Valgavoth Chibi Deck

🔥🩸 Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls – Rakdos Group-Slug “Pain Buffet” 🩸🔥

Demon CEO of Suffering • BR punisher/control • ~ $4 000 tuned list

DECKLIST

☠️ How the commander works

Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
2 B R • Legendary Creature — Elder Demon • 4/4, flying

• Ward—Pay 2 life → protects itself and dovetails with “life matters” theme.
• First-time life-loss trigger each turn: when any one opponent loses life for the first time on their turn or yours, Valgavoth gets +1/+1 and you draw a card.

Goal: ping every player on every turn cycle so you become a huge card-drawing beater while whittling the table.

🔧 Engine pieces

Engine	Key cards	Purpose
Global chip-damage	Zo-Zu the Punisher • Ankh of Mishra • Sulfuric Vortex • Rampaging Ferocidon	Make playing lands / gaining life painful, guaranteeing at least 1 life lost each turn.
One-life pingers (“exactly 1”)	Roiling Vortex • Scabranth Artillerist (“Valgavoth’s Fury” chibi) • Bloodchief Ascension • Rakdos Signet tax (mana rock pings)	Ensure Val triggers, fuel Bloodchief + Ascension combos.
Draw & drain payoffs	Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin (pictured) • Professional Face-Breaker • Underworld Dreams	Snowball value and additional damage off draw or treasure loops.
Group-slug accelerants	Necropotence • Wheel of Fortune / Wheel of Misfortune • Toxic Deluge	Fill hand, wipe board, leverage life total as resource.
Fast mana	Diamond/Lotus family, Sol Ring, Talisman of Indulgence, Mox Amber	Hit Valgavoth turn 2-3 reliably – earlier pain.

💥 Win conditions

Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank

• • Ascension online → any life-loss mills opponent; mill triggers Mindcrank → repeat, one-shotting everyone.

Peer into the Abyss + Vicious Shadow effects (swap in)

• • Drain yourself to 1, draw ~50 cards; cast Torment of Hailfire / Exsanguinate to finish.Skull Storm (from Commander ’18) after Valgavoth has died a couple times – huge life-loss, copies drain table.

Combat beats

• • Valgavoth becomes an evasive 10/10+ quickly; finish survivors with commander damage backed by Hatred or Tempt with Vengeance token swarm.

🕹️ Pilot game-flow

Turn	Action
1	Land, Thought Vessel / Talisman / Ankh of Mishra.
2	If ramped, cast Valgavoth; otherwise drop Roiling Vortex or Zo-Zu to start draining.
3	Val on board → swing at “life-gain player”; each opponent’s turn they play land → lose life → you draw.
4-5	Stick Bloodchief Ascension, Underworld Breach, Professional Face-Breaker. Wheel into full grip.
6+	Assemble combo or drop Exsanguinate for lethal; hold Deflecting Swat / Deadly Rollick for clutch protection.

🏷️ Card notes & tech

• Blood Moon: Shuts greedy manabases while you sit pretty on rocks / basics.
• Spiteful Prankster & Mayhem Devil: Ping engines that double-trigger with treasures & fetches.
• Rabble Rousing (if you like tokens) + treasures from Face-Breaker = massive swing.
• Opposition Agent (cute yet sinister chibi) synergises with Zo-Zu’s land punishment and stops tutors.

 

💡 Tips & gotchas

• Exact-1 life loss clause: effects that deal 1 to each opponent once per turn (e.g., Roiling Vortex) are perfect; repeated multi-damage (e.g., Sulfuric Vortex 2 dmg) still triggers, just not on the same player again that turn.
• Use treasure from Face-Breaker to spin Valgavoth’s draws into extra plays mid-combat.
• Don’t over-commit: your enchantments do the work; keep mana open for removal and protection.
• Table politics: remind others the pain is equal-opportunity—point them at the lifegain or combo deck while you “just draw cards.” 😉

1. “All pain, no gain.”
2. With a grin and a swish of the tail, little chibi Valgavoth turns every land drop, draw step, and spell cast into one more cut. Sit back, watch the life totals drip away, and feast on the souls you’ve harrowed!