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Ajani's Pridemate

Creature — Cat Soldier

Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Foundations Jumpstart
Price
$0.26
EDHREC rank
#2663
Buy on TCGplayer
Ajani's Pridemate card art
Ajani's Pridemate turns every life gain trigger into a permanent size increase, and on a two-mana body that snowballs through an entire game, the cost is almost insultingly low. Pair it with Agatha's Soul Cauldron to spread that counter-accumulation ability to other creatures, or slot it into Arahbo, the First Fang where Cat tribal life gain makes it a recurring threat that demands an answer every game.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Arahbo, the First Fang

Arahbo, the First Fang

80.3% of decks · synergy 0.75

Arahbo, the First Fang generates life gain naturally through its Cat-matters mechanics, and Ajani's Pridemate converts every one of those triggers into +1/+1 counters — in a tribal shell already pressuring life totals, Pridemate reliably closes games on its own.

02

Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

51.7% of decks · synergy 0.51

The lifegain theme baked into Ajani, Nacatl Pariah's token and combat plan means Ajani's Pridemate is growing almost every turn without any extra investment, making it one of the most consistent payoffs in the 99.

03
Trelasarra, Moon Dancer

Trelasarra, Moon Dancer

51.6% of decks · synergy 0.47

Trelasarra, Moon Dancer triggers on every life gain event, and Ajani's Pridemate is doing the exact same thing in parallel — both creatures grow from the same stream of triggers, so a single Soul Warden effect doubles the pressure on the board.

04
Heliod, Sun-Crowned

Heliod, Sun-Crowned

45.8% of decks · synergy 0.41

Heliod, Sun-Crowned's static ability puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature whenever you gain life, which stacks directly on top of Ajani's Pridemate's own triggered ability — every life gain event is effectively producing two counters across the two cards.

05
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

30.5% of decks · synergy 0.29

Oloro, Ageless Ascetic gains you life every upkeep from the command zone, which means Ajani's Pridemate is growing at minimum once per turn cycle before any other life gain sources even enter the picture.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Ajani's Pridemate is a reliable two-drop in any white or Selesnya life gain deck — the trigger fires off Soul Warden effects, Heliod activations, and combat damage from lifelinkers, and it scales into a legitimate threat by the midgame without any dedicated protection. In Modern and Pioneer, it sits in lifegain aggro shells alongside Fountain of Renewal and Linden, the Steadfast Queen as a cheap threat that demands early removal or spirals out of control. Legacy and Vintage are too hostile for a two-mana creature with no built-in protection, but it's technically legal if you're building a casual life gain list for those formats. Standard legality depends on current set rotation, but whenever Pridemate is in format it consistently slots into white weenie and life gain strategies as a one- or two-of threat.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.26 bulk tier

At $0.26, Ajani's Pridemate is deep bulk — multiple printings have pushed it to the floor and it will stay there. Buy as many as you need without hesitation; there is no meaningful price floor to fall through.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.