Consulate Surveillance
Enchantment
When this enchantment enters, you get 
(four energy counters).
Pay : Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you this turn by a source of your choice.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Kaladesh
- Price
- $0.25
- EDHREC rank
- #12222
Consulate Surveillance turns every Energy counter into a shield — pay two to prevent all damage from any source, repeatable as long as your Energy supply holds. Dr. Madison Li decks run it because they generate enough Energy to make the protection effectively permanent, which means it's a staple in that shell and a niche card everywhere else.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Dr. Madison Li
Dr. Madison Li's constant Energy production makes Consulate Surveillance a near-indestructible defensive engine — you're rarely paying a meaningful cost when counters are refilling every turn.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Consulate Surveillance is a role-player in Energy-centric builds rather than a universal include — the card does nothing without a steady counter supply, so it lives or dies by your commander choice. Outside of Dr. Madison Li and a handful of other Energy commanders, the protection effect is too conditional to justify the slot. In competitive formats like Modern and Pioneer it's essentially unplayed, where dedicated protection spells are cheaper and more reliable than a three-mana enchantment that demands a parallel resource system. Legacy and Vintage have no interest in this effect at any price. Consulate Surveillance is a Commander card through and through, and even there it earns a slot in roughly one archetype.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.25 bulk tier
At $0.25, Consulate Surveillance is firmly bulk — easy to pick up without a second thought. The price reflects the narrow metagame fit: high demand inside Dr. Madison Li decks keeps it from hitting true penny status, but it's unlikely to climb without a breakout Energy commander pushing inclusion rates higher.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.