Knight of the Ebon LegionHow it works & interactions with other cards

Scaling Power and Deathtouch

Knight of the Ebon Legion features an activated ability and a triggered ability. For three mana, you can pump its stats by +3/+3 and grant it deathtouch, making it an excellent mana sink in the late game. Its second ability checks at the beginning of your end step if any player lost 4 or more life during the turn. If that condition is met, the Knight receives a permanent +1/+1 counter.

Tracking Life Loss

The end step trigger is 'retrospective,' meaning it looks back at the entire turn to see if the criteria were met. It doesn't matter if Knight of the Ebon Legion was on the battlefield when the life loss happened; as long as it is present when the end step begins, the ability will trigger. Life loss includes damage, paying life for spells, or life drain effects. Crucially, gaining life does not 'cancel out' life loss for this check—if a player lost 4 life but gained 10 in the same turn, they still lost 4 life.

Strategic Implementation

To maximize this card, you should aim to deal at least 4 damage or force 4 life loss every turn. Because the trigger checks for 'a player,' this includes yourself. If you pay 4 life for your own spells, the Knight will still grow. The activated ability is best used to force trades or push through the final bits of damage needed to reach that 4-life threshold before your end step.

Interaction examples

Incremental Drain with Blood Artist

Blood Artist

If you have Blood Artist on the battlefield and four other creatures die during your turn, Blood Artist's ability triggers four times, causing an opponent to lose 1 life each time. During your end step, Knight of the Ebon Legion checks the total life lost. Since the player lost a total of 4 life, the Knight receives a +1/+1 counter.

Mana Fixing for the Pump

Ornithopter of Paradise

You can tap Ornithopter of Paradise to add one black mana to your pool. Combined with two other mana sources, you can activate Knight of the Ebon Legion's ability to give it +3/+3 and deathtouch. If the Knight then attacks and deals at least 4 damage to a player, it will trigger its own growth ability during the end step.

Late Arrival

Suppose you deal 4 damage to an opponent during your combat phase and then cast Knight of the Ebon Legion during your second main phase. When you move to your end step, the Knight is on the battlefield and sees that a player lost 4 life earlier in the turn. The ability triggers and the Knight gets a +1/+1 counter, even though it wasn't there when the damage was dealt.