Ares, God of War

Ares, God of War is a creature-sacrifice engine disguised as a combat commander. He forces himself to attack every turn, and when your attacking creatures die—whether from combat, sacrifice, or other effects—he bounces them back to your hand. This creates a loop where you're constantly reusing creatures, triggering death-based payoffs, and refueling your hand. The deck wants to pair cheap, efficient creatures with sac outlets and death triggers to generate value every turn. You win by either swinging through with a growing board fueled by that value loop, or by assembling a dedicated sacrifice combo that triggers your aristocrat payoffs hard enough to drain everyone out.

Build around creatures that are happy to die and come back: token generators, creatures with death triggers, and cards that benefit from being cast repeatedly from your hand. Pair Ares with free or efficient sac outlets like Viscera Seer or Goblin Bombardment, then layer in cards that reward sacrifice like Zulaport Cutthroat or Mayhem Devil. Since Ares has haste and forces attacks, he applies pressure immediately while you sculpt your combo pieces in hand. Don't just treat him as a combat lord; treat the hand-filling as your real resource engine.

Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.