Despoil
Sorcery
Destroy target land. Its controller loses 2 life.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Prophecy
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #26336
Despoil destroys a land and makes its controller discard a card — two meaningful effects stapled together for five mana at sorcery speed. That cost is the problem: five mana to answer a single land is unplayable in any competitive context, and the discard rider doesn't come close to making up the gap.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Despoil is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but legal doesn't mean playable. In Commander, land destruction already fights an uphill battle against the table's political blowback, and Despoil asks five mana for a single target at sorcery speed — a rate that loses to Stone Rain by two mana and Stone Rain itself barely sees play. Legacy and Vintage move too fast for a five-mana sorcery to matter. Pauper is the only format where budget constraints and the commons-only pool might make Despoil look like an option, but even there the format's threat density means spending five mana to slow one opponent by one land turn is just a losing exchange.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Despoil is pure bulk — the price reflects demand accurately. Don't expect it to appreciate; there's no competitive home waiting to be discovered that would move the needle.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.