The 32 Best Deathtouch-Granting Cards and Enablers in Magic Ranked

Last updated on December 26, 2025

Gift of the Viper | Illustration by Madeline Boni

Hello planeswalkers! I hope everyone is staying safe and avoiding the touch of death. Okay, that’s a stretch, but deathtouch is an evergreen keyword ability that I’m sure we’re all familiar with. If not, any amount of damage from a deathtouch card can destroy other creatures.

There are so many great cards with deathtouch, like Grave Titan, but why should they have all the fun? Giving your creatures keywords that they don’t already have can really change how good they are and how they interact with the battlefield.

Let’s take a look at different ways to give your creatures deathtouch.

What Are Deathtouch Enablers in MTG?

Vorpal Sword | Illustration by Caio Monteiro

Deathtouch enablers or deathtouch-granting cards (I will use both terms at different times) are cards that give deathtouch to something other than itself. That'll be a creature almost every time, but some cards can give deathtouch to other spells or permanents.

This can look like a targeted ability that gives deathtouch like Qarsi Revenant, typal keyword anthem effects like Death Baron, triggered effects like Ankle Shanker, and even a few of the best equipment with deathtouch like Basilisk Collar. I won’t highlight one-shot effects like combat tricks that you can’t repeat or that only last for one turn.

One special note is that there are cards like Odric, Lunarch Marshal that can grant deathtouch to your creatures only if you control another creature with deathtouch on the battlefield. These cards can totally grant deathtouch, but not as reliably as these deathtouch enablers.

#32. Elderfang Venom

Elderfang Venom grants deathtouch to all your attacking elves. This enchantment also turns your elves into death-trigger ping effects. Elderfang Venom is a solid enchantment that can help Golgari () elf decks become more aggressive and deadly.

#31. Pestilent Spirit

Pestilent Spirit is an interesting card for these rankings because it grants deathtouch to your instant and sorcery spells. Instead of having deadly creatures, your seemingly weenie spells become deadly. This can turn a spell like End the Festivities into a one-sided board wipe!

#30. Gift of the Deity

Gift of the Deity is a hybrid dual-color aura that benefits Golgari creatures. If your enchanted creature is black, it gains deathtouch. The killer combo here is if a Golgari creature is enchanted, you grant deathtouch and it acts as a lure.

#29. Mer-Ek Nightblade

Mer-Ek Nightblade is a deathtouch-granting card for +1/+1 counter decks. Mixing with Golgari counter cards like Winding Constrictor, this orc assassin makes your creatures quite deadly. Deathtouch isn’t the first thing most people think to combine with +1/+1 counter decks, but I like the little advantage it can give them.

#28. Felhide Petrifier

Typal decks can always benefit from cards that give all your creatures a keyword, and Felhide Petrifier is your minotaur deathtouch enabler. If you can pair the deathtouch with menace, your creatures can become very aggressive and deadly. Felhide Petrifier is a nice addition to a minotaur typal deck, but it doesn’t have much value outside of that.

#27. Qarsi Revenant

Qarsi Revenant is a Vampire Nighthawk, but with the bonus that it enables deathtouch from the graveyard. This card provides a solid creature with great keywords. Whenever it’s destroyed or put into your graveyard, you can renew it to pass these great keywords along to another creature.

#26. Kaya, Geist Hunter

While Kaya, Geist Hunter is by far not the best version of Kaya, it has some value in Orzhov () token decks. The best early play with this planeswalker may be the -2 loyalty ability to double token creation, but the +1 deathtouch-granting ability can also be useful. Making all your creatures more deadly to block is great value from a 3-mana planeswalker.

#25. Gift of Doom

Gift of Doom is a very interesting aura card that can grant one of your creatures deathtouch and indestructible. You can offset the high mana value by playing this card face down and sacrificing a weenie creature to turn it face up. Doing so turns this aura into an instant speed combat trick that sticks around on the enchanted creature. I love the trickery, but it takes some investment.

#24. Company Commander

Bring it Down! Cool effect name. Company Commander is a nice Eternal format Orzhov card. It fits into the pinging strategies of creatures that enter or die, especially with cards like Impact Tremors or Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim. On top of these strategies, you can attack with your weenie creatures (now with deathtouch) and really put some pressure on opponents.

#23. Commander Deathtouch Enablers

Agent of the Shadow Thieves, Cultist of the Absolute, and Falthis, Shadowcat Familiar are fun Commander cards that you can combine with your commander to give it deathtouch. You can run these from the command zone with other partner commanders, but you can also run them in the 99 if you want.

