When Phage enters, if you didn't cast it from your hand, you lose the game.
Whenever Phage deals combat damage to a creature, destroy that creature. It can't be regenerated.
Whenever Phage deals combat damage to a player, that player loses the game.
Cast Phage from your hand (never cheat her in or you instantly lose), then suit her up to connect for combat damage and eliminate a player outright. Every turn you protect her, give evasion, and force through one lethal hit while removing blockers, since her touch destroys any creature she fights.
Single-handedly removes a player from the game with one combat hit, ignoring life totals
Doubles as a removal engine—any creature she damages dies and can't regenerate
Mono-black gives access to the best tutors and recursion to find and rebuild her
Naturally punishes go-tall and lifegain strategies since damage doesn't matter
Must be hard-cast from hand—reanimation, blink, and cheat tactics literally lose you the game
Telegraphed threat that eats removal and chump blockers all day
No evasion baked in; needs help to actually connect
Slow at 7 mana and easy to chump-block or fog repeatedly
Free protection that keeps your commander alive through a removal-heavy turn.
Lean into cheap evasion and protection—Whispersilk Cloak, Rogue's Passage, Lightning Greaves, and free counters like Deflecting Swat/Fierce Guardianship—so a single attack ends a player. Add the full mono-black tutor suite (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal) to reliably assemble enabler plus protection, and pack edict/sac engines like Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos to strip blockers. Round out with a Torment of Hailfire backup wincon so you aren't fully reliant on combat math.
Legendary Creature — Avatar Minion
