The 43 Best Demons in Magic Ranked

Last updated on February 17, 2026

Razaketh, the Foulblooded | Illustration by Chris Rallis

Demons are pretty popular creatures, so each MTG set is bound to have some powerful demons at higher rarities. They’ve been around ever since Alpha with Lord of the Pit. Each color in MTG has its characteristic creature type, which is usually a rare or mythic, and demons are the characteristic black creature.

From New Capenna to Duskmourn, from Theros to Kaldheim and Tarkir, almost every plane has their own demonic entities, but which ones from the hundreds of demons printed are the best ones? Join me in this summoning ritual, and we’ll find out!

What Are Demons in MTG?

Doomsday Excruciator | Illustration by Denys Tsiperko

Demons are one of Magic's most iconic black creatures. Demons are usually huge flying creatures that give you certain advantages like card draw, but only if you’re willing to pay a price. Typical downsides for having demons in play are losing life each turn, or having to sacrifice creatures.

While zombies and vampires are also iconic in black and more common overall, demons are usually rare and mythic rare creatures, like dragons among red creatures and angels among white creatures.

#43. Bone-Cairn Butcher

Bone-Cairn Butcher is a mid-sized Mardu () demon that gives your attacking tokens deathtouch, including the two tokens it creates with mobilize. Players don’t like to trade real creatures for 1/1 deathtouch attackers, so this card is incredible for go-wide aggressive decks. Commanders like Isshin, Two Heavens as One or Caesar, Legion's Emperor appreciate the extra attack support.

#42. Ob Nixilis, the Fallen

Ob Nixilis, the Fallen starts small but quickly grows into a 6/6 or bigger. You have many ways to profit from +1/+1 counters and landfall in Golgari (), so that should be the main home for this card. Unfortunately, it only hits one player for EDH purposes. 

#41. Archfiend of Despair

Archfiend of Despair is powerful but requires a lot of setup. If you have ways to drain your opponents, the Archfiend will power that engine while also denying them lifelink if their deck is built around that. Eight mana is a lot to pay upfront, so we’ll probably need to reanimate it.

#40. Taborax, Hope's Demise

Taborax, Hope's Demise is a good demon to fill out your curve, even if it starts small. Demon decks tend to have a high mana curve, after all. But the best place for this card is in an Orzhov () cleric deck filled with sacrifice effects and lifegain. Cards like Demon's Disciple and Orah, Skyclave Hierophant fit this strategy well. 

#39. Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire

The best thing you can do with Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire is to set up your future draws via the boast mechanic. Each attack means you get a Vampiric Tutor effect, and it's not a bad turn if you trade Varragoth for a good creature and a good follow-up card.

#38. Dream Devourer

Dream Devourer is one of the cheapest demons you can include in your deck. Getting to foretell your other demons while attacking for 2 is a good plan, and foretelling means your 6-drops comes online on turn 4.

#37. Garland, Knight of Cornelia / Chaos, the Endless

Garland, Knight of Cornelia is already a good creature with an interesting prowess-like upside. The interesting part of this card is that it already comes with a reanimation option, should it die or you discard it. By paying 7 mana, you get Chaos, the Endless, which isn’t that great of a demon but is an interesting secondary mode, and means you don't mind trading this early. The best home for this card is in Grixis/Rakdos spells-matter.

#36. Seizan, Perverter of Truth

With Seizan, Perverter of Truth you get a big Howling Mine, which gets better if you have cards like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Nekusar, the Mindrazer in play. It doesn’t have flying or trample, but seeing as many demon decks “inflict pain” as one of the themes, it’s an interesting addition.

#35. Shadowborn Demon

Shadowborn Demon is a pushed 5/6 flier for 5 mana that also kills a creature when it enters. It’s a good creature to ramp into, a good speed bump, and also a sacrifice outlet if needed.

#34. Bringer of the Last Gift

Bringer of the Last Gift is leaving a mark in formats like Standard thanks to Superior Spider-Man, a card that can cheat on the “if you cast” restriction. If you have a full graveyard, this demon does a powerful Living Death impression, on top of being a 6/6 flier.

