Defiler of Flesh 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
Menace As an additional cost to cast black permanent spells, you may pay 2 life. Those spells costless to cast if you paid life this way. This effect reduces only the amount of black mana you pay. Whenever you cast a black permanent spell, target creature you control gets +1/+1 and gains menace until end of turn.
Complete guide
Defiler of Flesh is a menacing Phyrexian Horror that allows you to trade your vitality for rapid board development. By offering life instead of mana, you can accelerate your black permanent spells while simultaneously buffing your forces and making them harder to block.
Life for Power
While Defiler of Flesh is on the battlefield, you gain a special payment option for every black permanent spell you cast. As an additional cost, you may choose to pay 2 life; if you do, the spell costs {B} less to cast. Note that this only reduces the black mana requirement, not the generic mana, and you can only apply this discount once per spell.
The Menace Trigger
Defiler of Flesh features a triggered ability that occurs whenever you cast a black permanent spell. You target a creature you control, which then receives a +1/+1 bonus and gains menace until the end of the turn. This trigger goes on the stack on top of the spell you just cast, meaning the bonus resolves before the permanent itself enters the battlefield.
Strategic Timing
Because the +1/+1 and menace bonus is a 'cast' trigger, it is an excellent way to push through damage during your pre-combat main phase. Even if your opponent counters your black permanent spell, the triggered ability has already been placed on the stack and will still resolve, granting your creature the stat boost and evasion.
Common Misconceptions
It is important to remember that Defiler of Flesh only reduces the cost of permanent spells, such as creatures, enchantments, or planeswalkers. It does not reduce the cost of black instants or sorceries. Additionally, paying life does not technically add a Phyrexian mana symbol to the card; it is simply an alternative cost reduction.
Interaction examples
With Defiler of Flesh on the battlefield, you decide to cast a second Defiler of Flesh. You choose to pay 2 life as an additional cost. The cost is reduced from {2}{B}{B} to {2}{B}. Once cast, the first Defiler's ability triggers, allowing you to give itself +1/+1 and menace for the turn.
Solemn SimulacrumIf you attempt to cast Solemn Simulacrum while Defiler of Flesh is out, you cannot pay 2 life to reduce the cost. Because Solemn Simulacrum is a colorless artifact creature spell, it does not meet the requirement of being a black permanent spell.
Roaming ThroneYou cast Roaming Throne and choose 'Phyrexian' as it enters. Later, you cast a black creature spell. Defiler of Flesh triggers, and because Roaming Throne sees a triggered ability of another Phyrexian you control, it triggers an additional time. You can now target the same creature or two different creatures to receive +1/+1 and menace.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Defiler of Flesh
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
You may only pay the additional cost once per permanent spell.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Some players may make the mental shortcut that the Defilers effectively turn one of the colored mana symbols in the spell’s cost into a Phyrexian colored mana symbol. Despite the similarity in function, this ability does not cause the spells to have Phyrexian mana symbols in their costs. Sorry, Rage Extractor!
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Acererak the Archlich + Ayara, First of Locthwain + Bontu's Monument + Defiler of Flesh
- 1Cast Acererak by paying 2 life.
- 2Bontu's Monument and Defiler of Faith trigger.
- 3Resolve the Bontu's Monument trigger, losing each opponent 1 life and gaining you 1 life.
- 4Resolve the Defiler of Faith trigger, giving a creature you control +1/+1 until end of turn.
- 5Acererak enters the battlefield, triggering Ayara and itself.
- 6Resolve the Ayara trigger, losing each opponent 1 life and gaining you 1 life.
- 7Resolve Acererak trigger, returning it to your hand and venturing into the Lost Mine of Phandelver.
- 8Each time you trigger the Dark Pool room ability, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
Defiler of Flesh + Aetherflux Reservoir + Gravecrawler + Ashnod's Altar
- 1Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing Gravecrawler, adding
. - 2Cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard by paying 2 life.
- 3Aetherflux Reservoir and Defiler of Flesh trigger.
- 4Resolve the Aetherflux Reservoir trigger, causing you to gain 1 life for each spell you've cast this turn.
- 5Resolve the Defiler of Flesh trigger, giving target creature +1/+1 and menace until end of turn.
- 6Repeat.
- 7Once you have infinite life, you may activate Aetherflux Reservoir's ability to deal infinite damage to any target(s).
Defiler of Flesh + Aetherflux Reservoir + Gravecrawler + Carrion Feeder
- 1Activate Carrion Feeder by sacrificing Gravecrawler, putting a +1/+1 counter on Carrion Feeder.
- 2Cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard by paying 2 life.
- 3Aetherflux Reservoir and Defiler of Flesh trigger.
- 4Resolve the Aetherflux Reservoir trigger, causing you to gain 1 life for each spell you've cast this turn.
- 5Resolve the Defiler of Flesh trigger, giving target creature +1/+1 and menace until end of turn.
- 6Repeat.
- 7Once you have infinite life, you may activate Aetherflux Reservoir's ability to deal infinite damage to any target(s).
Defiler of Flesh + Aetherflux Reservoir + Gravecrawler + Viscera Seer
- 1Activate Viscera Seer by sacrificing Gravecrawler, causing you to scry 1.
- 2Cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard by paying 2 life.
- 3Aetherflux Reservoir and Defiler of Flesh trigger.
- 4Resolve the Aetherflux Reservoir trigger, causing you to gain 1 life for each spell you've cast this turn.
- 5Resolve the Defiler of Flesh trigger, giving target creature +1/+1 and menace until end of turn.
- 6Repeat.
- 7Once you have infinite life, you may activate Aetherflux Reservoir's ability to deal infinite damage to any target(s).
Aetherflux Reservoir + Cloudstone Curio + Defiler of Flesh
- 1Cast the black permanent card in your hand by paying 2 life.
- 2Defiler of Flesh and Aetherflux Reservoir triggers.
- 3Resolve the Defiler of Flesh trigger, giving target creature +1/+1 and menace until end of turn.
- 4Resolve the Aetherflux Reservoir trigger, causing you to gain 1 life for each spell you've cast before it this turn.
- 5The black permanent enters the battlefield, triggering Cloudstone Curio, returning another nontoken nonartifact black permanent with mana cost from the battlefield to your hand.
- 6Repeat.
- 7Once you have infinite life, you may activate Aetherflux Reservoir infinite times to deal infinite damage to any target(s).
Defiler of Flesh + Aetherflux Reservoir + Gravecrawler + Altar of Dementia
- 1Activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Gravecrawler, causing target player to mill cards equal to Gravecrawler's power.
- 2Cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard by paying 2 life.
- 3Aetherflux Reservoir and Defiler of Flesh trigger.
- 4Resolve the Aetherflux Reservoir trigger, causing you to gain 1 life for each spell you've cast this turn.
- 5Resolve the Defiler of Flesh trigger, giving target creature +1/+1 and menace until end of turn.
- 6Repeat.
- 7Once you have infinite life, you may activate Aetherflux Reservoir's ability to deal infinite damage to any target(s).
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Defiler of Flesh
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