Partner with Gorm the Great (When this creature enters, target player may put Gorm into their hand from their library, then shuffle.)
Deathtouch
Whenever Virtus deals combat damage to a player, that player loses half their life, rounded up.
Suit upVirtus the Veiled with evasion and trample, connect once, and halve an opponent's life total — then close with a second hit or burst damage. This is a mono-black voltron deck that uses deathtouch and removal to clear blockers, protects its commander with hexproof/regeneration, and grinds incremental advantage when the beats stall.
Halving life on a single connection makes combat damage swing games shockingly fast
Deathtouch makes Virtus a brutal attacker and a fearsome blocker that trades up
Mono-black gives access to the best tutors, removal, and recursion for consistency
Cheap 3-mana commander recasts easily after removal
Low investment to threaten lethal — pair the halving hit with evasion and trample
Color-bound: no access to natural evasion enchantments from blue/green or efficient combat tricks beyond black
The halving ability does nothing if Virtus is blocked or chump-blocked
Heavy reliance on the commander makes it vulnerable to commander tax and exile removal
Single big threat invites pillowfort and fog effects from the table
Struggles to interact with non-creature combos at higher power levels
Protection equipment is essential since the whole plan hinges on Virtus surviving and connecting.
Prioritize unblockable enablers and protection (Whispersilk Cloak, Rogue's Passage, fast equip costs) so the halving trigger is reliable, then add black tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor) to find them. Lean into a drain/sacrifice finishing package (Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Bolas's Citadel) to punch through after life totals are halved, and include reanimation or cheap recursion to recover from board wipes. For higher power, add Cabal Coffers/Urborg ramp and stronger interaction like Imp's Mischief and Bontu's Last Reckoning to control the board.
Legendary Creature — Azra Assassin
