Skip to content
Karn's Sylex, art by Adam Paquette
Art by Adam Paquette · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · image via Scryfall
Selected printing · USD
$0.93
checked Jun 14, 2026 · Scryfall
Scryfall page →

Karn's Sylex

{3} · Legendary Artifact

Karn's Sylex enters tapped. Players can't pay life to cast spells or to activate abilities that aren't mana abilities. {X}, {T}, Exile Karn's Sylex: Destroy each nonland permanent with mana value X or less. Activate only as a sorcery.

Rulings (5)

Sep 9, 2022 · If a spell or an activated ability that isn’t a mana ability has a cost that requires a player to pay life, that spell or ability can’t be cast or activated.

Sep 9, 2022 · Other things may still cause players to pay life, such as a resolving spell or ability.

Sep 9, 2022 · Players may always pay 0 life, even if an effect says they can’t pay life.

Sep 9, 2022 · Activated abilities contain a colon. They’re generally written “[Cost]: [Effect].” Some keyword abilities are activated abilities (such as cycling) and will have colons in their reminder text.

Sep 9, 2022 · An activated mana ability is one that produces mana as it resolves, not one that costs mana to activate.

LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
ModernLegal
PioneerLegal
StandardNot legal
PauperNot legal
PremodernNot legal
cEDHLegal

Where it’s played now

Inclusion by archetype

% of archetype's lists running it · last 30 days · n=332 decks
ArchetypeFormatInclusionCopiesDecks (n)
EldraziLegacy18.8%16
TronModern11.7%171
TronLegacy2.1%1–2×145
Data as of Jun 14, 2026 · MTGO + papercasthaven.com

Price

Karn's Sylex — price trend

Daily cheapest printing · USD · last 90 days · n=2 snapshots
Data as of Jun 14, 2026 · Scryfallcasthaven.com

Recent qualifying decks