Venom, Evil Unleashed
MSC · common · Released 2026-06-26
Power
brawl
tier-2Strong staple
commander
tier-2Strong staple
Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell).
Derived from the 7 atoms below.
on
on rate
incremental
minor value alone
modular
fits anywhere
scales
scales up
rigid
one mode
broad
broadly useful
recurring
comes back
Commander Bracket
1Precon2Core3Upgraded4Optimized5cEDH
Archetypes
positive:
plus-one-countersgraveyard-matterscounters-voltron
negative:
No active conflicts.
Roles
midrange-threatcounter-producerdeath-triggergraveyard-matters
Risks
exile-costsorcery-speed-onlyrequires-graveyard-density
Mechanics
—
Typal
synergy:
symbiote
anti:
—
Structural
activated-abilitystatic-ability
Rationale
Venom is a 5cmc 4/5 deathtouch creature with a graveyard-activated ability: exile it from your graveyard for {2}{B} to put two +1/+1 counters on a creature and grant deathtouch until end of turn. The body is solid and deathtouch makes it an excellent blocker/threat, but the graveyard ability is narrow — sorcery speed, exiles itself permanently, and costs 3 mana just to pump another creature. Best in +1/+1 counter or graveyard-matters shells that can reliably get creatures into the graveyard and capitalize on the counter payout.
Learnings (2)
The graveyard ability exiles Venom permanently, so it's a one-shot counter boost with no recursion loop potential — don't mistake it for a repeatable engine.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
The deathtouch grant lasts only until end of turn, so activating at sorcery speed means the buffed creature must attack or block that same turn to leverage the keyword offensively.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
Popularity
- EDHREC rank: #12,090