Magic Character Profile: Who Is Emrakul in Magic: The Gathering?

A.L. Walser 54 minutes ago MTG Cards, MTG Story

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn | Illustration by Vincent Proce

Few threats in the Multiverses are as imposing as the Eldrazi; perhaps one of the most terrifying elements is the need to describe them as a threat rather than “villain” or “antagonist”. There’s no malice in their destruction, only all-consuming hunger that razes planes in their wake.

If one could rank cosmic entities of destruction, Emrakul must be placed at the top of the horror wrought by the three Eldrazi titans. Emrakul’s presence alone can warp the reality and fabric of a plane to her image—but who exactly is Emrakul, and which of her cards are worth playing?

Table of Contents show

Who/What Is Emrakul?

Emrakul, the Promised End | Illustration by Jaime Jones

Emrakul is one of the three Eldrazi titans that were imprisoned by the trifecta of Ugin, Nahiri, and Sorin centuries before the modern events of the Magic story. The planeswalkers learned of the Eldrazi threat and planned to trap them on Nahiri’s home of Zendikar with a clever hedron network. Later, Nissa would break the enchantment holding the Eldrazi in the hopes that they would flee Zendikar, but instead they stayed—with the exception of Emrakul, who returned to the Blind Eternities shortly after being freed.

Emrakul would return in Eldritch Moon, the second and final set of the Shadows over Innistrad block. She was summoned to Innistrad by Nahiri as an act of vengeance against Sorin, who abandoned Zendikar to the Eldrazi and imprisoned Nahiri within the Helvault. Emrakul’s coming corrupted the planes’ denizens and likely would have doomed them if not for the intervention of the Gatewatch, aided by Liliana Vess (who joined the Gatewatch following Emrakul’s attack) and Tamiyo. Though their combined powers were formidable, they were unable to kill Emrakul as they had Ulamog and Kozilek on Zendikar, and thus settled for sealing Emrakul within Innistrad’s silver moon, where she resides to this day.

Emrakul Cards in MTG

Emrakul, the World Anew

Emrakul, the World Anew can come down for the least mana of any Emrakul and has a splashy cast trigger—but it’s far from the best version of the card. The unique protection ability goes a long way towards keeping this Emrakul safe, but it’s a shame that killing it nullifies the boon you get from casting it.

Emrakul, the Promised End

Emrakul, the Promised End has my favorite Eldrazi cast trigger to resolve; stealing a player’s turn is incredibly funny, especially if you combine Emrakul with effects to bounce it back to your hand to recast and cards like Gerrard's Hourglass Pendant to make your opponents skip their extra turn. It’s also the Emrakul you’re most likely to encounter in Commander as a top-end threat for ramp and self-mill decks.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

The most iconic Emrakul is still the strongest, because annihilator is an ugly ability—so much so Mark Rosewater called it one of the worst designed mechanics in the game. The cast trigger gives you an extra turn so Emrakul basically always attacks (an inevitability aided by protection from colored spells that could remove it). Wizards set out to design a world-ending threat and captured it perfectly in this card.

Other Mentions of Emrakul in MTG

In Card Names

In Art/Flavor Text

Are Emrakul Cards Expensive?

Emrakul cards can be expensive, though the pricey ones are pretty exclusively printings of the Eldrazi herself, not Draft chaff that references her for flavor. As you’d expect, price correlates to the power and playability of the card.

Emrakul, the World Anew lags behind the others, except for the card that’s more expensive than any other Eldrazi. Most printings of this Emrakul cost about $5, with the borderless concept being an exception at around $22. There’s also a major outlier here: Those borderless concept art Eldrazi each had 250 serialized copies printed, so Emrakul, the World Anew is simultaneously the weakest Emrakul and the most expensive. The last copy of the serialized card sold on TCGplayer went for $2,249.

Emrakul, the Promised End goes for a higher price baseline, with the original Eldritch Moon printing and the Innistrad Remastered print going for around $15. The most expensive printing is the stamped prerelease promo from Eldritch Moon, which has a market price of $62, and the cheapest is the retro frame printing from INR at $13.

While Emrakul, the Aeons Torn doesn’t have the honor of the most expensive individual card, it’s the most expensive Emrakul on average, when not considering the serialized card. You won’t find a print cheaper than $21, which is the price for the reprints in Double Masters 2022 (including the borderless alt art) and Modern Masters 2015. If you really want to splurge, the Pro Tour promo goes for $105.

