Mindwrack Demon MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Demon
Abilities Delirium,Flying,Mill,Trample
Power 4
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Mindwrack Demon accelerates graveyard strategies while posing a significant flying, trample threat.
  2. The demon’s delirium requirement adds risk, demanding diverse graveyard content to avoid damage.
  3. Versatile and meta-relevant, this card can pivot roles in various competitive deck builds.

Text of card

Flying, trample When Mindwrack Demon enters the battlefield, put the top four cards of your library into your graveyard. Delirium — At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 4 life unless there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mindwrack Demon offers significant card advantage through its triggered ability. Upon entering the battlefield, it allows you to put the top four cards of your library into your graveyard. This fuels strategies that capitalize on a well-stocked graveyard, and potentially places key cards within reach for future plays.

Resource Acceleration: The four/five flying trample creature provides a substantial board presence for a moderate mana cost. This efficient use of mana helps in outpacing opponents, serving both as an offensive threat and a defensive blocker.

Instant Speed: While the demon itself isn’t an instant, the card synergizes well in decks that utilize instant speed spells. The graveyard stocking effect can quickly turn on delirium, making your instant-speed removals or tricks more potent by meeting specific card type thresholds even on your opponent’s turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mindwrack Demon mandates an intricate setup with its delirium trigger, demanding that you have four different card types in your graveyard to avoid taking damage. This can be particularly challenging in the early game or in decks that can’t reliably stock the graveyard, making the demon a risky play that could backfire if the condition isn’t met.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Mindwrack Demon is not only specific but also intensive, requiring two black mana. This may pigeonhole the card into primarily black or black-heavy decks, reducing its flexibility and limiting the variety of decks where it can be effectively utilized.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Mindwrack Demon falls on the higher end of the curve for creatures with similar impact. Players might find that allocating resources to summon the demon might not always coincide with maintaining tempo, especially when other cards could provide similar advantages at a lower cost and with fewer conditional risks.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mindwrack Demon offers significant versatility as a 4/5 flying, trample creature for just four mana. It can be a formidable presence in multiple deck archetypes, whether you’re playing a graveyard-centric strategy or just looking for a solid body that can apply pressure and also serve as a strong defender.

Combo Potential: With its ability that puts the top four cards of your library into your graveyard, Mindwrack Demon synergizes well with strategies that rely on delirium or other graveyard interactions. This can seamlessly integrate with reanimation tactics or enable threshold mechanics, opening up numerous combo possibilities.

Meta-Relevance: Given its reasonable casting cost and substantial impact on the game, Mindwrack Demon can easily find its place in current metagames that favor quick, value-driven creatures. Its evasion and power can tip the scales in matchups against slower control decks or outpace other midrange contenders.


How to beat

Mindwrack Demon is a force to be reckoned with, boasting not only a formidable presence on the battlefield due to its flying and trample abilities, but also the potential to deal considerable damage to its controller if the delirium condition isn’t met. Players aiming to mitigate the threat posed by this powerful creature can focus on a few key strategies. Firstly, graveyard manipulation can hampers its delirium ability, neutralizing one of its key offensive strengths. Cards that exile the graveyard, like Tormod’s Crypt or Rest in Peace, can be impactful here.

Moreover, removal spells that don’t rely on dealing damage are particularly effective against Mindwrack Demon. Options include Path to Exile or Murderous Rider, which can handle the demon regardless of its size. Additionally, countering it when it’s on the stack prevents the demon from ever becoming a problem. It’s also worth mentioning that enchantments that prevent creatures from attacking or blocking can neutralize the demon, making it a non-factor in combat. Lastly, collaborative game play and strategic planning can outmaneuver the demon’s advantages, ensuring your victory remains in sight even against such a daunting foe.


Understanding Mindwrack Demon

Mindwrack Demon stands out in the realm of demon creatures in MTG with its unique blend of power and strategic depth. Boasting a significant 4/5 body with flying and trample, this formidable creature card is akin to the likes of Abyssal Persecutor and Desecration Demon. However, what sets it apart is its delve into the mechanics of milling with an intriguing twist – upon entering the battlefield, it puts the top four cards of your library into your graveyard, a double-edged sword that can benefit or handicap you based on your deck’s design.

