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Commander Nexus
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  3. Isareth the Awakener

Command zone

Isareth the Awakener

Isareth the Awakener

Legendary Creature — Human Wizard

Isareth the Awakener wants a deck that brings big creatures back from the discard pile. It also works in a deck built around Humans or Wizards.

  • Mana cost1 genericblackblack
  • Black ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 3
  • RarityRare

Deathtouch

Whenever Isareth attacks, you may pay X. When you do, return target creature card with mana value X from your graveyard to the battlefield with a corpse counter on it. If that creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else.

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Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Isareth the Awakener

Picked for what they do in Isareth the Awakener's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Isareth the Awakener'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

Does what Isareth the Awakener does6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Isareth the Awakener

explain how Isareth the Awakener 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 13 Jul 2018

Because all attacking creatures are chosen at once, a creature returned this way can't attack during the same combat as it returns, even if it has haste.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

Because to die means to be put into a graveyard from the battlefield, a creature that is exiled instead doesn't "die." Abilities that would trigger when it dies won't trigger.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If a card in your graveyard has {X} in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If Isareth leaves the battlefield, the replacement effect continues to apply. If one of the creatures it returned would leave the battlefield, it'll be exiled instead.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If you somehow remove a corpse counter from a creature Isareth has returned to the battlefield, the replacement effect that will exile it continues to apply. The counter is only to help remind you which creatures will be exiled if they would leave the battlefield.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

Isareth's triggered ability goes on the stack without a target. While that ability is resolving, you may pay {X}. When you do, a second ability triggers and you pick a target creature card to return. This is different from abilities that say "If you do . . ." in that players may cast spells and activate abilities after mana is paid and the target creature card is chosen, but before that card is returned.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Isareth the Awakener, 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 glossaryBPlayers write colors as letters: B for black.ReanimatorReanimator decks put big creatures into their own graveyard early, then bring them back onto the battlefield without paying their cost. It gets a huge creature into play far sooner than you could afford to cast it.Open the Reanimator pageReanimationReturns a creature card from a graveyard straight to the battlefield, skipping its mana cost. That is why decks built around it put their biggest creatures into the graveyard on purpose. Named for Reanimate. Animate DeadOpen the Reanimation 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 pageCounter ManipulationAdds, moves or multiplies counters already on permanents. It works on any kind (+1/+1, loyalty, charge), so the same card can serve very different decks. Karn's Bastion, Doubling SeasonOpen the Counter Manipulation page