"Gatekeeper of Malakir" is a 2/2 black vampire warrior printed as an uncommon for the Magic the Gathering expansion set known as "Zendikar." Interestingly enough, this is one of the vampire cards that do not have the ability of Flying. However, this is a good card for a control deck that uses black. With certain cards, you can get some use out of Gatekeeper of Malakir.

The converted mana cost for Gatekeeper of Malakir is two. You will need two black mana to bring Gatekeeper of Malakir into the battlefield. A 2/2 vampire warrior for two black mana is not a bad cost to pay at all. However, it does have an additional but optional Kicker cost of one black mana. The Kicker cost is important to utilize the main ability of Gatekeeper of Malakir.

What does Gatekeeper of Malakir do in the first place?

If you paid the Kicker cost, you pick a player. When Gatekeeper of Malakir comes onto the battlefield, that player sacrifices a creature that s/he controls. This is a good way to override abilities such as Shroud, Indestructibility, Protection from Black, Protection from Vampires, etc. In a sense, Gatekeeper of Malakir can be considered a built-in "Chainer's Edict."

Chainer's Edict is a black sorcery spell that costs one black mana and one colorless mana. It makes a target opponent sacrifice a creature. The reason I call this a built-in Chainer's Edict instead of a built-in "Diabolic Edict" is because the latter is an instant spell. You can only cast creature and sorcery spells during your turn. Instant spells can be cast at any time during the game. Still, a creature with a built-in Chainer's Edict is good enough.

There are some ways you can get use out of this card. One method would be to use a card such as "Erratic Portal." You can send Gatekeeper of Malakir back to your hand. Then, you can pay the initial and Kicker costs to make an opponent sacrifice a creature again. If you are playing black, red, and blue, you can combine Gatekeeper of Malakir with "Thraximundar."

Thraximundar has this one ability where it gets a +1/+1 counter whenever a creature is sacrificed. You can play Gatekeeper of Malakir, force an opponent to sacrifice a creature, and put a +1/+1 counter on Thraximundar. If you can keep sending Gatekeepr of Malakir back to your hand, you can abuse this combination.

In a deck that makes opponents get rid of their creatures, Gatekeeper of Malakir makes for an excellent card. In a black deck, this can be combined with "Extractor Demon." Extractor Demon makes a target player "mill" the top two cards of his/her her library into the graveyard whenever a creature is sent to the graveyard. You can play Gatekeeper Malakir with the Kicker cost and make an opponent sacrifice a creature. Then, that player will have to mill two cards from the top of his/her library because of Extractor Demon.

Overall, Gatekeeper of Malakir is a good card which has the Kicker ability to get rid of some pesky creatures. With the right combination of cards, you can abuse the Kicker ability over and over again.

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