Bloodmark Mentor
Creature — Goblin Warrior
Red creatures you control have first strike.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Salvat 2011
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #7646
Bloodmark Mentor gives every red creature you control first strike for two mana — a static, board-wide upgrade that turns combat into a blowout. In aggressive red decks, especially Gornog, the Red Reaper builds that flood the board with small red bodies, the effect is permanent pressure for a trivially low cost.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gornog, the Red Reaper
Gornog, the Red Reaper triggers off red creatures dealing combat damage, and Bloodmark Mentor makes sure those creatures survive the trade to trigger him in the first place — first strike means your attackers hit before blockers deal damage back.
Muxus, Goblin Grandee
Muxus, Goblin Grandee dumps a pile of Goblins onto the board in one swing, and Bloodmark Mentor turns that sudden army into a first-strike wall that wins combat the same turn it arrives.
General Kreat, the Boltbringer
General Kreat, the Boltbringer cares about red creatures connecting, and Bloodmark Mentor's first strike gives those creatures a structural edge in combat that makes connecting more reliable against any board state.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Bloodmark Mentor earns its keep — red creature-based strategies, particularly Goblin tribal and aggressive red token builds, want the passive first-strike grant badly enough that 77% of Gornog decks run it. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but ignored; those formats move too fast for a 2/2 that doesn't immediately affect the board state against non-creature strategies. Modern has enough redundancy in the tribal space that Bloodmark Mentor competes with more impactful two-drops and rarely sees play. Commander remains the clear home, where a three-turn clock with a wide board is normal and first strike on twenty creatures is a genuine game-state.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Bloodmark Mentor isn't available in this snapshot, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the most accurate figure. Historically it's been a bulk-rare-range card given its narrow application, so if you need it for a red creature deck, it's almost certainly an easy pickup.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Gornog, the Red Reaper
- Muxus, Goblin Grandee
- General Kreat, the Boltbringer
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.