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Slaughter Pact

Instant

Destroy target nonblack creature.
At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay {2}{B}. If you don't, you lose the game.

CMC
0
Mana cost
{0}
Color identity
B
Rarity
special
Set
Amonkhet Invocations
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#5339
Buy on TCGplayer
Slaughter Pact card art
Slaughter Pact kills a black creature for free at instant speed — the cost is a {2}{B} payment due on your next upkeep, which only matters if you're still alive to see it. In decks that actively want instants in the graveyard, like Toshiro Umezawa, or that need zero-mana interaction to protect a combo piece like Venerated Rotpriest, the deferred cost is irrelevant.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Toshiro Umezawa

Toshiro Umezawa

26.1% of decks · synergy 0.24

Toshiro Umezawa's ability flashes back instants from the graveyard whenever a creature dies, so Slaughter Pact isn't just removal — it's a reusable engine piece that pays for its own recursion trigger.

02
Francisco, Fowl MarauderMalcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator

Francisco, Fowl Marauder // Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator

21.8% of decks · synergy 0.21

Slaughter Pact fits Francisco, Fowl Marauder // Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator as zero-mana interaction that doesn't tap out the pilot during a critical combo turn, keeping mana free for the spells that matter.

03
Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire

Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire

19.4% of decks · synergy 0.17

Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire is a fragile boast enabler that needs cheap, instant-speed protection, and Slaughter Pact covers the most common answer — a blocking creature — without spending a single mana on the turn you attack.

04
Phage the Untouchable

Phage the Untouchable

16.2% of decks · synergy 0.14

Phage the Untouchable wins only if she connects, so clearing a blocker for zero mana at instant speed is exactly the kind of enabler this deck needs to push through.

05
Maralen of the Mornsong

Maralen of the Mornsong

10.6% of decks · synergy 0.08

Maralen of the Mornsong locks opponents out of drawing cards but can't afford to let removal resolve on her, and Slaughter Pact answers an attacking or blocking threat without surrendering any of the mana Maralen's controller is counting on.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

In Commander, Slaughter Pact is at its best in mono-black combo shells where every mana counts and holding up conventional removal is too costly — the deferred payment is a non-issue when you're winning the turn you cast it. In Legacy and Vintage, it sees play as a sideboard or main-deck answer in storm and combo decks that need zero-cost interaction to answer a hate bear without interrupting their own engine. Modern has the same applications, particularly in decks that want to protect a combo creature on the stack before the opponent can respond. Slaughter Pact is not legal in Pioneer, Standard, or Pauper, so those conversations end there.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Slaughter Pact isn't currently available here — check Scryfall or your preferred retailer for the current market price. As a card with meaningful Legacy and Modern applications in addition to Commander demand, it has historically traded above bulk, so verify before assuming it's cheap.

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Sources

Mentioned

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