Duskmourn Demon Commander is MTG’s most terrifying new threat

Valgavoth, Terror Eater is a new mono-black Commander that is sure to give your MTG opponents nightmares, thanks to its absurd power, casting without mana, and the most punishing Ward in all of Magic.

As the newest Big Bad addition to Magic: The Gathering’s expansive rogues’ gallery, Valgavoth needs to make a serious impression to stack up next to the likes of Nicol Bolas, Elesh Norn, Ob Nixilis, and more.

Thankfully, this plane-spanning demon has risen to the task, with all of Duskmourn under its hungry, corruptive influence. This imposing threat appears multiple times throughout Duskmourn and its associated Commander decks, and Valgavoth, Terror Eater is the most imposing form we’ve seen so far.

Valgavoth, Terror Eater has a truly titanic mana value, costing 6BBB to cast. Any card in Magic would have to come packing some truly substantial abilities to be worth nine mana, but Valgavoth’s reanimation abilities would be absurd without requiring a hefty cost.

Opponents’ cards that would hit the grave are instead exiled while Valgavoth, Terror Eater is on the field, preventing them from being retrieved with graveyard interaction. Except, that is, by Valgavoth’s own ability.

During your turn, you may play any cards that have been exiled by Valgavoth, paying life equal to the cards’ mana value instead of its regular casting cost. While this would normally substantially trim down your life total, Valgavoth, Terror Eater being a 9/9 with Flying and Lifelink ensures you’ll always have the resources to spare.

Valgvoth stacks up next to other titanic Creatures like the Eldrazi titans in terms of cost and power, with its Ward ability even being similar to the Eldrazis’ dreaded Annihilator ability.

If your opponents want to target Valgavoth, Terror Eater with a spell or ability, they’ll need to sacrifice 3 nonland permanents in order to do so. While it’s possible to fuel this with tokens in the right deck, Valgavoth will be staying on the field more often than not thanks to this prohibitive cost.

MTG players have been hyping up Valgavoth and Duskmourn’s other fearsome threats since the set’s earliest teasers, and with stats and abilities this powerful, this fear-feasting demon is more than living up to the hype.