Overview

Endless Punishment is a Rakdos life-loss deck built around Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls, the demon lord of Duskmourn. Valgavoth is a 4/4 flyer with ward, pay 2 life, and whenever an opponent loses life for the first time during each of their turns he grows and you draw a card. Drain effects, sweepers and forced-combat effects keep the opponents losing life every turn.

The deck's structure is simple: make opponents lose life on every turn. Creatures like Falkenrath Noble, Blood Artist, Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Massacre Wurm turn creature deaths and entrances into life loss, Mayhem Devil and Brash Taunter punish combat and sacrifices, and Kardur forces opponents to fight each other. Each of those triggers keeps Valgavoth growing and drawing you cards.

Key Cards

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Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
Commander · Life Loss Payoff
A 4/4 flyer with ward, pay 2 life. Whenever an opponent loses life for the first time during each of their turns, put a +1/+1 counter on Valgavoth and draw a card. Every drain, ping or sacrifice trigger in the deck feeds him.
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Falkenrath Noble
Drain · Flyer
A 2/2 flyer for four. Whenever it or another creature dies, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. In a deck with sweepers and sacrifice effects, every creature that dies drains the table and turns on Valgavoth.
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Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Drain · Finisher
When it enters, each opponent loses X life, where X is your devotion to black, and you gain life equal to the life lost this way. It is a big one-shot drain that also triggers Valgavoth.
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Kardur, Doomscourge
Politics · Aggro Redirect
When Kardur enters, until your next turn, your opponents' creatures must attack each combat if able and must attack a player other than you if able, forcing the table into open warfare while you sit safely out of reach. On top of that, whenever an attacking creature dies during that chaos, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1, turning the resulting carnage into a direct life swing in your favour.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about survival and setup, not aggression. Deploy mana rocks like Fellwar Stone, Rakdos Signet and Mind Stone to hit your four and five mana pieces faster, and use cheap removal such as Infernal Grasp to stay alive. Avoid picking fights early; you want Valgavoth on the battlefield before the drain starts, so that every life point your opponents lose also feeds him.

The mid game is where the deck shifts gears. Once Valgavoth is on the battlefield, every turn in which an opponent loses life gives him a counter and you a card. Mogis, God of Slaughter deals 2 damage to each opponent at the beginning of their upkeep unless they sacrifice a creature, which keeps the pressure on even when the board is stalled, and Falkenrath Noble pings every time something dies.

The late game comes from combining drains with sweepers. Kardur, Doomscourge forces opponents' creatures to attack each combat for a turn and drains whenever an attacking creature dies, Massacre Wurm gives opposing creatures -2/-2 and makes each opponent lose 2 life whenever one of their creatures dies, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel can finish a table that has been worn down. Players who have spent life points liberally will be the first to fall, so target them first.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The deck is strong in multiplayer because every opponent is a source of life loss, and Valgavoth's trigger fires once per opponent each turn. Plenty of cards drain or force sacrifices, so the deck keeps its pressure up even when it is behind on board, and Valgavoth's ward makes him awkward to remove.

Weaknesses: The deck relies on Valgavoth to turn its drain into card advantage, so removal that gets around his ward slows it down. It also needs opponents to lose life every turn, and can struggle against decks with lots of lifegain or fast combos that never care about their life total.

Want to improve it? See the Endless Punishment upgrade guide: ten cheap swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict
Endless Punishment is a flavourful Rakdos deck that makes every opponent's life total a resource for you. It is not the fastest deck at the table, but the steady drain creates pressure that warps the game around it. Players who enjoy sweepers, drain effects and a growing commander will enjoy it.

Want to push the punishment engine further? Build a fully synergy-optimised upgrade with the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Endless Punishment decklist?
The Endless Punishment precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls. The full Endless Punishment decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

Who is the commander of Endless Punishment?
Endless Punishment is led by Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls, a black and red commander.

Which set is Endless Punishment from?
Endless Punishment was released in 2024 as part of Duskmourn Commander.

How can I upgrade Endless Punishment?
We have a step-by-step upgrade guide for Endless Punishment that lists specific cards to cut and add, with the reason for each swap.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Endless Punishment precon, enriched with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

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