Ghoulish Impetus
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1, has deathtouch, and is goaded. (It attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.)
When enchanted creature dies, return this card to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander Masters
- Price
- $7.63
- EDHREC rank
- #2794
Ghoulish Impetus forces an opponent's creature to attack every turn and redirects combat damage back at its controller — removal and pressure stapled together. With Killian, Decisive Mentor cutting the equip cost in half, you're deploying this effect for almost nothing.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Killian, Decisive Mentor
Killian, Decisive Mentor reduces Ghoulish Impetus's equip cost by two, making it effectively free to move around — and because Killian cares about spells that target creatures, the initial cast triggers his cost reduction as well, meaning the whole package operates at a steep discount.
Eriette of the Charmed Apple
Eriette of the Charmed Apple drains opponents whenever a creature enchanted by one of your Auras attacks, so Ghoulish Impetus forces the enchanted creature into combat every turn and converts that mandatory swing into life loss for its controller.
Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant
Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant goads creatures to attack opponents other than you, and Ghoulish Impetus locks a specific creature into attacking every turn — the two effects stack, keeping the board in constant, chaotic motion while Karazikar draws cards off the combat.
Xantcha, Sleeper Agent
Xantcha, Sleeper Agent is already in the business of handing threats to opponents and then punishing them for it; Ghoulish Impetus extends that philosophy by commandeering an opponent's own creature and turning it into a forced attacker that damages its controller.
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 |
Commander is where Ghoulish Impetus earns its keep — multiplayer politics reward forced-attack effects, and the ability to permanently redirect damage to a player rather than a creature makes it a political weapon as much as a removal tool. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but nowhere near competitive; enchanting a creature rather than destroying it is far too slow against the threats those formats put on the table. Oathbreaker is a reasonable home for the same reasons as Commander: the smaller table and faster games make the mandatory attack pressure land earlier and harder.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Shiny Impetus and Bloodthirsty Blade both force attacks for under a dollar, but neither redirects combat damage back to the controller the way Ghoulish Impetus does — you get the goad without the punishment. If the damage-redirection clause is the reason you're running Ghoulish Impetus, there's no direct budget swap; if you only need the forced-attack effect, either of those two covers it for nearly nothing.
Price Context
Current price
$7.63 mid tier
At $7.63, Ghoulish Impetus sits in the mid tier — noticeable on a budget but not a barrier for most Commander players. It's a niche card with a narrow best-home in Killian and Eriette decks, so demand stays moderate and the price is unlikely to spike dramatically in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.