Card Spotlight
Karn, Gilded Guardian
A {2/W}{2/U}{2/B}{2/R}{2/G} 5/5 artifact creature with vigilance and trample. When it enters, you draw a card for each color among other artifacts you control.
Commander Spotlight
Karn, Gilded Guardian ↗
A {2/W}{2/U}{2/B}{2/R}{2/G} 5/5 artifact creature with vigilance and trample. When it enters, you draw a card for each color among other artifacts you control.
See Karn, Gilded Guardian's full stats and printings →
Strategies it goes well with
- Colored artifact creatures. Artifact creatures with colored costs, like the Gearhulks, each add a color to the count. Five colors means five cards.
- Artifact recursion. Karn is an artifact, so Sharuum the Hegemon can return it from the graveyard to the battlefield and draw again.
- Five-color decks. In a deck that produces all five colors it's a five-mana 5/5 with vigilance and trample, which is a strong rate before the draw trigger.
How it does in Commander
As the commander
As a commander its color identity is all five colors, so it leads a five-color deck that wants colored artifacts. The deck has to be built for the trigger, since most artifacts are colorless. Commander tax is generic, so the five-color mana base keeps recasts manageable.
In the 99
It can only go in a five-color deck. There it's a reasonable top end if the deck runs several colored artifacts, and a 5/5 for five with little else if it doesn't.
Formats it's strong in
- Five-color artifact decks. A deck that can cast it for five and controls artifacts in several colors draws three or more cards from it.
- Five-color decks with multicolor artifacts. Multicolor artifacts such as Sharuum the Hegemon and Sphinx of the Steel Wind add three colors each.
Formats it's weak in
- Decks with only colorless artifacts. Mana rocks and colorless Equipment add nothing to the count, so the trigger draws zero.
- Anything short of five colors. Its color identity keeps it out of every deck that isn't five-color, and paying two generic per missing color makes it expensive.
Synergistic cards
Sphinx of the Steel Wind ↗
A white, blue and black artifact creature, worth three cards to Karn on its own.
Sharuum the Hegemon ↗
Also white, blue and black, and its enter trigger can return Karn from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Verdurous Gearhulk ↗
A green artifact creature. With the Sphinx and a red artifact, Karn draws five.
Combustible Gearhulk ↗
A red artifact creature that adds the last color most artifact decks lack.
Is it worth the price?
A Reality Fracture rare that is inexpensive so far. The set releases October 2, 2026,, and early prices are still settling.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Karn, Gilded Guardian cost to cast?
Each symbol can be paid with one mana of its color or with two generic mana. With all five colors available it costs five mana. With none of them it costs ten. Its mana value is 10 either way.
Do Signets and Sol Ring count for Karn's draw trigger?
No. It counts colors among your other artifacts, and most mana rocks are colorless. You need colored artifacts, such as Sphinx of the Steel Wind (white, blue and black) or one of the Kaladesh Gearhulks.
Is Karn, Gilded Guardian an Echo variant?
Yes. It's the Reality Fracture echo of Karn, Argent Defender, the colorless two-drop that stops artifacts and creatures entering from triggering abilities. The echo rebuilds Karn in all five colors.