Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead (Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal)

Legendary Creature — Bat God // Land

Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead

Mana value5EDHREC#2,478

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The Commander

Flying, lifelink

Whenever Aclazotz attacks, each opponent discards a card. For each opponent who can't, you draw a card.

Whenever an opponent discards a land card, create a 1/1 black Bat creature token with flying.

When Aclazotz dies, return it to the battlefield tapped and transformed under its owner's control.

(Transforms from Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal.)

{T} : Add {B} .

{2} {B} , {T} : Transform this land. Activate only if a player has one or fewer cards in hand and only as a sorcery.

Guide

Gameplan

Aclazotz is a recurring mono-black evasive threat that pressures hands and life totals simultaneously. Cast it for five, swing in the air with lifelink to force discard and accrue Bat tokens off discarded lands, then leverage its death-trigger as a flip land that lets you recast it cheaply once hands are empty. You win by chipping life with fliers and lifelink while grinding opponents out of resources.

Strengths

Hard to permanently remove thanks to the recursive death trigger flipping it into a land
Generates board presence (flying Bats) just by attacking into resource-starved tables
Lifelink keeps you out of burn and aggro range while you grind
Mono-black gives unmatched access to tutors, recursion, and discard support

Weaknesses

Discard is symmetrical pressure but slow against decks that dump their hands fast (it draws blanks then)
Relies on attacking, so it's vulnerable to fogs, deathtouch blockers, and gum-up boards
Single-color means no access to interaction outside black (limited artifact/enchantment removal)
Exile-based removal sidesteps the death-recursion entirely

Key Cards

Liliana of the Veil — Reinforces the discard plan and keeps opponents' hands empty to fuel Bat tokens and the flip-land enabler.
Anje's Ravager — Symmetric discard payoffs and wheel effects supercharge Aclazotz's land-discard Bat generation.
Bloodchief Ascension — Turns every forced discard into incremental life loss, accelerating the grind into a kill.
Megrim — Punishes each discard directly, converting Aclazotz's attack trigger into burn damage.
Whip of Erebos — Stacks extra lifelink and gives reanimation/recursion, reinforcing the resilient attrition theme.

Upgrade Path

Add efficient discard payoffs (Megrim, Liliana's Caress, Bloodchief Ascension) and wheel-adjacent symmetric discard to maximize Bat generation. Strengthen the engine with mono-black staples like Bolas's Citadel, Necropotence, and Phyrexian Arena for card advantage, plus fast mana (Dark Ritual, Jet Medallion) to deploy Aclazotz early. Tighten the kill with anthem effects (Coat of Arms, Intangible Virtue) or an aristocrats package (Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat) to close before opponents stabilize.

Core Cards

The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.

Win Conditions

▸Evasive beatdown with Aclazotz and a swarm of flying Bats
▸Symmetric discard plus punisher enchantments (Megrim, Bloodchief Ascension) drain life
▸Anthem/aristocrat finishers like Coat of Arms or a sacrifice combo on the Bat tokens
▸Lifelink-fueled life swings that let you race past every opponent

Archetypes

Discard / Hand Disruption — The attack trigger and discard payoffs build a whole deck around emptying opponents' hands.
Aristocrats — The death-and-return mechanic loves sacrifice loops and recursive value engines.
Tokens (Bats) — Land discards mint flying Bats that can be pumped or sacrificed for go-wide pressure.
Lifegain Attrition — Lifelink plus payoffs like Bloodchief Ascension grind opponents down while keeping you safe.