Archdemon of Paliano
Creature — Demon
Draft this card face up.
As long as this card is face up during the draft, you can't look at booster packs and must draft cards at random. After you draft three cards this way, turn this card face down. (You may look at cards as you draft them.)
Flying
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Conspiracy: Take the Crown
- Price
- $0.22
- EDHREC rank
- #29251
Archdemon of Paliano puts a 5/4 flying, trample body on the board for four mana — legitimately above-rate stats — but the cost is that an opponent gets to draft a card from your hand each upkeep, which is a recurring and uncontrollable card disadvantage engine running in the wrong direction. The only shells where it's correct are ones that either empty the hand fast enough to make the downside irrelevant or exploit the 'opponent drafts' trigger for political or mechanical gain.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Archdemon of Paliano is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but the only format where it sees any real discussion is Commander. In Legacy and Vintage, a four-mana 5/4 that hands opponents free card selection is nowhere near competitive — both formats end games before that kind of investment pays off, and the card disadvantage is lethal in fast, tight contexts. In Commander, the multiplayer political texture is the card's only real argument: three opponents each picking from your hand each upkeep accelerates your demise, but the right commander can exploit or mitigate the trigger. In Oathbreaker, the faster clock and smaller starting hand size make the upkeep cost even more punishing than in Commander, and there are simply better four-drops available.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.22 bulk tier
At $0.22, Archdemon of Paliano is deep bulk — you're not buying this for value, you're buying it because the stats are occasionally worth the downside in a specific build. Bulk rares at this price point don't move unless a new commander pushes them into demand, and nothing on the horizon makes that likely here.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.