List of Species in Magic: The Gathering - Demon

Demon

The Demons are the largest and most vicious black-aligned creatures of Magic: the Gathering and are often cast as the symmetrical opposites to angels. Generally humanoid but with massively muscular bodies, twisted, horned faces, clawed limbs, and in many cases leathery wings, demons embody the suffering and evil desires of ordinary races. Few wizards ever gain the power needed to summon and control a demon; fewer still would want to, as they're known to exact a heavy price for their services, mechanically symbolised by heavy drawbacks, often requiring sacrifices, supplemented with cost-efficient size.

On Kamigawa, a type of spirit known as an oni embodies the same characteristics as demons of other planes. Their physical forms are marked by a distinctive third eye on the forehead. The ogre Hidetsugu, one of the most feared figures on the plane, worshiped an oni known as the All-Consuming Oni of Chaos and commanded the loyalties of many others. On Ravnica, the demon Rakdos founded and controls one of the ten Guilds that hold power on the plane. On Dominaria, the warlord Kaervek used a demon called the Spirit of the Night to terrorize the nations of Jamuraa into submission. On Alara, the demons, along with the zombies, lichs and other undead, run rampant on the Grixis shard terrorizing humans who still live in the black-aligned shard.

For a period, Wizards of the Coast wouldn't use demons in their cards, for fear of inciting protests against devil worship. This was alluded to in the parody set Unglued, which featured the creature Infernal Spawn of Evil whose "Demon" type is crossed out and replaced by the far tamer "Beast." By the time that the set's follow-up, Unhinged, was released, the no-demon policy had been removed, allowing the creature Infernal Spawn of Infernal Spawn of Evil to see print.

(Lord of the Pit, Rakdos the Defiler, Kuro, Pitlord)