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Defiler of Faith

Creature — Phyrexian Human

Vigilance
As an additional cost to cast white permanent spells, you may pay 2 life. Those spells cost {W} less to cast if you paid life this way. This effect reduces only the amount of white mana you pay.
Whenever you cast a white permanent spell, create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{W}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
rare
Set
Magic Online Promos
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#4596
Buy on TCGplayer
Defiler of Faith card art
Defiler of Faith hits the board and immediately starts churning out 1/1 white tokens for every permanent spell you cast — pay 2 life instead of white mana, and every Aetherflux Reservoir, creature, or enchantment becomes a free token rider. The cost is real: a 5-mana 6/6 with vigilance is a fine rate, but you're running this because it turns white-heavy decks into token factories, not because you need another beater, and any build running Elesh Norn or similar payoffs will get full value from the very first spell after it lands.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01

Elesh Norn

66.3% of decks · synergy 0.57

Elesh Norn's triggered abilities reward flooding the board with creatures, and Defiler of Faith converts every permanent spell into an additional 1/1, letting the deck rapidly amass the token count Elesh Norn needs to grind out opponents.

02
God-Eternal Oketra

God-Eternal Oketra

48.4% of decks · synergy 0.40

God-Eternal Oketra already makes a token whenever you cast a creature spell, so Defiler of Faith stacks a second 1/1 on top of each trigger — two bodies per creature spell is the kind of redundancy that makes the deck's token count spiral out of control.

03
Mondrak, Glory Dominus

Mondrak, Glory Dominus

37.8% of decks · synergy 0.29

Mondrak, Glory Dominus doubles token creation, so every 1/1 Defiler of Faith generates becomes two — the combination is one of the most efficient ways in the format to convert mana into a board of creatures at near-zero incremental cost.

04
Odric, Lunarch Marshal

Odric, Lunarch Marshal

27.9% of decks · synergy 0.19

Odric, Lunarch Marshal copies keywords across all creatures at the start of combat, and Defiler of Faith's vigilance means every token on board can swing without leaving you exposed — it's a natural keyword-sharing target that also keeps the clock ticking.

05
Myrel, Shield of Argive

Myrel, Shield of Argive

25.6% of decks · synergy 0.17

Myrel, Shield of Argive pumps based on the number of Soldiers you control, and the tokens Defiler of Faith produces are Soldiers, so each permanent spell translates directly into more power on Myrel and a wider defensive wall.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Defiler of Faith is most at home — 100-card singleton decks in white almost always have enough permanent spells to trigger it multiple times per turn cycle, and the life-payment substitute means it acts as a mana accelerant in practice. In Modern and Pioneer, it's too slow at five mana for most white aggressive strategies, which would rather close the game before Defiler of Faith stabilizes; control shells have better top-end options. Legacy has the raw speed to make five-mana creatures irrelevant against the fastest decks, so Defiler of Faith stays on the sidelines there too. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander dynamic closely — life-rich, slower games where the token engine has time to compound.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Price data for Defiler of Faith isn't currently available in this snapshot, so check Scryfall or your preferred vendor for the live market rate. Given that it's a mythic rare from a recent set with real token-synergy demand, expect it to carry a meaningful premium over bulk — verify before buying.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.