Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis
Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor // Enchantment — Saga
Ward 
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell with mana value 3 or greater, draw a card.
: Exile Jin-Gitaxias, then return it to the battlefield transformed under its owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery and only if you have seven or more cards in hand.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- March of the Machine
- Price
- $14.69
- EDHREC rank
- #3093
Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis lands as a nine-mana saga that reads opponents' hands, locks their spells, and draws cards equal to the most among all players — the impact is backbreaking if it survives a turn cycle. The cost is real: nine mana is a significant ask, and the card does nothing the turn you cast it, making it a liability against fast tables. Tom Bombadil decks are the natural home, where saga synergies offset that vulnerability.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil triggers on each of Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis's chapter abilities, meaning you're drawing cards and applying pressure from the moment the saga enters — the final chapter hits with extra force when you've already been grinding advantage off chapters one and two.
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus doubles proliferate triggers, and Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis's lore counters are proliferate targets — Tekuthal accelerates through the saga's chapters, getting to the hand-lock and draw payoff faster than any other commander.
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed cares about spells cast from exile, and Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis's final chapter lets you cast cards from opponents' hands — every stolen spell fuels Y'shtola's own engine while depleting opponents simultaneously.
Ashling, Rekindled
Ashling, Rekindled recurs permanents from the graveyard, so when Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis is removed after its first chapter, Ashling can bring it back and restart the saga engine rather than treating the investment as a total loss.
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 Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis earns its slot — the multiplayer environment means the final chapter's draw scales off the player with the most cards among four opponents, routinely drawing six to ten cards in a single trigger. In Legacy and Vintage, nine mana is nearly unreachable through fair means, and the effect, while powerful, doesn't compete with the format's raw speed; you'd need dedicated cheating-into-play infrastructure to make it viable. Pioneer and Modern are similarly hostile to a nine-drop saga that doesn't win immediately — the formats move faster than the chapter progression allows. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander 60-card format where Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis might see play, but only in dedicated saga or proliferate signatures.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Consecrated Sphinx fills a similar "draw off opponents" role at a fraction of the setup cost, though it lacks the hand-lock that makes Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis genuinely oppressive. If the saga's final chapter is the primary appeal, Minds Aglow or Stroke of Genius can replicate the mass-draw moment for far less mana, but neither punishes opponents' hand size the way Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis does across its chapter progression.
Price Context
Current price
$14.69 mid tier
At $14.69, Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel in a budget build, cheap enough that it's not a barrier in a powered Commander deck. The price is reasonable given the card's unique saga design and strong inclusion rate in Tom Bombadil lists, and it's unlikely to drop significantly as long as saga-matters builds remain popular.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Tom Bombadil
- Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus
- Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
- Ashling, Rekindled
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.