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Ephara, God of the Polis

Ephara, God of the Polis

Legendary Enchantment Creature — God

Ephara wants a deck that makes attacking it too costly, so opponents fight each other. It also works in a deck built around Gods / Devotion.

  • Mana cost2 genericwhiteblue
  • White, Blue ()
  • Power / toughness6 / 5
  • RarityMythic

Indestructible

As long as your devotion to white and blue is less than seven, Ephara isn't a creature.

At the beginning of each upkeep, if you had another creature enter the battlefield under your control last turn, draw a card.

Build a deck with Ephara Find it in the app

Archetypes

Cards That Fit Ephara, God of the Polis

Picked for what they do in Ephara's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Ephara'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.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Ephara, God of the Polis

explain how Ephara 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 Coast 15 Sep 2013

Hybrid mana symbols, monocolored hybrid mana symbols, and Phyrexian mana symbols do count toward your devotion to their color(s).

Wizards of the Coast 15 Sep 2013

If an activated ability or triggered ability has an effect that depends on your devotion to a color, you count the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents you control as the ability resolves. The permanent with that ability will be counted if it's still on the battlefield at that time.

Wizards of the Coast 15 Sep 2013

Mana symbols in the text boxes of permanents you control don't count toward your devotion to any color.

Wizards of the Coast 15 Sep 2013

Numeric mana symbols ({0}, {1}, and so on) in mana costs of permanents you control don't count toward your devotion to any color.

Wizards of the Coast 1 Feb 2014

Ephara's last ability checks at the beginning of each upkeep whether another creature entered the battlefield under your control last turn. If one did, it will trigger; otherwise, it won't. The ability will trigger only once no matter how many creatures entered the battlefield under your control that turn, as long as at least one did.

Wizards of the Coast 1 Feb 2014

If a noncreature permanent you control (such as an Aura with bestow) becomes a creature, it will not cause Ephara's last ability to trigger the following turn. This is true even if that noncreature permanent became a creature the same turn it entered the battlefield.

Wizards of the Coast 1 Feb 2014

The last ability will trigger regardless of what has happened to the creature that entered the battlefield on the previous turn. It doesn't matter whether it's still under your control or whether it's still on the battlefield.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

As a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color will determine whether any replacement effects that affect creatures entering the battlefield apply to that God. Because replacement effects are considered before the God is on the battlefield, the mana symbols in its mana cost won't be counted when determining this.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

Counters put on a God remain on it while it's not a creature, even if they have no effect.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

If a God is attacking or blocking and it stops being a creature, it will be removed from combat. It won't rejoin combat if it resumes being a creature later during that combat.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

If a God stops being a creature, it loses the type creature and the creature type God. It continues to be a legendary enchantment.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

If an effect causes a God to lose all abilities, its ability that causes it to stop being a creature still applies if appropriate.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

The abilities of Gods function as long as they're on the battlefield, regardless of whether they're creatures.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

The type-changing ability that can make a God not be a creature functions only on the battlefield. It's always a creature card in other zones, regardless of your devotion to its color. It's always a creature spell while it's on the stack.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

When a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color (including the mana symbols in the mana cost of the God itself) will determine if a creature entered the battlefield or not for abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield.

Wizards of the Coast 24 Jan 2020

Your devotion to two colors is the number of mana symbols among mana costs of permanents you control that are the first color, the second, or both. If an effect counts your devotion to two colors, a hybrid symbol that is both of those colors is counted just once.

16 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Ephara, and what they share.

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 glossaryWUPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, U for blue. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.PillowfortPillowfort decks make attacking you so costly or unappealing that opponents attack each other instead. Cards like Ghostly Prison make a player pay mana for every creature that attacks you, buying time for your own plan.Open the Pillowfort pageProtectionA creature with protection from something, like a color, is safe from anything with that quality. It cannot be damaged, enchanted or equipped, blocked, or targeted by it, and players remember the four with the word DEBT. It does not stop effects that neither target nor damage, like a board wipe that destroys every creature. ProgenitusOpen the Protection pageGods / DevotionGods, and cards that count your devotion: the number of mana symbols of one color among the costs of your permanents. The Theros Gods cannot be destroyed, and only become creatures when your devotion to their color is high enough.Open the Gods / Devotion pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw page