Guardian Kirin
Creature — Kirin
Flying
Whenever another creature you control dies, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Modern Horizons 2
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #23254
Guardian Kirin lands as a 4/4 flying spirit that phases out a permanent whenever you cast a legendary spell — solid disruption stapled to a relevant body. The five-mana cost is fair for Commander but too slow for anything faster, so this is purely an EDH card.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Guardian Kirin is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but realistically it only has a home in Commander. In Legacy, Modern, and Vintage the five-mana cost and fair-rate body are completely outclassed by the format's speed and the abundance of better options. Pauper is technically on the table but Guardian Kirin is not a common, so it cannot appear there. Commander is where the phasing trigger pays off — decks with legendary-heavy lists, particularly Kamigawa-flavored spirit or legend-tribal builds, can trigger it repeatedly to keep threatening permanents perpetually phased out.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Guardian Kirin is deep bulk — the kind of card you pick out of a dollar box without thinking twice. Bulk rares rarely appreciate unless a specific combo or deck archetype pushes demand, and nothing about Guardian Kirin's role in Commander suggests that's coming.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.