#33. Daemogoth Titan

It’s not every day that we see an 11/10 creature for 4 mana, like Daemogoth Titan. This Golgari card can power sacrifice engines by itself, and there are many ways to profit from its high power, toughness, or both.

#32. Nightmare Shepherd

Nightmare Shepherd shines in decks with lots of good ETB creatures, so you can make copies of them and profit twice. It’s also an enchantment creature, so it can be a great fit in enchantress decks.

#31. Rakdos, Patron of Chaos

Rakdos, Patron of Chaos is your typical value card, allowing you to either draw cards or have an opponent sacrifice two permanents. Win-win for the controller, even if it falls into typical punisher territory.

#30. Doom Whisperer

Doom Whisperer’s stats were very impressive when it first came out. With some life to spare, you can surveil half your deck, even in response to a kill spell, and that’s one of the better graveyard engines available.

#29. Archfiend of Depravity

Archfiend of Depravity limits your opponents' armies to up to two creatures. It’s very strong when you play this on a full board and when you have a way to profit from their sacrifice (read: Tergrid, God of Fright).

#28. Bloodthirster

Bloodthirster gets to attack each opponent every turn, so it’s a good damage-dishing machine. It’s a good support card for commanders like Rakdos, Lord of Riots, potentially reducing the cost of creature spells by 18 on its own.

#27. Chaos Defiler

Chaos Defiler is your demonic Ravenous Chupacabra, or a demon with a removal spell tacked to it that triggers when it enters and also triggers when it dies. The only problem is that you can’t effectively choose what goes down. That said, the card is also a 5/4 trampler that your opponents won’t effectively want to destroy or kill in combat.

#26. Spawn of Mayhem

Spawn of Mayhem can be cast for as low as 3 mana with spectacle, and you get a 4/4 flying and trample creature. That’s incredibly cost-effective to this day, and demons need low-cost creatures. It also pings everyone each turn so you can turn on your damage synergies.

#25. Master of Cruelties

Though an old Rakdos card () and weak by today’s standards, Master of Cruelties can hit a player and leave them with only 1 life, after which any burn effect or ping effect will kill them. A first strike and deathtouch creature also isn’t the easiest to block profitably. 

#24. Burning-Rune Demon

Burning-Rune Demon is your typical 6/6 flying demon with a tutor and an Entomb tacked on. Different card names isn't a limitation in EDH at all, and this demon berserker tends to work best in a reanimator deck, alongside Unburial Rites or Rite of the Moth.

#23. The Emperor of Palamecia / The Lord Master of Hell

The Emperor of Palamecia is an enabler and payoff for a spells-matter deck. It wants you to cast spells with mana value 4 or greater, and as a mana dork, it helps you to get there on turn 3. You also gain a win condition when you transform it into The Lord Master of Hell, which deals damage to each opponent on a single attack. And don’t get fooled by the small 3/3 body, because it’s probably carrying over the +1/+1 counters obtained in Emperor form.

#22. Doomsday Excruciator

They finally did it, the ultimate mill card for 100-card decks. Just cast Doomsday Excruciator and see your opponent’s deck become nothing. It’s 12 life to cast with a commander like K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth, though you need to win shortly after because you're putting yourself at risk in multiple ways.

#21. Demon of Fate's Design

Is it good to cast Omniscience by paying 8 life instead of mana? Or 7 life for Virtue of Persistence? Demon of Fate's Design is an excellent fit for Commander decks that revolve around enchantments, curses, rooms, and the like.

#20. Rot-Curse Rakshasa

Rot-Curse Rakshasa is a 2-mana demon with a big body, and we don’t see that very often. Of course, its main downside is that you can only attack with it once, thanks to decayed. Fortunately, there are ways to ignore the downside like Abigale, Eloquent First-Year, or you can use its huge power to crew vehicles or saddle mounts. Think of it as a cool black burn creature.

