Bane wants a deck that piles armor and magic onto one creature and attacks with it. It also suits a deck that puts expensive cards onto the battlefield without paying for them.
Mana cost
White, Blue, Black ()
Power / toughness5 / 2
RarityRare
As long as your life total is less than or equal to half your starting life total, Bane has indestructible.
Whenever another nontoken creature you control dies, target opponent may have you draw a card. If they don't, you may put a creature card with equal or lesser toughness from your hand onto the battlefield.
Picked for what they do in Bane's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Bane's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Bane works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast10 Jun 2022
Bane's last ability looks at the toughness of the creature that died, not Bane's toughness.
Wizards of the Coast10 Jun 2022
If Bane, Lord of Darkness is dealt lethal damage at the same time that its controller's life total is reduced to less than or equal to half their starting life total, Bane will have indestructible at the time state-based actions are performed and survive.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWUBPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, U for blue, B for black. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.VoltronVoltron decks load one creature, usually the commander, with Equipment and Auras until it can win by attacking on its own. In Commander, a player dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the game loses, so one huge commander can knock a player out.Open the Voltron pageVoltron CommanderA legendary creature that can carry the whole game plan by itself. It protects itself, grows with what is attached to it, or rewards attacking alone. The deck piles Auras and Equipment onto it and wins with commander damage, since 21 or more combat damage from one commander knocks a player out. Named for the toy robot built from smaller pieces. Zurgo Helmsmasher, Uril, the Miststalker, Sigarda, Host of HeronsOpen the Voltron Commander pageProtectionA creature with protection from something, like a color, is safe from anything with that quality. It cannot be damaged, enchanted or equipped, blocked, or targeted by it, and players remember the four with the word DEBT. It does not stop effects that neither target nor damage, like a board wipe that destroys every creature. ProgenitusOpen the Protection pageCheat into PlayPuts permanents straight onto the battlefield without casting them, from your deck, your hand or your graveyard. Skipping the cast skips the mana cost, and counterspells with it. Genesis Wave, Coiling OracleOpen the Cheat into Play pageCheat into PlayCheat into Play decks put huge creatures and other expensive cards onto the battlefield without paying their mana costs. A card says "put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield", and an eight-mana dragon is attacking on turn three. Sneak Attack Kaalia of the Vast Natural OrderOpen the Cheat into Play pageDeath TriggerTriggers when a creature dies, whether it is this creature, one of yours or an opponent's. These are the cards that pay you in an Aristocrats deck: something else makes creatures die, and these decide what you get each time. Blood Artist, Solemn SimulacrumOpen the Death Trigger pageAristocratsAristocrats decks sacrifice their own creatures on purpose and profit every time one dies, often by draining life from each opponent. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you like, decides when that happens.Open the Aristocrats pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw pageGods / DevotionGods, and cards that count your devotion: the number of mana symbols of one color among the costs of your permanents. The Theros Gods cannot be destroyed, and only become creatures when your devotion to their color is high enough.Open the Gods / Devotion pageGame ChangerCards that warp the game disproportionately around themselves, requiring immediate answers.What the brackets mean
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