Defiler of Instinct

Defiler of Instinct card image

Defiler of Instinct: Creature - Phyrexian Kavu, Dominaria United. MTG card printings, market prices, rulings, and format legality on Mana Grove.

Mana cost
{2}{R}{R}
Mana value
4
Type
Creature - Phyrexian Kavu
Colour identity
Red (R)
Power / toughness
4/4
Rarity
Rare
Set
Dominaria United (DMU)
Released
2022-09-09
Collector number
119
Artist
Steven Belledin
Commander rank
4,752 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
Keywords
First strike

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About Defiler of Instinct

Defiler of Instinct is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare red creature from Dominaria United (DMU), an expansion set released in September 2022. It is collector number 119 in that set, with art by Steven Belledin. It costs {2}{R}{R} (two generic and two red mana) to cast, for a mana value of 4. It is a 4/4 creature. Its colour identity is red. It is legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Historic, Timeless, Gladiator and Penny Dreadful. It has been printed in 3 sets. The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.35 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-12).

Card text

First strike

As an additional cost to cast red permanent spells, you may pay 2 life. Those spells cost {R} less to cast if you paid life this way. This effect reduces only the amount of red mana you pay.

Whenever you cast a red permanent spell, this creature deals 1 damage to any target.

Market price

Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.35 (as of 2026-11-12).

The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.

Format legality

Legality of Defiler of Instinct by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.

PioneerLegal
ModernLegal
LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
CommanderLegal
Duel CommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
BrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
TimelessLegal
GladiatorLegal
Penny DreadfulLegal

Other printings of Defiler of Instinct

Defiler of Instinct has been printed in 3 sets. The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.

PrintingRarityYear
Magic Online Promos (PRM) #103446Rare2023
Dominaria United (DMU) #406Rare2022
Dominaria United Promos (PDMU) #119pRare2022
Dominaria United Promos (PDMU) #119sRare2022

Official rulings

Two official rulings apply to Defiler of Instinct, newest first.

  • You may only pay the additional cost once per permanent spell.
  • 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!

Similar cards

Other creature cards with a red colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.

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