Cards like Mindwrack Demon

Mindwrack Demon shares common ground with cards that balance high risk with high reward, akin to cards like Balustrade Spy and Nyx Weaver. Balustrade Spy, when it enters the battlefield, also mills cards from your library, potentially setting up grave synergies, albeit without the robust stats of the Demon. Nyx Weaver, while offering a lesser threat on the board, weaves together graveyard utility and card retrieval, intriguingly echoing Mindwrack Demon’s graveyard interactions, though it lacks the immediate board impact.

Mindwrack Demon’s delve-related ability is shared with Gurmag Angler, which lets you effectively reduce its casting cost by exiling cards from your graveyard. Yet, none of Mindwrack Demon’s counterparts offer its aggressive presence combined with self-milling, which enables graveyard strategy decks to thrive. Crafting a deck that harmonizes with its ability to potentially lose 4 life during your upkeep unless there are four or more card types in your graveyard requires finesse, making it an intriguing challenge for many players.

Ultimately, Mindwrack Demon can be a deck’s linchpin that accelerates towards a win condition or provides a sizable deterrent for opponents. As you consider adding it to your deck or comparing it with other creature cards, its distinct abilities mold it into an engaging option for those who dare to manipulate their graveyards for gain.

Abyssal Persecutor - MTG Card versions
Desecration Demon - MTG Card versions
Balustrade Spy - MTG Card versions
Nyx Weaver - MTG Card versions
Gurmag Angler - MTG Card versions
Abyssal Persecutor - Worldwake (WWK)
Desecration Demon - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Balustrade Spy - Gatecrash (GTC)
Nyx Weaver - Journey into Nyx (JOU)
Gurmag Angler - Fate Reforged (FRF)

Cards similar to Mindwrack Demon 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
Dirge Bat - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Bad Ass - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Deathgazer - MTG Card versions
Dirty Wererat - MTG Card versions
Hell's Caretaker - Chronicles (CHR)
Rag Man - Seventh Edition (7ED)
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)
Dirge Bat - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Toxin Sliver - Legions (LGN)
Vampiric Spirit - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Nim Shambler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Bad Ass - Unhinged (UNH)
Scourge of Numai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Deathgazer - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Dirty Wererat - Hachette UK (PHUK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mindwrack Demon MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed, 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 Mindwrack Demon and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Mindwrack Demon Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2016-02-26 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 604802015normalblackDaarken
22016-02-26Duel Decks: Blessed vs. CursedDDQ 412015normalblackDaarken
32016-04-08Shadows over InnistradSOI 1242015normalblackMatt Stewart
42016-04-08Shadows over Innistrad PromosPSOI 124s2015normalblackMatt Stewart
52023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1242015normalblackMatt Stewart

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mindwrack Demon has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-04-08 Because you consider only the characteristics of a double-faced card’s front face while it’s not on the battlefield, the types of its back face won’t be counted for delirium.
2016-04-08 In some rare cases, you can have a token or a copy of a spell in your graveyard at the moment that an object’s delirium ability counts the card types among cards in your graveyard, before that token or copy ceases to exist. Because tokens and copies of spells are not cards, even if they are copies of cards, their types will never be counted.
2016-04-08 Mindwrack Demon’s delirium triggered ability does not include an intervening “if” clause. This ability triggers at the beginning of your upkeep regardless of the number of types in your graveyard, and it checks that number as it resolves to determine whether you lose 4 life or not.
2016-04-08 The card types in Magic are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, sorcery, and tribal (a card type that appears on some older cards). Supertypes (such as legendary and basic) and subtypes (such as Human and Equipment) are not counted.
2016-04-08 The number of card types matters, not the number of cards. For example, Wicker Witch (an artifact creature) along with Catalog (an instant) and Chaplain’s Blessing (a sorcery) will enable delirium.

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