Damnable Pact
Sorcery
Target player draws X cards and loses X life.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Crimson Vow Commander
- Price
- $0.56
- EDHREC rank
- #3119
Damnable Pact refills your hand at whatever size you can pay for, then deals that many damage to the target player — which means pointing it at yourself with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse on the battlefield turns every card drawn into two life lost, threatening a kill condition stapled to your draw spell. The life payment is real and can end you if you're already low, so the card rewards life-gain payoffs and punisher strategies over generic black goodstuff.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse's static ability turns Damnable Pact into a finisher — cast it targeting yourself for X equal to your opponent's life total minus your life buffer, and every card drawn shaves two life off them while Sheoldred punishes the draw trigger.
Witherbloom, the Balancer
Witherbloom, the Balancer runs life as a resource on both sides of the ledger, and Damnable Pact fits that friction perfectly — the life loss from targeting yourself fuels Witherbloom, the Balancer's life-trade mechanics while delivering a full hand refill.
Rowan, Scion of War
Rowan, Scion of War discounts spells based on life paid, and Damnable Pact's self-targeting mode converts the draw into a mana rebate — paying life to draw cards then immediately reducing the cost of your next threat is exactly the engine Rowan, Scion of War wants.
Belbe, Corrupted Observer
Belbe, Corrupted Observer generates mana when opponents lose life, and Damnable Pact aimed at an opponent triggers that clause directly — Belbe, Corrupted Observer decks use it to draw cards and simultaneously bank the colorless mana needed to deploy haymakers the same turn.
Strefan, Maurer Progenitor
Strefan, Maurer Progenitor cares about opponents losing life to create Blood tokens, and casting Damnable Pact targeting an opponent converts a draw spell into both cards and Blood-token fodder — the lifedrain angle makes it a dual-purpose piece in Strefan, Maurer Progenitor's vampire package.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the clear home for Damnable Pact — X-spells scale with the game's longer mana development, and the damage clause that reads as a drawback in other formats becomes a win condition when paired with Sheoldred or similar life-drain payoffs. In Modern and Pioneer it competes with faster, more efficient draw spells and rarely sees play outside fringe life-loss synergy builds. Legacy and Vintage have access to such broken draw that Damnable Pact doesn't register. Oathbreaker is a reasonable secondary format, where planeswalker-centric builds sometimes want late-game refuel spells with upside.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.56 bulk tier
At $0.56, Damnable Pact is bulk — easy to pick up as a role-player without weighing budget decisions. The price is stable because demand is narrow and consistent rather than spiking: Sheoldred decks want it, everyone else ignores it, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
- Witherbloom, the Balancer
- Rowan, Scion of War
- Belbe, Corrupted Observer
- Strefan, Maurer Progenitor
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.