Magic: The Gathering Mentor Explained: Stacking Rules and Best Cards

For example, a 3-power mentor creature can target another attacking creature with power 2 or less, and only if both attack together.

A mentor creature cannot target itself, because the target must be another creature with lesser power.

Mentor Stacking and Resolution Rules

Mentor is a triggered ability that fires when the creature attacks. It is not an activated ability.

Power is checked twice, on attack and again on resolution. The ability does not resolve if:

• the mentor creature's power drops to the target's level or below, or
• the target's power rises to match or exceed the mentor's.

Should the mentor creature leave the battlefield or die while the trigger waits on the stack, the trigger still resolves. It relies on last known information, meaning the power the creature had just before it left.

Stacking multiple triggers

Each instance of mentor on a creature triggers separately on attack, and each trigger checks on resolution that the target's power is lower than the mentor's.

A first trigger can raise the target's power enough that later triggers fail to resolve.

Triggers can double up through an attack trigger doubler such as Isshin, Two Heavens as One, or through auras and equipment that hand mentor to creatures that already have it, such as Aegis of the Legion or Nyxborn Unicorn.

Removal after the attack declaration is another wrinkle: Multiply by Zero can take out a mentor creature once it attacks. The creature dies as a 0/0, which will likely cause mentor to fail.

Mentor History and Training Comparison

Mentor debuted in Guilds of Ravnica to capture the Boros Legion's training, where stronger creatures mentor smaller, newer recruits.

At first it showed up only on red and white cards. Since then it has appeared on at least one card of every color and sporadically on single cards in supplementary sets, but it is not an evergreen mechanic.

Training is the close cousin. Mentor sits on the larger creature and targets a smaller one, while training sits on the smaller creature and targets nothing. Both rely on a higher-powered creature to add +1/+1 counters to a smaller one.

Best Mentor Cards, Ranked by Draftsim

Draftsim's top five mentor cards:

• #1 Danny Pink
• #2 Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
• #3 Iroh, Dragon of the West
• #4 Legion Warboss
• #5 Tajic, Legion's Edge

Felisa is also floated as an Orzhov counters commander alongside Inkshield, Carrion Feeder and Luminarch Aspirant.

Beyond those, the complete roster of mentor cards covers Blade Instructor, Light of the Legion, Parhelion Patrol, Sunhome Stalwart, Barging Sergeant, Goblin Banneret, Wojek Bodyguard, Tributary Instructor, Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice, Boros Challenger, Hammer Dropper, Ordruun Mentor, and Truefire Captain, plus those named above.

Why Counter Mechanics Keep Showing Up

The explainer lands in a stretch of counter-focused Commander coverage on TCGKing, including a look at the Federation Fleet precon, whose plan runs on +1/+1 counters.

What it means for players

• Check power on both attack and resolution: a counter from one trigger can shut off the next.
• Each mentor instance triggers separately, so an early trigger can stop later ones from resolving.
• Losing the mentor creature while its trigger is on the stack does not stop the trigger, which resolves off last known information.

What is still unknown

• Whether any new mentor cards are announced.
• Official rules text or Comprehensive Rules citations, which the explainer does not provide.

TCGKing updates this article as soon as Wizards of the Coast announces these details. Follow all Magic news or get it in our newsletter.