Spectral Guardian
Creature — Spirit
As long as this creature is untapped, noncreature artifacts have shroud. (They can't be the targets of spells or abilities.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Mirage
- Price
- $0.69
- EDHREC rank
- #29455
Spectral Guardian hands your entire board hexproof at instant speed, which means targeted removal stops working the moment you open your shields. The cost — a five-mana 2/3 that opponents can kill to end the protection — is real, but the on-board effect is one of the strongest pillowfort tools available at that price point.
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 |
Spectral Guardian lives almost entirely in Commander, where targeted removal is ubiquitous and protecting a board full of value creatures against three opponents is worth a dedicated slot. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but would never run it — five mana for a conditional protection effect that opponents can answer with a single removal spell is nowhere near competitive enough for those formats. In Commander, the card earns its place in any deck that commits to a wide board or depends on key creatures staying alive through a full table's worth of interaction.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.69 bulk tier
At $0.69, Spectral Guardian sits firmly in bulk territory, which makes it an easy inclusion for budget Commander builds that need protection effects without paying Teferi's Protection prices. Bulk rarely appreciates without a reprint driving demand, so don't expect this to move — buy it for the effect, not the card.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.