Prepare yourself as Magic: the Gathering’s scariest set takes form. Duskmourn: House of Horror is a world that is one entire haunted house, so there’s really nothing else to find except your worst nightmares. On 27th Sept, expect to see plenty of zombies, skeletons and horrors you’ll never forget. And thanks to Wizards of the Coast, Geek Culture and Tap & Sac are thrilled to present a fittingly memorable preview card – Unstoppable Slasher!
Unstoppable Slasher is a rare creature card that costs 1 black and 2 generic mana, and the art comes with a Duskmourn-only “Lurker” alternative (center) and a Paranormal frame (right). It has 2/3 Power and Toughness, and even comes with Deathtouch, making it someone you don’t usually want to block in combat.
That unwillingness to block will play a part in its second ability: “Whenever Unstoppable Slasher deals combat damage to a player, they lose half their life, rounded up.” Your opponent is left with a lose-lose situation – either lose a creature to block Unstoppable Slasher, or let it connect and lose more than half their current life total.
Let’s assume the opponent has 20 life. Taking 2 damage from Unstoppable Slasher takes them down to 18. They then lose half of that – 9 life – and that brings them down to 9 life remaining. With one hit, you’ve effectively caused a loss of 11 life, over 50% of what they began with! To be able to pull this off with a single creature that can be cast on turn 3 is equal parts amazing and horrific.
Other Cards that Cause Massive Loss of Life
If you’re looking at similar cards that cause one (or each) player to lose half their life, Fraying Omnipotence costs 5 mana and affects all players, including yourself. Then there’s Peer in the Abyss, costing 7. Even the more recent Rush of Dread costs 5 mana if you select just the option for an opponent to lose half their life. Unstoppable Slasher doubles up as a good attacker and blocker, while giving the added bonus of causing severe loss of life.
To make things even more nervy for your opponents, Unstoppable Slasher has a way to come back even when killed. “When Unstoppable Slasher dies, if it had no counters on it, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner’s control with two stun counters on it.” The 2 Stun counter will prevent it from attacking for a couple of turns, but if you don’t get rid of it (again) while it has a counter, Unstoppable Slasher is just going to be.. Unstoppable.
Two Card Combos with Unstoppable Slasher
Because Unstoppable Slasher’s life loss trigger is rounded up, when that figure is doubled, that opponent effectively dies (If the loss trigger was rounded down, an opponent with 19 life will lose 9 life, making it only 18 life if doubled). There are a number of black cards that double the amount of life loss that turn, and combined with Unstoppable Slasher, is just a brutal way of ending the game.
Wound Reflection is the classic choice here, and can be used in many decks that deal damage through creatures. For 6 mana, it’s a fair and reasonable cost to gain the possibility of killing your opponent with one hit. Another more recent addition is Warlock Class. When leveled up to 3, it does the same doubling effect as Wound Reflection. A Level 3 Warlock Class does cost a total of 9 mana to reach, so not as easy or straightforward.
The best option for you right now (and even legal in the Standard format) is Bloodletter of Aclazotz. This Mythic Rare from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan doesn’t even wait till the end step to make an opponent lose double their life. It is more vulnerable as a creature, and since it gots 3 black and 1 generic mana, it’s really more suited for mono-black decks. Imagine casting Unstoppable Slasher on turn 3, Bloodletter of Aclazotz on turn 4, and possibly winning right there if the opponent takes damage from Slasher.
End Step
Unstoppable Slasher may only be a Rare, 2/3 creature with Deathtouch, but it does so much more that it’s truly overvalued for its mana cost. Its ability to also return from the Graveyard – albeit with a drawback – can still come in handy in tight games. At the very least, you can use Unstoppable Slasher as a veritable blocker who can handle any big threat that comes its way.
Ted Chen is the founder of Tap & Sac, a website with a dream of making Magic: the Gathering more accessible and inclusive to a whole generation of new players. It offers learning guides for beginners, all the way to advanced videos for seasoned spellcasters. Everyone can have fun in the gathering!
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