Demonic Hordes
Creature — Demon
: Destroy target land.
At the beginning of your upkeep, unless you pay 
, tap this creature and sacrifice a land of an opponent's choice.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Collectors' Edition
- Price
- $9.62
- EDHREC rank
- #24246
Demonic Hordes puts a 5/5 trampler on board and lets you strip a land from an opponent every turn — the threat is real, the cost is four black mana to activate and a painful upkeep if you skip it. It's a slow, mana-hungry engine that demands a dedicated black mana base to avoid punishing itself.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Demonic Hordes fits narrowly into dedicated land-denial or black-devotion shells — the repeatable land destruction is genuinely threatening in a multiplayer game where slowing one opponent's mana development can shift the table's balance of power. The four-black activation cost means it wants a near-mono-black mana base, and the upkeep clause is a real liability if you're tapped out or disrupted. In Legacy and Vintage, Demonic Hordes is a historical curiosity — six mana is unplayable in those formats when land destruction options are cheaper and faster. Oathbreaker is legal but suffers the same problem: the casting cost is too steep for a 60-card, faster environment.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Keldon Firebombers and Acidic Slime offer cheaper land-denial effects, but neither matches the repeatable, every-turn pressure Demonic Hordes applies. If the activation cost is the sticking point, Strip Mine and Wasteland accomplish a single land destruction hit for no mana beyond the land itself — far more reliable in decks that can't guarantee four black sources on demand.
Price Context
Current price
$9.62 mid tier
At $9.62, Demonic Hordes sits in the mid tier — reasonable for a card with decades of history and narrow but genuine Commander demand. It's not a card whose price is likely to erode, but it's also not a staple that sees enough play to push higher.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.