Overview

Masters of Evil is built around a life loss engine that generates Dalek creature tokens. At the beginning of your end step, Davros, Dalek Creator checks each opponent: any who lost 3 or more life that turn gives you a 3/3 menace Dalek token and forces a villainous choice on that opponent — either you draw a card, or they discard one. The Dalek tokens themselves are plain 3/3 menace bodies with no attack trigger of their own, so the deck's job is to push several different opponents past that 3-life threshold every turn, then let a growing menace army and repeated card advantage close the game.

The deck includes multiple sources of opponent life loss beyond combat: taxation effects, drain spells, and pingers that chip away at life totals each upkeep or trigger. The Grixis colour combination provides the full suite of black life drain, red direct damage, and blue card draw, creating a game plan that grinds opponents down through incidental damage while the Dalek army grows and eventually overwhelms through combat.

Key Cards

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Exterminate!
Removal · Replicate
Destroys target creature and makes its controller lose 3 life — enough, on its own, to satisfy Davros's threshold against that opponent. Its Replicate cost lets you tap an untapped Dalek instead of paying mana to copy the spell entirely, so with two or three Daleks already on board a single cast can destroy multiple creatures and hit multiple opponents for 3 life each, without tapping them out of attacking next turn since they're only tapped, never sacrificed.
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Cult of Skaro
Dalek Maker · Random Payoff
A 4/4 Dalek for four. Whenever it attacks, choose one at random: put a +1/+1 counter on each artifact creature you control, draw two cards, create a 3/3 black Dalek artifact creature token with menace, or make each opponent lose 4 life. Every outcome helps the deck, and two of them directly feed Davros.
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Wound Reflection
Life Loss Amplifier · Every End Step
At the beginning of each end step — not just each opponent's own, but every end step in the round, including yours — each opponent loses life equal to whatever they've already lost that turn. That means life an opponent loses during your own turn gets doubled again at your end step, before Davros even checks his threshold, making it far easier for any opponent who takes a hit to comfortably clear the 3-life mark.
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The Dalek Emperor
Token Engine · Haste
A 6/6 for seven with affinity for Daleks. Other Daleks you control have haste, and at the beginning of combat on your turn each opponent faces a villainous choice: sacrifice a creature, or you create a 3/3 black Dalek artifact creature token with menace. Either result is good for you.

Playing the Deck

The deck's early game is about establishing Davros and protecting him. Without Davros in play, crossing the 3-life threshold on an opponent does nothing extra, so the priority is landing him and keeping him alive. Early mana rocks accelerate Davros to turn three or four, and incidental chip damage from lands (Pain lands, Shock lands) and opponent combat often has at least one opponent past 3 life lost by your end step in a multiplayer game.

The mid game is defined by building the Dalek army. The Dalek Emperor arriving means that every combat either an opponent sacrifices a creature or you get another 3/3 menace Dalek, and Cult of Skaro can drain every opponent for 4 on a good roll. Every opponent who clears 3 life lost in a turn nets one more 3/3 menace Dalek at your end step through Davros, and the villainous choice that comes with it keeps your hand fuller or theirs thinner besides.

Doomsday Confluence is typically held as a late-game closer: with X high enough it can make several 3/3 menace Daleks, force each player to sacrifice a nonartifact creature, and make each opponent discard, all in one spell. Once the Dalek army and Wound Reflection are in play, a big Confluence turn can set up a lethal attack from the assembled menace army the same turn. The deck's blue counterspells protect this key turn from interference.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: Masters of Evil generates threats from ordinary gameplay. Opponents drawing cards, taking combat damage, and paying life all chip away at the 3-life threshold Davros checks each turn. Genesis of the Daleks and The Dalek Emperor are individually powerful cards that perform well even without Davros in play. The deck is highly explosive: Wound Reflection doubles the life your opponents lose each turn, putting the threshold within reach.

Weaknesses: The deck draws significant aggression: The Dalek Emperor and Cult of Skaro are major threat cards that opponents prioritise removing. Davros requires opponents to actually lose life to generate tokens, making the deck weaker against life gain strategies. The deck can struggle to close the game if the Dalek army is repeatedly swept by mass removal.

Want to improve it? See the Masters of Evil upgrade guide: eleven swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict
Masters of Evil is the most aggressive and explosive of the four Doctor Who precons, delivering an immediate and recognisable game plan: drain opponents' life totals and build an army from their suffering. Genesis of the Daleks and Doomsday Confluence are powerful cards that make the deck competitive. The Dalek token synergy is flavourfully resonant and mechanically satisfying. Players who enjoy aggressive attrition strategies and want a deck that can end the game suddenly from a seemingly losing position will find Masters of Evil deeply rewarding.

Want to build a fully optimised life loss and Dalek army? Let the Oracle find the best drain synergies.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Masters of Evil decklist?
The Masters of Evil precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Davros, Dalek Creator. The full Masters of Evil 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 Masters of Evil?
Masters of Evil is led by Davros, Dalek Creator, a blue, black and red commander.

Which set is Masters of Evil from?
Masters of Evil was released in 2023 as part of Doctor Who Commander.

How can I upgrade Masters of Evil?
We have a step-by-step upgrade guide for Masters of Evil 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 Masters of Evil precon, enriched with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

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