Bracket 3 · Our Valgavoth decklist · Group Slug
Our Valgavoth list is Rakdos punisher. The first time each opponent loses life during their own turn, Valgavoth gets a +1/+1 counter and you draw a card, so the deck makes opponents bleed on their own turns.
Sulfuric Vortex, Manabarbs and Underworld Dreams hurt opponents for upkeeps, mana and draws, Torture Pit and Solphim amplify every ping, and Valgavoth turns all of it into a growing flier and a full hand.
- Strategy
- Group Slug
- Bracket
- 3
- Avg. mana value
- 3.19
- Lands
- 35
01The Commander
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls is a four-mana 4/4 flier with ward—pay 2 life. Whenever an opponent loses life for the first time during each of their turns, put a +1/+1 counter on Valgavoth and draw a card.
That's a card and a counter for each opponent every round, as long as each one loses life on their own turn. Upkeep damage from Sulfuric Vortex or draw damage from Underworld Dreams does it.
Ward costs 2 life to target Valgavoth, which also counts as the opponent losing life on their turn.
02How This Deck Wins
- 1
Set up punishers
Sulfuric Vortex, Roiling Vortex, Underworld Dreams and Manabarbs make opponents lose life on their own turns.
- 2
Grow and draw
Valgavoth draws for every opponent each round. Torture Pit, Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and Fate Unraveler add damage.
- 3
Finish the table
A huge flying Valgavoth swings for the win, or Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Exquisite Blood drain the rest.
03Deck at a Glance
Bracket 3 · Group Slug · 100 cards
Composition
- Commander1
- Creatures25
- Instants & sorceries18
- Artifacts & enchantments20
- Planeswalkers1
- Lands35
- Tokens2
Mana Curve
Color Split
symbols
- Black 58%
- Red 42%
By the Numbers
Cards by Role
04Punishers on Opponents' Turns
Each makes opponents lose life during their turn, triggering Valgavoth.
Also in this role
05Damage Amplifiers
Make every ping hurt more.
Also in this role
06Finishers
Close out a bleeding table.
07Card Draw and Mana
Fuel for the punishers.
Also in this role
08Interaction
Rakdos removal.
Also in this role
09Combos and Key Interactions
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls + Sulfuric Vortex
Each opponent takes 2 in their upkeep, so Valgavoth draws a card and grows for each of them.
Torture Pit + Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
A 1-damage ping becomes 6 or more.
Blood Pact + Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
Cast it on an opponent's turn: they draw two and lose 2, and Valgavoth draws you a card.
10How to Play
Opening hand
Keep hands with three lands, a rock and a punisher. Valgavoth on turn four with a punisher out draws right away.
Early gameturns 1-3
Play punishers like Sulfuric Vortex or Underworld Dreams and rocks.
Mid gameturns 4-7
Cast Valgavoth and draw a card for each opponent every round. Add amplifiers like Torture Pit.
Late gameturn 8+
Swing with a huge flying Valgavoth, or drain with Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
Tips
- Valgavoth only triggers on opponents' own turns, so time instant-speed damage for then.
- Sulfuric Vortex and Roiling Vortex hit you too, so watch your life total.
- Painful Quandary makes opponents choose between life and cards.
- Ward costs life, which can trigger Valgavoth on an opponent's turn.
Common mistakes
- Dealing damage only on your own turn and missing Valgavoth's trigger.
- Killing yourself with your own Vortexes.
- Overextending punishers into enchantment removal.
- Forgetting Rampaging Ferocidon stops your own life gain.
Watch out for
- Life gain decks.
- Enchantment removal on punishers.
- Removal on Valgavoth.
- Aggressive decks when your own punishers hurt you.
11Bracket and Rule 0
Our list runs 2 Game Changers (Jeska's Will, Orcish Bowmasters), within the Bracket 3 limit of three.
The deck wins by slowly bleeding the table, with no two-card infinite combos.
12Full Decklist
Every card in our Valgavoth proxy deck (100 cards). Hover or tap a name to see the card.
Commander
- 1Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls2BR
Creatures (25)
- 1Kederekt ParasiteB
- 1Blood Artist1B
- 1Blood Seeker1B
- 1Harsh Mentor1R
- 1Orcish Bowmasters1B
- 1Razorkin NeedleheadRR
- 1Gleeful Arsonist2R
- 1Mayhem Devil1BR
- 1Rampaging Ferocidon2R
- 1Rug of Smothering3
- 1Scrawling Crawler3
- 1Fate Unraveler3B
- 1Kardur, Doomscourge2BR
- 1Mogis, God of Slaughter2BR
- 1Nightshade Harvester3B
- 1Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin2BR
- 1Sheoldred, the Apocalypse2BB
- 1Solphim, Mayhem Dominus2RR
- 1Brash Taunter4R
- 1Gray Merchant of Asphodel3BB
- 1Persistent Constrictor4B
- 1Syr Konrad, the Grim3BB
- 1The Lord of Pain3BR
- 1Massacre Wurm3BBB
- 1Kaervek the Merciless5BR
Planeswalkers (1)
- 1Chandra, Awakened Inferno4RR
Instants (10)
- 1Dark RitualB
- 1Infernal Grasp1B
- 1Rakdos CharmBR
- 1TerminateBR
- 1Untimely Malfunction1R
- 1BedevilBBR
- 1Blood Pact2B
- 1Chaos Warp2R
- 1Withering Torment2B
- 1Deadly Rollick3B
Sorceries (8)
- 1VandalblastR
- 1Feed the Swarm1B
- 1Sign in BloodBB
- 1Jeska's Will2R
- 1Toxic Deluge2B
- 1Chandra's Ignition3RR
- 1Sadistic Shell Game4B
- 1Blasphemous Act8R
Artifacts (11)
- 1Basilisk Collar1
- 1Sol Ring1
- 1Ankh of Mishra2
- 1Arcane Signet2
- 1Fellwar Stone2
- 1Lightning Greaves2
- 1Mind Stone2
- 1Rakdos Signet2
- 1Swiftfoot Boots2
- 1Talisman of Indulgence2
- 1Thought Vessel2
Enchantments (9)
- 1Bloodchief AscensionB
- 1Roiling Vortex1R
- 1Sulfuric Vortex1RR
- 1Underworld DreamsBBB
- 1Manabarbs3R
- 1Spiked Corridor3R
- 1Spiteful Visions2B/RB/R
- 1Exquisite Blood4B
- 1Painful Quandary3BB
Lands (35)
- 1Blackcleave Cliffs
- 1Blazemire Verge
- 1Blood Crypt
- 1Bloodstained Mire
- 1Canyon Slough
- 1Command Tower
- 1Dragonskull Summit
- 1Exotic Orchard
- 1Foreboding Ruins
- 1Graven Cairns
- 1Haunted Ridge
- 1Leechridden Swamp
- 1Luxury Suite
- 7Mountain
- 1Shadowblood Ridge
- 1Shivan Gorge
- 1Smoldering Marsh
- 1Sulfurous Springs
- 8Swamp
- 1Tainted Peak
- 1Temple of Malice
- 1Witch's Clinic
Get the deck
Valgavoth Group Slug proxy deck
Valgavoth feeds on suffering. Punish every turn, draw every round, and let the Demon grow.
Every card in this guide is shown exactly as it prints in the deck you get, sleeve-ready, with tokens.
Shop the deck · $45Every card named in this guide is in our deck, and every image is our own proxy card, rendered from the art in this deck.