<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zurzoth, Chaos Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Zurzoth, Chaos Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.originalmagicart.store/collections/dmitry-burmak">Dmitry Burmak</a></em></p>
<p>Last October, I gave myself a secondary challenge to my usual Typal builds: for the entire month, I would focus on spooky creature types. I did this to get in the Halloween spirit, and I intend to reprise that challenge this year.</p>
<p>What constitutes a spooky creature type? Well, the term is subjective, but the types I used last year were Specters, Skeletons, Horrors, and Bats. Each of those happens to feature black, but that's not integral for the spooky theme.</p>
<p>For my purposes, spooky means that it is tangentially related to the horror genre or to the holiday of Halloween. The type for today is more associated with tricks than treats, and can be deliciously sinister.</p>
<p>Have you guessed it? It's Devils!</p>
<p>Devils are often associated with the occult, which is interesting because both <em>Magic</em> and <em>Dungeons &amp; Dragons</em> were associated with the "satanic panic" of the '80s and '90s, in which thousands of people made unsubstantiated claims of Satanic Ritual Abuse and occult conspiracies. Some cards, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unholy Strength|LEA|131" href="#" target="_blank">Unholy Strength</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, were even revised, with the pentagram in the background removed on later printings.</p>
<p>In some parts of the world, including where I'm from, the night before Halloween is called "Devil's Night," and is associated with pranks and vandalism.</p>
<p>We'll be leaning into that theme big time.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Raphael, Fiendish Savior"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rakdos, the Showstopper"></div></div>
<h2>Devil History</h2>
<p>While cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unholy Strength" href="#" target="_blank">Unholy Strength</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> definitely have devilish overtones, Devils themselves went a while without a definitive identity. The introduction of Devil tokens in <em>Shadows Over Innistrad</em> and Innistrad's own Devil planeswalker, Tibalt, clarified what Devils were trying to do.</p>
<p>Devils are small masochistic creatures, meaning that they take pleasure in inflicting pain. Some are even sadomasochists, meaning that they take pleasure in their own pain as well. But what does that look like in <em>Magic</em> mechanics?</p>
<p>There's a phrase in Commander: "death by a million paper cuts." If that image doesn't encapsulate the masochistic nature of Devils, I don't know what does. The term itself refers to a deck that deals small amounts of damage repeatedly over the course of the game, which is exactly what Devil tokens do.</p>
<p>When a Devil token dies, it deals a point of damage to any target. On a thematic note, this feels like Devils channeling their pain into others' pain, dying doing what they love.</p>
<p>But how do we make death by a million paper cuts fun? And what does Zurzoth bring to the table?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zurzoth, Chaos Rider"></div></div>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zurzoth, Chaos Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Zurzoth, Chaos Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zurzoth, Chaos Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Zurzoth, Chaos Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a phenomenal epithet, one that meshes perfectly with Devils' propensity for mayhem.</p>
<p>But what does Zurzoth actually do?</p>
<p>Zurzoth is a 2/3 for three mana, sharing its stats with its Devil brother, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Riot Devils" href="#" target="_blank">Riot Devils</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Unlike its brother, Zurzoth has rules text instead of flavor.</p>
<p>Zurzoth's first ability is to make a Devil token when an opponent draws their first card on a turn other than their own. Some decks will naturally feed this, but we can contribute to it as well by playing spells and abilities on our own turn or at instant speed that draw cards for other players. Wouldn't be a Devil deck without playing with fire, right?</p>
<p>The second ability is a sweet one: whenever one or more Devils we control attack a player, we and that player each loot, meaning we draw a card and then discard a card.</p>
<p>The chaotic part is… we discard at random. The elegance of the design is that the second ability triggers the first, and both parts reference Devils.</p>
<p>And all this for three mana? Talk about a deal with the Devil.</p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zurzoth, Chaos Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Zurzoth, Chaos Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>Most of our Devils are small creatures with either attack or death triggers. Many deal direct damage to opponents, like the Devil tokens, giving this aggressive creature type plenty of reach (ways to win games outside of combat or through board stalls).</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hellrider"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Devilish Valet"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hellrider" href="#" target="_blank">Hellrider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has been winning games for go-wide red decks for a while now, dealing a point of damage to the defending player or planeswalker each time a creature we control attacks them. Being a 3/3 with haste that triggers off itself, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hellrider" href="#" target="_blank">Hellrider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can swing a game in an instant, threatening massive damage output.</p>
<p>Speaking of massive damage output, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Devilish Valet" href="#" target="_blank">Devilish Valet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another hasty threat, with trample and the ability to double its power anytime a creature enters the battlefield under our control.</p>
<p>Like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hellrider" href="#" target="_blank">Hellrider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, it works really well with token producers like our commander and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dance with Devils" href="#" target="_blank">Dance with Devils</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> because of multiple creatures entering the battlefield together.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vexing Devil"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Torch Fiend"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vexing Devil" href="#" target="_blank">Vexing Devil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a fun little minigame in the vein of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Browbeat" href="#" target="_blank">Browbeat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, dealing 4 damage to any player willing to take it in order to deny us a one-mana 4/3. