Gyre Sage
Creature — Elf Druid
Evolve (Whenever a creature you control enters, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
: Add 
for each +1/+1 counter on this creature.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- March of the Machine Commander
- Price
- $5.93
- EDHREC rank
- #830
Gyre Sage starts as a 0/3 that taps for one green, but it snowballs fast — every +1/+1 counter it receives adds a mana to its output, and in counter-heavy shells it routinely produces five or more mana by turn four. The ceiling is Staff of Domination territory, where a sufficiently large Sage generates infinite mana without any other combo piece; Tidus, Yuna's Guardian decks run it at nearly 80% inclusion for exactly that reason.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tidus, Yuna's Guardian
Tidus, Yuna's Guardian triggers evolve on every spell with a higher power or toughness than Gyre Sage's current stats, stacking counters so quickly that the Sage becomes a mana engine within a single turn cycle — it's the engine that lets the deck go from parity to infinite mana faster than almost any other two-card setup.
Tyvar the Bellicose
Tyvar the Bellicose lets Elves tap for mana the turn they enter, which means Gyre Sage can produce green mana immediately and then grow larger with every counter trigger Tyvar generates, compressing the usual two-turn setup into one.
Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener
Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener doubles counters on attack, which can take Gyre Sage from a modest two- or three-mana producer to a six-or-more-mana producer in a single combat step.
Dionus, Elvish Archdruid
Dionus, Elvish Archdruid cares about large individual creatures tapping for mana, and a Gyre Sage that has evolved three or four times slots neatly into that payoff structure while also triggering Dionus's own counter distribution.
Ezuri, Claw of Progress
Ezuri, Claw of Progress converts every experience counter into a +1/+1 counter payload, and Gyre Sage enters as a two-power creature that immediately earns an experience counter — then each subsequent counter Ezuri places on it further inflates its mana output.
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 where Gyre Sage actually lives — the format's longer games give it the time to evolve multiple times, and the density of counter synergies in green makes the payoff reliable rather than theoretical. In Modern and Pioneer it's too slow for the threats it would fund; you'd rather play a mana dork that works on turn two without preconditions. Legacy and Vintage have faster, more redundant mana engines that make a conditional creature look clunky by comparison. Gyre Sage is a Commander-first card, full stop.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Staff of DominationGyre Sage
Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers; Infinite lifegain; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite mana creatures you control can produce; Infinite untap of creatures you control; Infinite green mana
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Umbral MantleGyre Sage
Infinite green mana; Infinitely large creature until end of turn; Infinite untap of creatures you control; Infinite mana creatures you control can produce
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Sword of the ParunsGyre Sage
Infinite mana creatures you control can produce; Infinite untap of creatures you control; Infinite green mana
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Experiment KrajGilder BairnGyre Sage
Infinite green mana; Infinite proliferate
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Incubation Druid fills a nearly identical role — it also taps for one of any color your commander produces and gains the ability to tap for three once it has a +1/+1 counter, making it a close functional analogue at a lower price point. Faeburrow Elder is another option in multicolor decks that often taps for more mana than Gyre Sage in the mid-game, though it doesn't scale with counters the same way.
Price Context
Current price
$5.93 mid tier
At $5.93, Gyre Sage sits in the mid tier — not a casual pickup but not a budget obstacle either. Its price is stable because demand is narrow and specific: it's an auto-include in a handful of counter-heavy commanders rather than a broad staple, so the ceiling on further price increases is low.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.