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Print frequency across MTG expansions: a Demonic Hordes case study

Tracking how often a card appears across MTG expansions isn’t just nerdy trivia—it’s a lens on the game’s evolving design, printing decisions, and collector ecosystem 🧙‍♂️. When we pull Demonic Hordes into the spotlight, we’re looking at a rare demon from Masters Edition IV that embodies the cadence of print runs in the modern era. This 6-mana behemoth—costing {3}{B}{B}{B} and boasting a 5/5 body—sticks around in a way that reveals Wizards’ approach to reprints, legacy legality, and the flip side of “new cards, old friends.” The card’s saga, flavored by flavor text and a striking Jesper Myrfors illustration, offers a compact example of how a single printing can ripple through formats like Commander and Legacy for years to come 🔥💎⚔️.

The card in question: power, cost, and cadence

Demonic Hordes is a Creature — Demon with a menacing presence on the battlefield. Its mana cost of {3}{B}{B}{B} demands a black-heavy strategy, and its 5/5 stats keep pace with other heavy-hitters from the era. The card’s ability is a two-part threat: {T}: Destroy target land, and at the upkeep, you must pay {B}{B}{B} or tap this creature and sacrifice a land of an opponent’s choice. That upkeep cost functions as a built-in tax, shaping games long after Demonic Hordes lands the board. The lore and flavor text—“Created to destroy Dominaria, demons can sometimes be bent to a more focused purpose.”—gives the demon a sense of grim purpose, even as it sits on a Master’s Edition IV card stock 🎨🧙‍♂️.

From a print-history perspective, the card’s set metadata is telling. Masters Edition IV (set code me4) was a curated reprint set designed to reintroduce classic cards to players in a modern frame. Demonic Hordes was printed as a rare in this Masters print run and also exists in digital form on MTGO. Its rarity, combined with reprint status, means its total print footprint in physical supplies is relatively limited compared to truly evergreen staples. The card’s digital presence further expands its accessibility, a reminder that “print frequency” today spans both paper and digital realms 🔥🧩.

Print frequency as a metric: what it reveals about MTG’s design philosophy

Tracking across expansions, Demonic Hordes demonstrates a few clear patterns. First, it sits in a Masters set, which tends to consolidate classic power with modern production values. That means fewer printings than a market-dominant workhorse like Llanowar Elves, but more visibility than a rare promo that never returns to print. Second, the card’s black mana identity and land-targeting control mechanics align with a long-running tradition of strong land destruction or denial in black-heavy archetypes. Finally, the card’s prevalence in formats like Commander and Legacy—where players highly value powerful, repeatable effects even if they’re not standard-legal—ensures it remains part of the conversation even as newer sets roll out 🧙‍♂️⚔️.

For collectors, the print history of Demonic Hordes is a reminder that “rare” can be a product of both scarcity and iconicity. The ME4 printing, plus its digital availability, creates a dual-channel footprint: a physical rarity for collectors and a broad-access card for players in a digital space. The value dynamic mirrors what many players experience when tracking print frequency: a card can be financially modest yet culturally enduring because of its utility in popular formats and its status as a strike card for certain archetypes. The card’s art, by Jesper Myrfors, continues to spark nostalgia while its function keeps it relevant in contemporary decks 🧙‍♂️💎.

Strategic angles: how to make the most of Demonic Hordes

In practice, Demonic Hordes shines in decks built around disruption and punishing opposing mana bases. Play it as a finisher in control-heavy environments, where destroying lands can stall opponents while you assemble your own mana engines. Its upkeep tax adds a layer of pressure for opponents who rely on nonbasic lands or multicolor mana bases, forcing them to prioritize land preservation or risk a sudden swing. The card’s strength isn’t just raw stats; it’s a threat that creates tempo-destroying turns—especially when paired with other land-targeting effects or Black-based disruption. And yes, opponents may groan when you untap with a demon looming on the battlefield, ready to tax their next couple of turns 🧙‍♂️🔥.

From a design perspective, Demonic Hordes is a good reminder of how older engines translated into modern print cycles. The card’s simple yet potent effects—destroy a land and tax the upkeep—are easy to understand, but the decision points (which land to sacrifice? can you pay BBB or not?) create meaningful choices. This is classic MTG: big effects that reward careful timing. And for collectors, the fact that Demonic Hordes sits as a rare in a Masters Edition IV print, plus its digital print, makes it a neat intersection of nostalgia and practicality 🎲💎.

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