Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | Konami

Greetings and salutations, my fellow brewers, and welcome to a new Beyond Universes Within. In this series, I try once a month to build a deck based on a famous franchise — video games, movies, literature, you name it — without resorting to Universes Beyond cards.

Today, I'm trying my luck at building something centered on the major antagonists in the Castlevania series. Don't worry, I fully plan on making a deck for the good guys next time.

Before diving into the deck proper, a few guidelines:

• I'm fully aware that there's much more to what I'm showing here. I'm doing my best to make a somewhat playable Bracket 1 deck that can give a good idea of what the theme represents, but by no means do I pretend to be exhaustive.
• As a corollary, all the choices are by design arbitrary. If your favorite character doesn't show up... my sympathies.
• I'll say it again: this is for all intents and purposes a Bracket 1 deck. You want to showcase a story and a concept, not necessarily win the game.

With this out of the way, let's first address the elephant in the room: the commander.

First Brick – Dracula

There are several ways I could have gone with this. Grixis () was rather tempting, as blue is the quintessential color of manipulation and mind-bending. Rakdos () would most certainly have been a valid option.

In the end, though, I went with the big boss of all vampires in Magic, and one of the most played commanders of all time: Edgar Markov.

What I find rather funny is that the eminence ability will not be that relevant, as Vampires are rather scarce in this list, as you'll see. Nevertheless, if ever there was an incarnation of Dracula in Universes Within, I believe there's hardly a better choice.

The big boss has been set, now for the minions!

Second Brick – Main Themes

Castlevania is notorious for its charismatic enemies and its memorable bosses. I'm rather certain most of you would rank Symphony of the Night as the best among the best.

Nevertheless, there have been a lot of Castlevania games over time — roughly 30 different ones, and closer to 40–50 if you count spinoffs — with some definitely better than the rest, and some clearly forgettable.

This section will have a strong focus on the atmosphere and on the major ideas that characterize Dracula in the franchise.

Let's begin with the most obvious ones.

Dracula is a vampire — crazy, right? — so it makes sense that at least one card would represent this aspect. VampirismVampirism, despite being a mediocre card, is probably the best fit here.

The evil Count is also strongly tied to Black Magic, Chaos, demons, and immortality. Again, there have been many cards throughout Magic's history that offer a perfect fit:

• Blood: Blood ArtistBlood Artist.
• Chaos: Chaos WarpChaos Warp. Note that ChaoslaceChaoslace would have been very thematic as well, albeit an absolutely useless card.
• Black Magic: Dark RitualDark Ritual. Almost all of the old art fits the bill, but I'm especially fond of the one from Tempest here.
• Demon Invocation: Promise of PowerPromise of Power. I like the duality here, with both high expectations and a hefty price to pay in the end.
• Possession/Corruption: Ghostly PossessionGhostly Possession. I had initially gone for the more classic CorruptCorrupt, but it felt a little bland.
• Immortality: Gift of ImmortalityGift of Immortality. It's not just for the name. I like the idea that this can go from creature to creature, just like a Vampire's kiss spreads the immortal curse.
• Necromancy: NecromancyNecromancy. Need I say more?
• Curse: Polluted BondsPolluted Bonds. This may not be the most obvious one, and I could most certainly have gone for an actual Curse that's already in the game. But I like the insidiousness of this one, slowly damaging you over time, just like Dracula's influence.
• Reincarnation: Not Dead After AllNot Dead After All. This one's more of a joke: despite being defeated again and again, Dracula always comes back with a thunderclap and a heavy Dun Dun Duuuuunnnn.

What would Dracula be without an army of minions? I chose four cards here to represent the ever-growing army of the Dark Lord:

• Dracula's Army: Army of the DamnedArmy of the Damned: A rather explosive spell. It also reminded me of the Zombies that keep spawning endlessly in certain zones.
• Cult of Dracula: Cultist of the AbsoluteCultist of the Absolute. Dracula is the end of all things, the alpha and omega, the final evil.
• Souls: Soul ConduitSoul Conduit: To represent Dracula's ability to toy with souls, especially those of the dead. Plus this is a very fun outlet to play with in games.
• Dead Rising: Rise of the Dark RealmsRise of the Dark Realms. Because eventually all will bow to Dracula.

To close this section, let's focus on the romance between Dracula and Lisa, and her sad demise.

To represent their love, there's hardly a better choice than Wedding RingWedding Ring. Dracula worshipped Lisa almost as a biblical figure, so I figured WorshipWorship would fit rather well too. And to represent Lisa, I chose Liliana the FaultlessLiliana the Faultless, as another throwback to that utter flawlessness Dracula saw in her.

Her death was the catalyst that led the Count to wage war against humanity, and I felt like Burn at the StakeBurn at the Stake was a perfect fit to represent this crucial moment.

