Erebos, God of the Dead
Legendary Enchantment Creature — God
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to black is less than five, Erebos isn't a creature. (Each 
in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to black.)
Your opponents can't gain life.
, Pay 2 life: Draw a card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Theros
- Price
- $14.77
- EDHREC rank
- #2862
Erebos, God of the Dead shuts off life gain across the table for three mana and a black devotion threshold — that's a Sheoldred, the Apocalypse-level effect stapled to an indestructible body that also draws cards on demand. At five mana to activate the draw, the cost is real, but the passive alone justifies the slot in any black deck that expects life gain to be a problem.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse already punishes opponents for drawing cards; Erebos, God of the Dead closes the escape hatch by ensuring no one can gain the life back, turning every upkeep draw into a net negative that can't be offset.
Daxos the Returned
Daxos the Returned cares about experience counters from enchantments entering the battlefield, and Erebos, God of the Dead counts as both a devotion anchor and an enchantment that replaces itself — it does double duty in a deck that wants enchantments stacking on the board.
Zur, Eternal Schemer
Zur, Eternal Schemer animates enchantments as creatures, and Erebos, God of the Dead enters the battlefield as an enchantment before crossing into creature territory — it's a live target for Zur's ability and a persistent life-gain lock once it's on the field.
Mogis, God of Slaughter
Mogis, God of Slaughter wins by grinding opponents into a corner where they sacrifice creatures or bleed out; Erebos, God of the Dead ensures that any incidental life gain from sacrifice outlets or triggers doesn't let anyone stabilize out of Mogis's range.
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk taxes spells with life loss every turn, and Erebos, God of the Dead ensures opponents can't use Lifelink, Soul Warden effects, or any other life-gain engine to offset the bleed — the two cards form a ceiling that's very hard to play through.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Erebos, God of the Dead does its best work — multiplayer tables are full of life-gain synergies, and a three-mana enchantment that blanket-locks all of them while sitting on an indestructible body is exceptional value. In Legacy and Vintage, Erebos is legal but rarely played; the formats move too fast for a five-devotion threshold to matter and the draw activation is too slow compared to free card draw available elsewhere. Pioneer and Modern are similar stories — the card isn't banned, but the competitive texture of those formats doesn't reward a five-mana devotion payoff that can sit as a non-creature for several turns. Oathbreaker offers a real home if you're building around a black planeswalker in a life-gain-heavy pod.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Forsaken Wastes and Witch Hunt both suppress life gain at a much lower price point, but neither replaces the full package — you lose the indestructible blocker, the devotion contribution, and the on-demand card draw that makes Erebos, God of the Dead a long-game engine rather than just a hate piece. If the draw is the primary draw (no pun intended), Sign in Blood and Night's Whisper are cheaper card-draw replacements, but they do nothing against Aetherflux Reservoir decks — you're paying less and getting exactly as much less.
Price Context
Current price
$14.77 mid tier
At $14.77, Erebos, God of the Dead sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate include but not so expensive it breaks a budget build. The price is stable given its consistent Commander demand; it's not going anywhere as long as life-gain strategies remain popular in the format.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.