Magic: The Gathering’s latest expansion brings us back to Theros, a land inspired by Ancient Greek myth. Fittingly, Theros is a world ruled by powerful Gods, each of whom have their own domain to oversee and command mighty champions to work for their glory.

Fittingly enough, this newest expansion brings with it a collection of God cards representing these powerful beings. Alongside them are new Demigods, heroes of Theros fighting for their patrons. Some of these cards are quite impressive, while others are a bit lacking — let’s take a look at the best and worst God and Demigod cards from Theros Beyond Death.

12 Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded

Lowest in our ranking is Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded, the red aligned God of Theros. Alongside the usual Theros God mechanics of not being a Creature unless your devotion reaches a certain threshold, Purphoros also gives your other Creatures haste.

He also has an activated ability for three mana to put down a red or Artifact Creature from your hand, but forces you to sacrifice at the end of the turn. Given the structure of most red decks these days, this effect feels a bit too unwieldy to be all that powerful.

11 Tymaret, Chosen From Death

Tymaret, Chosen from Death is the black Demigod from Theros Beyond Death. His toughness is equal to your devotion to black, which is a theme among the Demigods, and he has the ability to pay two mana and exile two cards from graveyards, gaining you a life point for each Creature exiled.

This is by no means a bad ability, but it is rather situational. It really only has value against decks playing the new Escape mechanic which allows players to cast certain Creatures from their graveyards, making Tymaret a niche card at best.

10 Athreos, Shroud-Veiled

Athreos, Shroud-Veiled is the white and black God of Theros, and his abilities center around his role as the ferryman of the dead. At your end step, Athreos puts a coin counter on any Creature. Then, when that Creature dies, Athreos returns it to the battlefield under your control.

Athreos can be a versatile tool depending on the deck, either preserving your own Creatures or stealing your opponent’s. However, at six mana to play and his status as a prime target for removal, it’s difficult to say how much value a player can get out of him.

9 Callaphe, Beloved Of The Sea

Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea is the blue Demigod of Theros, and her power is equal to your devotion to blue. She also makes spells your opponents control that target your Creatures or Enchantments cost one more mana to cast.

This is a useful ability that helps slow down your enemy’s gameplan while also presenting a potentially powerful Creature. While this does make Callaphe a likely removal targets, those are resources that could have been spent elsewhere, making her a solid Creature for a variety of blue decks.

8 Erebos, Bleak-Hearted

Erebos, Bleak-Hearted is the black aligned God of Theros, master of the Underworld and its inhabitants. He lets you pay two life when another Creature you control dies to draw a card, and also has a two mana ability to sacrifice a Creature, then give another Creature -2/-1 till end of turn.

While the life payment can be tricky to work around, if utilized correctly, Erebos can be a powerful engine, drawing cards and sacrificing Creatures to de-power your opponent. It may be a bit of a challenge to set things up, but he’s still a viable God.

7 Nylea, Keen-Eyed

Nylea, Keen-Eyed is the green mana God from Theros, and she’s represented here as a Creature focused powerhouse. Her passive ability makes Creature spells cost one mana less, while her activated ability lets you look at the top card of your deck and put it into your hand if it’s a Creature.

Given that green is a color focused on playing powerful Creatures, Nylea is a nice addition to the roster. She’s more of an enabler for powerful plays than a major threat on her own, but parsing through your library should not be underestimated.

6 Klothys, God Of Destiny

Klothys, God of Destiny replaces Xenagos from the original Theros sets as the red and green God. She has the ability to exile a card from a graveyard at the start of your first main phase, then adds a red or green mana if it was a land — or damages opponents by two while gaining you two life otherwise.

While this card does rely on full graveyards and is generally a bit more of a tech card for Escape matchups, it is still solid on its own. Klothys only costs three mana and has versatile uses from damage and life gain to mana ramping.

5 Renata, Called To The Hunt

Renata, Called to the Hunt is the green Demigod of Theros, with power equal to your devotion to green. Her ability gives each other Creature entering the battlefield under your control gain a +1/+1 counter.

Renata’s power may seem a bit lackluster when compared to the others on this list, but she still holds her own. Strengthening every single Creature your play should not be taken lightly, especially when considering the cards from Theros Beyond Death that care about +1/+1 counters, such as Polukranos Unchained and Hydra’s Growth.

4 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling

Thassa, Deep-Dwelling is the blue God of Theros, watching over the oceans of the world. Her activated ability lets you pay four mana to tap another Creature, but the real star is her passive: at the end of your turn, you can exile another Creature you control, then return it to the battlefield.

This power lets you abuse strong enter-the-battlefield effects, such as Agent of Treachery which lets you steal your opponent’s permanents. This combo alone can grind your foe’s strategy to a halt, making Thassa a definite threat.

3 Daxos, Blessed By The Sun

Daxos, Blessed by the Sun is the white Demigod of Theros, and his toughness is equal to your devotion to white. He also grants you one life whenever another Creature you control enters the battlefield or dies.

This passive ability makes Daxos a shoe-in for any life gain deck, while also providing some insurance against board clearing effects or your opponent’s kill spells. He’s also an excellent blocker, as his toughness can quickly rise to staggering proportions, making him a true force to be reckoned with.

2 Heliod, Sun-Crowned

Heliod, Sun-Crowned is the white aligned God of Theros, and ruler of the pantheon. He lets you put a +1/+1 counter on a Creature or Enchantment whenever you gain life, and has an activated ability costing two mana to give a Creature lifelink till end of turn.

The activated ability is fine, but the power to strengthen your board while also strengthening your own life total is what makes this card really shine. Combined with the fact that it only costs three mana to play, and Heliod is absolutely a life gaining powerhouse.

1 Anax, Hardened In The Forge

Finally, Anax, Hardened in the Forge is the red Demigod of Theros with his power equal to your devotion to red. His ability spawns a Satyr token whenever one of your Creatures dies — two, if their power was four or greater.

This ability makes Anax decks very resistant to board wipes, and his ever increasing power can win games all on its own. A popular combo in red decks is to play Embercleave on him, boosting his power by three and giving him double strike and trample — a move that can decide matches and makes him our pick for the best God/Demigod in Theros Beyond Death.

NEXT: Magic The Gathering: 5 Best New Cards From Theros Beyond Death (& 5 Worst)