Finally, a few more key concepts:

• ResurrectionResurrection: Dracula comes back again and again, sure, but the moment he came back for the first time deserves its own card.
• Redemption ArcRedemption Arc: This is another idea that's central to Castlevania's lore in general. No matter your evilness, someone will always believe you can be brought back. And then usually die.
• Night of Souls' BetrayalNight of Souls' Betrayal: Someone suggested this to represent the Symphony of the Night, and I found the idea rather poetic.

Third Brick – Baddies, Villains, and Bosses

What would Castlevania be without all its memorable fights?

Dracula's army is almost endless, but there are still some fearsome generals that stand head and shoulders above the rest. Again, I could have focused solely on Symphony of the Night, but I felt like going a step further.

As there are 30 cards in this section alone, it would be foolish (and rather boring) to just list them all.

Therefore I'll just explain the most striking figures, and leave you to discover the rest in the list. I have added a detailed description of what card represents what, so you don't get lost.

So, the main bad guys.

• Horobi, Death's WailHorobi, Death's Wail: Death is probably both the most recognizable and the most emblematic boss in all the series, after Dracula. It's a devoted servant that taunts you continuously and hits hard, with a sense of inevitability. I chose Horobi for its impending doom aura, and the fact that it can kill at a mere touch. Egon, God of DeathEgon, God of Death was my second choice.
• Arbiter of WoeArbiter of Woe and Sultai ScavengerSultai Scavenger: Gaibon and Slogra are another mythical duo, one of the most memorable boss fights in Symphony of the Night. I tried to go with looks rather than stats here.
• Drana, Kalastria BloodchiefDrana, Kalastria Bloodchief: A major villain, both in the games and the animated series, Carmilla is a ruthless and charismatic vampire, and a former ally and general of Dracula.
• Maggot TherapyMaggot Therapy: Beelzebub is a major demon called the Lord of Flies. Try as I might, this card was the only one I felt gave the right vibes. Rank and FileRank and File and Flow of MaggotsFlow of Maggots came close behind.
• Twins of Maurer EstateTwins of Maurer Estate: Portrait of Ruin is a most excellent game, and the two annoying sisters Stella and Loretta play a major role in it. They may seem coy and demure, but they are cruel and ruthless.
• Cabal PatriarchCabal Patriarch: An evil priest, loyal servant of Count Dracula, who was first introduced in Rondo of Blood.
• Death's ShadowDeath's Shadow: Order of Ecclesia was probably my favorite game in the series, so I felt like Blackmore deserved a spot as well.

Again, I'm sorry if your absolute pet boss isn't featured in this list, but you can find each and every one in here, along with a correspondence chart at the bottom of the page.

Fourth Brick – Key Items

This section will be dedicated to the various items directly tied to Dracula, namely the five Vlad relics that are required to enter Shaft's chamber. These are:

• Vlad's Rib: RibskiffRibskiff
• Vlad's Eye: Eye of VecnaEye of Vecna
• Vlad's Fang: Tooth of RamosTooth of Ramos
• Vlad's Ring: Ring of XathridRing of Xathrid
• Vlad's Heart: Gonti's Aether HeartGonti's Aether Heart

Additionally, I added the three TalismansTalismans as well as Arcane SignetArcane Signet, to smooth the curve. I believe these trinkets fit rather nicely as the various relics you can find in the games.

Final Brick – Locations

What would Castlevania be without its daunting dwellings? These have in fact proven rather tricky to represent.

• Dracula's Castle was rather immediate. Voldaren EstateVoldaren Estate gives off the perfect vibes of gloom and doom.
• The Clock Tower on the other hand was not so evident. This is one of the most beloved locations, often tied to Death. A friend suggested GrindclockGrindclock, and I really liked the idea. This encompasses both the passage of time and growing insanity.
• The Throne Room wasn't obvious either. I could have gone with Throne of the High CityThrone of the High City, but in the end I chose Throne of the God-PharaohThrone of the God-Pharaoh, as I felt it encapsulated better the idea of Dracula's almighty power.
• The Coliseum on the other hand, had a perfect counterpart in Grand ColiseumGrand Coliseum.
• The Alchemical Lab would have been lovely with Alchemist's RefugeAlchemist's Refuge, were it not for the wrong colors. In the end, Havengul LaboratoryHavengul Laboratory proved equally adequate.
• Finally, The Reverse Castle proved the trickiest of them all. There's no card to my knowledge that represents an upside-down edifice, so I had to be sneaky. Were it not for its blue component, I would have added Topsy TurvyTopsy Turvy. The final choice went to Aeon EngineAeon Engine though, as it fully embodies the idea of going the other way around.

As for enemies, there are a few other locations that I have added in the description over here.

All this leads to:

Dracula – A Castlevania Tribute

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this journey throughout this massive monument of video game history.

I'd like to hear from you. Are there any blatant omissions? Any suggestions?

Would you rather I had gone through each and every card in the deck?

Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you in a month with the second part, featuring the good guys!