The 42 Best Deathtouch Creatures in Magic Ranked

Last updated on December 23, 2025

Baleful Strix | Illustration by Nils HammPermalink

Hello Planeswalkers! Whether you’re poisonous, venomous, or toxic, MTG accepts you. Ok… maybe not toxic. But let’s get into one of the most common keywords out there: deathtouch. If you’ve played MTG for any number of years, then you have most likely seen this keyword ability. However, let’s take a look at the best of the best that deathtouch creatures have to offer.

I love deathtouch as a keyword and it ranks high as one of my favorites (I can’t say favorite because I’m very fond of flash). The keyword instantly adds value when playing in Limited formats, and who doesn’t like a nice rattlesnake card to dare your opponent to attack you? Enough chatting, time to see the best deathtouch creatures in MTG!

What are Deathtouch Creatures in MTG?

Fynn, the Fangbearer | Illustration by Lie Setiawan

Deathtouch creatures are ones that destroy a creature when they deal any amount of damage to them. There are over 500 creatures that have, gain, or give deathtouch, according to scryfall.com. For these rankings, we’ll focus on the best cards that have the deathtouch static ability printed on them.

So many of the cards that work with or gain deathtouch are worth mentioning briefly. There are countless examples of cards that can get deathtouch through some means like Knight of the Ebon Legion or Kagha, Shadow Archdruid. Many more cards will give deathtouch to your creatures like, Ohran Frostfang or Archetype of Finality. And we can’t forget about deathtouch token creators like Ophiomancer or Hornet Nest.

I think it’s also important to note the 1-drop rattlesnake deathtouch creatures. They work as an early deterrent and a few have other interactions to exploit. My favorites of these cards are Cecil, Dark Knight / Cecil, Redeemed Paladin, Tonberry, Dragon Sniper, Vampire of the Dire Moon, Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist, and Tinybones, the Pickpocket. And now without further ado, let’s get to the rankings!

#42. Ambush Viper

Ambush Viper has to be the most “snake-y” snake in MTG. It’s a cheap small creature that has the speed and deadliness we often associate with snakes. This green creature is a great addition to many decks that want the ability to remove a big attacking threat.

#41. Deathtouch Dorks

Leyline Prowler, Poison Dart Frog, and Nightshade Dryad won’t win you a game outright. However, they're a great piece of utility in your deck. They are solid mana dorks that provides mana fixing for any color, and also serve as removal thanks to deathtouch. They add little bits of advantage that can match your deck's needs.

#40. Fynn, the Fangbearer

Being poisoned in MTG is a terrible feeling sometimes. With cards like Fynn, the Fangbearer it can feel like you have no recourse. For the players using these poisonous cards, I imagine it’s quite fun. This legendary human warrior can poison an opponent very quickly when paired with cards like Bilious Skulldweller.

#39. Astarion, the Decadent

With Astarion, the Decadent it’s all about choices. At the end of your turn, you can choose to double the life you gained or an opponent lost. This card can have wonderful interactions with a card like Scourge of the Skyclaves or Angel of Destiny. Mana value 6 isn’t great, but the combo possibilities may be worth it.

#38. Rhonas the Indomitable

Rhonas the Indomitable is a wonderful 5/5 for 3. Cheap creatures with power 4 or greater are easy to find, and all the easier with this god’s activated ability, making the limiting text nothing to worry about. With deathtouch and indestructible, Rhonas the Indomitable should be a huge early threat for your opponents.

#37. Sidisi, Undead Vizier

Sidisi, Undead Vizier is similar to Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire, but under different circumstances. Both cards help you tutor a card from your deck, which can be a game-changer. Sidisi, Undead Vizier requires you to exploit (sacrifice) a creature to do this, but you get the tutored card to your hand. Both cards are great, but I'd prefer Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire.

#36. Vampire Nighthawk

Vampire Nighthawk is a personal favorite of mine. There’s nothing like having the freedom to attack or defend whenever it suits you the best. This black creature isn’t a game-winner, but it sure will help you reach the goals of many different builds.

#35. Thalia and The Gitrog Monster

The combination of legendary creatures in March of the Machinewas a wonderful addition for MTG fans. What a combination Thalia and The Gitrog Monster makes. These two together allow you to play additional lands, slow down your opponents, and draw cards. This card may not be as good as The Gitrog Monster by itself, but the 4 mana and abilities make it a solid play.

