Drannith Magistrate
Creature — Human Wizard
Your opponents can't cast spells from anywhere other than their hands.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal
- Price
- $8.38
- EDHREC rank
- #670
Drannith Magistrate shuts off commanders from the command zone, extra turn spells cast from exile, and cascade hits in a single two-mana body — the effect is backbreaking and the cost is almost nothing. Pair it with Knowledge Pool or Lavinia, Azorius Renegade and you've locked opponents out of casting spells entirely; on its own it's already worth the slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade and Drannith Magistrate form one of Commander's tightest two-card locks — Lavinia stops spells cast without mana, the Magistrate stops spells cast from anywhere other than hand, and together they cover nearly every angle opponents have.
Winota, Joiner of Forces
Winota, Joiner of Forces wins through combat triggers that pull creatures directly from the library, and Drannith Magistrate protects that game plan by making it much harder for opponents to rebuild through their own commanders or exile-based card advantage.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is built to tax and frustrate, and Drannith Magistrate layers a hard restriction on top of the tax — together they don't just slow opponents down, they cut off whole categories of play.
Tayam, Luminous Enigma
Tayam, Luminous Enigma decks run a creature-dense stax shell, and Drannith Magistrate fits cleanly as a cheap, on-theme body that locks the command zone while Tayam grinds out value.
Tivit, Seller of Secrets
Tivit, Seller of Secrets occupies the high-powered Esper control space where protecting your own game plan matters as much as disrupting opponents', and Drannith Magistrate earns its slot by taxing commander-centric strategies while contributing a relevant creature type to the board.
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, Drannith Magistrate is a staple — blocking commanders from being cast from the command zone is a unique effect that no other card replicates at this price or power level. In Legacy and Vintage, it sees fringe play as a hate piece against cascade, Dredge lines that cast from exile, and certain storm setups, though it's fragile enough that dedicated combo decks can route around it. Modern and Pioneer treat it similarly: useful in sideboard configurations against specific archetypes but not a mainstay, since the format's combo density and the prevalence of bounce and removal limit how long it survives. Oathbreaker is essentially a Commander variant where the commander-zone restriction is just as punishing.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Uba MaskDrannith Magistrate
Players can't draw cards; Lock; Opponents can only cast the remaining spells in their hand
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Omen MachineDrannith Magistrate
Opponents can only cast the remaining spells in their hand; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Possibility StormDrannith Magistrate
Opponents can't cast spells; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Drannith MagistrateUrabrask, Heretic Praetor
Opponents skip their draw steps; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
There's no direct budget replacement for Drannith Magistrate's command-zone lock — it occupies a unique rules text space — but Meddling Mage can name a specific commander to approximate the effect at a similar price point, with the obvious downside that it only covers one card and telegraphs your target. If the goal is simply slowing commander-centric decks, Rule of Law effects like Eidolon of Rhetoric handle the spell-frequency angle at under a dollar, though they don't touch the zone restriction at all.
Price Context
Current price
$8.38 mid tier
At $8.38, Drannith Magistrate sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate inclusion, cheap enough that it belongs in any deck that can use it without a second thought. The effect is unique enough that there's a floor under the price; as long as Commander remains the dominant casual format, this doesn't get cheaper.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.