Why Is Emrakul Banned in Commander?

Emrakul is the best creature to cheat into play. The player who gets attacked with annihilator 6 probably loses the game, it’s a pain to interact with on the stack or on the battlefield, and it’s just so big. Even the heavily inflated life totals in Commander can’t keep up with it for too long.

The big issue here is hegemony. You could argue Emrakul isn’t powerful enough to warp the format around itself like a Nadu, Winged Wisdom, but it’s the best creature to cheat into play or ramp out so often that most decks would run it instead of more interesting alternatives. There’s also something to be said for it just being unfun as annihilator tends to remove players from the game without properly killing them, so they pretend to play Magic for 40 minutes after losing their board and being several land drops behind.

How Powerful Is Emrakul?

Time of Heroes | Illustration by Kekai Kotaki

In terms of game mechanics, Emrakul is a powerful top-end threat. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is queen, partnered with all sorts of cards like Sneak Attack and Show and Tell that allow you to cheat it into play. Though the others aren’t as dramatically powerful, they’re still great showstoppers that probably win the game if you figure out a way to cast them and don’t die to sleek threats like Ocelot Pride and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah.

Speaking on the lore, Emrakul is calamity made manifest. The Eldrazi titans and their broods ravaged Zendikar, but Emrakul alone is a plane-warping threat, as evidenced by her appearance on Innistrad, when she warped the plane’s denizens into eldritch abominations, horrific even by Innistrad’s standards.

Brisela, Voice of Nightmares | Illustration by Clint Cearley

While Innistrad is the plane of gothic horror, of things that go bump in the night, the Eldrazi are cosmic horror in the vein of Lovecraft, entities of such vastness that the mind cannot comprehend them properly. Emrakul is the most powerful Eldrazi we’ve encountered thus far and potentially one of the greatest threats in the Multiverse.

Is Emrakul Still Alive?

Yes. Emrakul was last seen during a major plot point in the story of Eldritch Moon, when Nahiri lured her to Innistrad to punish Sorin for abandoning Zendikar. The Gatewatch, aided by Liliana and Tamiyo, were unable to kill Emrakul like they had the other Eldrazi and instead sealed her within Innistrad’s silver moon, where she rests to this day. Just as Griselbrand was once sealed within the Helvault… of course, we know how well that worked.

Is Emrakul Female?

The Eldrazi almost certainly have no actual gender, the eldritch monstrosities that they are. The reason Emrakul is referred to with feminine pronouns (and Ulamog and Kozilek masculine) has to do with the timeline of the Eldrazi’s presence on Zendikar. The Eldrazi first came to Zendikar centuries before the story events of Rise of the Eldrazi that saw them released from the Eye of Ugin. The merfolk of Zendikar remembered them, but as gods: Ula (Ulamog), Emeria (Emrakul), and Cosi (Kozilek), as depicted on the card Shrine of the Forsaken Gods. Because the god Emeria was a woman, Emrakul is still generally referred to as she/her.

Bonus: Emrakul Deck in Legacy

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn | Illustration by Mark Tedin

Deck credit: TheGrimLavamancer

This Sneak & Show deck in Legacy was piloted by TheGrimLavamancer to a Top 8 finish in a recent Legacy Challenge on MTGO, and it highlights Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in all its glory. It leans on very old, poorly balanced cards like Sneak Attack and Show and Tell to cheat Emrakul, among other threats, into play.

The straightforward gameplan is backed up by fast mana from Lotus Petal and Simian Spirit Guide to power out the broken spells faster. While these effects are vulnerable to interaction, Daze and Force of Will let the Sneak & Show player tap out for a 3-mana Emrakul and still interact. The perfect hand is easy to sculpt with cantrips and draw spells like Brainstorm, Ponder, and Stock Up.

Wrap Up

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn | Illustration by Kev Walker

Emrakul is the greatest of the Eldrazi and potentially one of the greatest threats facing the multiverse, should she emerge from Innistrad’s moon. Surely Jace muddling around with the fabric of the Multiverse in Reality Fracture couldn’t reach her, right? Right?

Which Eldrazi titan is your favorite? Do you play any of the Emrakuls in any format? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord! And check out our YouTube channel, The Daily Upkeep.

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!

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A.L. Walser

A. L. Walser - also known as nissaflamecaller online - has been playing Magic since 2009 and the release of the original Zendikar set. An avid drafter with a bit of a Vorthos streak, his favorite aspect of playing Magic comes from the act of building a deck from nothing.