This guy has serious potential. He makes great sacrifice bait with Gatekeeper of Malakir, Fleshbag Marauder, Bone Splinters, Xathrid Demon, or any of Black's other sacrifice/destroy outlets after his 6/6 body throws some heavy hits. He might work well with Puca's Mischief in extended if the opponent has no way to deal with him.
DonRoyale
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(11 votes)
Do I think he's good? Of course he is. The problem is, today's standard best standard deck - Jund - can't fit him in because of the 4 CMC. Bloodbraid Elf can't cascade into it, which really disrupts the tempo Jund is supposed to create, but aside from the fact that he's un-cascadable, he's a fantastic beatstick. That being said, he doesn't deserve the $20-30 pricetag he's got going.
Can another deck work with him? Definitely. Will it succeed? Unlikely. It dies to removal, like everything else, and when your hand has nothing but the sacrifice engines that get around Vines of Vastwood and Canopy Cover, such as Gatekeeper of Malakir, Bone Splinters and Fleshbag Marauder, it seems like a much less attractive niche deck to try. Only time will tell to see if the reverse of Platinum Angel will see play.
mutantman
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(15 votes)
The fact that this is a demon really hurts with Baneslayer Angel around to kick its ass. And while it's certainly big, it's still just a beatstick. And I hear using removal on your own guys is bad.
It's a brilliant Spike design though, as it requires significant skill to play with or against it and its power level is very complicated to evaluate properly. Plus, it's flavorful, it's memorable, the flavor text is right-on, and it's totally original. As skeptical I am of its competitive viability, I have to admire its general awesomeness as a card design.
Khias
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(4 votes)
It would be funny if you gave him shroud. But since no one will be side boarding Magebane Armor, and no one where I play Magic will be sporting Baneslayer Angels at there $60 price tag, he can come into play as the biggest and baddest thing on the board early. You could always run a couple Platinum Angels. In the same deck and just chill out until you can remove him.
Neutralion
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Does not look very Zendikarish...
Qazior
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(7 votes)
Absolutely awesome creature. 4 mana 6/6 flying, trample with "drawback" and wicked art. Absolutely mythic worthy.
.Fighter.
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(19 votes)
Master of Etherium, why do you start every word with a capital? It's really annoying.
As for the card, I love it. I got one earlier, and for only a Marshal's Anthem and Twincast!
sir_dwar
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(9 votes)
Amazing in multiplayer for politics reasons. The guy at one life will thank you profoundly.
Nickkom
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(14 votes)
@DonRoyale
You think it's a problem this *doesn't* fit in jund? So you only want good red/green/black cards that make the vastly dominant archetype in the format even MORE powerful? Why on earth would you want that? This guy opens up design space for black decks where there wasn't before.
This guy is simply amazing. Magic hasn't seen this exciting a black creatures since Juzam Djinn, IMO. And this guy is definitely better.
Saying that it dies of removal, and that your opponent can stop your ways of killing him makes him subpar is equally silly.
This has been said before, but people don't seem to get it: Just because a card has *some* weakness doesn't make it crap.
bigben013
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(5 votes)
So dies to removal appears to not be a drawback this time around eh? btw, awful card give me all of yours ^_^
so much potential and synergy. I wish he wasnt so expensive.
RiotAct
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(9 votes)
Boy, a 6/6 black flying trampler for 4 mana... crap, but look at that drawback!
Oh, wait... black has approximately 32,000,000 different ways to sac creatures.
This card is bahhh-roken.
Urbar
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(9 votes)
I don´t see the drawback as a big problem. Getting him out on the 4th turn your opponent will do everything to remove him a fast as possible. He is just a too great threat to leave him on the board to long. Even if your opponent speculates with the thought that the Presecutor prevents him from loosing, he will never know if you have some sort of sacrifice Outlet like Bone Splinters or any devour-creature on your hand to nullify the effect.
The Presecutor adds a lot of fun and a whole dose of adrenalin to the game, making him a 5/5 to me.
Mode
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(6 votes)
This must be one of the most powerful undercosted creatures ever. A 6/6 flampler for four mana? Yes, please
And the drawback is comparably a rather ridiculous one: It might sound like much, but it will really only bother you very little once you already took apart your opponent anyways.
Phyrexian Negator in comparison for example has a drawback that requires the exact opposite - he requires you to sacrifice everything else and eventually even him, the Persecutor asks for nothing but getting rid of him in order to win once you've finished your job with help of this guy.
It's indeed some kind of reverse Platinum Angel, even regarding the way of removal. Both might be the prefered target for your opponent's spells, but once you brought his/her life total below 1 with the Persecutor, your opponent will try to keep your Demon alive. Likely in vain.
I see some dominating decks coming up with this guy, be them monoblack or black/white ones including Baneslayer Angels.
I was really amused to see Platinum Angel get a polar opposite. If I had unlimited money, I'd buy a few of these, give them to my friends, and see if their decks beat the ones I have Platinum Angel in. Seems like it would be a fun game.
A3Kitsune
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Sacrifice isn't the best way to get rid of this guy when you are ready to win. Bazaar Trader is.
Pwnsaw
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
This guy has a cost that your deck must be able to handle.but he doesn't die to most black removal easily. Any deck seriously using this needs to save a kill spell for when his tenure is up. When you play this your opponent has to either kill it immediately, or spend the rest of the game trying to keep it on the field.
Folesauce
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Baneslayer's huge presence in standard really stops this card from reaching its potential.
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.3/5.0)(56 votes)
Best Card In The Set By Far Like Said Above So Many Ways To Get Around His NegaPlatinum Ability With Devour Fleshbaggy DoomGapster And Yeah Pucas Mischief Its Whatever But As An Opponet I Would Just Kill It Cuz I Know That Second Ability Aint Gonna Mean Squat. So Everyone Just Look At It As A Four Mana 6/6/6 Flying Trampler And Wonder Why You Can Only Give Him Five Stars, Epic Art To By The Way, Looks Like A Mortal Kombat Boss. @Fighter, Hows It Annoying There Letters
IsThisAvailable
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(30 votes)
I'll start by saying the card is really cool and has lots of potential, but how can any of you sit around and call it "mythic worthy". This rarity of Mythic status is a corporate creation to increase their profits. If they still had the old system where rare cards were the top of the heap we would still see cards that are just as powerful and they would be more affordable. They now use this mythic rarity to create even more chase cards so that collectors and players will be forced to buy more boosters in order to create competitive decks. I'm sure you are all aware of this but how is that you justify supporting their decision to exploit players on their own site. You may as well just write "Hurrah, Hurrah, Please continue to exploit me." But I suppose they don't need to see it in writing when they can just watch their sales increase...
quadratine
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm thinking a great combo would be this and Ooze Garden add a few Vines of Vastwood and you have a 6/6 flying with trample that you can sacrifice once you've beat down your opponent and end up with a 6/6 and should you oponnent target it whilst ooze garden is on the stack play your vines of vastwood kicked for a 10/10
majinara
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(11 votes)
Nice multiplayer card, since noone can win while it is in play (if I understand it correctly).
Kontrey
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Great art and skills. You may fast reduce your opponent life and retun this card to hand(Jace, Æther Tradewinds ,Unsommon...) or sacrfice it!!! If you would lose game you may use him with Bazaar Trader!
Charmor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(5 votes)
The flavor text should have stated "He is a fearsome powerful weapon, but has a serious flaw: he refuses to ever stop".
HairlessThoctar
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(8 votes)
Why is there no button higher than 5/5? Andfurthermore, why is this guy not 5/5?
No excuses for that.
blindthrall
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(11 votes)
MasterofE@ It's annoying because it's a pain to read, All Caps Breaks Up The Flow. Most brains interpret it as each word being its own sentence. It's all the more annoying because you're not an idiot, I usually agree with your comments.
no_body
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(5 votes)
now THIS is what a mythic should be like...plenty of options, one that you actually have to think about before you use it...not like baneslayer. baneslayer was just overpowered. like how plat angel might give you a false sense of security, this guy's effect usually makes your opponent unwilling to kill it, so you can just blow ur opponent to 0 life and destroy it...and its not very hard to do that with a 6/6 flying trample body...
InfernoTowel
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(19 votes)
Oh noes, it's Abyssal Pursecutter!
