosPROE 124★2003normalblackJustin Sweet
32014-11-07Commander 2014C14 1532015normalblackJustin Sweet
42016-09-02Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob NixilisDDR 562015normalblackJustin Sweet

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Pestilence Demon has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2010-06-15 Pestilence Demon deals 1 damage to itself, as well as to each other creature and each player.

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