Veteran Guardmouse
Creature — Mouse Soldier
Valiant — Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability you control for the first time each turn, it gets +1/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn. Scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RW
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Bloomburrow
- Price
- $0.08
- EDHREC rank
- #12819
Veteran Guardmouse enters with a +1/+1 counter and grants all your creatures with counters the ability to tap for mana — that's both a body and a mana engine on a single two-mana creature. In Mabel, Heir to Cragflame decks, where counters are constantly being distributed, this card earns its slot without argument.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Mabel, Heir to Cragflame
Mabel, Heir to Cragflame puts +1/+1 counters on creatures whenever equipped creatures deal combat damage, which means the whole board quickly qualifies for Veteran Guardmouse's mana ability — turning every swinging mouse into a ritual.
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 |
Veteran Guardmouse is a Commander card through and through — the mana ability only matters when you have multiple creatures with counters, which is a battlefield state that 100-card singleton builds are far more likely to sustain than 60-card formats. In competitive Constructed, a two-mana 2/2 that requires setup to produce mana doesn't pass the rate test, and it sees effectively no play in Modern, Pioneer, or Standard. Pauper is the one 60-card format where synergy-dense common creatures occasionally find a home, but there's no current shell that wants what Veteran Guardmouse offers. Play it in Commander, specifically in a counters or equipment deck, and nowhere else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.08 bulk tier
At $0.08, Veteran Guardmouse is bulk — grab a copy out of any common box or throw it in a cheap order to hit free shipping. Bulk commons with narrow tribal homes don't appreciate, so there's no reason to buy more than you need.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.