True_Mumin
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(12 votes)
Jesus Christ! Why is everyone going apeshit about this guy like he's the friggin' black Tarmogoyf?! Seriously, people, calm down! He costs 4 mana, which means you likely won't have mana at the ready to respond to opponent's removal the same turn you play him, you need to kill him yourself to even regain the ability of winning the game, and everything except Doom Blade kills him on the spot. Oh, and Baneslayer laughs at him. Look, I'm not saying it's a bad card. He's good, but definitely NOT 28-bucks-good!
thezanet
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This card seems to embody the spirit of black. Awesome art and flavor text. Migh even be useful in a couple of decks.
Deathtouch
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(6 votes)
I think this could be interestin in a red and black deck with bazaar trader using the demon body at first and then later game switching the effect with your opponnent. I think that one thing people haven`t mentioned about the remove card strategy is that your opponent might counter your own attempts to destroy your own card. This could be a serious problem. I also wonder whether this cards effects would overule platinum angel or exactly how the wizards are gonna handle that one. It might be interesting to have them make the trumping effect based on which card entered play first.
Batstewart
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@Deathtouch if Platinum Angel was out on your field at the same time as this card, both effects would be valid. You can't lose or win the game, and neither can your opponents.
silentbobus
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I want to put at least two of these into every black deck I create in standard from here on out. Here are some fun combos with him in a green/black deck:
This woks in competive tournaments, no sees the Soul's Majesty coming!
Here's another one:
Turn X: Attack your opponent with Abyssal Persector to bring his life total to -5
Turn X+1: Block your opponent's BBE with your Abyssal Persector, cast vines of vastwood with the kicker on your opponent's BBE and block with Abyssal Persector
lz17
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Its 2BB which is very cheap. The drawback to the card is easy to eventually nullify. For the money though, I'd rather spend my money on a Jace,The Mind Sculptor very nice foil to my Platinum Angel . For $30 I'll pass for now, but this card is what a mythic rare should be; a huge bodied creature with either a cheap cmc and a drawback or a huge cmc with an amazing ability. Cool card 4/5.
Very cool card. Oh yes, very blacky card, too. Give him 5/5.
Uhhsam
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
just wait until they print a card that is essentially pacifism + shroud
punisher2865
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(8 votes)
Does anyone wanna buy one?! EHHHHH?
VoidedNote
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
This and donate are in essence a platinum angel, it works just the same. If you donate it your opponent might be screwed if you run a noncombat damage deck or just don't have creatures big enough to get that thing killed by your creatures. If your opponent doesn't have a donate themselves and they don't have boomerangs and naturalizes it's theirs to keep. Great card.
xd4
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Bazaar trader get you opponent in the negatives and give them a present
WER386
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(7 votes)
I seriously don't see the thing so great in this thing: for 4 mana you can easily have a 6/6 flying with decent abilities instead of one that 1- doesn't let you win and 2-doesn't let your opponents lose. If all you going to do with this card is killing it or bazaar-trader it, consider other things with more value instead of just high P/T and/or flying. (BTW by 4 mana this does not even come in soon enough to save your darn blocking, and even if it does, you WILL NEED to get rid of it to win...) really boggles the mind, overestimated card by far. In fact fell from 120 bucks to 60 in a the first WWK week haha (local currency).
Tobolococo
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(9 votes)
check this casual deck, centered on this card, along with vamps.
xathrid goes really nice with the deck, it's the best option to get the persecutor out of the way, since it deals 6 in the process, and has a decent body himself.
Vamps cover the rest of the deck, just because they are a really solid tribal.
As you can see, the persecutor will never bother me, since i have a lot of options to get him killed (Vampire aristocrat, Xathrid demon, Gatekeeper of Malakir, Tendrils)
4- Tendrils of corruption
3- Urge to feed
2- Quest for the gravelord
4- Verdant catacombs
4- Marsh flats
16- Swamps
SB:
4- Black Knight
2- Mind Sludge
3- Deathmark
2- Doom blade
2- Duress
2- Vampire nocturnus
Its almost ready, i just lack the Kalastrias and the deathmarks. the sideboard may need some more work, but i like it, the black knights against any form of white decks, the mind sludge and duress against control, deathmark against white or green, doom blade against heavy creature decks, and the nocturnus comes in if i feel like i need him.
tell me what you think about it
BrutalJim
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(4 votes)
This thing is really great, just save a Gatekeeper of Malakir to get rid of him after you knock your opponent under 0 life. Only thing I don't like is in multi-player people can't knock out other players, meaning people may shift their focus to you if they can't knock out anyone else.
@IsThisAvailable:
I agree with you completely, however any hopes of them getting rid of the mythic rarity would require a miracle at the least. It sucks to see how i'm unable to get some cards i'd love to have in my deck, simply because I don't want to spend $100 on 4 copies of a card.
Cheza
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(8 votes)
I would have preferred a 7/7 for 5 mana or more black mana than this card. Power 6 is a very inefficent number in magic and seven would have reminded me of the three prime evil:
BlACK players wouldn't mind of his setbacks (nor should they worry as long as they remember to have the sacrificing mechanics), because our attention would all be drawn in his cheap cost of 2BB, making a flying/trample 6/6. He sets people's ass on fire.
AliasGnome
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
This card kicks butt. I made a black/white deck centerred mainly on this card. I have played several people and it won every time. 5 stars.
Generally, a pretty good card, 6/6 flying trample for 4 mana.
When your finished widdling them down to zero, pull out Admonition Angel and remove Persecutor and you win!
you bring you opponent down to -10 qickly but you must kill him by yourself and most od destroying spells dont work on him cuz he is black Donate is the right card or bazzar trader 4/5
Spider-Sense
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
If you have both Abyssal Persecutor and Platinum Angel in play on your side of the battlefield, all players' souls are permanently trapped in the game - forever (unless the cards can be destroyed, or they concede).
Magic no longer becomes a game of luck and strategy, but one of endurance and willpower.
Sporting Angels and Demons truly does make one Godlike...
"Your soul is mine."
izzet_guild_mage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
This card creates very peculiar multiplayer situations, where he serves as a sort of kingmaker. After you kill people, they tend to help you bring other people below zero, just because being one of the losers when it dies is less of a bummer than being its only victim...
Zoah
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Now before anyone else says something. Yes, we all know there are a few hundred thousand ways to sacrifice him once he is on the field, but the trick with him is that you need to have one when the time comes. My advice, don't think "I just need this card and..." think about structuring your whole deck for sacrificing things. Put simply, always plan have a Claws of Gix or something on the field.
Personally though, I like him. He is mostly compatible with most black decks, but at the same time he offers the chance to build a deck around him which is just how a good card should be. You will need something to feed him to, but black has plenty of that and most decks should have some.
So, base rating: *** Deck building potential: +* Low deck dependancy: +*/2 Screws you if you don't have the right thing: -*/2
Final: ****
Gibbons
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(6 votes)
I can see where this card might have its applications. If you pull one of these out, your opponent might hesitate to kill it off and you have a 6/6 with flying and trample that your opponent might want you to have. What would happen if a player had both the Abyssal Persecutor and the Platnum Angel in play at the same time? Would that create some sort of Black Hole of Null Logic that destroys the time space continuum? As for mythic rares I agree with an earlier posting that its a commercial thing. I've also noticed that the newer sets and the newer cards are becoming less and less backward compatible, which is also a commercial strategy. Llorwyn was the last set I invested in; I reserved a booster box a month or two before its release and decided after opening it up that I would never invest in the newer editions that heavilly again. I don't like the concept of Plainswalkers and I don't like these new creatures that "level up." Things like that take the game in directions that are unbalanced and heavily in favour of creature decks. Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy that resists change. But theres still a few old cards that will give the new ones a run for their money, and there are some almost forgotten cards from the early 90's that can combo with some new ones to create some insidious strategies. Anyway, thats my two cents, thanks for reading if you had the patience.
The best thing about this card is that his drawback as a Demon doesn't affect you at all until you've already won the game, in which case you more than likely already have removal options open for him.
sancrosact
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Anyone not giving this at least a 4.5 is delusional. Are you really playing a black deck that can't get rid of this guy by the time you've thrashed your opponents with it? If so, you may not be playing black right.
dindolak1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Is it just me or do some people not realize that you can beat your opponent down to 0 life, and then just leave this guy untapped until you get your removal? Your opponent basically can't attack you then. If they attack with a 5/5 or less, their creature dies. If they attack you with anything bigger, you block, the demon dies, and they lose. This guy effectively becomes a 6/infinity wall. The only things that can get through are baneslayers, creeping tar pits or other unblockables. Basically they have to kill it because if you attack with it 3 times and do 2 other damage, you have a blocker that they have to try to keep alive. And why are people trying so hard to combo with him? path to exile, unsummon, excommunicate, sarkhan the mad, slave to bolas, day of judgement. Once you get your opponent to 0 then you just use your remove on him, and then your oppenent has to answer or lose.
