Loyal Guardian
Creature — Rhino
Trample
Lieutenant — At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you control your commander, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Treasure Chest
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #2872
Loyal Guardian puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control at the start of combat on your turn — on a 4/3 trample body for five mana, that's a board-wide pump every single combat. In counter-centric builds, particularly under Chishiro, the Shattered Blade where each of those counters triggers additional auras and equipment, the value compounds fast enough to justify the slot unconditionally.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Chishiro, the Shattered Blade
Chishiro, the Shattered Blade creates a Spirit token whenever a creature enters with a +1/+1 counter, so Loyal Guardian's combat-step distribution turns every attack into a token flood. It's the premier home for the card, which is why over half of all Chishiro lists run it.
Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
Hamza, Guardian of Arashin reduces creature costs by one for each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter, and Loyal Guardian hands out those counters to the whole board every turn — keeping your cost reduction online and growing simultaneously.
Emmara, Soul of the Accord
Emmara, Soul of the Accord goes wide with lifelink tokens, and Loyal Guardian turns that token swarm into a genuine clock by stacking counters across every body before combat.
Volo, Guide to Monsters
Volo, Guide to Monsters copies each creature spell of a type not already represented, so a copied Loyal Guardian means two separate combat-step triggers distributing counters to the entire board each turn.
Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion // Master Chef
Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion // Master Chef adds an extra counter whenever any counter is placed on a creature, which means Loyal Guardian's board-wide distribution effectively doubles — every creature gets two counters per combat instead of one.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Loyal Guardian is a Commander card through and through — its power scales directly with board size, and multiplayer games give it the time and the targets to pay off a five-mana investment. In Legacy and Vintage, where it's technically legal, it simply doesn't compete; five mana for a static trigger is nowhere near the power level those formats demand. Commander is where Loyal Guardian earns its keep, specifically in counter-synergy decks that can convert each trigger into cascading value rather than just raw stats.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Loyal Guardian isn't currently available in the database, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live market rate before buying. As a Commander-only card with narrow but dedicated demand, it tends to stay accessible — it's not the kind of card that spikes unpredictably.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Chishiro, the Shattered Blade
- Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
- Emmara, Soul of the Accord
- Volo, Guide to Monsters
- Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion // Master Chef
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.