MagicTheGathering.fyi

Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate

Legendary Creature — Human Noble // Legendary Planeswalker — Sorin

Lifelink
Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {W/B}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.)
At the beginning of each of your postcombat main phases, if you gained 3 or more life this turn, exile Sorin, then return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
BW
Rarity
mythic
Set
Modern Horizons 3
Price
$8.12
EDHREC rank
#3754
Buy on TCGplayer
Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate card art
Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate enters as a two-mana 1/4 lifelinker that transforms into a planeswalker the moment you gain life — which in a dedicated lifegain shell happens the same turn you play him. The back face's drain-and-pump ability does the work Revival // Revenge costs six mana to approximate, and Amalia Benavides Aguirre decks run him in roughly a third of lists because he slots cleanly into the explore-and-gain engine.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Amalia Benavides Aguirre

Amalia Benavides Aguirre

33.0% of decks · synergy 0.28

Amalia Benavides Aguirre's loop requires gaining life repeatedly, and Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate transforms off the very first trigger — putting a planeswalker on board the same turn Amalia starts exploring.

02
Astarion, the Decadent

Astarion, the Decadent

29.8% of decks · synergy 0.25

Astarion, the Decadent rewards incidental lifegain across the game, and Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate's lifelink body plus planeswalker drain feeds that counter-accumulation steadily without asking for dedicated support.

03
Licia, Sanguine Tribune

Licia, Sanguine Tribune

25.8% of decks · synergy 0.25

Licia, Sanguine Tribune discounts herself based on life gained in a turn, and Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate's lifelink on a cheap blocker means Licia can hit the battlefield a full turn earlier than her base cost suggests.

04
Karlov of the Ghost Council

Karlov of the Ghost Council

24.2% of decks · synergy 0.20

Karlov of the Ghost Council wants every life-gain trigger he can get, and Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate's lifelink guarantees at least one trigger on combat damage while the planeswalker back face adds more in the same turn.

05
Elenda, Saint of Dusk

Elenda, Saint of Dusk

20.4% of decks · synergy 0.16

Elenda, Saint of Dusk grows on life gained and needs a steady stream of small triggers to reach threatening size; Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate provides both a lifelink body early and a drain ability late that keeps the counters coming.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate earns his keep — lifegain synergy commanders are abundant, the two-mana entry point is nearly free, and a planeswalker that arrives on turn two or three is ahead of the format's tempo curve. In Legacy and Vintage he's legal but irrelevant; those formats don't support a lifegain-transformation subgame, and a 1/4 for two that doesn't interact with the stack isn't competing for those slots. Modern is his most interesting non-Commander home: white-black lifegain shells occasionally want the Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate package, though the competition at two mana is fierce enough that he's a fringe inclusion rather than a staple. Pioneer and Standard legality lapsed, so the Commander and Oathbreaker ecosystems are where his numbers are actually built.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

The honest budget alternative to Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate is a simple lifelink creature with an ETB drain — something like Gifted Aetherborn or Blood Artist — which costs pennies and provides similar incremental gain triggers without the planeswalker upside. You lose the transforming threat and the repeatable drain-and-pump, but in a deck that already has ten other lifegain payoffs, the functional difference is small enough that the $8 gap is real money better spent elsewhere.

Price Context

Current price

$8.12 mid tier

At $8.12, Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate include, cheap enough that it's not a barrier for most decks that actually want it. His price is stable as long as Amalia Benavides Aguirre stays a popular Commander build, but he has no broader competitive demand propping the floor if that archetype fades.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.