Invoke Despair
Sorcery
Target opponent sacrifices a creature of their choice. If they can't, they lose 2 life and you draw a card. Then repeat this process for an enchantment and a planeswalker.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Magic Online Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #8550
Invoke Despair strips a creature, an enchantment, and a planeswalker from one opponent in a single five-mana sorcery — and replaces each permanent they can't sacrifice with a card and two life lost. In Commander, where opponents are likely holding at least one of each permanent type, this routinely draws you two or three cards while dismantling a board state; Zevlor, Elturel Exile can fork it to all opponents and turn a solid spell into a game-ending swing.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Zevlor, Elturel Exile
Zevlor, Elturel Exile's ability copies single-target spells to hit each opponent, and Invoke Despair targeting one player already strips up to three permanents and draws cards — aimed at all three opponents, that's potentially nine permanents gone and nine cards drawn before anyone untaps.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Invoke Despair punches well above its slot: five mana for a targeted three-for-one that also replaces itself when opponents are empty-handed on a permanent type is efficient removal by the format's standards. Competitive and high-power tables will notice it less because interaction is denser, but it remains a clean answer to enchantress engines, planeswalker-heavy superfriends decks, and creature-based combo pieces all in one card. In Pioneer and Modern, Invoke Despair sees occasional play in midrange and control shells that can reach five mana, where its ability to generate card advantage while removing a threat earns it fringe consideration. Legacy and Vintage move too fast for a five-mana sorcery to matter, and it's absent from Pauper entirely due to rarity.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Invoke Despair isn't available in the current feed — check Scryfall or your preferred vendor for the live number. Given its play pattern as a five-mana value spell with niche competitive applications, it tends to sit in the budget-to-mid range rather than spiking as a staple.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Zevlor, Elturel Exile
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.