Death Wish
Sorcery
You may put a card you own from outside the game into your hand. You lose half your life, rounded up. Exile Death Wish.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Judgment
- Price
- $0.78
- EDHREC rank
- #27866
Death Wish tutors any card from anywhere — your library, graveyard, exile, even outside the game — and puts it in your hand for two black mana and half your life total. That life payment is steep but not a dealbreaker in Commander, where 40 life buys you real room to maneuver.
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 |
In Commander, Death Wish is a flexible tutor in any black deck willing to pay the life, and the 40-life starting total makes that cost far less punishing than it looks on paper — you're essentially paying 10 life for unconditional access to any card in your deck. The 'outside the game' clause does nothing in Commander's tournament rules, but the baseline tutor effect alone earns the slot. In Legacy and Vintage, Death Wish sees fringe play in combo shells where the life loss is acceptable and the unconditional fetch is worth the slot over cheaper but narrower options. Oathbreaker shares Commander's 20-life starting total, which makes the half-life payment genuinely risky and pushes Death Wish toward decks that can gain life or win immediately off the tutored card.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.78 bulk tier
At $0.78, Death Wish sits firmly in bulk territory — cheap enough to throw in any black Commander deck without a second thought. The price is unlikely to move much given its narrow competitive appeal, so pick it up now if the effect fits your gameplan.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.