Gilder_Bairn
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(7 votes)
Dies to removal! wait...
elderknight
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
The way I read the card it says " I can't win" ''Opponents can't lose''...however it says nothing about them "not winning" so in theory they can beat me? and i cant win till its gone?
TheMoustacheCame
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(4 votes)
its a good card cuz its not broken as many others of the set that should have drawback
Stray_Dog
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(8 votes)
@IsThisAvailable: Honestly I don't think that is such a bad thing (expensive cards). I play casual anyway so I have never purchased a mythic rare card individually. Still, when I got Garruk Wildspeaker for the first time I was super stoked, and I probably wouldn't have been if I didn't know how much it was worth. I'm not saying you don't have a point. The thing that really irks me about Mythics is that they make it particularly difficult for a guy like me to win in a tournament. On the flip-side though this may simply make it a more rewarding challenge for people who like to build on a budget. Other than that though I am perfectly fine with the really expensive cards. Mythic Rares are like treasure! And they should be treated as such, which is why I would never buy them, and why I hate the idea that I would NEED to buy them just to play competitively.
So here is my idea:
Maybe the power level of rare and mythic rare cards should be 'scaled' more to keep them in line with commons and uncommons. HOWEVER the actual rarity (ie amount in print) of said cards would remain, preserving the value of Mythics and Rares to those who like to collect (especially those of a more 'Vorthosian' nature like myself). The supply of all rare and mythic rare cards should actually DECREASE, in order to increase their value to collectors. It wouldn't need to be universal. Magic should have its celebrities, even the 'notorious' ones like Baneslayer Angel I think, as they help to create variance in the trading market. Some cards should be rare AND powerful, but across the board maybe the connection between 'rarity' and 'power' needs to be lessened, especially with things like dual lands.
I would prefer it if there wasn't such a connection between rarity and power level. As for rarity and VALUE though, the sky's the limit! You can increase a card's value simply by making fewer of them compared to other cards. You don't need to increase demand by making it powerful.
The problem with my idea is that there is an unconscious connection between rarity and power level. When we see rare cards, we EXPECT them to be powerful. This is why I do not think it should be done universally -there must always be VARIANCE. I do think, however, that rarity should be looked at from a different perspective.
What about introducing some Rare and Mythic Rare cards that aren't insanely powerful? Maybe very unique, but not powerful in the ordinary sense (because that would be too 'ordinary' -get my drift?). Maybe Wizards already do that with some cards? I am not sure. I tend to hate rare cards that are 'auto-include' because that is no fun to me. Having a few of them is ok though. To me, rare could also mean 'niche, but effective in their niche.' Common and UC is the place for generic, multi-purpose cards I think.
Tezz
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
@kirbster, my idea of a planeswalker that had only minus abilities... are they spying on my magic set editor?
TheSuperbloop
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(13 votes)
If the flavor text is to be believed, you are his slave, not the other way around. Hardcore.
Belz_
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
@IsThisAvailable:
Perhaps you feel like you're forced to buy those cards, but for my part, it's my decision. Nobody's "exploiting" me.
spectermonger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
This is honestly one those cards like Bob. Show him to a player and his reaction to it will show you whether he's good or not. It's a good card and I have had many players scoop after I ritual into it on Turn 2.
snowyy
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(10 votes)
@Stray_Dog. I understand your point, but i think the main reason that they make the cards that are mythic mythic is because they are very good. They make the best cards mythic so in limited they are rare you get them. Therefore i doubt that they will lower Mythics power level, as then they may as well just be Rare anyway.
I do agree though that now you need to have mythics in order to do well in tournements, and thats you i tthink that although they should make mythic cards good, they shouldn't overpower them, like Baneslayer, because although i don't mind how good the card actually is, like you said if you want to compete in tournements you are going to have to have that card if you play that colour, otherwise you are most likley going to lose to it.
I believe the best solution to this problem is to make cards that only fit into certain decks, like Abyssal Persector, so you don't have cards that as soon as you choose what colour your deck is going to be, have to have that card, e.g. Jace, the Mindsculptor.
WhiteyMcFly
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(15 votes)
@MasterOfEtherium... Stop Capitalizing The First Letter Of Every Word That You Type. Its Annoying And Makes You Sound Unintelligent. If Your Reading This And Also Find It Irritating, Copy And Paste This Whenever You See His Comments (Which Are On Almost Every Card I Look Up :/)
Guest513736147
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(86 votes)
MasterOfEtherium is the Abyssal Persecutor of Gatherer. He's cheap, dirty, and not very good unless you have a way to kill him.
Oh, and he types like an idiot.
Mulmaster
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
I don't see how anyone can give this card less than 5 stars. Beat your opponent to an inch of his life, then return Abyssal Persecutor to your hand with some cantrip or sacrifice it or something and win the game.
I don't think I like the concept of mythic rares much, at least not when they're broken like this one - they're not good for the game in my opinion.
i love him, although my friends that i MTG with have wised up and kill him off instantly now. Before they were like: ... okay so now i won't lose? then i would sac him after they'd gone below 0 and they'd get angry.
HuntedWumpusMustDie
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Dear Abyssal Persecutor, just because you missed your chance in Planar Chaos doesn't mean it's best for you to just randomly show up in an expansion that doesn't support you...
Chrome_Coyote
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Such a great black creature, this is what playing black is all about! Worship the demon! WORSHIP IT!
Love it. When you drop it in turn two with a Dark Ritual or a Sol Ring (that you played in turn one) the game might already be over. Gotta have some sacrifice spells in your deck though, but that's not exactly hard to accomplish. You dont even need to focus your whole deck around this to make it work. Easily 5/5.
surewhynot
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(15 votes)
@MasterOfEtherium... Stop Capitalizing The First Letter Of Every Word That You Type. Its Annoying And Makes You Sound Unintelligent. If Your Reading This And Also Find It Irritating, Copy And Paste This Whenever You See His Comments (Which Are On Almost Every Card I Look Up :/)
@tantallum99: I doubt someone who types like that and displays such horrible literacy in general has the mental capacity for what you suggested. I'm pretty sure he's just dumb.
ZombieSnail
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(5 votes)
Completely bad@ss in every aspect, and a fantastic card. His slaves crave death more than they desire freedom Forget the drawback, you're playing black. It doesn't count. And he's hardly broken, people. With the same CMC as Jace he doesn't get much of the limelight, but in IMO he's almost as powerful. Black needs other strong cards in standard though, just this and Vampire Nighthawk unfortunately isn't enough. 5/5 for useful mythic which I actually own. Was in the same box as Jace too (:
d-101
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Watching newer players or those not accustomed to its "drawback" try and combat this card is humorous. Swinging for fatal damage by turn 5 in the right deck build, and then sacrificing it to finish the game, is a common occurrence when done correctly. And, in free for all multi-player, it can put you in a great negotiation spot by forcing opponents with low life totals to either die upon knocking you out or ignoring you for the time being.
Clavat99
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
lol evil twin Platinum Angel. Find a way to give someone else controll of it and you are set.
Bursama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I first laughed myself to death when I saw this first.
Rillennil
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
@IsThisAvailable: Of course, that's how things tend to work in a capitalist society. Businesses operate to make money, therefore they develop new ways to bring in money. WotC wanted more money, so they created mythic rares. But they aren't forcing you to buy them - that's your choice as the consumer. Greed's only natural in this society, for both corporation and consumer, but if you feel they're getting too greedy, that's when you stop buying. And if enough people concur, then they'll make less of these profits you complain about. Evidently they aren't being too greedy (at least not yet); there's still plenty of mythics
Everything a flawless black demon creature card should be.
5/5. Perfect.
Sironos
★☆☆☆☆ (1.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I love demons, power at a price, you get a flying 6/6 flampler for 4CMC, but you cannot win as long as he's alive. It's so much more fun to play with powerful drawbackers. I have the divine vs. demonic pack, and the demons are so much more fun as it requires some manner of skill and risk taking to make them work. Angels are just "play me, I'm overpowered and will win it for you", baneslayer, I'm looking at you.
You shoudnøt have too much trouble removing him,though your doom blades will NOT do the trick. Make sure you have some sacrifice effect or destroy creature of any colour.
Abyssal pursecutter, good one.
A shame it costs so much money, means I can only play 1, the one I traded for.
