Suffer the Past
Instant
Exile X target cards from target player's graveyard. For each card exiled this way, that player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Modern Horizons 3 Commander
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #12345
Suffer the Past exiles up to X cards from a target player's graveyard and drains them for exactly that much — instant speed, black mana only, scales with however much you want to spend. It's a utility spell that doubles as a win condition in dedicated drain or graveyard-hate shells, but it's too mana-intensive to be a generalist pick.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Suffer the Past does its best work — 40 life means opponents will spend the mid-to-late game stocking graveyards large enough to make a six- or eight-mana sink feel decisive, and the exile clause pulls double duty against recursion-heavy pods. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; the format speed means you're not untapping with eight black mana to spend on a drain spell when Grief and Dark Ritual lines exist. Modern has faster, more consistent life-drain payoffs, so Suffer the Past never found a home there either. Treat it as a Commander card with legacy paperwork.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Suffer the Past is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a dollar bin or throwing it in a cart to hit free shipping. That price is stable; there's no spike waiting here, just a cheap slot-filler for the right deck.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.