Riders of Gavony
Creature — Human Knight
Vigilance
As this creature enters, choose a creature type.
Human creatures you control have protection from creatures of the chosen type.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Avacyn Restored
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #11985
Riders of Gavony locks an entire creature type out of combat — name Zombies going into a graveyard deck, name Dragons against Ur-Dragon, and your Human team becomes functionally unblockable and untouchable by those creatures. Four mana for a 3/4 vigilance Human Knight that also carries this protection effect is a strong rate, and in Kyler, Sigardian Emissary it doubles as a counter magnet the moment it enters.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kyler, Sigardian Emissary
Kyler, Sigardian Emissary puts a +1/+1 counter on every Human you control when one enters, so Riders of Gavony arrives and immediately pumps the team — then it names whatever tribe is most threatening at the table, letting your buffed Humans swing or block without consequence against that matchup.
Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart
Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart cares specifically about Angels and Humans going wide, and Riders of Gavony fits both the creature type and the gameplan: name the most relevant opposing tribe and your attackers stop getting chump-blocked or ambushed by that creature type for the rest of the game.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Riders of Gavony is a Commander card through and through — the tribal protection effect scales directly with how many different creature types are across the table, and a four-player game almost always has at least one dominant tribe worth naming. In Modern and Legacy it's legal but never sees play; four mana for a conditional protection effect is far too slow when the format demands interaction by turn two. Oathbreaker shares Commander's multiplayer dynamics, so the same logic applies — if your signature spell supports a Human beatdown line, Riders of Gavony earns its slot. Outside of Commander and its closest siblings, this card simply doesn't have a home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Riders of Gavony is firmly bulk — you can pick up a copy for less than a sleeve. That price is stable; it's a niche tribal card with a narrow but loyal audience, and it's unlikely to drift much in either direction without a pushed Human commander pushing demand.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.