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  3. Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

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Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

Legendary Creature — Human Soldier

Xiahou Dun wants a deck that sacrifices its own creatures to drain opponents' life. It also suits a deck that gives up its own cards on purpose to get something back.

  • Mana cost2 genericblackblack
  • Black ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 2
  • RarityRare

Horsemanship (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with horsemanship.)

Sacrifice Xiahou Dun: Return target black card from your graveyard to your hand. Activate only during your turn, before attackers are declared.

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Themes

Cards That Fit Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

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

explain how Xiahou Dun 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 1 Oct 2009

Despite the similarities between horsemanship and flying, horsemanship doesn't interact with flying or reach.

Wizards of the Coast 1 Oct 2009

You can't activate Xiahou Dun's ability to return Xiahou Dun itself to your hand. You must choose a target before you sacrifice Xiahou Dun, so it's not a black card in your graveyard yet.

Wizards of the Coast 20 Sep 2013

If a turn has multiple combat phases, the ability can only be activated before the beginning of the declare attackers step of the first combat phase in that turn.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Xiahou Dun, 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.AristocratsAristocrats 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 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 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 pageGame ChangerCards that warp the game disproportionately around themselves, requiring immediate answers.What the brackets meanEvasionAn 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