#22. Venom Sliver

If you’ve ever seen sliver creatures, you know that they have wide effects for all your other sliver creatures. Venom Sliver grants all of your slivers deathtouch. This is not the greatest of sliver cards, but when paired with some other effects, such as first strike from Striking Sliver, the whole hive becomes that much more deadly.

#21. Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats

To make Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats a viable card, you’ll need to have a few different creatures in your party. These are your clerics, wizards, warriors, and rogues. This card gives you a huge payoff for getting it out early. It has three keywords, gives all your creatures deathtouch, and allows even the smallest of your minions to destroy planeswalkers. A very nice addition to some of the little creature aristocrat decks.

#20. Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord

Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord is a cheap planeswalker that can easily boost vampire decks. Every one of its loyalty abilities involves vampires or is improved when it interacts with them. You can reanimate, sacrifice to siphon life, and grant some pump. That pump includes deathtouch and should help alongside a vampire like Stromkirk Captain.

#19. Nazgûl Battle-Mace

Nazgûl Battle-Mace starts off our great equipment cards that give deathtouch. This expensive investment equipment has so much good text that once it’s equipped, you can start to reap the value. On top of the deathtouch, you get annihilator 1 and a way to steal cards sacrificed this way. It’s tough to get going, but once it's equipped, I think you’ll be quite happy.

#18. Retreat to Hagra

Retreat to Hagra is a great black landfall card, and apart from Ob Nixilis, the Fallen, it may even be the best. This enchantment gives you two good options every time a land enters under your control. You can siphon some life or grant one of your creatures deathtouch for the turn. Options are great, and Retreat to Hagra provides a ton of upside with each land you play.

#17. Gift of the Viper

Gift of the Viper is the lone combat trick instant card I’ve included because of the deathtouch keyword counter. There are so many combat trick cards like Alchemist's Gift that can be lethal for a turn. Gift of the Viper can help you trick an opponent in combat and keep the deathtouch keyword on a valuable creature going forward.

#16. Rev, Tithe Extractor

Rev, Tithe Extractor is a fantastic way to steal some of your opponents’ great cards. This card’s name is perfect, as it extracts a tithe of a Treasure token and a possible card to play from the top of an opponent’s library whenever your creatures deal combat damage to that player. This gives you mana support to hopefully play some of your opponent’s best cards from the top of their deck. As a kicker, your creatures get deathtouch when you attack, which forces your opponents into some uncomfortable positions.

#15. Shelob, Child of Ungoliant

Shelob, Child of Ungoliant is an absolutely wonderful spider commander. This card grants all your spiders deathtouch and gives them a great ability if they destroy another creature with damage. You get a token copy of that creature that’s also a food artifact. This can have huge implications and interactions, especially with a card like Silklash Spider.

#14. All-Out Assault

All-Out Assault fits well into the Mardu Horde () and its attacking mentality.  The pump and deathtouch would be good from a cheaper enchantment, but what All-Out Assault really brings is the additional combat phase. At 5 mana, this card adds some intriguing value to some aggressive Mardu decks.

#13. Ankle Shanker

How about another aggressive Mardu creature for you? Ankle Shanker grants all your creatures deathtouch and first strike when it attacks. This card’s haste also makes this attacking strategy even more viable. Five mana for a 2/2 seems terrible until you add first strike and deathtouch to it and all your other creatures.

#12. Tyvar Kell

Tyvar Kell is a great planeswalker that works well with elves, but the +1 loyalty ability is what can make this planeswalker great as a deathtouch enabler. Once your elves are established, you can make them even more deadly. I could have easily included Tyvar the Bellicose as well with its great deathtouch-granting attack trigger.

#11. Ogre Slumlord

I’d argue that one of the most fun typal decks is rats. Ogre Slumlord is a non-rat card that can really boost the value of rat decks. This card gives you a rat token whenever a nontoken creature dies (not just yours!). It then grants all your rats deathtouch and gives your weenie rat creatures a deadly side.

#10. Mari, the Killing Quill

Mari, the Killing Quill puts hits on opponents’ creatures, makes your “hitman-like” creatures deadly, and turns these hits into huge advantages. That’s my attempt to navigate the large amount of text on Mari. All you need to know about this card is that it makes your assassins, mercenaries, and rogues wonderful attackers when you pair it with some good removal.

