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Judge Magister Gabranth

Legendary Creature — Human Advisor Knight

Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)
Whenever another creature or artifact you control dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Judge Magister Gabranth.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{W}{B}
Color identity
BW
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Final Fantasy
Price
$0.15
EDHREC rank
#9614
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Judge Magister Gabranth card art
Judge Magister Gabranth enters with a triggered ability that puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control whenever you pay life — a repeatable counter engine that turns every fetchland, Phyrexian mana spell, and life-payment into a board-wide buff. The cost is a four-mana 3/3 with no immediate protection, so it needs support like Animation Module to convert those counters into tokens before it dies.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness

Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness

61.6% of decks · synergy 0.58

Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness pays life as a core mechanic, which means Judge Magister Gabranth triggers on virtually every meaningful action Ardbert takes — the two create a self-sustaining loop where life loss fuels counters and counters fuel Ardbert's own payoffs.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Judge Magister Gabranth fills a specific niche in life-payment decks — anywhere opponents are also losing life (taxing commanders, Vito lines, aristocrats) it quietly scales up your board without requiring extra mana. In 1v1 formats like Modern and Pioneer it's too slow at four mana for what's essentially a passive trigger with no immediate impact, and competitive players won't pay that rate for a 3/3. Legacy and Vintage have better counter engines and more efficient life-payment payoffs, so it won't see play there outside casual tables. Standard is the one format where its power level is appropriate for the environment, though it's not a constructed staple even there.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.15 bulk tier

At $0.15, Judge Magister Gabranth is deep bulk — the price of a card nobody is chasing yet. Bulk mythics can spike hard if a new commander pushes the archetype, but at this price it's a zero-regret pickup for any deck that regularly pays life.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.