Fategus
★☆☆☆☆ (1.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I love this card my opponents always seem to forget that this is what keeps them from dying ive killed multiple friends who used oblivion ring or ionas judgement or such and love it when they notice they hit zero along time ago :D
Toversnol
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
4 CMC for a 6/6 flying, trample! O_O sure Ill take it!
even tho in the controle decks, the Grave Titan is just better since it gives 3 body's so it requires more removal. and the grave titan eats the baneslayer since he isnt a demon.
I cant give the Abbysal Persecutor a spot in a T2 deck, everytime I come up with another creature would fit better.
Its to exspencive for black weenie. (isnt tournament winning anyway)
U/B controle you just want Jace at turn 4. and later in the game a Grave Titan.
B/R Vampires dont want this, because it slows down their game. to exspencive to draw with the Dark Tutolage
You must build around this card, and not put it in every deck that uses black mana.
Use his drawback to your advantage. Because of his cheap cost, you can get spells above your 4 CMC that fit in your curve, and make sure you can protect/support him with your spells.
The first 2 or 3 turns you need cards that can support his speed and mess up your opponents game enough.
Here are some Ideas I thought of:
Duress & Inquisition of Kozilek are great to make sure he's safe from removal/counter-magic.
Basilisk Collar if you're in a dmg race vs an agro deck.
Ratchet Bomb early removal. and a possible out to your drawback.
Sadistic Sacrement probably the only deck that preferes sacrement over memoricide. since memoricide is the 4 CMC.
and after 'hopefully' a turn 4 Abbyssal Persecutor
Consume the Meek to controle the bord.
and my with my love for demons. he realy does fit the theme we are in. he is a 6 drop. perfectly fits the curve, and its a nice way to deal the last 11 damage + get rid of the drawback + lots of destruction and sacrifice.
Hellcarver Demon
4/5 Because he just doesn't fit in every deck. He needs his own deck!
flare1122
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(13 votes)
To: TheSuperbloop, the flavor text actually says that both players are his slaves cause your opponent craves death from getting his face smashed by abyssal's hoof all day and you desire freedom from him so you can let your opponent die but he keeps both of that from happening lol.
As for the card i'd have to say he's an amazing demon just cause he's cheep powerful but has a huge catch everything that makes the perfect demon. 5/5
Btw thumbs up if angels (baneslayer) can suck my big demon d!¢#.
dark_hero
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I'd like to see this with 'Shroud' and "Abyssal Persecuter can't be sacrificed." Now that's a little more like it.
TheSwarm
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(6 votes)
This is kind of a "noob-dar" in a similar way as platinum angel is. They see platinum angel and just kind of cry even though a more seasoned player passes it off as too expensive and too easy to remove. They see this card and don't understand why youd want to not be able to win the game, whilst seasoned players see a 6/6 flying trampler for 4 mana whose drawback isn't much of one in the right deck I especially like how people will get sloppy, i mean hey, they can't lose!!
TheChosenOne97
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(11 votes)
Name=Love it!
Illustration=Love it!
Abblities: Flying WITH Trample. Amazing.
Second Abblity: You can't win the game and your opponents can't lose the game. Really?
When I got this card I was phyced then was like "Wow that just ruined an amazing card."
2/5
~TheChosenOne97
novasun
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Where is the " no one can win or lose the game card???"
Yozuk
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Have this guy out with Platinum Angel, then protect both of them and make it so you have control of when the game Ends! Which if Your like me that will be when people start to quit! Magic purgatory FTW!!
The key face-smasher of the Abyssal Trader deck. And when you're done with said face-smashing, the Bazaar Trader lets the opponent have a taste of it. It's safe to say that I love this card as much as anyone could love a soul rending, flesh eating oppressor.
BlueRock
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Awesome card! considering the number of black cards that allow you to sacrifice your own creatures, you'd have to be seriously unlucky (or put him in a deck that's just not designed for him) to not be able to get rid of him.
only time i can think of trying desperately to cast shroud on an opponents creature
MyrBattlecube
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(14 votes)
Dies to a lot of different kinds of removal. 2 out of- Oh wait, that's a good thing. 5 out of 5.
lorendorky
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
This guy seems like he should have been in Future Sight.
@MasterOfEtherium... Stop Capitalizing The First Letter Of Every Word That You Type. Its Annoying And Makes You Sound Unintelligent. If Your Reading This And Also Find It Irritating, Copy And Paste This Whenever You See His Comments
I gave this card 5 stars because the artwork was done by chippy.
dragonking987
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(5 votes)
land_comment worldwake wasn't that good of a set if you want a sets with real power go to the Urza's block.
Rhunic_32
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(28 votes)
for a creature that can't win you the game... it does a really good job of winning you the game....
Macsen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I wonder if Go For The Throat was made partly to make this card work in non-sac decks.
supershawn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
in case your some kinda pansy black player who doesn't like sacing his own creatures (even when you will win instantly when it dies) donate + shroudyness + opponent also doesn't like to sac stuff + you don't make your opponent sac stuff = you can't lose... or you could just play platinum angel..
srsly though I want this card, also it kinda makes me want to make an angel/demon deck with this and platinum angel = nobody wins...
BlackAlbino
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I have a thing for 4-mana super-efficient guys with cool drawbacks This guy dust elemental Hell, even toying with Desecration elemental was fun.
I still like good ol' dusty the best, and I now recognize desecration elemental is garbage. But it doesn't take a geneous to know this is easily the most constructed worthy.
Selez
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I can't wait for this guy to team up with Phyrexian Obliterator and pick up a Lashwrithe and whip people until they scream "Mono-black control is superior! Mono-black control is superior!!" while they get tortured into negative life-totals without being allowed to die, and then will cast a Day of Judgment just to ease the pain. Unless the Black Sun's Zenith occurs first, in which case they will still die.
Equinox523
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Normally a crappy effect, but black is not a color that needs much help sacrificing permanents.
Kidromeo
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Make it quick and easy for me pls.
If I'm up against this guy, how can I advance?
ErikLauer
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(43 votes)
Erik's Random card 6/13/2011 Mike asked people for "hole submissions". It is a common thing for a development team to do. Mail out de***ions of cards, and see what people send in. Then the developers meet, and talk about what makes the set. The lead (Mike) chooses which one is the best.
This hole didn't require a lot of talk. Just "AWESOME!", and it was in.
Some cards don't turn out very well, and no one takes credit. This one is so great I know three people who each told me that he made it. And to each of you, great job!
I love how it is a build around that feels like you "broke the card". It says you can't win, which looks absurdly bad. But you know you can win if you kill it. Wow, I get a 6/6 flying trampler for 2BB, and it barely has a downside; my deck has so much creature kill the "you can't win the game" is practically flavor text!
Khultar
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(6 votes)
PACIFISM + BAZAAR TRADER=:)
Ximenez
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Not even Wizards employees are safe from the ravages of the Gatherer censors! "Evil laugh!"
magicgrandmasterplus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Nice1 best one I came across so far...
scorpiolegend
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(9 votes)
Excellent Fling missile.
Guest742242900
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(12 votes)
Overpowered. You kill your enemy with it to 0 life and then you kill this guy with Doom Blade.
tazman321
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Everybody hates on MasterofEtherium because of how he types, but if you look at what he's saying, it makes sense, albeit it's stated pretty poorly.
TheLionsMane
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
What happens if you have both this guy and Platinum Angel out?
DarthParallax
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(29 votes)
This is ridiculously the best Faustian Demon ever. A real deal with the Devil, and the only way to break it? Betray the Demon. Sign a legal contract with a fallen ancient power from the days of the making of the world, who has just given you awesome power, then STAB HIM IN THE BACK. Forget B.F.M., Forget Dark Ritual. THIS is the Blackest Card in Magic: the Gathering.
Kaalia Appoved.
JFM2796
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I know a lot of people hate it, but I think it is a very well done Mythic in comparison to... say... the Titans or Baneslayer Angel.
Mythics are meant to have cool, epic, unique effects. This card does that 100%, with the most similar card being Platinum Angel, also a worthy Mythic. This card seems perfectly reasonable to me and is a great build around card.
On a sidenote, why is he about the same cost as the first month he came out? I haven't heard anything about him being played in Standard or anything.
Every once in awhile when I face against this card, I just want to concede while shouting "HA!" at it.
No card tells me what I can and cannot do.
AncientTimer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I think that due the demon's humongous power and Black's many ways to kill even black creatures, the deal here is not Faustian enough. So this is basically too overpowered creature for Black. 3/5 in total scope.
"I respond by..." "You can't, you're dead. Plus, I would get priority next anyway."