#19. Valgavoth, Terror Eater

Valgavoth, Terror Eater is certainly powerful, but it’s difficult to judge how much. It’s a good reanimation target for sure, being big like Griselbrand and hard to deal with outside of a wrath or edict effect. Once it’s in play, you’ll get card advantage by milling people out or simply by firing off removal spells.

#18. Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch

Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch is a value card, getting you a spell back almost every turn, and when you cast instants or sorceries, you’ll ping your opponents for 1. It’s in the right colors too, but there’s a catch. The more spells you cast, the harder it is to retrieve what you want, and that’s where redundancy helps, with cards like Opt, Consider, and Preordain.

#17. Bothersome Quasit

Although more devil-like than demon-like, Bothersome Quasit is the card you’ll want to have alongside Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch. Just goading creatures means that you don’t need to get in the rumble, and it’s a very powerful incentive to build a spellslinger deck.

#16. Clive, Ifrit’s Dominant / Ifrit, Warden of Inferno

Clive, Ifrit's Dominant is already strong when it enters the battlefield, offering you a discard and draw effect that scales with your devotion to red. By itself, it’s already okay at 2, but it can be a true Wheel of Fortune effect. A strong top-deck later in the game when you have fewer cards to discard, for sure, but when you transform it into Ifrit, Warden of Inferno, you get a 9/9 and a free fight effect. It’s nice that Ifrit reverts back to Clive so you can repeat this pattern all over again.

#15. Herald of Slaanesh

Considering that your demon deck is usually red and black, are you ever leaving Herald of Slaanesh out of the 99? Getting cheaper and hasty demons is just what the doctor ordered, and this card delivers both.

#14. Raffine, Scheming Seer

Raffine, Scheming Seer was one of the most dominant cards in its Standard format. A 1/4 with ward 1 defends itself well, and just by attacking and conniving, you can boost Raffine and other creatures you control, and fill your graveyard for shenanigans and value.

#13. The Speed Demon

The Speed Demon is rock-solid as a 5/5 flying and trample creature for just 5 mana, one that draws you at least a card if it survives until the end of the turn. If you cast it and already have some speed, it’s even better. It will be common to draw two or three cards when building around this card, but even one is already okay in the worst case.

#12. Rakdos, Lord of Riots

Rakdos, Lord of Riots is an excellent Rakdos commander if you like to cast big colorless creatures, like the Eldrazi battlecruisers. Yes, you’ll need to set up an engine to keep pinging your opponents, but just reducing the cost of creatures you cast by already helps to cast the Rune-Scarred Demons of this world.

#11. Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls

Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls is an interesting demon to include in a deck’s 99, especially if there’s some way to deal damage constantly or drain/ping opponents. It’s easy to make this a big flier that drew you 3-4 cards over the course of a few turns. 

#10. Rakdos, the Muscle

Rakdos, the Muscle is a 6/5 flying, trampling creature for 5 mana, so where’s the downside? Nope, it's all upside. It provides a way for you to sacrifice creatures and also a way to profit from said sacrifice while protecting Rakdos from removal.

#9. Jetmir, Nexus of Revels

Jetmir, Nexus of Revels is the only demon that cares about going wide in this list. But it’s nonetheless a very powerful and popular Naya commander, being able to give at maximum +3/+0, double strike, vigilance, and trample to your creatures, and that’s like a permanent Overrun if you have a small army. That goes pretty well with cards that make a lot of bodies like Myr Battlesphere or X-cost spells that create tokens.

#8. Westvale Abbey / Ormendahl, Profane Prince

It’s easy to include Westvale Abbey in your deck as a utility land, and this card saw a bunch of Constructed play. Your opponent's on a short clock once you transform it into Ormendahl, Profane Prince. While not as effective in EDH, it’s good at making tokens here and there, and gets bonus points in cleric decks.

#7. Archfiend of the Dross

Archfiend of the Dross was popular for a bit in Pioneer, forming a combo with Metamorphic Alteration to make your opponent lose the game. The biggest difference in EDH is that you have to sac it or donate it, because a 6/6 won’t be winning you any games by itself. 

