Norin the Wary
Legendary Creature — Human Warrior
When a player casts a spell or a creature attacks, exile Norin. Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Time Spiral
- Price
- $23.32
- EDHREC rank
- #4972
Norin the Wary is a one-mana creature that triggers every enters-the-battlefield payoff in the game — repeatedly, automatically, every turn cycle — without ever attacking or dying. Pair it with Purphoros, God of the Forge and opponents take two damage every time Norin blinks back in; slot it under Yomiji, Who Bars the Way and it returns to hand instead of exile, setting up even more abuse.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Norin the Wary is the premier Purphoros, God of the Forge engine piece — it triggers Purphoros's damage ping on every player's turn with zero additional investment, making it the most reliable repeated damage source in the deck.
Fire Lord Zuko
Fire Lord Zuko rewards aggressive red creatures and combat pressure, and Norin the Wary provides a perpetual flicker loop that fuels any 'whenever a creature enters' synergy Zuko's shell runs alongside him.
Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer
Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer builds around creature-dense, enter-the-battlefield value engines, and Norin the Wary slots in as a one-mana piece that never stops triggering those payoffs across every turn of the game.
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 Norin the Wary actually lives — four opponents means four upkeeps, four combat phases, and four opportunities to blink back and trigger whatever payoff engine you've assembled. In Legacy and Vintage, it's legal but irrelevant outside of niche combo lists, since its passive flicker pattern doesn't map onto those formats' threat axes. Modern is the same story: Norin the Wary is too slow and too parasitic to see competitive play in a format that doesn't care about repeated ETB value. Oathbreaker is legal and could support a red ETB build, though the two-card commander structure limits how deep you can lean on a single synergy piece.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Yomiji, Who Bars the WayPhyrexian AltarNorin the Wary
Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite storm count
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Yomiji, Who Bars the WayThermopodNorin the Wary
Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite storm count
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
There's no true budget replacement for Norin the Wary — the self-flickering loop at one mana is unique, and cheaper ETB creatures require spells or tapping to reuse. Dockside Extortionist or Impact Tremors get you into adjacent territory on the payoff or enabler side, but if the goal is a creature that triggers on its own every turn with no upkeep cost, Norin is the only card doing that job.
Price Context
Current price
$23.32 premium tier
At $23.32, Norin the Wary sits in premium singleton territory — steep for a creature with no power or toughness that can't attack or block, but justified by the fact that nothing else replicates what it does. It's a niche card with a very high ceiling in dedicated ETB shells, so the price reflects demand from a narrow but committed player base rather than broad format utility.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.