Shard_Fenix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
6/6 flying trample for 4 with no drawback. At least it's not an uncounterable hexproof with regeneration.
phyrexiantrygon
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Got two of these in one day. One foil and one regular. Gotta say the foil makes it look more demonic because the art seems much darker, and the way the eyes shine...
@Goatllama
Following your request, I will rate your post down, as it mentions MasterofEtherium (I do agree though). Just watch out for MasterofEfherium. He's the one who posts "dies to _____" on everything.
"So, you've got no flyers, right?" I asked, eyeing my board. I had around 16 worth of power total, so I could reserve some chump blockers for his demons if anything went wrong.
"Yeah," he answered, "but you've got Abyssal. I can't lose and you can't win." At this point, I guess he figures I'm done for if he draws into anything to take out my board. And he knows I can't get rid of Abyssal by killing it myself, since my deck has only 4 cards worth of spot removal, all Doom Blades.
I looked at my hand and smiled.
"Yeah, you can't lose and I can't win while Abyssal is in play, right? Well, either way, let's put you a step closer to the grave, okay? I attack you with Wydwen, the Abyssal, the Sower, and this Cloud of Faeries I have lying around for 12 damage total. Alright?" I smile, knowing he's bound to take the bait since he has enough lifegain in his deck that he can still stabilize to go above 0 before he draws into something that kills the Abyssal.
"Alright," he answers, somewhat smugly, "so I'm at 0 life. Haven't lost yet! That it?"
"No, my friend," I answer, casting a Mistbind Clique.
He raises an eyebrow. "What..."
"While it's on the stack, if you will, I respond to it with Familiar's Ruse."
"..."
"...bouncing your Abyssal back to your hand."
"..."
"...and look at that, you're at zero life! Isn't that just fantastic?"
"...nice move," he murmurs, picking up his cards.
-------
In Conclusion:
Demon Army From the Dread Pits of Hell: 0
Half-human, half-butterfly (yet, somehow, disturbingly sexy) clique of miniature young women: 1
No ones fucks with my faeries. Because they will ruin your shit.
KokoshoForPresident
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(19 votes)
Is he holding a doom blade?
Crackmore
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
just bring your opponent to 6 live or less and then Flingit
Enelysios
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(6 votes)
I play this along with platinum angel. I Tell people I love the game too much to let it end.
atemu1234
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Love this card. In a three-player game, it only prevents me from losing, while the other two can wipe each other out. If one goes, give this the Disciple of Griselbrand treatment while I have Sanguine Bond out.
zenitramleirdag
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'd run this in a mono-black deck with malakirs and innocent bloods.
tcollins
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Extra style points if you win the game by Flinging this at your opponent. A 6/6 for {4} in any colour is ridiculous. Add in the flying and the trample and the drawback balances the card out. Just make sure you have a sacrifice outlet to toss him aside once he's done with beating face.
MisterAction
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Great abilities for a creature, horrible abilities for a Vanguard avatar.
Goatllama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Zendikar really had the coolest demons, and they almost synergize. Just hellcarve into Persecutor, swing some, and then hellcarve out to win.
fuzzz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What happens if you control both this and a platinum angel and you and every player is at 0 life?
bowlofgumbo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fling, really? Why splash to get a strictly worse version of Rite of Consumption? Sure, it's not instant speed, but for the context of utilizing Abyssal Persecutor that's irrelevant... To the genius who played Indestructability on his opponent's Persecutor - indestructible creatures can still be sacrificed. I've yet to see an Abyssal deck without sac outlets, but maybe your homie's deck was real gimped though :D
Use it to belittle your oponent only to bring Bazaar trader out and well, trade. Lock whoever is ahead out of the game until you can win, excellent in EDH, everyone else will appreciate that move :)
Put shroud on it so they dont try anything funny like sacrificing it.
there in the same set for Peet's sake...
Kirbster
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I came up with this idea a long time ago, and Wizards somehow stole it from me...
Somehow....
NeoKoda
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(14 votes)
Black will do anything to not win.
SarcasmElemental
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Too bad you have to have a marsh badge in order for this guy to let you win the game.
Baal_Planeswalker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Switcheroo perhaps?
JaceIsAwesome
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Powerful when you get him out early. But you have to get rid of him when you want to win.
demonknight18
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is the most "black" of the cards out there. When I look at this card, I don't think about the drawback. If you play black well and proficiently, the drawback just makes this demon more flavorful. 5/5
Turn 2, if your opponent didn't play a one mana response - Swords to Plowshares, Innocent Blood or Unsummon -proceed to beat face. Swamp, tap for 1B, enchant Persecutor with Dark Favor, swing for 9. (Opponent @ 11)
Turn 3, if your opponent still has no response, 1B for another Dark Favor or even Unholy Strength to buff Persecutor to 12 or 11 power, respectively, swing, bring opponent's life to 0. Swamp, tap for B, Innocent Blood, sac Persecutor and win the game.
Of course, if you're running a sacrifice deck, the enchantments are probably not such a great bet - in which case it will take a while longer to win. And heck, even if they managed to remove Persecutor, they've likely lost a decent chunk of life already and since they used their mana for removal, they're likely without blockers so you still come out on top.
In all, a pretty fun beat down if your casual play group isn't uptight about adhering to specific formats. ^_^
BongRipper420
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Just picked up one of these guys for my control deck. I figured it'd work great seeing as I have quite a bit of good spot removal and wrath, so I saw this card and like most, basically said 'What drawback?'.
Oh my lord was I wrong. First game after I added him, I got him out right on time on turn 4 against my friend's casual Myr tribal/combo deck. A few turns later, my friend has 0 life, and I've used quite a decent amount of removal on his Myr Galvanizers and what not. Of course I still had a single Swords to Plowshares in hand, and was ready to win the game at instant speed.
Imagine my surprise when my friend Dissipated my StP to protect my Demon from myself. And then continued to protect my Demon from my own removal with his counterpells. Needless to say he won that game, though it was a lot of fun for both of us.
Olivia should hire this guy. He comes out one turn before olivia, takes care of anything problematic originally, then stalls while olivia takes all of their cards, and finally keeps the opponent alive so olivia can drink as much of their blood as she likes.
I so want to play this guy with nicol bolas, planeswalker out. Just keep trolling them, destroying everything they have until they just concede the game.
Osprey_93
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@bongripper420, why would you risk spot removal so vital against untapped blue mana?
On another note, why is everyone talking about spot removal for your own creature? Ludicrous if youre in black you'll have access to the most sacrifice outlets in the game anyways, they can't typically counter it if it's already in play like a carrion feeder or demonmail hauberk anyways.
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fantastic card. Way above curve, with a drawback that quite frankly isn't that much of a drawback. It doesn't even matter until your opponents are on 0, and when that happens, so many cards simply undo the drawback. But that's probably been discussed to death in this forum.
Interestingly, this guy was the reason I didn't win the WWK prerelease, as the player who won cracked one dominated me (and everyone else) with it. He'd get his opponent to sub-1 life, and then use Slingbow Trap in the combat damage step to kill the Demon. Limited is usually quite counterspell light, so it was mindblowingly effective.
@Osprey - are you kidding? It's obvious why everyone is talking about spot removal for their own creature. It's going to be the default way most people get rid of him without including cards that are in there just to get rid of him. For example, Carrion Feeder can be a useless card without the right cards alongside it, so it won't be in many decks. Demonmail Hauberk is usually pretty terrible. Something like Altar of Dementia - one of the best sacrifice outlets - is going to be very, very sub-par in a deck not built around it. But a decently built Bx deck is almost always going to have some strong removal, and very likely spot removal. So it's an unwise assumption to believe that someone running this will have spot removal, but there's no reason to think they'll necessary have a sac outlet. Actually, the majority of my decks don't have sac outlets, Bx or otherwise.
MRK1
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
*** yeah, now that's a black creature!
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think hes holding the 'Doom Blade' although his ability is dosen't show this well.
4/5 Stars
Demonic_Math_Tutor
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I wish all demons were like this:
Huge P/T, evasion, punishing effect, and massively demonic flavor.
Too bad we don't have more like this guy.
001010011100101110
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(7 votes)
Suicide black at its existentialist extreme.
blurrymadness
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
A favorite for MBC in Legacy. Killing it is bad, not killing it is worse; especially since any deck running him is loaded with sac effects, most of which are uncounterable.