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Torch Fiend" href="#" target="_blank">Torch Fiend</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives us the choice, letting us trade a small creature for an artifact, and there are plenty of juicy targets in any given Commander game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tibalt&#039;s Trickery"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shifting Shadow"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tibalt&#039;s Trickery" href="#" target="_blank">Tibalt&#039;s Trickery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> kind of has to be included in a Devil-themed deck; we couldn't ignore probably the most famous Devil in <em>Magic</em>. It also represents the way this deck will handle removal: with chaos. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tibalt&#039;s Trickery" href="#" target="_blank">Tibalt&#039;s Trickery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> counters a spell and can replace it with another spell, which may or may not be better than what was countered.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shifting Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Shifting Shadow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is similar, as a slow <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polymorph" href="#" target="_blank">Polymorph</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that when enchanting an opposing creature, it'll turn it into the next creature off the top of its controller's deck, and then attaches itself to that creature, ready to do it again.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Temple Bell"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bonder&#039;s Ornament"></div></div>
<p>Our card draw is a different kind of chaos: triggering our commander disguised as benevolence. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temple Bell" href="#" target="_blank">Temple Bell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can have each player draw on anyone's turn, so we can make sure our commander triggers.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bonder&#039;s Ornament" href="#" target="_blank">Bonder&#039;s Ornament</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can operate similarly, if other players have or copy a version of it. It also doubles as ramp, which we are not devoting a lot of slots to. We don't need to ramp because our average mana value is relatively light and we want to be playing Devils to attack with before our commander hits.</p>
<p>Draw helps us hit our land drops, which enables the higher mana values.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Geier Reach Sanitarium"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="High Market"></div></div>
<p>Our lands serve two major roles: additional card draw and sacrifice outlets. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Geier Reach Sanitarium" href="#" target="_blank">Geier Reach Sanitarium</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> represents the former, acting as a looting version of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temple Bell" href="#" target="_blank">Temple Bell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High Market" href="#" target="_blank">High Market</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> represents the latter, giving us a way to sacrifice our Devils to deal extra damage. We can even attack with them first, getting a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hellrider" href="#" target="_blank">Hellrider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> trigger for good measure.</p>
<p>But how do we close the game out?</p>
<h2>How Does This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zurzoth, Chaos Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Zurzoth, Chaos Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander Deck Win?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fiendish Duo"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Collective Inferno"></div></div>
<p>While we could use this deck space to put additional sources of damage into the deck, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Bombardment" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Bombardment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I think it's more thematic to think of Devils as cranking up the damage when they want to end the game, seeing just how much pain they can inflict before finally putting the opponents out of their misery.</p>
<p>What we're looking to do is magnify the pain by using damage multipliers, which do, indeed, stack. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fiendish Duo" href="#" target="_blank">Fiendish Duo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an on-type way of doing this, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Collective Inferno" href="#" target="_blank">Collective Inferno</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be convoked out and doubles the damage, combat or otherwise, of all of our Devils.</p>
<p>It's the perfect <em>coup de grâce</em> curve-topper.</p>
<p>So, in summary: we're a combat-oriented deck with a burning combo finish and some chaos elements.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Zurzoth, Chaos Rider Commander Deck Tech" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Zurzoth, Chaos Rider
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Bedlam Reveler
*1 Chained Brute
*1 Charmbreaker Devils
*1 Devilish Valet
*1 Fiendish Duo
*1 Gibbering Fiend
*1 Havoc Jester
*1 Heckling Fiends
*1 Hellrider
*1 Hobblefiend
*1 Howling Golem
*1 Impetuous Devils
*1 Infernal Captor
*1 Mayhem Patrol
*1 Pain Distributor
*1 Reckless Detective
*1 Scourge Devil
*1 Scrawling Crawler
*1 Sin Prodder
*1 Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
*1 Spiteful Prankster
*1 Tibalt&#039;s Rager
*1 Torch Fiend
*1 Vengeful Devil
*1 Vexing Devil
*1 Wildfire Devils
*1 Witty Roastmaster
*1 Zenith Chronicler
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Burn Down the House
*1 Chaotic Transformation
*1 Devils&#039; Playground
*1 Indomitable Creativity
*1 Insult // Injury
*1 Make Mischief
*1 Transmogrify
[/Sorceries]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Tibalt, Rakish Instigator
*1 Zariel, Archduke of Avernus
[/Planeswalkers]
[Instants]
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Dance with Devils
*1 Divergent Transformations
*1 Guff Rewrites History
*1 Tibalt&#039;s Trickery
*1 Wild Magic Surge
*1 Zoyowa&#039;s Justice
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 City on Fire
*1 Collective Inferno
*1 Dictate of the Twin Gods
*1 Fiery Emancipation
*1 Furnace of Rath
*1 Gratuitous Violence
*1 Shifting Shadow
*1 The Rollercrusher Ride
[/Enchantments]
[Artifacts]
*1 Anvil of Bogardan
*1 Bonder&#039;s Ornament
*1 Font of Mythos
*1 Ghirapur Orrery
*1 Howling Mine
*1 Otherworld Atlas
*1 Temple Bell
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Forgotten Cave
*1 Fountainport
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 High Market
*1 Keldon Necropolis
*1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
*1 Miren, the Moaning Well
*30 Mountain
*1 Spinerock Knoll
*1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
*1 War Room
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Devils are a relatively new creature type, but they have a range of builds. This one featured Burn and Chaos, but others can lean further into the Chaos, toy with opponents via Group Hug, or even capitalize on the death triggers as an Aristocrats deck.</p>
<p>How would you build Devils? And who would you use to command them?</p>


devil

Zurzoth, Chaos Rider I A Devilish Typal Deck