Elena wants a deck that is full of legendary creatures and other legendary cards. It also suits a deck that keeps making its creatures bigger turn after turn.
Mana cost
White ()
Power / toughness1 / 4
RarityRare
When Elena enters, return target non-Assassin historic card from your graveyard to your hand. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
Whenever you cast a historic spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Elena.
Picked for what they do in Elena's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Elena's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Elena works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
A historic spell is a spell that is legendary, is an artifact, or is a Saga.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
An ability that triggers "whenever you cast a historic spell" doesn't trigger if a historic card is put onto the battlefield without being cast.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
Lands are never cast, so abilities that trigger "whenever you cast a historic spell" won't trigger if you play a legendary land. They also won't trigger if a card on the battlefield transforms into a legendary permanent.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
Some abilities trigger "whenever you cast a historic spell." Such an ability resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWPlayers write colors as letters: W for white.Legends MatterLegends decks fill up on legendary cards and use cards that reward you each time you cast one. A legendary card has the word Legendary on its type line; you can only keep one with the same name in play, and nearly every commander is legendary.Open the Legends Matter pageHistoric PayoffRewards you for historic cards: the legendary cards, artifacts, and Sagas that Magic groups under that one word. In Commander your commander is always legendary, so these start with something to count. Jhoira, Weatherlight CaptainOpen the Historic Payoff pageCounter EngineAdds +1/+1 counters over and over rather than once. A counter here is a small permanent marker that raises a creature's power and toughness for good. It is not a counterspell, which is a different thing entirely. Something that adds them every turn makes your whole board bigger and keeps it that way. Hardened Scales, Corpsejack MenaceOpen the Counter Engine page+1/+1 Counters+1/+1 counter decks put small markers on their creatures that make each one permanently bigger, and keep adding more every turn. Each +1/+1 counter adds one to a creature's power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it can take).Open the +1/+1 Counters page+1/+1 CountersPuts +1/+1 counters on creatures, permanently raising their power and toughness. Unlike a temporary boost that wears off at end of turn, these markers stay put and stack up over a long game. Hardened Scales, The Great HengeOpen the +1/+1 Counters pageAssassinsAssassins are mostly black creatures that often destroy another creature. Many have deathtouch, so any damage they deal to a creature destroys it.Open the Assassins pageRecursionBrings cards back from the graveyard: to your hand, to the battlefield, or letting them be cast again from where they lie. Eternal Witness, Reanimate, VictimizeOpen the Recursion pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value page
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