He's huge, he beats you up badly, he's immune to Doom Blade, Dismember, and Smother; among burn and a host of other spells. He has a drawback that your opponent might play into if they think they're being tricky (usually they're not) and he's beautifully crafted as not only Timmy, but as demonic (sacrifice for power!) and the drawback actually matters a bit more when you realize you have certain deck catering decisions to be making.
One or all of those are worth your time in the first place, surely you can fit some of them into a deck you have to get this guy in there.
SolomonRedfang
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Beautiful. The downside is barely noticeable in the right deck, but the text itself makes this card feel exciting even when both you and your opponent are at safe life totals. It looks and feels like a threat, and it's practically dripping flavour.
No matter what other 4cc 6/6 fliers get printed, this is going to rule over them all. No other colour even comes close to Black.
LlanowarEmissary
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is a wonderful card, one of those designs that's flavorful, creative, and fun to build around all at once. There have been numerous attempts at above-the-curve demons since Persy's printing (I'm looking at you, Rakdos, Lord of Riots), he remains one of the more iconic creatures in recent memory and completely epitomizes Black.
Easy 5/5. It wrecks face and the drawback is easily circumvented, especially with all the sac/removal effects in B, some of which are even synergistic (e.g. Cabal Therapy). It's always fun to bring your opponent to a negative life total, too.
Don't forget to Sinkhole your soon-to-be ex-friend a time or two before you kill him off after pushing his/her life total into the negatives. That'll teach him/her to try to have fun playing a game with you.
Congratulations, you are the King of the Richards. You know what I mean.
It's not even that it's a fast win (because it isn't). It's that every single card you played was a metaphorical "have a nice day" in your opponent's face. You know what I mean. They get to watch you draw cards like mad and drop insanely cheap fat cards before having their lands blown up and watching you circumvent the supposed drawback to the card you just lashed them with.
If you search long enough, you'll find all the black cards that no one wants to play against.
Of course there are decks that can and will put up a fight, or even beat you, but no one will have fun against you.
In the end, you win anyways. Also, damn...Damnation is kinda expensive.
Remember when got you a 5/5 with a reasonable drawback? Well, now it gets you a 6/6 flample with a huge but easily-circumvented drawback.
And they say green is the creature color.
Kaleidostorm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
...What if both players control one?
car2n
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I want this card. I could make some stupid fun decks with it.
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Kaleidostorm: I assume the game goes on forever, until someone loses control of his Persecutor. If both players have run out of cards and neither has the means of destroying his/her Persecutor I assume it's a draw.
I agree that a 5/5 "Persecutor" card for would be hideously overpowered and unfun, but putting a Heartless Summoning into your deck will not transform your Persecutors into that card - you have to cast the enchantment first. You'll probably want four Summonings, what do you do when you draw extras? What happens to your low drop creatures? Do you destroy them all when you cast Summoning, or do you restrict yourself to creatures with toughness two or more? Do you just try to play without any small creatures? What's your backup plan if you don't draw a Summoning? What will you do when your opponent sides in enchantment removal in game two?
Abyssal Persecutor and Heartless Summoning are an interesting puzzle to solve, and they're not unfun to play against. A turn three Heartless Persecutor is powerful, but not game-ending by any stretch of the imagination.
Comments (177)
Can another deck work with him? Definitely. Will it succeed? Unlikely. It dies to removal, like everything else, and when your hand has nothing but the sacrifice engines that get around Vines of Vastwood and Canopy Cover, such as Gatekeeper of Malakir, Bone Splinters and Fleshbag Marauder, it seems like a much less attractive niche deck to try. Only time will tell to see if the reverse of Platinum Angel will see play.
It's a brilliant Spike design though, as it requires significant skill to play with or against it and its power level is very complicated to evaluate properly. Plus, it's flavorful, it's memorable, the flavor text is right-on, and it's totally original. As skeptical I am of its competitive viability, I have to admire its general awesomeness as a card design.
It's really annoying.
As for the card, I love it.
I got one earlier, and for only a Marshal's Anthem and Twincast!
You think it's a problem this *doesn't* fit in jund? So you only want good red/green/black cards that make the vastly dominant archetype in the format even MORE powerful? Why on earth would you want that? This guy opens up design space for black decks where there wasn't before.
This guy is simply amazing. Magic hasn't seen this exciting a black creatures since Juzam Djinn, IMO. And this guy is definitely better.
Saying that it dies of removal, and that your opponent can stop your ways of killing him makes him subpar is equally silly.
This has been said before, but people don't seem to get it: Just because a card has *some* weakness doesn't make it crap.
btw, awful card give me all of yours ^_^
so much potential and synergy. I wish he wasnt so expensive.
Oh, wait... black has approximately 32,000,000 different ways to sac creatures.
This card is bahhh-roken.
He is just a too great threat to leave him on the board to long. Even if your opponent speculates with the thought that the Presecutor prevents him from loosing, he will never know if you have some sort of sacrifice Outlet like Bone Splinters or any devour-creature on your hand to nullify the effect.
The Presecutor adds a lot of fun and a whole dose of adrenalin to the game, making him a 5/5 to me.
A 6/6 flampler for four mana? Yes, please
And the drawback is comparably a rather ridiculous one:
It might sound like much, but it will really only bother you very little once you already took apart your opponent anyways.
Getting rid of your own permanents, especially if you're running black, is one of the easiest things to do.
There are in general a lot of removal spells you could use on him like Terminate, Path to Exile, Journey to Nowhere or Oblivion Ring.
And for monoblack decks in particular there are plenty of cards even in Standard right now which will let you sacrifice him like Bone Splinters, Gatekeeper of Malakir, Fleshbag Marauder, Vampire Aristocrat, Eldrazi Monument, or any Jund creature with Devour like Gluttonous Slime!
You could even bounce him with a plain simple Unsummon, or other cheap choices like Into the Roil, Call to Heel or Kor Skyfisher.
And your opponent will have a hard time to prevent you from doing so.
Phyrexian Negator in comparison for example has a drawback that requires the exact opposite - he requires you to sacrifice everything else and eventually even him, the Persecutor asks for nothing but getting rid of him in order to win once you've finished your job with help of this guy.
It's indeed some kind of reverse Platinum Angel, even regarding the way of removal.
Both might be the prefered target for your opponent's spells, but once you brought his/her life total below 1 with the Persecutor, your opponent will try to keep your Demon alive. Likely in vain.
I see some dominating decks coming up with this guy, be them monoblack or black/white ones including Baneslayer Angels.
Andfurthermore, why is this guy not 5/5?
No excuses for that.
Turn 1: Forest, Birds of Paradise
Turn 2: Swamp
Turn 3: Swamp, Abyssal Persecutor
Turn 4: Soul's Majesty to draw 6 cards
This woks in competive tournaments, no sees the Soul's Majesty coming!
Here's another one:
Turn X: Attack your opponent with Abyssal Persector to bring his life total to -5
Turn X+1: Block your opponent's BBE with your Abyssal Persector, cast vines of vastwood with the kicker on your opponent's BBE and block with Abyssal Persector
If all you going to do with this card is killing it or bazaar-trader it, consider other things with more value instead of just high P/T and/or flying. (BTW by 4 mana this does not even come in soon enough to save your darn blocking, and even if it does, you WILL NEED to get rid of it to win...) really boggles the mind, overestimated card by far.
In fact fell from 120 bucks to 60 in a the first WWK week haha (local currency).
xathrid goes really nice with the deck, it's the best option to get the persecutor out of the way, since it deals 6 in the process, and has a decent body himself.
Vamps cover the rest of the deck, just because they are a really solid tribal.
As you can see, the persecutor will never bother me, since i have a lot of options to get him killed (Vampire aristocrat, Xathrid demon, Gatekeeper of Malakir, Tendrils)
4- Bloodghast
2- Kalastria Highborn
4- Gatekeeper
4- Aristocrat
4- Nighthawk
4- Abyssal Persecutor
2- Malakir Bloodwitch
3- Xathrid Demon
4- Tendrils of corruption
3- Urge to feed
2- Quest for the gravelord
4- Verdant catacombs
4- Marsh flats
16- Swamps
SB:
4- Black Knight
2- Mind Sludge
3- Deathmark
2- Doom blade
2- Duress
2- Vampire nocturnus
Its almost ready, i just lack the Kalastrias and the deathmarks. the sideboard may need some more work, but i like it, the black knights against any form of white decks, the mind sludge and duress against control, deathmark against white or green, doom blade against heavy creature decks, and the nocturnus comes in if i feel like i need him.
tell me what you think about it
@IsThisAvailable:
I agree with you completely, however any hopes of them getting rid of the mythic rarity would require a miracle at the least. It sucks to see how i'm unable to get some cards i'd love to have in my deck, simply because I don't want to spend $100 on 4 copies of a card.
