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Naban, Dean of Iteration

Naban, Dean of Iteration

Legendary Creature — Human Wizard

Naban wants a deck that removes its creatures and brings them right back to reuse them. It also suits a deck that is built around one creature type, like Elves or Dragons.

  • Mana cost1 genericblue
  • Blue ()
  • Power / toughness2 / 1
  • RarityRare

If a Wizard you control entering causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.

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Themes

Cards That Fit Naban, Dean of Iteration

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

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Naban, Dean of Iteration

explain how Naban 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 Apr 2018

Abilities that apply "as [this creature] enters the battlefield," such as choosing a card name with Meddling Mage, are unaffected.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

If a triggered ability is linked to a second ability, additional instances of that triggered ability are also linked to that second ability. If the second ability refers to "the exiled card," it refers to all cards exiled by instances of the triggered ability.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

If a Wizard entering the battlefield at the same time as Naban (including Naban itself) causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

If you somehow control two Nabans, a Wizard entering the battlefield causes abilities to trigger three times, not four. A third Naban causes abilities to trigger four times, a fourth causes abilities to trigger five times, and so on.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

In some cases involving linked abilities, an ability requires information about "the exiled card." When this happens, the ability gets multiple answers. If these answers are being used to determine the value of a variable, the sum is used. For example, if Elite Arcanist's enters-the-battlefield ability triggers twice, two cards are exiled. The value of X in the activation cost of Elite Arcanist's other ability is the sum of the two cards' mana values. As the ability resolves, you create copies of both cards and can cast none, one, or both of the copies in any order.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

Look at each permanent as it exists on the battlefield, taking into account continuous effects, to determine whether any triggered abilities will trigger multiple times. For example, if you control Arcane Adaptation with Wizard as the chosen creature type, a Runeclaw Bear entering the battlefield will cause any abilities it triggers to trigger an additional time.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

Naban affects a Wizard's own enters-the-battlefield triggered abilities as well as other triggered abilities that trigger when that Wizard enters the battlefield. Such triggered abilities start with "when" or "whenever."

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

Naban's effect doesn't copy the triggered ability; it just causes the ability to trigger twice. Any choices made as you put the ability onto the stack, such as modes and targets, are made separately for each instance of the ability. Any choices made on resolution, such as whether to put counters on a permanent, are also made individually.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

Replacement effects are unaffected by Naban's first ability. For example, a Wizard that enters the battlefield with one +1/+1 counter on it won't receive an additional +1/+1 counter.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Apr 2018

The trigger event doesn't have to specifically refer to "Wizards." For example, an ability that triggers "whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control" would trigger twice if the entering creature is a Wizard.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Naban, 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 glossaryUPlayers write colors as letters: U for blue. Blue is U because B was already taken by 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 pageETB PayoffRewards you whenever your permanents enter the battlefield. It either gives you something for each arrival or makes their 'when this enters' abilities happen twice. Impact Tremors, PanharmoniconOpen the ETB Payoff pageTrigger DoublerMakes your triggers fire an extra time. One trigger becomes two, which is where a lot of long chains start. Panharmonicon, Roaming ThroneOpen the Trigger Doubler pageTypal/KindredTypal decks are built around one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, with cards that make that type stronger. The type is printed after the dash on the card's type line, and the strategy is also called kindred or tribal.Open the Typal/Kindred pageTypal PayoffRewards you for playing lots of one kind of creature. That includes "lords" that make every other Goblin or Merfolk you control bigger, and cards that ask you to choose a creature type and then pay you off for it. A creature type is the word on the middle line of the card, like Goblin, Elf or Zombie.Open the Typal Payoff pageWizardsWizards are mostly blue spellcasters, and many reward you for casting instants and sorceries or draw you cards.Open the Wizards page