MagicTheGathering.fyi

Karlov Watchdog

Creature — Dog

Vigilance
Permanents your opponents control can't be turned face up during your turn.
Whenever you attack with three or more creatures, creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.

CMC
4
Mana cost
{3}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Murders at Karlov Manor
Price
$0.11
EDHREC rank
#19704
Buy on TCGplayer
Karlov Watchdog card art
Karlov Watchdog gives every creature you control ward 1 as long as it's tapped — a passive tax that compounds fast in go-wide or tap-heavy builds. Yarus, Roar of the Old Gods and Sophia, Dogged Detective both keep creatures tapped or working, which means the Watchdog's protection is almost always live.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Sophia, Dogged Detective

Sophia, Dogged Detective

13.9% of decks · synergy 0.14

Sophia, Dogged Detective's clue-generating engine keeps creatures in motion, and Karlov Watchdog turns that constant activity into a boardwide ward tax that forces opponents to spend extra mana on every answer.

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, Karlov Watchdog earns its slot in any deck that taps creatures regularly — token strategies, tap-to-activate synergies, or combat-heavy builds all get meaningful protection out of it. The effect doesn't stack with multiple copies, but in a 100-card singleton format that's irrelevant. In 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, Karlov Watchdog is too slow and too conditional — ward 1 on tapped creatures doesn't compensate for the opportunity cost of a two-mana do-nothing on untap. Standard has the tools to use it, but dedicated tap synergies aren't currently a competitive archetype there.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.11 bulk tier

At $0.11, Karlov Watchdog is pure bulk — easy to pick up in any collection trade or bulk bin. Bulk rares with niche Commander appeal rarely spike unless a breakout deck puts them on the map, so grab it now if the deck calls for it and don't expect the price to move.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

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