Primal Empathy
Tracked across real Commander games played through TurnZero HQ.
What it does
At the beginning of your upkeep, draw a card if you control a creature with the greatest power among creatures on the battlefield. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control.
Rulings
4 official rulings, in the order Wizards published them.
- 2020-04-17
If you control no creatures, you do nothing as Primal Empathy's ability resolves. If there are no creatures on the battlefield at all, you don't draw a card.
- 2020-04-17
If the greatest power among creatures on the battlefield is shared by a creature you control and a creature you don't control, you draw a card.
- 2020-04-17
If you don't control a creature with the greatest power, you choose which creature gets a +1/+1 counter while the ability is resolving. Players can't take actions in between the time you make this choice and the time that creature has a +1/+1 counter.
- 2020-04-17
You determine whether you draw a card or put a +1/+1 counter only as Primal Empathy's triggered ability begins resolving. Players may respond to the ability to try to change which happens.
Rulings are Wizards of the Coast's own, mirrored from Scryfall and refreshed nightly.
In the 99
Every deck whose current list includes Primal Empathy, whatever its commander.
Most played under
| Commander | Decks | Games | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrix and Nev, Twincasters | 1 | 0 | — |
| Kros, Defense Contractor | 1 | 0 | — |
| Me, the Immortal | 1 | 0 | — |
Colors it shows up in
- Simic 1 deck
- Temur 1 deck
- Bant 1 deck
Primal Empathy price history
The New Capenna Commander #348 printing, as Scryfall reports the TCGplayer market. Updated nightly. Click any version below to chart its price.
Every recorded price change
| Date | Non-foil |
|---|---|
| Nov 13, 2026 | $0.32 |
| Nov 2, 2026 | $0.32 |
| Oct 30, 2026 | $0.33 |
| Oct 29, 2026 | $0.34 |
| Oct 8, 2026 | $0.32 |
| Oct 7, 2026 | $0.34 |
| Oct 5, 2026 | $0.33 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | $0.34 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | $0.32 |
A row is recorded only on nights the price moved, so each price held until the row above it.
Every version of Primal Empathy
3 printings, newest first. Prices are the market figures Scryfall publishes, refreshed nightly. A printing with no figure shows a dash rather than a zero, because Scryfall publishes none for some of them. Click a card's art to chart that version's price above.
- Normal
- $0.32
- Normal
- $0.32
- Normal
- $0.18
- Foil
- $0.30
Prices from Scryfall, which tracks the TCGplayer and Cardmarket markets. They move daily and are a guide rather than a quote. Search TCGplayer for Primal Empathy. It runs a name search across every version, which covers the printings TCGplayer publishes no direct link to.
Aggregated from Commander games tracked in TurnZero HQ. Every figure counts decks and games only. No individual deck list, player or playgroup is identified. Win rates are withheld below 5 completed games, where the sample is too small to mean anything.
