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Gnome
Gnome
Creature Type
(Subtype for creature/tribal cards)
Beeble Scale 7[1]
Statistics
33 cards
{W} 18.2% {U} 12.1% {R} 9.1% {G} 9.1% {R/W} 3% {M} 9.1% {artifact symbol} 39.4%
15 Gnome creation cards
{W} 46.7% {U} 6.7% {R/W} 6.7% {M} 6.7% {artifact symbol} 26.7% {land symbol} 6.7%
as of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Scryfall Search
type:"Gnome"

Gnome is a creature type used for cards that depict a species of diminutive beings that inhabit the interior of the earth. They are inventive, and adept at mining and tunneling.

History[ | ]

The first card to bear the type while depicting a lifelike creature was the red Quarum Trench Gnomes in Legends, which remained the only non-artifact Gnome until Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms introduced more.

Artifact creatures[ | ]

Most often, gnomes are represented as small artifact creatures, built by dwarves or wizards.[2] When building gnomes, dwarves, in particular, adhere to the highest standards of construction; the gnomes themselves aren't as particular, using any appropriate materials to facilitate repair work and modifications. It is said, in fact, that if you leave eleven gnomes overnight with a room of parts, by morning you'll have ten gnomes and a new mechanical monstrosity.[3]

Examples of artifact gnomes are Copper Gnomes, Patchwork Gnomes, Ticking Gnomes and Bottle Gnomes.[4]

Storyline[ | ]

Dominaria[ | ]

The Shadow Gnomes of Yavimaya on Dominaria aren't seen often. Evidence of their existence can be seen in the form of the strange burrows they use to inter the dead. They live in dirt-lined tunnels underground, among the roots of the trees. They sometimes emerge at night, startling the other dwellers of Yavimaya with their huge, luminous eyes.[5][6]

Steel, one of the Burning Isles, was inhabited by mechanical Gnomes.

Eldraine[ | ]

Clockwork gnomes are among the artifact creatures built by the artisans of Eldraine.

Ixalan[ | ]

The Gnomes of Ixalan are small, cosmium-powered mechanical creatures with jointed bodies formed from various kinds of metal.[7] Each has a single glowing eye in a range of colors. The Oltec have utilized gnomes since the end of the Night War, when they captured and reverse-engineered the technology to create them from the Coin Empire.[8] Over the centuries, the Oltec have refined gnome systems and expanded upon the earliest patterns, creating hundreds of variants that fill roles from simple foodservice automatons to complex models capable of deep thought. The word "gnome" is foreign to the Oltec but is nevertheless used to acknowledge the automatons' foreign roots — not as a grace or credit to the invaders but as a reminder to the living Oltec.[9] They didn't exist on the surface of Ixalan prior to the opening of the Core, though the Sun Empire has expressed interest in acquiring them.

Ulgrotha[ | ]

Clockwork Gnomes were minute creations built by students beginning their education at Feroz's Wizards' School on Ulgrotha, used as servants on the Floating Isle.

Notable Gnomes[ | ]

Trivia[ | ]

Tokens[ | ]

Tokens marked with {A} are created by Acorn cards.

Token Name Color Type Line P/T Text Box Source Printings
Gnome Colorless Artifact Creature — Gnome 1/1
Gnome Soldier White Artifact Creature — Gnome Soldier */* This creature’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of artifacts and/or creatures you control.

References[ | ]

  1. Mark Rosewater (August 22, 2019). "Hi Mark, So what are Gnomes on the Beeble scale both artifact and flesh?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  2. Mark Rosewater (October 26, 2023). "I was shocked that the couple of gnome spoiled so far don't even remotely look like gnomes.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  3. Flavor text for Copper Gnomes (Urza's Saga).
  4. Magic Arcana (October 08, 2003). "Sketches: Bottle Gnomes, Old and New". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022.
  5. James Wyatt. (2018.) The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Dominaria, VIZ Media.
  6. Ethan Fleischer (May 5, 2021). "Shadow Gnomes". Reddit.
  7. Valerie Valdes (October 20, 2023). "The Lost Caverns of Ixalan - Episode 4". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. Miguel Lopez (November 10, 2023). "Planeswalker's Guide to the Lost Caverns of Ixalan". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. Miguel Lopez (November 3, 2023). "The technology they are derived from is foreign to the Core.". Twitter.
  10. Mark Rosewater (Monday, June 07, 2004). "Myr Myr, Off The Wall". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. Wizards of the Coast (April 11, 2007). "Ask Wizards - April, 2007". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022.
  12. Monty Ashley (May 17, 2010). "Gnomes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021.
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