Suffer the Past

Suffer the Past card image

Suffer the Past: Instant, Commander 2021. Exile X target cards from target player's graveyard. Printings, prices, and format legality on Mana Grove.

Mana cost
{X}{B}
Mana value
1
Type
Instant
Colour identity
Black (B)
Rarity
Uncommon
Set
Commander 2021 (C21)
Released
2021-04-23
Collector number
155
Artist
Trevor Claxton
Commander rank
12,923 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)

Build around this card with Grover

About Suffer the Past

Suffer the Past is a Magic: The Gathering card, an uncommon black instant from Commander 2021 (C21), a Commander product released in April 2021. It is collector number 155 in that set, with art by Trevor Claxton. It costs {X}{B} (X and one black mana) to cast, for a mana value of 1. Its colour identity is black. It is legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH. It has been printed in 3 sets, from Rise of the Eldrazi (2010) to Modern Horizons 3 Commander (2024). The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.22 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-12).

Card text

Exile X target cards from target player's graveyard. For each card exiled this way, that player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

Ulamog's tentacles, their touch like burning ice, rummaged through his soul and stung his memories one by one.

Market price

Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.22 (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 Suffer the Past by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.

ModernLegal
LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
CommanderLegal
Duel CommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PreDHLegal

Other printings of Suffer the Past

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

PrintingRarityYear
Modern Horizons 3 Commander (M3C) #205Uncommon2024
Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE) #128Uncommon2010

Official rulings

Three official rulings apply to Suffer the Past, newest first.

  • The life that’s lost and the life that’s gained are based on the number of cards that are actually exiled, not on the value of X (in case any of the targeted cards somehow leave the graveyard in response and thus can’t be exiled this way).
  • If the targeted player becomes an illegal target by the time Suffer the Past resolves but the targeted cards don’t, you still exile the cards and gain life. The player won’t be lose any life, though.
  • Suffer the Past’s effect causes a single life-gain event, not a number of separate ones. This matters for cards such as Cradle of Vitality.

Similar cards

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

In these precons

Suffer the Past is in the decklist of these preconstructed Commander decks.

Explore Mana Grove