MeCho wrote:
Can someone explain to me how Emissary of the afterlife works then?
Emissary of the afterlife looks at the cards in your graveyard. This means, it looks at the cards that are CURRENTLY DISPLAYED as having been discarded during a recent turn. Once the information is no longer onscreen due to another turn taking place, the graveyard is empty. The graveyard terminology was a recent change to reduce card text in multiple cases.
In general, card effects will always use information that is visible onscreen. You should never have to go back and hunt through the game's history to see how much of an effect playing something will have. (The only exception to the information being onscreen is when it relies on your opponent's current hand and that hand is hidden from your view.)