Hornbash Mentor
Creature — Human Warrior
When this creature enters, put a trample counter on target non-Human creature you control.
, 
: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control with trample.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #12146
Hornbash Mentor turns every trample creature you control into a +1/+1 counter engine, handing out counters at end of combat whenever one of them connects. Three mana for a 3/3 that snowballs your board through normal attacks is efficient enough that Skullbriar, the Walking Grave decks run it in over 60% of lists.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave wants counters stacked as fast as possible, and Hornbash Mentor delivers one every combat step Skullbriar swings through a player — trample ensures it almost always connects, so the engine runs itself with minimal support.
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 |
Hornbash Mentor is a Commander card through and through — the payoff compounds over multiple turns and multiple creatures, which is exactly the environment a 100-card singleton game provides. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern or Pioneer, three mana for a delayed, combat-dependent counter effect is too slow against faster clocks, and it rarely sees play there. Legacy and Vintage have the card pool to build around it but no incentive to: better engines exist at lower cost. Stick to Commander, where the trample synergy has room to snowball.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Hornbash Mentor is deep bulk — easy to pick up in any trade binder or cheap online order. Bulk rares with narrow synergy profiles like this rarely climb, so don't expect the price to move unless a high-profile trample-counter commander pushes demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.