The Dalek Emperor wants a deck that is built around one creature type, like Elves or Dragons. It also suits a deck that hurts every player at once and outlasts the pain.
Mana cost
Black, Red ()
Power / toughness6 / 6
RarityRare
Affinity for Daleks (This spell costs less to cast for each Dalek you control.)
Other Daleks you control have haste.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, each opponent faces a villainous choice — That player sacrifices a creature of their choice, or you create a 3/3 black Dalek artifact creature token with menace.
Picked for what they do in The Dalek Emperor's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit The Dalek Emperor'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 The Dalek Emperor 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 Coast13 Oct 2023
A player facing a villainous choice can always choose either option, even if one or both of the options are impossible. For example, if one of the options is to sacrifice a creature, a player who controls no creatures can still choose that option.
Wizards of the Coast13 Oct 2023
If a spell or ability requires multiple players to face a villainous choice, the result is a little different from other effects in Magic. In that case, the first player in turn order makes their choice and the action for that choice is performed before the next player makes their choice. Then each of the remaining players repeat this process in turn order.
Wizards of the Coast13 Oct 2023
When a player faces a villainous choice, they first choose one of the two options, then all actions in the chosen option are performed.
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 glossaryBRPlayers write colors as letters: B for black, R for red.Typal/KindredTypal decks are built around one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, with cards that make that type stronger. The type is printed after the dash on the card's type line, and the strategy is also called kindred or tribal.Open the Typal/Kindred pageTypal PayoffRewards you for playing lots of one kind of creature. That includes "lords" that make every other Goblin or Merfolk you control bigger, and cards that ask you to choose a creature type and then pay you off for it. A creature type is the word on the middle line of the card, like Goblin, Elf or Zombie.Open the Typal Payoff pageStatic BuffGives creatures a lasting bonus to power and toughness while it remains on the battlefield, rather than a boost that wears off at end of turn. Garruk's Uprising, Patchwork BannerOpen the Static Buff pageForced SacrificeMakes opponents sacrifice their own permanents. Because they choose what to lose, it gets around protection and hexproof that ordinary removal cannot touch. Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Living DeathOpen the Forced Sacrifice pageCost ModificationChanges what a spell costs to cast: cheaper for you, or more expensive for everyone. It is the broad family; Cost Reducer and Spell Tax say which direction a given card goes. Herald's Horn, Foundry InspectorOpen the Cost Modification pageCost ReducerMakes your own spells cheaper to cast. A discount every turn adds up faster than a single burst of mana. Herald's Horn, Foundry InspectorOpen the Cost Reducer pageGroup SlugGroup Slug decks hurt every player at the table at once, then make sure they can survive the pain better than anyone else. Typical cards make each player take damage or lose life whenever they draw, cast a spell or tap a land for mana.Open the Group Slug pageGroup Slug / PunisherDeals damage or drains life from every opponent at once, or forces a choice where each option hurts. It usually sits on a permanent and fires over and over rather than doing it a single time. ManabarbsOpen the Group Slug / Punisher pageToken EngineMakes tokens again and again rather than once. A token is a creature or other permanent created by a card, with no card of its own. Something that makes one token gives you a body; something that makes them every turn gives you a board you can keep rebuilding after it is cleared. Grave Titan, Bitterblossom, OphiomancerOpen the Token Engine pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax pageToken MakerCreates one or more tokens. Different cards make very different ones: creatures Grave Titan, Treasures Smothering Tithe, Clues Tireless Tracker or Food Gilded Goose. This is one of our largest tags, so pair it with an archetype or theme when you are hunting a specific kind.Open the Token Maker page
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less to cast for each Dalek you control.)
Open the full glossary
