Mage Tower Referee
Artifact Creature — Construct
Whenever you cast a multicolored spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Secrets of Strixhaven
- Price
- $0.11
- EDHREC rank
- #26510
Mage Tower Referee shuts down activated abilities during combat — a niche but real tax on equipment tutors, mana dorks, and tap-to-pump effects that opponents lean on mid-combat. The three-mana body asking you to jump through combat hoops to keep the effect online is the cost, and it's steep enough that most decks won't bother.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Mage Tower Referee answers a specific problem — opponents activating Equip abilities, Vehicles, or mana abilities mid-combat to swing a race — but the effect is narrow enough that most lists won't dedicate a slot to it. Competitive metas don't win through combat activations, so it sits firmly in casual tables where that interaction comes up. In constructed formats like Modern or Pioneer, three mana for a 3/3 with a conditional ability-denial clause doesn't compete with more efficient hate pieces. Pauper is the one format where a resilient body at common with an on-board effect can punch above its weight, though the combat restriction still limits the ceiling.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.11 bulk tier
At $0.11, Mage Tower Referee is bulk — you're not paying a premium for the effect, and there's no pressure to pick it up. Bulk rares with narrow applications tend to stay at this floor, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.