The Lord of Pain
Color Identity
Details
Mana Value
5
Popularity
#263
of 3,381 commanders · via EDHREC
Card Text
Legendary Creature — Human Assassin
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.
5/5
Playstyle
Aggro · Steady · Group influence · Incremental wins
- Aggression
- 4 of 5
- Speed
- 3 of 5
- Interaction
- 4 of 5
- Combat
- 3 of 5
- Engine
- 2 of 5
- Complexity
- 3 of 5
Strategy Guides
Group Hug Strategy Guide
Group Hug decks are for players who want table politics to matter as much as board position. This strategy wants to give everyone extra cards, lands, or mana, using group hug commanders and symmetrical resource effects, to win through political leverage, hidden payoffs, or a carefully timed finish. Unlike Lifegain, it does not make your own life total the engine; it gives resources away and tries to profit from who uses them. The best political decks EDH players remember are frank about the risk: your gifts can help the wrong player first.
Learn more about group hug strategies
Lifegain Strategy Guide
Lifegain decks are for players who want each point of life to become a resource, not just a larger cushion against attacks. This strategy wants to gain life in steady repeatable triggers, using lifegain commanders, Soul Warden effects, and payoff cards, to win through life drain, oversized creatures, or a charged Aetherflux Reservoir. Unlike Group Hug, it keeps the resources for itself, and unlike Aristocrats it is driven by life gained rather than death triggers. The best lifegain decks EDH players build feel patient early, then convert a safe life total into pressure.
Learn more about lifegain strategies
Aggro Strategy Guide
Aggro decks are for players who want to commit threats early, attack often, and make combat math matter every turn. This strategy wants to pressure all opponents with efficient attackers, using anthems, haste, attack triggers, extra combats, and aggro commanders, to win through repeated combat damage before slower engines stabilize. In Commander that still means pushing through 120 total damage, so go-wide aggro EDH decks need refueling and scaling damage rather than only fast starts. Aggro differs from Tokens because it focuses on attacking with the bodies, from Voltron because it spreads pressure across many creatures, and from Infect because it deals life-total damage instead of poison.
Learn more about aggro strategies
Control Strategy Guide
Control decks are for players who enjoy deciding which threats matter, spending answers carefully, and winning after the table has slowed down. This strategy wants to stabilize the game, using control commanders, counterspells, removal, sweepers, and card-draw engines, to win through a protected finisher, planeswalker, combo finish, or long-term card advantage. Unlike Stax, Control answers threats on the stack or battlefield instead of locking everyone out of resources. The best control decks EDH players build accept that multiplayer control cannot counter everything, so they lean on sweepers and engines that trade across several opponents.
Learn more about control strategies
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