1) Lord of the Pit
2) Liege of the Pit
3) Infernal Spawn of Evil
Step 2 - Enchant with Phantom Wings
Step 3 - F.S.U.
Step 4 - Sacrifice Phantom Wings
Win.
When your finished widdling them down to zero, pull out Admonition Angel and remove Persecutor and you win!
and most od destroying spells dont work on him cuz he is black
Donate is the right card
or bazzar trader
4/5
Magic no longer becomes a game of luck and strategy, but one of endurance and willpower.
Sporting Angels and Demons truly does make one Godlike...
"Your soul is mine."
Personally though, I like him. He is mostly compatible with most black decks, but at the same time he offers the chance to build a deck around him which is just how a good card should be. You will need something to feed him to, but black has plenty of that and most decks should have some.
So, base rating: ***
Deck building potential: +*
Low deck dependancy: +*/2
Screws you if you don't have the right thing: -*/2
Final: ****
Basically they have to kill it because if you attack with it 3 times and do 2 other damage, you have a blocker that they have to try to keep alive.
And why are people trying so hard to combo with him? path to exile, unsummon, excommunicate, sarkhan the mad, slave to bolas, day of judgement. Once you get your opponent to 0 then you just use your remove on him, and then your oppenent has to answer or lose.
wait...
I'm not saying you don't have a point. The thing that really irks me about Mythics is that they make it particularly difficult for a guy like me to win in a tournament. On the flip-side though this may simply make it a more rewarding challenge for people who like to build on a budget. Other than that though I am perfectly fine with the really expensive cards. Mythic Rares are like treasure! And they should be treated as such, which is why I would never buy them, and why I hate the idea that I would NEED to buy them just to play competitively.
So here is my idea:
Maybe the power level of rare and mythic rare cards should be 'scaled' more to keep them in line with commons and uncommons. HOWEVER the actual rarity (ie amount in print) of said cards would remain, preserving the value of Mythics and Rares to those who like to collect (especially those of a more 'Vorthosian' nature like myself). The supply of all rare and mythic rare cards should actually DECREASE, in order to increase their value to collectors.
It wouldn't need to be universal. Magic should have its celebrities, even the 'notorious' ones like Baneslayer Angel I think, as they help to create variance in the trading market. Some cards should be rare AND powerful, but across the board maybe the connection between 'rarity' and 'power' needs to be lessened, especially with things like dual lands.
I would prefer it if there wasn't such a connection between rarity and power level. As for rarity and VALUE though, the sky's the limit! You can increase a card's value simply by making fewer of them compared to other cards. You don't need to increase demand by making it powerful.
The problem with my idea is that there is an unconscious connection between rarity and power level. When we see rare cards, we EXPECT them to be powerful. This is why I do not think it should be done universally -there must always be VARIANCE. I do think, however, that rarity should be looked at from a different perspective.
What about introducing some Rare and Mythic Rare cards that aren't insanely powerful? Maybe very unique, but not powerful in the ordinary sense (because that would be too 'ordinary' -get my drift?). Maybe Wizards already do that with some cards? I am not sure. I tend to hate rare cards that are 'auto-include' because that is no fun to me. Having a few of them is ok though. To me, rare could also mean 'niche, but effective in their niche.' Common and UC is the place for generic, multi-purpose cards I think.
Perhaps you feel like you're forced to buy those cards, but for my part, it's my decision. Nobody's "exploiting" me.
I do agree though that now you need to have mythics in order to do well in tournements, and thats you i tthink that although they should make mythic cards good, they shouldn't overpower them, like Baneslayer, because although i don't mind how good the card actually is, like you said if you want to compete in tournements you are going to have to have that card if you play that colour, otherwise you are most likley going to lose to it.
I believe the best solution to this problem is to make cards that only fit into certain decks, like Abyssal Persector, so you don't have cards that as soon as you choose what colour your deck is going to be, have to have that card, e.g. Jace, the Mindsculptor.
Oh, and he types like an idiot.
I don't think I like the concept of mythic rares much, at least not when they're broken like this one - they're not good for the game in my opinion.
-love the art
@tantallum99: I doubt someone who types like that and displays such horrible literacy in general has the mental capacity for what you suggested. I'm pretty sure he's just dumb.
Forget the drawback, you're playing black. It doesn't count.
And he's hardly broken, people. With the same CMC as Jace he doesn't get much of the limelight, but in IMO he's almost as powerful. Black needs other strong cards in standard though, just this and Vampire Nighthawk unfortunately isn't enough.
5/5 for useful mythic which I actually own. Was in the same box as Jace too (:
Of course, that's how things tend to work in a capitalist society. Businesses operate to make money, therefore they develop new ways to bring in money. WotC wanted more money, so they created mythic rares. But they aren't forcing you to buy them - that's your choice as the consumer. Greed's only natural in this society, for both corporation and consumer, but if you feel they're getting too greedy, that's when you stop buying. And if enough people concur, then they'll make less of these profits you complain about.
Evidently they aren't being too greedy (at least not yet); there's still plenty of mythics
5/5. Perfect.
You shoudnøt have too much trouble removing him,though your doom blades will NOT do the trick. Make sure you have some sacrifice effect or destroy creature of any colour.
Abyssal pursecutter, good one.
A shame it costs so much money, means I can only play 1, the one I traded for.
even tho in the controle decks, the Grave Titan is just better since it gives 3 body's so it requires more removal. and the grave titan eats the baneslayer since he isnt a demon.
I cant give the Abbysal Persecutor a spot in a T2 deck, everytime I come up with another creature would fit better.
Its to exspencive for black weenie. (isnt tournament winning anyway)
U/B controle you just want Jace at turn 4. and later in the game a Grave Titan.
B/R Vampires dont want this, because it slows down their game. to exspencive to draw with the Dark Tutolage
You must build around this card, and not put it in every deck that uses black mana.
Use his drawback to your advantage. Because of his cheap cost, you can get spells above your 4 CMC that fit in your curve, and make sure you can protect/support him with your spells.
The first 2 or 3 turns you need cards that can support his speed and mess up your opponents game enough.
Here are some Ideas I thought of:
Duress & Inquisition of Kozilek are great to make sure he's safe from removal/counter-magic.
Basilisk Collar if you're in a dmg race vs an agro deck.
Ratchet Bomb early removal. and a possible out to your drawback.
Sadistic Sacrement probably the only deck that preferes sacrement over memoricide. since memoricide is the 4 CMC.
and after 'hopefully' a turn 4 Abbyssal Persecutor
Consume the Meek to controle the bord.
and my with my love for demons. he realy does fit the theme we are in. he is a 6 drop. perfectly fits the curve, and its a nice way to deal the last 11 damage + get rid of the drawback + lots of destruction and sacrifice.
Hellcarver Demon
4/5 Because he just doesn't fit in every deck. He needs his own deck!
As for the card i'd have to say he's an amazing demon just cause he's cheep powerful but has a huge catch everything that makes the perfect demon. 5/5
Btw thumbs up if angels (baneslayer) can suck my big demon d!¢#.
They see platinum angel and just kind of cry even though a more seasoned player passes it off as too expensive and too easy to remove.
They see this card and don't understand why youd want to not be able to win the game, whilst seasoned players see a 6/6 flying trampler for 4 mana whose drawback isn't much of one in the right deck
I especially like how people will get sloppy, i mean hey, they can't lose!!
Illustration=Love it!
Abblities: Flying WITH Trample. Amazing.
Second Abblity: You can't win the game and your opponents can't lose the game. Really?
When I got this card I was phyced then was like "Wow that just ruined an amazing card."
2/5
~TheChosenOne97
only time i can think of trying desperately to cast shroud on an opponents creature
Oh wait, that's a good thing. 5 out of 5.
CAN'T FIGHT THE WORLDWAKE POWER!!!
Nice, surewhynot. I will.
@MasterOfEtherium... Stop Capitalizing The First Letter Of Every Word That You Type. Its Annoying And Makes You Sound Unintelligent. If Your Reading This And Also Find It Irritating, Copy And Paste This Whenever You See His Comments
srsly though I want this card, also it kinda makes me want to make an angel/demon deck with this and platinum angel = nobody wins...
This guy
dust elemental
Hell, even toying with Desecration elemental was fun.
I still like good ol' dusty the best, and I now recognize desecration elemental is garbage. But it doesn't take a geneous to know this is easily the most constructed worthy.
