Syndicate Guildmage
Creature — Human Cleric
, 
: Tap target creature with power 4 or greater.
, : This creature deals 2 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Ravnica Allegiance
- Price
- $0.07
- EDHREC rank
- #25323
Syndicate Guildmage puts two activated abilities on the board for two mana — drain one life or create a tapped 1/1 Soldier — giving Orzhov shells a repeatable mana sink that scales with how much treasure and extort value you can generate. The cost is real: neither ability is efficient on its own, so Syndicate Guildmage only earns its slot when you have mana to flood into it late-game.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Syndicate Guildmage is a Commander card through and through — the format's longer games and larger mana pools are exactly where draining one life per two mana stops being embarrassing and starts being a clock. In Modern and Pioneer it's simply too slow; a two-mana 2/2 with activated abilities that cost additional mana doesn't compete with the pace of those formats. Legacy and Vintage are theoretically legal but the card has no business being there. Oathbreaker shares Commander's singleton structure and life-total dynamics, so the drain ability carries similar late-game relevance there, though the smaller deck size cuts against grinding strategies.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.07 bulk tier
At $0.07, Syndicate Guildmage is deep bulk — the kind of card you pull from a common box, not one you order. That price won't move; casual demand keeps it from hitting zero, but nothing in its profile suggests upward pressure.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.