MagicTheGathering.fyi

Peer into the Abyss

Sorcery

Target player draws cards equal to half the number of cards in their library and loses half their life. Round up each time.

CMC
7
Mana cost
{4}{B}{B}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Core Set 2021 Promos
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#1252
Buy on TCGplayer
Peer into the Abyss card art
Peer into the Abyss hands a target player half their library in one shot — the most explosive card draw available at seven mana, and a one-card win condition when Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is on the battlefield turning every draw into two damage. The cost is the life loss for your target, which matters exactly zero when that damage is lethal.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

80.3% of decks · synergy 0.70

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse turns Peer into the Abyss into a table execution: the targeted player draws half their deck, Sheoldred taxes every single draw at two life, and the total damage is typically lethal on the spot.

02
Dargo, the ShipwreckerTymna the Weaver

Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver

68.9% of decks · synergy 0.68

Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver runs Peer into the Abyss as a life-loss payoff alongside Tymna's card-draw engine, piling on life-loss triggers that close games from a direction opponents rarely see coming.

03
Rowan, Scion of War

Rowan, Scion of War

55.1% of decks · synergy 0.52

Rowan, Scion of War discounts spells based on life lost, and Peer into the Abyss shreds your own life total deep enough to make the rest of your hand essentially free — one spell fueling a full turn of zero-cost action.

04
Queza, Augur of Agonies

Queza, Augur of Agonies

51.9% of decks · synergy 0.49

Queza, Augur of Agonies pings opponents for each card drawn and life gained, so Peer into the Abyss targeting yourself under Queza converts a massive draw into a massive damage burst across the table.

05
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth

K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth

56.9% of decks · synergy 0.47

K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth can pay Phyrexian mana for black pips, so Peer into the Abyss is often castable without touching your mana base at all, and the life loss from drawing half the deck feeds right back into K'rrik's pay-life-to-cheat-mana engine.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Peer into the Abyss lives — a seven-mana sorcery that does nothing to the board needs the multiplayer environment to justify the setup cost, and the payoff commanders are all here. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but never played; there are faster ways to draw cards or win outright, and a sorcery-speed symmetry-adjacent effect at seven mana doesn't compete. Modern and Pioneer are the same story — the format's too fast and too interactive for a do-nothing-at-instant-speed seven-drop. Peer into the Abyss is a Commander card through and through, and specifically a combo-piece Commander card rather than a generic goodstuff inclusion.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

42,369 decks
Orcish BowmastersPeer into the Abyss

Orcish BowmastersPeer into the Abyss

Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature; Near-infinite card draw for target opponent; Near-infinite damage; Near-infinite draw triggers for target opponent; Target opponent loses the game

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data isn't available at the moment — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market on Peer into the Abyss. It's been printed in supplemental products and seen repeated reprints, so copies tend to be accessible even when demand spikes around popular Sheoldred, the Apocalypse lists.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.