Morlun, Devourer of Spiders

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Morlun is a scalable X-cost black legendary vampire that enters with X +1/+1 counters and deals X damage (with lifelink attached to the counters) to a target opponent on ETB — effectively a drain effect tied to how much mana you sink in. Signature in counters-voltron and plus-one-counters shells where pumping a lifelink commander is a win condition, and in burn/drain strategies where the ETB ping accelerates closing out a 1v1 game. In Limited, a scalable lifelink threat with a drain ETB is a bomb at nearly any X value.

• Morlun's ETB damage is not lifelink-connected — the lifelink applies only to combat damage dealt by Morlun, not to the X damage he deals on ETB. You gain no life from the ETB trigger itself.

  tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

• Because Morlun's base P/T is 2/1 and the counters come from an ETB replacement-style effect, he is especially vulnerable to 'enters-the-battlefield' flicker effects resetting him to 2/1 with no counters — flickering him loses the X investment entirely.

  tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

• In Brawl at 25 starting life, casting Morlun for X=6 or more (8 mana) can represent a significant life-swing that is disproportionately impactful compared to the 40-life Commander format, making him a strong top-end in mono-black Brawl.

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• EDHREC rank: #10,120