#34. Diregraf Captain

This ranking includes several creature types that benefit from deathtouch, but none are as popular as zombies. Diregraf Captain is a zombie typal support for those aggressive zombie players. This zombie soldier doesn’t support Grave Titan, but rather Gravecrawler or Champion of the Perished.

#33. Archpriest of Shadows

Backup is a decent mechanic that can have some interesting interactions when you pair it with hard-to-block creatures. I love the upside of using Archpriest of Shadows to back up a creature like Mercurial Spelldancer. The reanimation upside here isn’t as big as other cards, but it still has value in certain builds.

#32. Queen Marchesa

Monarch is a fun mechanic for Commander for the simple fact that it speeds up the game and players can’t wait out their strategies as easily. Queen Marchesa sets the monarch designation into play and helps benefit you no matter who the monarch is. You can draw cards or create deathtouch assassin creature tokens.

#31. Master of Cruelties

First strike and deathtouch are a wonderful combo, but that’s not what makes Master of Cruelties so good. If this demon deals combat damage to a player, you can nullify its damage and reduce their life total to 1. The downside is Master of Cruelties can only attack alone, but the upsides are tremendous.

#30. Poison-Tip Archer

Poison-Tip Archer is a defensive creature that’ll benefit you from creatures dying. You may not be thinking about defenses at the 4-mana stage of a game, but the value of this elf archer is the pinging damage it can do. This card goes from Limited-only to possible in Constructed because it deals damage whenever any creature dies, not just your own.

#29. Vile Entomber

Vile Entomber is a fantastic black zombie warlock for reanimator decks. It fits well into a reanimator curve, especially if the following turn you play a card like The Cruelty of Gix. You can get the card you need in your graveyard and also have a deathtouch defense; not bad at all.

#28. Nighthawk Scavenger

Flying, deathtouch, and lifelink. What could be better? Well, Nighthawk Scavenger has all these wonderful keywords and can have a huge power level, depending on your opponentss’ graveyards. Get your removal and mill cards ready with Nighthawk Scavenger.

#27. Qarsi Revenant

Literal power creep from Vampire Nighthawk to Qarsi Revenant is seen with the +1/+0 in stats. Then the renew ability gets you a second use and basically guarantees at least a 2-for-1 and lifegain from this card.

#26. Hornet Queen

You know what’s better than having one deterrent creature with deathtouch? Getting five for the cost of one. Now to be fair the cost of Hornet Queen is high, but if you want a solid defense this green insect can be worth it. If you have a way to pump these little suckers up, then you’re really cooking.

#25. Witch of the Moors

Witch of the Moors is a fantastic way to change board presence in Eternal, Historic, and Oathbreaker formats. If you can gain life, and let’s acknowledge how easy that is in Constructed, you can return a creature from your graveyard to your hand while your opponent sacrifices one of theirs. Mana value 5 is worth the upside of switching board advantages.

#24. Entropic Battlecruiser

Entropic Battlecruiser is a strange Megrim with huge upside. The stationing costs are not much at all, and once beaters are neutralized, a few attacks from this spacecraft are backbreaking.

#23. Grave Titan

Grave Titan has value literally falling off of it (check out the original artwork). This titan is a black token-making machine. One of the best black cards in the game, the efficiency and straightforward use of Grave Titan has made it a common addition to many decks. I think the greatest evidence of its popularity is how many times it has been reprinted.

#22. Harvester of Souls

Harvester of Souls is an investment that may get you to the victory you’re looking for. 6 mana is a bit much at times, but the card draw upside here is immense. The multiple triggers of card draw may be what you need to overcome in the endgame. The deathtouch and stats are almost secondary here, we want that card draw baby!

#21. Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire

Fetching any card in your deck is a Constructed player’s dream. Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire tutors any card you need to the top of your library for cheap. The biggest downside is you need the boast ability to do this, which means you may have to put Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire in danger.

#20. Questing Beast

Questing Beast has all the text you could want and each of the text sections works effectively. Vigilance, deathtouch, and haste make this green card aggressive as heck. You can attack your opponent and also deal damage to those pesky planeswalkers. And as a little bonus value, fog effects won’t work on your creatures. There’s a ton to love about this card and I can assure you many do!