#9. Saryth, the Viper’s Fang

Saryth, the Viper's Fang has quite an interesting effect on the battlefield. First, all your untapped creatures are granted hexproof, which protects your most valuable creatures from targeted removal. Next, your attacking, tapped creatures now turn deadly with deathtouch, which forces some tough decisions for your opponents. Finally, you have the activated ability to instantly untap a creature or land to best suit the interactions on the stack.

#8. Death Baron

Death Baron is a wonderful skeleton and zombie lord card. It gives them a pump and deathtouch to bring death! In aggressive skeleton and zombie decks with cards like Corpses of the Lost and Champion of the Perished, Death Baron makes them so much better.

#7. Elvish Warmaster

Elvish Warmaster has been and will continue to be a great addition to elf decks. It has everything you could want in a typal card. This card creates tokens every time you play an elf, and it has a great elvish activated ability. Elvish Warmaster grants all your elves a solid pump and deathtouch too, which makes your army of elves quite scary.

#6. Ohran Frostfang

Ohran Frostfang gives your attacking creatures deathtouch, and it gives all your creatures the ability to draw if they deal combat damage to a player. Unlike some of the other deathtouch enablers, both abilities are static and can immediately return some benefits. This ultra-aggressive combination makes this snake a great green midrange threat.

#5. Quietus Spike + Vorpal Sword

I have put Quietus Spike and Vorpal Sword together because they have the same vibe. They grant deathtouch to the equipped creature and have the upside of doing game-winning damage to an opponent. Both cards equipped to the right elusive creature can be game winners. I like the lower costs of Quietus Spike, but Vorpal Sword guarantees a victory if you set it up correctly.

#4. Vault of the Archangel

Vault of the Archangel is our deathtouch-enabling land. With a solid board presence and some free mana, you can grant all your creatures deathtouch and lifelink. This keyword-granting Orzhov land is exactly what you can hope for from a nonbasic land: It provide some early mana, then some great upside later.

#3. Bow of Nylea

I love options, and I love to put pressure on my opponent. Bow of Nylea is my kind of card. You can make all your creatures deadly by granting them deathtouch when they attack. And that’s just the static ability! The activated ability gives you options of lifegain, counters, direct damage to flying creatures, or even some mill protection. I think this card may be interesting alongside some sort of untap synergy with a card like Filigree Sages.

#2. Zur, Eternal Schemer

Zur, Eternal Schemer is a wonderful Esper creature () that animates enchantments. Not only does this card bring your enchantments to life, but it also gives them three wonderful keywords, including deathtouch. You have to pay to wake them up, but for 2 mana you should overpower your opponent in no time.

#1. Basilisk Collar

Basilisk Collar is one of the best equipment cards that can fit into many decks that aren’t relying on the equipment theme as their strategy. This equipment is so good at being your first turn play and introduces a game of hot potato with equipping your creatures. Deathtouch and lifelink are a killer combination of keywords to easily give away. Gorgon's Head is similar equipment without the lifelink, which greatly brings down its value.

Best Payoffs for Deathtouch Enablers

The overall benefit of granting creatures deathtouch is that they create harder decisions for your opponents when it comes to blocking. Outside of that general benefit, we do have a few payoffs and upsides.

A simple and effective strategy is to give deathtouch to creatures with first strike, like Danitha Capashen, Paragon and Kellogg, Dangerous Mind, to make them ultra good in combat. You can also slap deathtouch on some great combat damage triggering creatures like Grim Hireling and make blocks difficult for the opponent.

A great payoff of granting deathtouch is pingers. Creatures like Gelectrode, Walking Ballista, and even Mayhem Devil instantly become deadly when given deathtouch.

Don’t forget the stellar deathtouch-themed Fynn, the Fangbearer decks, especially the Commander deck. Turn all your creatures with deathtouch into toxic nightmares!

Wrap Up

Ohran Frostfang | Illustration by Torstein Nordstrand

Thank you for taking the time to read about the best deathtouch enablers and granters. Deathtouch may not be the most sought-after keyword, but it has great benefits in the right builds. Granting your creatures deathtouch allows you to be quite aggressive or defensive. Whatever your flavor is, deathtouch can help.

And now I grant you the power to let me know what you think. Feel free to leave a comment below, and if you want even more engagement, follow us on X and join the official Discord server.

Stay safe, and always remember the power of a 1-drop with deathtouch!