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The Lord of Pain

The Lord of Pain

Legendary Creature — Human Assassin

The Lord of Pain wants a deck that casts lots of instant and sorcery spells. It also suits a deck that slows the whole table down with rules everyone must follow.

  • Mana cost3 genericblackred
  • Black, Red ()
  • Power / toughness5 / 5
  • RarityMythic

Menace

Your opponents can't gain life.

Whenever a player casts their first spell each turn, choose another target player. The Lord of Pain deals damage equal to that spell's mana value to the chosen player.

Build a deck with The Lord of Pain Find it in the app

Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit The Lord of Pain

Picked for what they do in The Lord of Pain's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit The Lord of Pain's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for The Lord of Pain

explain how The Lord of Pain works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 20 Sep 2024

If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, use the value chosen for X when determining that spell's mana value.

Wizards of the Coast 20 Sep 2024

If an effect says to set an opponent's life total to a number that's higher than their current life total, that player's life total won't change.

Wizards of the Coast 20 Sep 2024

Spells and abilities that cause opponents to gain life still resolve while The Lord of Pain is on the battlefield. They won't gain life, but any other effects of that spell or ability will still happen.

Wizards of the Coast 20 Sep 2024

The Lord of Pain's last ability must target a player other than the one who cast the spell that caused the ability to trigger. That means that if it's just you and one other player in the game, you'll have to target yourself when that player casts their first spell each turn. (What did you expect? You summoned The Lord of Pain!)

4 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with The Lord of Pain, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBRPlayers write colors as letters: B for black, R for red.SpellslingerSpellslinger decks cast lots of instants and sorceries, one-time spells, and play creatures that reward every spell you cast. Instants and sorceries take effect once and then go to your graveyard, and an instant can even be cast during another player's turn.Open the Spellslinger pageSpellslinger PayoffRewards you specifically for casting or copying instants and sorceries, usually with a trigger each time. Narrower than Spellslinger, which covers the whole instant-and-sorcery family. Archmage Emeritus, Storm-Kiln ArtistOpen the Spellslinger Payoff pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax pageStax/TaxMakes the game more expensive or more restrictive for everyone: taxing spells and attacks, or stopping permanents from untapping. Propaganda, Ghostly Prison. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check what your table expects first.Open the Stax/Tax page