#19. The Gitrog Monster

The frog horror has arrived! The Gitrog Monster is a massive Golgari combo machine. The “upkeep” of this card shouldn’t be a problem compared to the upside you can get from it. It works best with graveyard decks, especially those that can benefit from lands in the graveyard. You get a massive creature, card draw, and ramp all in one gruesomely awesome monster.

#18. Nethroi, Apex of Death

Nethroi, Apex of Death is a great Abzan commander for its graveyard possibilities. Fill your graveyard early with big threats that you can’t play right away and mutate Nethroi to get easy access to these options. As a bonus, the deathtouch and lifelink will make this nightmarish kitten a great standalone creature as well.

#17. Glissa Sunslayer

Glissa Sunslayer is a great Golgari creature that was solid in its Standard: strong in combat, it can remove pieces from your opponent’s board, and if necessary or desired, draw you cards. If you can protect Glissa and give it trample, good luck to your opponent.

#16. Gwenom, Remorseless

Called the Bolas's Citadel of the command zone, Gwenom, Remorseless puts lifelink and deathtouch to great use since this is likely to eat one of the biggest opposing creatures as you trigger the card advantage effect.

#15. Unstoppable Slasher

Unstoppable Slasher is an underrated defender, and such a bad deal for your opponents to combat or spend removal on. Almost every deck that can play it has well spent with this card.

#14. Alela, Artful Provocateur

Alela, Artful Provocateur is solid as an Esper Commanderor just as an accelerator of a deck. Generally, when you have this many words on a card you get a lot for what you pay for. We have lifelink, deathtouch, mass-pump for flying creatures (who aren’t easily blocked), and a way to create more flying creatures. What a lovely symphony to change a game in your favor.

#13. Glarb, Calamity's Augur

Though listed first, deathtouch is often the last reason you put Glarb, Calamity's Augur in your deck. It does turn this noble frog into a good defensive option that wants to sit back and cast big spells.

#12. Yarok, the Desecrated

Yarok, the Desecrated is a great Sultai Commander with wonderful defensive capabilities and will double the ETB triggers for permanents you control. Some prime examples to go along with Yarok might be Thassa, Deep-Dwelling or Tatyova, Benthic Druid.

#11. God-Eternal Rhonas

You have to love these huge swings green can give you. God-Eternal Rhonas will double the stats of your creatures and give them vigilance for a massive attack. At turn 5 this green zombie god may be the sweet spot between midrange and control decks taking over. Swing hard and know if God-Eternal Rhonas is killed or exiled, you’ll get them back three cards from the top of your library.

#10. Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice

I don’t think you can go wrong with either of the Atraxa cards on this list. However, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice may be the better 4-color commander of the two, and it's the best proliferate commander in the game. It has a ton of keywords, a manageable mana value, and a consistent way to proliferate.

#9. Gonti, Lord of Luxury

Nothing like a paragraph of text to make you not want to use a card. But Gonti, Lord of Luxury is worth it! When this black rogue ETBs you can steal a card from the top of an opponent’s library, and then have a great defense with deathtouch after. There’s a lot to love with this reasonably curve-friendly card.

#8. Wurmcoil Engine

Creatures that create tokens when they die will always be useful. Wurmcoil Engine uses this hydra-like effect to split its keywords of lifelink and deathtouch into new creature tokens when it dies. This can be especially effective against board wipes and removal, but hopefully, you’re lucky and avoid the exile removal.

#7. Acidic Slime

Acidic Slime seems expensive, but its versatility gives it value. You get a deathtouch chump-blocker to deter your opponents, as well as artifact, enchantment, or land hate when you need it. This green ooze can be lethal with reanimate or blink effects.

#6. Prosper, Tome-Bound

Many of the abilities from Forgotten Realms give you choices between two different effects. Prosper, Tome-Bound’s abilities will actually work together for a greater effect. You can play with more cards from the top of your deck and create Treasure tokens to help cast these cards even faster.

#5. Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim

Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim is perfect for the aristocrats strategy. The goal is to get many cheap creatures or creature tokens out, gain life when they enter, and your opponents lose life when they die. The pinging strategy may need some extra support in Commander, but this Phyrexian cleric can be killer in 20-life formats.

