Karn's Sylex
Legendary Artifact
Karn's Sylex enters tapped.
Players can't pay life to cast spells or to activate abilities that aren't mana abilities.
, 
, Exile Karn's Sylex: Destroy each nonland permanent with mana value X or less. Activate only as a sorcery.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Dominaria United Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #12804
Karn's Sylex is a zero-mana lock piece that shuts off mana abilities from lands with mana value equal to or less than the oil counters on it, then cashes out to destroy all nonland permanents with mana value equal to or less than those counters — a selective board wipe and passive hate piece rolled into one artifact. The activation cost (tapping plus removing all counters) means you only get one blast, so the real question is always whether the board state justifies pulling the trigger or whether Aether Storm-style passive pressure is already doing enough work. Pair it with Karn, Legacy Reforged to charge the counters faster and the card earns its slot immediately.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Karn, Legacy Reforged
Karn, Legacy Reforged generates oil counters at an accelerated rate through its passive, meaning Karn's Sylex reaches a meaningful threshold faster than it would under any other commander — blow up everything with mana value 4 or less by mid-game while the rest of your colorless artifact shell sits comfortably above the blast radius.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Karn's Sylex occupies a rare position: a cheap-to-cast artifact that doubles as passive hate and a late-game reset, both of which are hard to find in colorless decks that can't access traditional sweepers. The oil counter accumulation is slow in singleton pods without dedicated support, so it rewards artifact-heavy builds that can exploit the on-board restriction before activating. In Modern and Pioneer, it sees occasional sideboard play against aggressive strategies where the low-mana-value wipe range hits most of the threatening permanents cleanly. Legacy and Vintage have faster, more powerful options, so Karn's Sylex rarely competes there except in dedicated Karn shells. Across all formats, the card's ceiling is high in the right shell and underwhelming when you're just looking for generic removal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Karn's Sylex isn't available at the moment, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live figure before buying. Given its niche role as a colorless-deck staple rather than a cross-format all-star, it has historically sat in the accessible range — worth picking up for any serious Karn, Legacy Reforged build regardless of where it lands.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.