#6. Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin

Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin rewards you for pinging your opponents with multiple sources, allowing you to cast cards you exile. Or it's just a good card in more casual Prosper, Tome-Bound decks. Ob Nixilis combos very well with treasure and cards that ping your opponents when you sacrifice them.

#5. Razaketh, the Foulblooded

Razaketh, the Foulblooded is one of the best demons you can play (read: not banned) in EDH, either as a black commander or in the 99. By reanimating it, you get a tutor machine. Sac a creature, tutor a card, repeat and win from there.

#4. Vilis, Broker of Blood

You know what’s good to have with Razaketh, the Foulblooded sacrificing creatures around and having you lose life? Vilis, Broker of Blood, of course. It’s also a badass demon that draws you a bunch of cards, and you can also sink your black mana into removal and cards.

#3. Bloodletter of Aclazotz

Bloodletter of Aclazotz has carved out a niche for itself in some Constructed formats, especially with its partner in crime, Unstoppable Slasher. The card’s already playable by itself, and it’s a must-kill threat. It’s also a good 4-mana demon to offset the downside of Unholy Annex.

#2. Griselbrand

As one of the best card draw effects in black, not to mention a massive flying threat, Griselbrand is probably the most-played demon in MTG’s history, despite being banned in EDH. It’s the near-perfect card to reanimate, because you’ll spend 7-14 life to draw that many cards, and it’s easy to win from there. Besides, if you get a hit in with old Grisel, you convert that 7 life you just gained into more cards. It also works with cards like Goryo's Vengeance because it’s legendary.

#1. Be'lakor, the Dark Master

The winning demon from this list is Be'lakor, the Dark Master. It’s a powerful demon in itself and one of the better incentives to build a demon EDH deck. You get some cards when you cast Be'lakor, ideally demons, and just by casting demons, you’re getting a powerful removal ETB. It’s a card advantage engine and a powerful finisher.

Best Demon Payoffs and Enablers

Usually, casting demons is strong enough on its own, and demons are more of a lone wolf type of creature. That said, if you’re playing formats like Commander, just any big flier won’t do.

Be'lakor, the Dark Master is the lead demon commander. Drawing some cards on entering is good, but it scales with the number of demons you’re playing. Besides, the more demons you play, the more damage you deal. 

Raphael, Fiendish Savior is one of the few demon lords in MTG. It’s nice to bump some changelings’ power and toughness since you might be playing some to improve the mana curve.

Rakdos, the Showstopper doesn’t kill your demons, but everyone else is decided on a coin flip.

Kaalia of the Vast is super strong with powerful demons by its side. One attack from Kaalia is enough to cheat out big targets. It’s also a popular demon commander. And if you’re into that strategy, you might also consider Kaalia, Zenith Seeker, which gives you some card selection and card draw.

Liliana's Contract is a legit win condition for demon decks. You just need to untap with four different demons on the battlefield.

Ancient Cellarspawn and Herald of Slaanesh are excellent enablers for a demon strategy, effectively reducing the cost of your creatures. That’s some demon ramp. You can also use cards like Urza's Incubator or Heartless Summoning.

Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber do similar things. If you control demons, they can drain your opponents each turn while giving you card advantage.

Is Ob Nixilis a Demon?

Ob Nixilis is a demon planeswalker. He’s been printed three times as a “Legendary Creature – Demon” and three times as a “Legendary Planeswalker – Nixilis”; the planeswalker cards do not have the demon creature type and don't count as demons for any demon synergy.

If you’re looking for demon cards, make sure to play the creature cards, like Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin.

Do Devils Count as Demons?

They don’t. Devils and demons are two different creature types.

Wrap Up

Be'lakor, the Dark Master | Illustration by Daarken

There have been a lot of powerful black demon creatures over the years, enough to establish them as one of the most feared creature types in Magic. They’re often printed at rare or mythic rarity since most of them are iconic in their respective sets, and their stats make them great for Constructed play. Be sure to add a few demons here and there if you’re building an EDH deck that has black among its colors.

That’s all from me today, and I hope to have shed some light on a dark subject. As always, let me know what you think of my rankings in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Twitter.

May you spend lots of life to draw extra cards!