#4. Baleful Strix

What is there to say about Baleful Strix except that it’s a wonderfully useful card? It’s a cheap Dimir cantrip that works as an early attacker or rattlesnake. This bird of death works the absolute best when you have some blink abilities from cards like Kaito, Dancing Shadow or Yorion, Sky Nomad.

#3. Bloodthirsty Conqueror

This high-ranking knight isn't really game-winning because of deathtouch, but rather its triggered ability that exists on Bloodthirsty Conqueror. Bloodthirsty Conqueror adds the solid body that may be weak to direct creature removal, yet every bit effective at ending the game with Sanguine Bond combos.

#2. Atraxa, Grand Unifier

Atraxa, Grand Unifier has great keywords, the number of colors to be a useful 4-color commander, and a fantastic way to get some cards from the top of your deck. This is a card to build around in Constructed formats like Commander, but may be difficult in Limited play. Atraxa, Grand Unifier is the kind of card that makes people quit as soon as you play it or cheat it onto the battlefield. Have fun with the rage quitters!

#1. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse was a Standard menace for a long time. This black praetor is so solid in any format and in so many different builds. Sheoldred will punish your opponents for drawing cards and give you life when you draw cards, making it an amazing wheel commander. This card is wonderfully curve-efficient to stale aggressive strategies or apply pressure to midrange decks.

Best Deathtouch Payoffs

The main purpose of deathtouch is to control combat. You can neutralize big threats with small creatures, or apply pressure to your opponent.

Deathtouch creatures can work as removal or deterrents to let you get to your bigger strategies. Combos like Vraska the Unseen and Bloated Contaminator, or endgame cards like Kamahl, Heart of Krosa take time to set up. Deathtouch creatures can give you enough defense to survive and thrive.

Deathtouch doesn’t always have to be defensive. Sometimes you want to attack and apply pressure to your opponents. Cards like Ohran Frostfang, Saryth, the Viper's Fang and All-Out Assault don’t have deathtouch, but they thrive on giving your creatures deathtouch when you attack. Another offensive deathtouch strategy may be to lure your opponent into a deadly trap with cards like You Look Upon the Tarrasque.

If you want a deadly creature, you can always combine deathtouch and first strike. Some cards like Glissa, the Traitor come prepared for this, but you can also use cards like Sharpened Pitchfork or Viridian Claw to achieve the same effect. Also don’t forget that any amount of deathtouch damage is lethal, so using ping abilities like Viridian Longbow with deathtouch is a wonderful and reusable kind of removal.

There are some strong typal builds that excel with deathtouch creatures. Snakes, elves, and gorgons can all use and thrive with deathtouch creatures. Commanders like Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, Tyvar the Bellicose, and Vraska, the Silencer can be very strong alongside cards like Skullwinder, Elvish Warmaster, or Reaper of the Wilds.

Seifer, Balamb Rival is tricky deathtouch enabler that effectively discourages double blocks, but does a great job of turning opposing creatures to your opponents. Also, we can’t forget about deathtouch-themed decks that focus on cards like Hooded Blightfang and Fynn, the Fangbearer.

Does Deathtouch Help Me Kill Planeswalkers?

Deathtouch rules state that any amount of deathtouch damage destroys a creature. Planeswalkers are not creatures, so deathtouch does not destroy planeswalkers any faster than regular damage.

That being said, we do have cards that will help us turn our deathtouch creatures into planeswalker killers. Hooded Blightfang, Questing Beast, Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats, and Vraska, Swarm's Eminence are all cards that can help your deathtouch creatures kill planeswalkers. If a card doesn’t specifically state that it can kill planeswalkers, then it can’t outside of doing enough damage to remove all of a planeswalker’s loyalty counters, like any normal creature.

Wrap Up

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Hopefully, by the end of this article, you have not been touched by death. If you are still alive and awake thank you for reaching this point!

Deathtouch is a ubiquitous evergreen keyword that’s hard to get away from, and you shouldn’t get away from it! Mastering the use of creatures with deathtouch will help anyone in Limited and Constructed formats.

Please know that it was quite hard to rank the best deathtouch creatures when there are so many good cards! You may disagree with my rankings, but just know I didn’t take this task lightly. Join the conversation and leave a comment, follow us on Draftsim's Twitter/X, and join the official Draftsim Discord. Thank you and make sure to always check your boots!