Karn, Argent Defender

Bracket

• B1 Exhibition — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
• B2 Core — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
• B3 Upgraded — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
• B4 Optimized — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
• B5 cEDH — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list

Why

• No Game Changer, mass land denial, extra turn, tutor or two-card combo

How Lotus Vault estimates a bracket

Bracket: Lotus Vault analysis, with Commander Spellbook flags

Combos

No known combos for this card.

Combos: Commander Spellbook

Rulings

• 2026-08-21 · Wizards of the Coast
  Replacement effects, such as a permanent entering the battlefield tapped or with counters on it, are unaffected. Abilities that apply "as [this permanent] enters" are replacement effects.
• 2026-08-21 · Wizards of the Coast
  The trigger event doesn't have to specify artifacts or creatures entering the battlefield. For example, Tireless Tracker has an ability that says "Whenever a land you control enters, investigate." If an artifact land or creature land you control enters, that ability won't trigger. If a nonartifact, noncreature land you control enters, the ability will trigger.
• 2026-08-21 · Wizards of the Coast
  Look at the permanent as it exists on the battlefield, taking into account continuous effects, to determine whether any triggered abilities will trigger. For example, if you control Opalescence, which says, in part, "Each other non-Aura enchantment is a creature," each enchantment will be a creature at the time it enters the battlefield and will not cause triggered abilities to trigger.
• 2026-08-21 · Wizards of the Coast
  Triggered abilities use the word "when," "whenever," or "at." They're often written as "[Trigger condition], [effect]." Some keyword abilities are triggered abilities and will have "when," "whenever," or "at the beginning of" in their reminder text.
• 2026-08-21 · Wizards of the Coast
  If Karn, Argent Defender and another artifact or creature enter the battlefield at the same time, neither one will cause triggered abilities to trigger when they enter the battlefield.

Rulings: Scryfall · Wizards of the Coast