Emperor's Vanguard
Creature — Human Scout
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, it explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Ixalan Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #24056
Emperor's Vanguard is a four-mana 4/3 that draws a card whenever it deals combat damage to a player — solid stats, relevant trigger, clean rate. The catch is that four mana for a creature that dies to any removal before it connects is a real cost in competitive pods.
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 |
Commander is the natural home for Emperor's Vanguard — repeated card advantage off combat damage lines up well with go-wide or voltron strategies that are already pressuring multiple opponents. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer it's simply outclassed; those formats have cheaper, harder-to-answer draw engines that don't require landing attacks. Vintage has no room for a four-mana vanilla-statted creature regardless of the upside. Oathbreaker mirrors Commander's logic and is where Emperor's Vanguard can pull its weight, assuming your planeswalker strategy involves aggressive combat.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
No reliable price data is currently available for Emperor's Vanguard, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market before picking up copies. Given its niche Commander role and lack of competitive demand, it's unlikely to command a premium — expect bulk-rare territory until proven otherwise.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.