Essence Feed
Sorcery
Target player loses 3 life. You gain 3 life and create three 0/1 colorless Eldrazi Spawn creature tokens. They have "Sacrifice this token: Add 
."
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #22695
Essence Feed drains each opponent for 3 life and nets you 3 life per opponent hit — in a four-player pod that's 9 damage dealt and 9 life gained off a single card. The problem is the six-mana price tag for a one-shot effect with no permanent impact, which makes it a fringe pick even in decks that want exactly this effect.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Essence Feed scales with the number of opponents, so the four-player default is where it looks best — 9 life swung in your favor is real, but six mana for a sorcery that leaves no board presence is a steep ask when Exsanguinate or Torment of Hailfire do the same job and scale harder. In Pauper, where it's legal and the card pool is restricted, it's a passable late-game life-swing in black life-drain shells, though still slow. Legacy and Vintage have zero interest in it — those formats end before six mana becomes relevant.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Essence Feed is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not power. It won't hold or gain value; pick it up if the effect fits your deck, but don't expect the price to move in either direction.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.