What it does
Afflict is a triggered ability on creatures that punishes opponents for blocking. When a creature with Afflict N becomes blocked, the defending player immediately loses N life—regardless of what happens afterward.
The key nuance people miss: Afflict triggers on becoming blocked, not on dealing combat damage. So even if you kill or remove the attacker before damage, the life loss has already happened. It also doesn't matter how many creatures block it—Afflict triggers once for being blocked, not per blocker. And the attacking creature still deals its normal combat damage to blockers on top of the Afflict life loss; the two are independent.
In Commander, Afflict creates a "damned if you do" pressure: opponents take guaranteed life loss for blocking but full damage if they don't. With high starting life totals, modest Afflict values are more of a grind than a finisher, but they reward aggressive attacking.
Iconic cards with Afflict
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