Priest of the Blood Rite
Creature — Human Cleric
When this creature enters, create a 5/5 black Demon creature token with flying.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 2 life.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Game Night: Free-for-All
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #12120
Priest of the Blood Rite drops a 5/5 flying Demon into play the turn it resolves — five power in the air for five mana is a real rate. The attached curse that drains one life per upkeep is real but negligible in Commander, and it becomes an asset the moment you're running Blim, Comedic Genius.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Blim, Comedic Genius
Blim, Comedic Genius is the natural home: you gift away Priest of the Blood Rite, offloading the upkeep drain onto an opponent while keeping the 5/5 token you already made, turning a drawback into targeted life loss with no ongoing cost to you.
Jon Irenicus, Shattered One
Jon Irenicus, Shattered One runs the same playbook — donate Priest of the Blood Rite to a player who can least afford it, watch the one-life-per-upkeep tax compound across the table while Irenicus's card draw triggers keep your hand full.
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, Priest of the Blood Rite occupies a narrow but real niche: donate-focused decks that want cursed permanents to give away, and black sacrifice engines that need a cheap 5/5 body with no strings attached once the Priest itself is gone. In powered formats like Legacy and Vintage it's too slow and too passive — a five-mana do-nothing-proactive card competes poorly against threats that close the game faster. Modern and Pioneer have enough efficient threats at five mana that Priest of the Blood Rite doesn't make cuts outside of gimmick builds. Commander is where it actually lives.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Priest of the Blood Rite is deep bulk — you'll find it in any dollar box. Demand is narrow enough that the price isn't going anywhere, but for Blim or Jon Irenicus lists it's one of the cheapest functional pieces you can add.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.