Originally printed in Battlebond back in 2018, Archfiend of Despair is a massive damage doubling demon, popular among MTG players willing to pay big mana for a big threat in black. This hellish curve topper was reprinted once in Commander Masters in 2023, but Wizards of the Coast has dragged it back from hell and slotted it into Reality Fracture’s Multiverse Reforged Commander deck.
For eight mana, Archfiend of Despair is a 6/6 flying demon that prevents opponents from gaining life and causes each opponent to lose life every end step equal to the amount of life that they have already lost during the turn.
With a current market price of $24 (£18), Archfiend of Despair is the most expensive MTG card in the Multiverse Reforged Commander deck. It narrowly prices out the $22 (£16.50) protection spell Flawless Maneuver and is worth eight dollars more than the deck’s third most pricey card, the $16 (£12) fixing land Reflecting Pool.
Given that it has been reprinted, it’s likely that Archfiend of Despair’s price will drop over the coming weeks. So if you’ve got a black Commander deck that’s in need of a bit of abyssal spice, it could be a good time to pick up either the Archfiend or the Reality Fracture Commander deck containing it.
Since Battlebond was a supplemental set, Archfiend of Despair is not legal in the Standard, Modern, or Pioneer formats. At eight mana, it’s also too expensive to see play in 60 card constructed, outside of reanimation strategies. But for slower paced Commander games, where you’ve got more time to ramp up, Archfiend of Despair is a demon that can deal some real damage.
Do you feel hopeful about Archfiend of Despair, or is Bloodletter of Aclazotz the only damage doubling demon that you’d consider including in your decks? Share your most fiendish hot takes in the Wargamer Discord server.
Source: Wargamer
