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  3. Koya, Death from Above

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Koya, Death from Above

Koya, Death from Above

Legendary Creature — Mutant Ninja Bird

Koya wants a deck that removes its creatures and brings them right back to reuse them. It also works in a deck built around Birds, Mutants or Ninjas.

  • Mana cost2 genericwhite
  • White, Black ()
  • Power / toughness2 / 1
  • RarityUncommon

Flying

When Koya enters, exile up to one other target creature. At the beginning of the next end step, you may pay 3 genericblack. If you don't, return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control.

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Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Koya, Death from Above

Picked for what they do in Koya's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Koya'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 Koya, Death from Above does6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Koya, Death from Above

explain how Koya 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 27 Jan 2026

Auras attached to the exiled creature will be put into their owners' graveyards. Any Equipment will become unattached and remain on the battlefield. Any counters on the exiled creature will cease to exist. If the card returns to the battlefield, it will be a new object with no connection to the card that was exiled.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

If a token is exiled this way, it will cease to exist and won't return to the battlefield.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

If Koya leaves the battlefield before the delayed triggered ability goes on the stack at the beginning of the next end step, the delayed triggered ability will still resolve as normal. You'll still get the chance to pay {3}{B}, and if you don't, the exiled card will still return under its owner's control.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Koya, 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 glossaryWBPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, B for black.Blink/FlickerBlink decks briefly remove their own creatures from play and return them at once, so every 'when this enters' ability happens again. The move is called a flicker, and it can also rescue a creature from a spell aimed at it.Open the Blink/Flicker pageFlicker/SaveBriefly exiles a permanent you control and immediately returns it. That saves it from a kill spell like Swords to Plowshares, and it re-triggers any enter the battlefield ability: Mulldrifter flickered is two more cards. Ephemerate, Teferi's ProtectionOpen the Flicker/Save 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 pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion page