Knight Exemplar
Creature — Human Knight
First strike (This creature deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.)
Other Knight creatures you control get +1/+1 and have indestructible. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy them.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Magic 2011 Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #3352
Knight Exemplar turns your entire Knight army indestructible as long as it stays in play — that's a board-wipe answer stapled to a 2/2 body for three mana. Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir is the deck that wants this most, but any Knight-tribal shell treating it as a one-card Avacyn for the tribe is playing it correctly.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir is built around fielding a critical mass of Knights, and Knight Exemplar's blanket indestructibility means the board Jabari assembles survives every sweeper an opponent throws at it — making the combat math essentially unsolvable.
Dion, Bahamut's Dominant
Dion, Bahamut's Dominant leans on a Knight-creature base, and Knight Exemplar's tribal indestructibility keeps that base intact through the removal-heavy games where Dion's strategy would otherwise stall out.
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale wants her Knights to stay on the battlefield long enough to chain equipment draws and snowball card advantage, and Knight Exemplar is the single card that makes that engine resilient to sweepers.
The Council of Four
The Council of Four is a four-color value commander that incidentally runs Knights, and Knight Exemplar shows up here because protecting any Knight-heavy board is worth a three-mana slot regardless of the broader gameplan.
Elenda and Azor
Elenda and Azor builds around a Vampire-Knight overlap package in Orzhov, and Knight Exemplar's indestructibility covers the Knight half of that creature base against the targeted removal Elenda attracts.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Knight Exemplar does its best work — Knight-tribal decks are plentiful enough that the indestructibility clause is regularly protecting five or more creatures at once, and the three-mana cost lets it land before the first major sweeper. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but irrelevant; those formats don't have viable Knight-tribal strategies, and a 2/2 with a tribal anthem isn't competing at that table. Modern is the one non-rotating constructed format where Knight Exemplar could theoretically slot into a tribal build, but the absence of a competitive Knight shell means it stays on the bench there too. Pioneer and Standard have rotated it out entirely. Play it in Commander.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Knight Exemplar isn't available in this page's dataset — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number. It has seen multiple printings over the years, so supply is reasonable and it rarely commands a premium above what the tribal demand warrants.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir
- Dion, Bahamut's Dominant
- Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale
- The Council of Four
- Elenda and Azor
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.