The Last Ride | Aetherdrift | Art by Michele Giorgi
28, Jan, 25

Spicy Aetherdrift Demon May Finally Justify Lackluster MTG Mechanic

Maybe the engines are worth starting after all...

It’s safe to say that Aetherdrift’s new Max Speed mechanic, ironically enough, hasn’t gotten off to the best start in preview season. Many players are already decrying the mechanic as too slow, and lacking in adequate payoffs. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a new MTG mechanic has missed the mark. That said, sometimes all it takes is one or two great cards to take a mechanic from meh to meta. Yesterday saw the reveal of The Speed Demon, which I believe could be one such MTG card.

This is a creature we’ve seen teased for a while, racing with Duskmourn’s Winter in various pieces of artwork. Now that it’s finally here, it certainly seems to live up to its name. If Max Speed decks are a factor in any format, I expect The Speed Demon to be a part of that. Even if they’re not, it’s the kind of card that could easily make it as a standalone power piece.

The Speed Demon MTG

The Speed Demon MTG
  • Mana Value: 3BB
  • Rarity: Mythic Rare
  • Type: Legendary Creature – Demon
  • Stats: 5/5
  • Card Text: Flying, Trample.
    Start your engines! (If you have no speed, it starts at 1. It increases once on each of your turns when an opponent loses life. Max speed is 4.)
    At the beginning of your end step, you draw X cards and lose X life, where X is your speed.

The Speed Demon, Max Speed mechanic aside, is a pretty traditional black Demon in MTG terms. It has solid stats for the cost, and it packs Flying and Trample to boot. It also draws you cards in exchange for life, which is about as deep into black’s color pie as you can get. The Max Speed element is really what makes the card tick, however, so we should take a look at how it plays here.

Unlike most of the Max Speed cards we’ve seen so far, The Speed Demon cares about your current speed value and not just whether you’re at max speed or not. This is a trait it shares with Samut, the Driving Force, and it immediately makes the card more attractive. Getting to max speed, even in an ideal world, is something that takes a few turns to achieve. The fewer Max Speed cards you run in your deck, the worse this issue gets. Some of the Max Speed cards we’ve seen so far are incredibly underpowered before you reach this state, which makes running them sketchy at best.

The Speed Demon doesn’t have this issue. It starts you off with one speed by itself, which guarantees you at least one extra draw the turn it comes down. Possibly two, if you have a creature waiting to get in. That’s honestly pretty solid even without any other support. If you’ve started upping your speed earlier in the game, however, this could be drawing you three or four cards instead. That’s not quite Griselbrand, but it’s more than good enough for a five mana card that you can play in Standard.

Max Speed In Standard?

The Speed Demon MTG Standard

Standard is undoubtedly the MTG format in which I expect The Speed Demon to see the most play. The format is divided pretty neatly between Aggro and Midrange right now, and this is a card I could see fitting into both camps. Mostly Midrange, of course, but any black-aligned Aggro decks will certainly benefit from a card draw engine this powerful, even if it is five mana.

Dimir Midrange in particular could be a great home for this card. With so many cheap fliers, it’s a deck that can easily build up speed early if you drop a Gas Guzzler or a Muraganda Raceway. Alternatively, you can ditch the support and just run it solo as a late-game insurance policy. Golgari Midrange, which is slower and runs ramp to more easily get you to five mana, could be an even better fit. Not least because that deck still regularly runs Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, one of the best synergy pieces for The Speed Demon.

With Sheoldred out, the life you lose from The Speed Demon’s ability is replenished, and then some, by Sheoldred’s ability. This shifts the card from a reckless power play to a sustainable value source. When you’re drawing cards and gaining life every turn, it’s pretty hard to lose.

Established decks aside, The Speed Demon could be the centerpiece of a dedicated Max Speed deck. This seems unlikely, given how lackluster many of the cards with the mechanic have been so far. There are some nice low-cost options for the deck that could push it into contention, however. Whether it’s the Orzhov Sacrifice variant or a more straightforward Rakdos Aggro with the new Hazoret, I’m confident that any Max Speed decks that emerge in Standard will run this card.

Shifting Gear

Eternal Play

Beyond MTG Standard, I think The Speed Demon has a legitimate shot at seeing Pioneer and Commander play too. Pioneer, in particular, looks like fertile grounds for its specific brand of demonic goodness. The most popular deck in the format right now is Rakdos Midrange, also commonly referred to as Rakdos Demons. Not only does this deck run Sheoldred, but it also runs the excellent Demon support card Unholy Annex.

The Speed Demon turns on the Annex’s life drain mode by virtue of being a Demon, which is a big deal. Despite the name, the only cards in Rakdos Demons that can do this currently are Blade of the Oni and the Ritual Chamber half of Annex. Having another way to do so, and one that can draw you even more cards at that, is something I think the deck will be interested in. Finding the slots for it might be tough, but I think two to three copies would be sufficient. Coming down on Fear of Missing Out or some of the more specific removal like Go for the Throat should free up the room.

In Commander, The Speed Demon’s applications are fairly obvious. It is much harder to build speed in a format with four players. On the other hand, it’s also much harder to die from the life cost when you start with 40 life. Naturally, the card will be most at home in aggressive decks. It’s generically useful enough that I could see most black lists being interested, however. I’m talking about the 99 here, of course. As powerful as it is The Speed Demon doesn’t exactly scream ‘build around.’ Not unless we see a lot more mono-black Max Speed cards.

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