If I'm up against this guy, how can I advance?
Mike asked people for "hole submissions". It is a common thing for a development team to do.
Mail out de***ions of cards, and see what people send in. Then the developers meet, and talk about what makes the set. The lead (Mike) chooses which one is the best.
This hole didn't require a lot of talk. Just "AWESOME!", and it was in.
Some cards don't turn out very well, and no one takes credit. This one is so great I know three people who each told me that he made it. And to each of you, great job!
I love how it is a build around that feels like you "broke the card".
It says you can't win, which looks absurdly bad. But you know you can win if you kill it. Wow, I get a 6/6 flying trampler for 2BB, and it barely has a downside; my deck has so much creature kill the "you can't win the game" is practically flavor text!
Kaalia Appoved.
Mythics are meant to have cool, epic, unique effects. This card does that 100%, with the most similar card being Platinum Angel, also a worthy Mythic. This card seems perfectly reasonable to me and is a great build around card.
On a sidenote, why is he about the same cost as the first month he came out? I haven't heard anything about him being played in Standard or anything.
No card tells me what I can and cannot do.
BB for a 5/5 flying, trample.
"I respond by..."
"You can't, you're dead. Plus, I would get priority next anyway."
At least it's not an uncounterable hexproof with regeneration.
@Goatllama
Following your request, I will rate your post down, as it mentions MasterofEtherium (I do agree though).
Just watch out for MasterofEfherium. He's the one who posts "dies to _____" on everything.
9 life, opponent at 12. He cast Abyssal, I in turn enslaved him with Sower of Temptation. He has a fat 6/6 demon and a 5/5 Quest for the Gravelord zombie out, but nothing with flying. I have Abyssal, the Sower, Wydwen, the Biting Gale, and a horde of Bitterblossom tokens.
It went something like this...
"So, you've got no flyers, right?" I asked, eyeing my board. I had around 16 worth of power total, so I could reserve some chump blockers for his demons if anything went wrong.
"Yeah," he answered, "but you've got Abyssal. I can't lose and you can't win." At this point, I guess he figures I'm done for if he draws into anything to take out my board. And he knows I can't get rid of Abyssal by killing it myself, since my deck has only 4 cards worth of spot removal, all Doom Blades.
I looked at my hand and smiled.
"Yeah, you can't lose and I can't win while Abyssal is in play, right? Well, either way, let's put you a step closer to the grave, okay? I attack you with Wydwen, the Abyssal, the Sower, and this Cloud of Faeries I have lying around for 12 damage total. Alright?" I smile, knowing he's bound to take the bait since he has enough lifegain in his deck that he can still stabilize to go above 0 before he draws into something that kills the Abyssal.
"Alright," he answers, somewhat smugly, "so I'm at 0 life. Haven't lost yet! That it?"
"No, my friend," I answer, casting a Mistbind Clique.
He raises an eyebrow. "What..."
"While it's on the stack, if you will, I respond to it with Familiar's Ruse."
"..."
"...bouncing your Abyssal back to your hand."
"..."
"...and look at that, you're at zero life! Isn't that just fantastic?"
"...nice move," he murmurs, picking up his cards.
-------
In Conclusion:
Demon Army From the Dread Pits of Hell: 0
Half-human, half-butterfly (yet, somehow, disturbingly sexy) clique of miniature young women: 1
No ones fucks with my faeries. Because they will ruin your shit.
Put shroud on it so they dont try anything funny like sacrificing it.
there in the same set for Peet's sake...
Somehow....
5/5
Turn 1, 0 drop creature, eg. Ornithopter, Swamp, tap for B, Culling the Weak, get BBBB, this.
Turn 2, if your opponent didn't play a one mana response - Swords to Plowshares, Innocent Blood or Unsummon -proceed to beat face. Swamp, tap for 1B, enchant Persecutor with Dark Favor, swing for 9. (Opponent @ 11)
Turn 3, if your opponent still has no response, 1B for another Dark Favor or even Unholy Strength to buff Persecutor to 12 or 11 power, respectively, swing, bring opponent's life to 0. Swamp, tap for B, Innocent Blood, sac Persecutor and win the game.
Of course, if you're running a sacrifice deck, the enchantments are probably not such a great bet - in which case it will take a while longer to win. And heck, even if they managed to remove Persecutor, they've likely lost a decent chunk of life already and since they used their mana for removal, they're likely without blockers so you still come out on top.
In all, a pretty fun beat down if your casual play group isn't uptight about adhering to specific formats. ^_^
Oh my lord was I wrong. First game after I added him, I got him out right on time on turn 4 against my friend's casual
Imagine my surprise when my friend Dissipated my StP to protect my Demon from myself. And then continued to protect my Demon from my own removal with his counterpells. Needless to say he won that game, though it was a lot of fun for both of us.
On another note, why is everyone talking about spot removal for your own creature? Ludicrous if youre in black you'll have access to the most sacrifice outlets in the game anyways, they can't typically counter it if it's already in play like a carrion feeder or demonmail hauberk anyways.
Interestingly, this guy was the reason I didn't win the WWK prerelease, as the player who won cracked one dominated me (and everyone else) with it. He'd get his opponent to sub-1 life, and then use Slingbow Trap in the combat damage step to kill the Demon. Limited is usually quite counterspell light, so it was mindblowingly effective.
@Osprey - are you kidding? It's obvious why everyone is talking about spot removal for their own creature. It's going to be the default way most people get rid of him without including cards that are in there just to get rid of him. For example, Carrion Feeder can be a useless card without the right cards alongside it, so it won't be in many decks. Demonmail Hauberk is usually pretty terrible. Something like Altar of Dementia - one of the best sacrifice outlets - is going to be very, very sub-par in a deck not built around it. But a decently built Bx deck is almost always going to have some strong removal, and very likely spot removal. So it's an unwise assumption to believe that someone running this will have spot removal, but there's no reason to think they'll necessary have a sac outlet. Actually, the majority of my decks don't have sac outlets, Bx or otherwise.
4/5 Stars
Huge P/T, evasion, punishing effect, and massively demonic flavor.
Too bad we don't have more like this guy.
He's huge, he beats you up badly, he's immune to Doom Blade, Dismember, and Smother; among burn and a host of other spells. He has a drawback that your opponent might play into if they think they're being tricky (usually they're not) and he's beautifully crafted as not only Timmy, but as demonic (sacrifice for power!) and the drawback actually matters a bit more when you realize you have certain deck catering decisions to be making.
Consider Cabal Therapy, Innocent Blood, Rite of Cosumption and Altar's Reap.
One or all of those are worth your time in the first place, surely you can fit some of them into a deck you have to get this guy in there.
No matter what other 4cc 6/6 fliers get printed, this is going to rule over them all. No other colour even comes close to Black.
Easy 5/5. It wrecks face and the drawback is easily circumvented, especially with all the sac/removal effects in B, some of which are even synergistic (e.g. Cabal Therapy). It's always fun to bring your opponent to a negative life total, too.
Heartless Summoning.
Don't forget to Sinkhole your soon-to-be ex-friend a time or two before you kill him off after pushing his/her life total into the negatives. That'll teach him/her to try to have fun playing a game with you.
Turn 1: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Necropotence, pay 3 life
Turn 2: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Heartless Summoning, Abyssal Persecutor, pay 4 life
Turn 3: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Griselbrand, swing for 5
Turn 4: Swamp, Sinkhole, Sinkhole, swing out
Turn 5: swing out, Go for the Throat the Abyssal Persecutor, laugh in their face, adorn yourself with a crown
Congratulations, you are the King of the Richards. You know what I mean.
It's not even that it's a fast win (because it isn't). It's that every single card you played was a metaphorical "have a nice day" in your opponent's face. You know what I mean. They get to watch you draw cards like mad and drop insanely cheap fat cards before having their lands blown up and watching you circumvent the supposed drawback to the card you just lashed them with.
If you search long enough, you'll find all the black cards that no one wants to play against.
Of course there are decks that can and will put up a fight, or even beat you, but no one will have fun against you.
In the end, you win anyways. Also, damn...Damnation is kinda expensive.
Abyssal Persecutor
Platinum Angel
Play the game until everyone should be dead.
Merciless Eviction
And they say green is the creature color.
I agree that a 5/5 "Persecutor" card for
Abyssal Persecutor and Heartless Summoning are an interesting puzzle to solve, and they're not unfun to play against. A turn three Heartless Persecutor is powerful, but not game-ending by any stretch of the imagination.