Defiler of Souls
Creature — Demon
Flying
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a monocolored creature of their choice.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Alara Reborn
- Price
- $2.18
- EDHREC rank
- #22082
Defiler of Souls lands and immediately pressures every opponent into sacrificing a monocolored creature on their upkeep — that's a repeating Edict effect stapled to a 5/5 flier with lifelink. The cost is real: six mana and a black-black pip requirement means it belongs in dedicated black shells, not goodstuff piles.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Defiler of Souls does its best work — in a four-player game, each opponent loses a monocolored creature every turn cycle, and the card advantage from that attrition compounds fast. In Legacy and Vintage it's theoretically legal but too slow at six mana to compete with the formats' interaction density; it never sees competitive play there. Modern is the same story: a six-mana creature with no immediate enters-the-battlefield protection doesn't survive long enough to generate value in a format defined by efficient removal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$2.18 cheap tier
At $2.18, Defiler of Souls is firmly budget for the impact it provides — a six-mana flying lifelinker that generates ongoing board pressure across the table has no business being this cheap. The price reflects its narrow color requirement and the glut of supply from a heavily opened set, but don't expect it to fall further; demon-tribal and black-heavy Commander builds have steady demand for exactly this effect.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.