Card Spotlight
Meren of Clan Nel Toth
A {2}{B}{G} 3/4 that gets an experience counter whenever another creature you control dies. At your end step, it returns a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield if its mana value is at most your experience count, or to your hand if not.
Commander Spotlight
Meren of Clan Nel Toth ↗
A {2}{B}{G} 3/4 that gets an experience counter whenever another creature you control dies. At your end step, it returns a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield if its mana value is at most your experience count, or to your hand if not.
See Meren of Clan Nel Toth's full stats and printings →
Strategies it goes well with
- Sacrifice outlets. Viscera Seer and Carrion Feeder let you sacrifice creatures for free, and each one is an experience counter.
- Value creatures on loop. Eternal Witness and Sakura-Tribe Elder give you something every time they enter, so returning them each end step adds up.
- Death triggers. Blood Artist drains a player each time a creature dies, so the sacrifice loop also deals damage.
How it does in Commander
As the commander
As a Golgari commander it's a value engine that returns a creature every turn it survives, and it gets stronger as the game goes on. It's a well-known commander, so expect opponents to remove it early, and plan to recast it.
In the 99
In the 99 it's a strong card in any black-green sacrifice deck, though it's at its best in the command zone, where you can rely on it every game.
Formats it's strong in
- Golgari sacrifice decks. Every sacrificed creature is both an experience counter and a future end-step return.
- Long, grindy games. Experience counters accumulate, so the longer the game runs, the bigger the creatures Meren returns.
Formats it's weak in
- Pods with graveyard hate. Exiling your graveyard leaves Meren nothing to return.
- Fast, combo-heavy pods. One creature per turn is a slow engine against tables trying to win in a few turns.
Synergistic cards
Viscera Seer ↗
A one-mana sacrifice outlet that scries each time, turning any creature into an experience counter.
Eternal Witness ↗
Returns any card from your graveyard to hand when it enters, and Meren can return it every end step.
Sakura-Tribe Elder ↗
Sacrifices itself for a land, earns an experience counter, and comes back to do it again.
Blood Artist ↗
Drains a player for 1 whenever any creature dies, so every sacrifice also deals damage.
Is it worth the price?
Inexpensive. Meren has been reprinted several times, including in Commander Anthology, Commander Masters and Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander, which keeps the regular printings cheap.
Frequently asked questions
How many experience counters does Meren need?
Two or three is enough to return a cheap value creature to the battlefield every end step. Experience counters stay with you for the rest of the game, so the cap on what Meren returns keeps rising.
What happens if the creature costs more than my experience count?
It goes to your hand instead of the battlefield. You still get a card back every end step, it just costs mana to cast.
Do I keep experience counters if Meren dies?
Yes. Experience counters are on you, not on Meren, so they're still there when you recast it.