Mayhem Devil is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Whenever a player sacrifices a permanent, this creature deals 1 damage to any target.
Complete guide
Mayhem Devil is a powerhouse in sacrifice-themed decks, turning every lost permanent into a pinpoint ping of damage. Whether you are the one sacrificing or your opponent is, this Devil ensures that there is a price to be paid in blood. It is a versatile engine that rewards resource management and punishes your enemies simultaneously.
What It Does
Mayhem Devil has a triggered ability that fires off whenever any player sacrifices a permanent. This includes creatures, artifacts, lands, enchantments, or planeswalkers. It doesn't matter who performs the sacrifice; you, as the controller of the Devil, always control the trigger and choose the target for the 1 damage.
How It Resolves
The timing of the damage depends on why the sacrifice happened. If a player sacrifices a permanent to pay a cost (like for an activated ability), Mayhem Devil's trigger goes on the stack on top of that ability and resolves first. If the sacrifice happens during the resolution of a spell or ability, that spell must finish completely before Mayhem Devil's trigger is even placed on the stack.
Common Mistakes
A common misconception is that the 'legend rule' counts as a sacrifice; it does not. Similarly, simply putting a creature into the graveyard from the battlefield (like through lethal damage or -1/-1 effects) is not a sacrifice. Additionally, remember that Mayhem Devil cannot force a sacrifice on its own; it requires another card or game rule to initiate the action.
When to Play It
You should deploy Mayhem Devil when you have a 'free' sacrifice outlet on the board or when you anticipate your opponent will need to sacrifice permanents to advance their board state. Because it triggers when it itself is sacrificed, it can even get one final shot in if your opponent tries to remove it with a sacrifice-based spell.
Interaction examples
Roaming ThroneIf you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield with 'Devil' chosen as the creature type, Mayhem Devil's ability will trigger twice whenever a player sacrifices a permanent. If you sacrifice a Treasure token, Mayhem Devil will deal 1 damage to a target, and then deal another 1 damage to a target (the same one or a different one) thanks to the Throne's replacement effect.
Solemn SimulacrumIf your Solemn Simulacrum is destroyed by a combat trick or a destroy spell, Mayhem Devil will not trigger because the Golem was not 'sacrificed.' However, if you use an effect that specifically says 'Sacrifice a creature' and choose Solemn Simulacrum, Mayhem Devil will trigger once to deal 1 damage, and you will also get to draw a card from the Golem's own death trigger.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Mayhem Devil
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
A legendary permanent that is put into a graveyard because of the "legend rule" isn't sacrificed.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You control Mayhem Devil's triggered ability and choose the target, no matter who sacrificed the permanent.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If a permanent is sacrificed to pay a cost of a spell or ability, Mayhem Devil's ability will resolve before that spell or ability. Conversely, if a permanent is sacrificed during the resolution of a spell or ability, that spell or ability will finish resolving before Mayhem Devil's ability is put onto the stack.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Mayhem Devil itself doesn't allow any player to sacrifice any permanents. Its ability triggers whenever a player sacrifices a permanent because some other spell, ability, or cost instructed the player to do so.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If you sacrifice Mayhem Devil, its ability triggers.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Smaug the Impenetrable + Mayhem Devil
- 1Activate a Treasure by tapping and sacrificing it, adding one mana of any color.
- 2Mayhem Devil triggers, dealing 1 damage to Smaug.
- 3Smaug triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 4Repeat.
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Prosper, Tome-Bound + Sensei's Divining Top + Mayhem Devil
- 1Activate Sensei's Divining Top's second ability by tapping it, causing you to draw a card and put Sensei's Divining Top on top of your library.
- 2Activate a Treasure by tapping and sacrificing it, adding
. - 3Mayhem Devil triggers, dealing 1 damage to an opponent.
- 4Ob Nixilis triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on it, and exiling Sensei's Divining Top from the top of your library with the ability to cast it from exile until your end step.
- 5Cast Sensei's Divining Top from exile by paying .
- 6Prosper triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 7Repeat.
Dihada, Binder of Wills + Underworld Breach + Mayhem Devil
- 1Activate Dihada's second loyalty ability by removing three loyalty counters from it, causing you to reveal the top four cards of your library, put them into your graveyard, and create four Treasure tokens.
- 2Activate the Treasures by tapping and sacrificing them, adding
. - 3Mayhem Devil triggers four times, dealing enough damage to Dihada to cause it to be put into your graveyard, and dealing the remainder of the damage to any target(s).
- 4Cast Dihada from your graveyard for its escape cost by paying and exiling three cards from your graveyard.
- 5Repeat.
Silverclad Ferocidons + Mayhem Devil
- 1Give Silverclad Ferocidons indestructible, if needed, then deal any amount of damage to it.
- 2Silverclad Ferocidons triggers, causing each opponent to sacrifice a permanent.
- 3Mayhem Devil triggers for each permanent sacrificed this way.
- 4Resolve the first trigger, dealing 1 damage to Silverclad Ferocidons.
- 5Repeat from step 2 until no opponent controls a permanent.
- 6Resolve all remaining Mayhem Devil triggers, dealing that much damage divided as you choose among any number of targets.
Magmatic Galleon + Mayhem Devil
- 1Give an opponent's creature indestructible, if needed.
- 2Activate a Treasure token by sacrificing it, adding one mana of any color.
- 3Mayhem Devil triggers, dealing 1 damage to the indestructible creature.
- 4If the creature has less than 0 toughness, Magmatic Galleon's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure artifact token.
- 5Repeat from step 2.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator + Maskwood Nexus + Mayhem Devil
- 1Activate a Treasure token by tapping and sacrificing it, adding one mana of any color.
- 2Mayhem Devil triggers, dealing 1 damage to any target opponent.
- 3Malcolm triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 4Repeat.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator + Arcane Adaptation + Mayhem Devil
- 1Activate a Treasure token by tapping and sacrificing it, adding one mana of any color.
- 2Mayhem Devil triggers, dealing 1 damage to any target opponent.
- 3Malcolm triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 4Repeat.
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King + Mayhem Devil + Mortuary + Blood Pet
- 1Sacrifice Blood Pet to add .
- 2Put it on top of your library with Mortuary and proceed to draw it with Korvold.
- 3Ping with Mayhem Devil.
- 4With your floating mana, recast Blood Pet.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Mayhem Devil
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.