Elesh Norn wants a deck that hurts every player at once and outlasts the pain. It also suits a deck that sacrifices its own creatures to drain opponents' life.
Mana cost
White ()
Power / toughness3 / 5
RarityMythic
Vigilance
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you or a permanent you control, that source's controller loses 2 life unless they pay .
, Sacrifice three other creatures: Exile Elesh Norn, then return it to the battlefield transformed under its owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery.
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(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.)
I — Incubate 2 five times, then transform all Incubator tokens you control.
II — Creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain double strike until end of turn.
III — Destroy all other permanents except for artifacts, lands, and Phyrexians. Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield (front face up).
Picked for what they do in Elesh Norn's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Elesh Norn'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 Elesh Norn 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 Coast14 Apr 2023
Elesh Norn’s triggered ability will trigger separately for each permanent dealt damage by a source an opponent controls, plus once if you’re dealt damage by that source. For example, if an opponent casts a spell that deals damage to you and two creatures you control, Elesh Norn’s ability will trigger three times. Each of those abilities will cause that opponent to lose 2 life unless they pay {1}.
Wizards of the Coast14 Apr 2023
Similarly, the triggered ability will trigger separately for each source an opponent controls that deals damage to you or a permanent you control. For example, if three creatures controlled by an opponent block and deal damage to an attacking creature you control, Elesh Norn’s ability will trigger three times.
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.Group SlugGroup Slug decks hurt every player at the table at once, then make sure they can survive the pain better than anyone else. Typical cards make each player take damage or lose life whenever they draw, cast a spell or tap a land for mana.Open the Group Slug pageGroup Slug / PunisherDeals damage or drains life from every opponent at once, or forces a choice where each option hurts. It usually sits on a permanent and fires over and over rather than doing it a single time. ManabarbsOpen the Group Slug / Punisher pageToken MakerCreates one or more tokens. Different cards make very different ones: creatures Grave Titan, Treasures Smothering Tithe, Clues Tireless Tracker or Food Gilded Goose. This is one of our largest tags, so pair it with an archetype or theme when you are hunting a specific kind.Open the Token Maker pageAristocratsAristocrats decks sacrifice their own creatures on purpose and profit every time one dies, often by draining life from each opponent. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you like, decides when that happens.Open the Aristocrats pageSacrifice OutletA permanent that lets you sacrifice your own creatures or artifacts whenever you want, usually for free. Every Aristocrats deck needs one, because cards that reward a creature dying only help if you choose when it dies. Ashnod's Altar, Viscera SeerOpen the Sacrifice Outlet pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink 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 pageSacrificeSacrifice decks give up their own creatures, Treasures and other cards on purpose and get something back each time. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you want, is the heart of the deck.Open the Sacrifice pageCombat TrickAn instant you cast during a fight to change how it ends: making a creature bigger or smaller, or keeping your creatures from dying. Boros Charm, Flawless ManeuverOpen the Combat Trick pagePhyrexiansPhyrexians are the machine-and-flesh villains of Magic's story, found in every color. Many use poison counters through infect or toxic.Open the Phyrexians pageIncubateIncubate makes an Incubator, an artifact token with +1/+1 counters on it. Pay 2 mana later to flip it into a Phyrexian artifact creature that keeps those counters.Open the Incubate pageOverrunMakes your whole team bigger at once, usually with trample or another way past blockers. It turns a big group of creatures into a winning attack. Craterhoof Behemoth, Akroma's WillOpen the Overrun page
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