NOW WITH THEROS CARDS! WOOOO!

Remember to +1 if you like the deck.

When I first saw Shadowborn Apostle I was like "damn, that would be good in a demons deck." But there's a part that no one seems to notice - they sacrifice themselves.

You know who loves sac effects?

Thraximundar.

Bring it.

This deck has several moving parts that, when combined, either win the game outright or make it stupidly hard for your opponents to win. I'll explain most, if not all, of the cards in a bit, but before then, just listen a tad to my strategy.

Firstly, this deck wins through cruel control. Take creatures. Use them. Destroy things. You can also beat face with Thrax, but that's a bit of a reach.

Secondly, Grixis control is a hate magnet. Counteract it by waiting. Get yourself to a place where people ignore you. Mind games is half of EDH. Use them.

The cards:

MANA RAMP

Cabal Coffers + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth are huge together.

Crypt Ghast, Nirkana Revenant, Gauntlet of Power and Caged Sun all double mana.

Liliana of the Dark Realms can fetch straight swamps for the doublers or both shocks for mana fixing.

Sol Ring and Temple of the False God are easy early-game colorless sources.

MANA SINKS

Plague Wind and Rise of the Dark Realms together is a game winner. Take control of all creatures. The end.

A fully soaked Diabolic Revelation can fetch anything you want - mana, demons, planeswalkers. Generally speaking, you'll want to fetch enough ramp to cast anything, as well as more card draw to speed up how fast you can chew through your deck.

CARD DRAW

Easy peasy. Black is good at this.

Howling Mine and Phyrexian Arena both let you get huge advantage early on. Seizan, Perverter of Truth can be fetched with an apostle, and is a huge card eater. Bloodgift Demon can make friends.

Soul Ransom requires your opponents to have cards, but with all of the mutual draws, it won't be an issue.

And, budadudadum, the big one. Erebos, God of the Dead. Reusable Sign in Blood plus a big fat body and a Leyline of Punishment. If you want to be mean, this is your man.

PLANESWALKERS

Only two, and they both serve a huge purpose. Liliana of the Dark Realms is a huge mana ramp tool, as well as a smite or buff on demand late game.

Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is the "fuck you" of Planeswalkers. Get him out early and watch the fireworks. Huge hate generating tool, though.

KILL SPELLS

Super short list because there is so much kill in the creatures.

Murder - short and sweet.

Grixis Charm - gets around indestructible. Just do damage to it, then throw this on the offending pawn to send it straight away. Or just bounce a combo piece mid combo. Control players love that.

DEMONS

Here's where the fun starts. All those Shadowborn Apostles are going to start bringing in the heavy hitters soon enough.

Rune-Scarred Demon to fetch Diabolic Revelation is my favorite.

Need card draw? Seizan, Perverter of Truth

Need to kill something? Shadowborn Demon

Need to kill a lot of things over time? Reaper from the Abyss

Need to make sure you win in a showy, stupendous and altogether Grixis-y way? Prince of Thralls Combine with a boardwipe for maximum Grixis.

Have a Whispersilk Cloak on the board? Silent-Blade Oni

Want to continuously pump up Thraxxy? Sheoldred, Whispering One

Hopefully you will never pull Malfegor from your apostles. Don't do it. Don't waste the power. Discarding a few lands for 20 +1/+1 counters is a little OP.

Want to draw cards? Harvester of Souls

Have a friend playing a strong deck? Lord of the Void and pray for something awesome.

OTHER

Grave Pact plus Thrax plus 6 apostles. Say it with me - "OUCH"

Lightning Greaves protect your creatures.

Whispersilk Cloak does it with unblockable.

Thrumming Stone dumps your entire deck. The end. You win. Free demons for everyone.

Also, huge thanks for the idea of Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker. With the right board position, it's a demon each end step. Each.

Well, go forth and Grixis!