Archfiend of Despair is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Flying Your opponents can't gain life. At the beginning of each end step, each opponent loses life equal to the life that player lost this turn. (Damage causes loss of life.)
Complete guide
Archfiend of Despair is a terrifying Demon that punishes your opponents for every scratch they take during a turn. By preventing life gain and doubling down on life loss, this creature ensures that your enemies' health spirals toward zero at an alarming rate. It serves as both a powerful flying threat and a brutal finisher in any black-heavy deck.
A Cruel Lockdown
The Archfiend of Despair exerts two powerful effects. First, it creates a static effect that prevents your opponents from gaining life entirely. Second, it features a triggered ability that occurs at the beginning of each end step, looking back at how much life each opponent lost during that specific turn. Because damage results in life loss, any combat damage or direct spells will be accounted for when this ability calculates its final toll.
The End Step Calculation
When the end step begins, the Archfiend's ability goes on the stack. It checks the total amount of life an opponent lost since the turn started, regardless of whether they gained life before the Archfiend entered the battlefield. When the ability resolves, that opponent loses that exact amount again. If you have multiple copies of Archfiend of Despair, they trigger separately; the second one will count the life lost from the first one's resolution, effectively quadrupling the initial damage.
Strategic Timing
Since the Archfiend costs eight mana, you want to ensure it sticks to the board long enough to see an end step. It is most effective when played in a deck that can consistently deal damage during both your turn and your opponent's turn. Because the trigger happens at the beginning of 'each' end step, you can punish opponents for using fetch lands or paying life for spells on their own turns as well.
Interaction examples
If your opponent loses 5 life during combat on your turn while Archfiend of Despair is on the battlefield, the ability triggers at the start of your end step. Upon resolution, the opponent loses an additional 5 life, bringing their total life loss for the turn to 10.
Sheoldred, Whispering OneIf your Archfiend of Despair is in the graveyard, Sheoldred, Whispering One can return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your upkeep. This allows you to bypass the high mana cost and immediately start preventing your opponents from gaining life for the rest of the game.
Meteor GolemUse Meteor Golem to destroy a key flying blocker an opponent controls. With the path clear, Archfiend of Despair can attack for 6 damage. At the end step, the Archfiend's ability will trigger, causing the opponent to lose another 6 life for a total of 12 damage in one turn.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Archfiend of Despair
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Archfiend of Despair's last ability counts only how much life was lost. It doesn't care whether a player also gained life.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
In a Two-Headed Giant game, damage and life loss happen to each player individually. If each player on a team is dealt 2 damage, each of those players loses 2 life and the team's life total goes down by 4. When Archfiend of Despair's ability resolves, each of those players again loses 2 life and the team's life total goes down again by 4; they don't each lose 4 life.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The amount of life to lose is determined only as Archfiend of Despair's triggered ability resolves. For example, if you control two of them and an opponent lost 3 life earlier in the turn, the first ability to resolve would have that player lose 3 life, and the second would have that player lose 6 life.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Unstoppable Slasher + Archfiend of Despair
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Unstoppable Slasher
- 2Unstoppable Slasher triggers, causing the defending opponent to lose half their life total, rounded up.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the life they've lost this turn.
- 4The opponent dealt combat damage loses the game due to having 0 or less life.
Heartless Hidetsugu + Archfiend of Despair
- 1Activate Heartless HIdetsugu by tapping it, dealing damage to each player equal to half their life total, rounded down.
- 2At the beginning of your end step, Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the life they lost this turn.
- 3Each opponent that started with an even life total loses the game due to having 0 or less life.
Grievous Wound + Archfiend of Despair
- 1Deal damage to the opponent that has Grievous Wound attached to them.
- 2Grievous Wound triggers, causing the opponent to lose half their life total, rounded up.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the life they lost this turn.
- 4The opponent with Grievous Wound attached loses the game due to having 0 or less life.
Scourge of the Skyclaves + Archfiend of Despair
- 1Cast Scourge of the Skyclaves kicked for
. - 2When it enters the battlefield, each player loses half of their life, rounded up.
- 3At the beginning of the end step Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing each opponent to lose the other half of their life.
Tree of Perdition + Archfiend of Despair
- 1Activate Tree of Perdition by tapping it, causing its toughness to become equal to an opponents life total, and causing that opponent to lose life equal to the difference between their life total and Tree of Perdition's toughness as the ability resolved.
- 2At the beginning of your end step, Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing the opponent to lose life equal to the life they lost this turn.
Shard of the Nightbringer + Archfiend of Despair
- 1Cast Shard of the Nightbringer by paying .
- 2Shard of the Nightbringer triggers, causing an opponent to lose half their life total, rounded up, and you to gain life equal to the life lost this way.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the life they lost this turn.
- 4The opponent targeted in step 2 loses the game due to having zero or less life.
Havoc Festival + Archfiend of Despair
- 1At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, Havoc Festival triggers, causing them to lose half their life total, rounded up.
- 2At the beginning of their end step, Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the life they lost this turn.
- 3The opponent whose turn it is loses the game due to having zero or less life.
- 4Repeat during each other opponent's turn.
Quietus Spike + Archfiend of Despair
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent with the creature that has Quietus Spike attached.
- 2Quietus Spike triggers, causing the opponent to lose half their life total, rounded up.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Archfiend of Despair triggers, causing the opponent to lose life equal to the life they lost this turn.
- 4The opponent loses the game due to having zero or less life.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Archfiend of Despair
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