Elena, Turk Recruit
Legendary Creature — Human Assassin
When Elena enters, return target non-Assassin historic card from your graveyard to your hand. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
Whenever you cast a historic spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Elena.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Final Fantasy Commander
- Price
- $0.53
- EDHREC rank
- #6738
Elena, Turk Recruit lands a body that immediately pressures opponents through its combat-damage trigger, and the cost is low enough that you're rarely unhappy casting her. In Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER decks, she's close to a staple — she slots into the Materia engine and generates real value without asking much in return.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER
Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER runs Elena, Turk Recruit in over a quarter of its decks because she feeds the Materia-wielder archetype directly — her trigger generates resources the deck wants while her typing keeps her on-theme.
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness values Elena, Turk Recruit for the incremental life-loss pressure she generates, which stacks cleanly with Ardbert's own drain-based win condition.
Aerith Gainsborough
Aerith Gainsborough reaches for Elena, Turk Recruit because her triggered ability aligns with the spellslinger-adjacent value loops Aerith wants to sustain across a long game.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the only format where Elena, Turk Recruit has a real home — she's legal in Legacy and Vintage as well, but those formats have no interest in a value creature at this mana cost when the competition is Delver of Secrets and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. In Commander, she's a role-player rather than a cornerstone: slot her into FINAL FANTASY-themed builds or any shell that benefits from her trigger, and she earns her seat. Oathbreaker is technically an option, but her ceiling there is capped by the smaller card pool and faster clock.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.53 bulk tier
At $0.53, Elena, Turk Recruit sits firmly in bulk territory — low enough to pick up without a second thought. Bulk rares from specialty sets can tick up if demand concentrates in one commander archetype, but at this price you're buying a card to play, not to hold.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.