Tributary Instructor

Tributary Instructor card image

Tributary Instructor: Creature - Merfolk Shaman, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander. Printings, market prices, rulings, and format legality on Mana Grove.

Mana cost
{3}{G}
Mana value
4
Type
Creature - Merfolk Shaman
Colour identity
Green (G)
Power / toughness
4/4
Rarity
Rare
Set
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)
Released
2023-11-17
Collector number
96
Artist
Christina Kraus
Commander rank
8,253 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
Keywords
Mentor

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About Tributary Instructor

Tributary Instructor is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare green creature from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC), a Commander product released in November 2023. It is collector number 96 in that set, with art by Christina Kraus. It costs {3}{G} (three generic and one green mana) to cast, for a mana value of 4. It is a 4/4 creature. Its colour identity is green. It is legal in Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and Penny Dreadful. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander is its only printing so far. The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.31 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-11).

Card text

Mentor (Whenever this creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature with lesser power.)

Whenever a creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it dies, draw a card.

"Like water between rivers, wisdom must flow freely from one generation to the next."

Market price

Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.31 (as of 2026-11-11).

The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.

Format legality

Legality of Tributary Instructor by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.

LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
CommanderLegal
Duel CommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
Penny DreadfulLegal

Other printings of Tributary Instructor

The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.

PrintingRarityYear
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC) #64Rare2023

Official rulings

Three official rulings apply to Tributary Instructor, newest first.

  • If the target creature's power is no longer less than the attacking creature's power as the ability resolves, mentor doesn't add a +1/+1 counter. For example, if two 3/3 creatures with mentor attack and both mentor triggers target the same 2/2 creature, the first to resolve puts a +1/+1 counter on it and the second does nothing.
  • If the creature with mentor leaves the battlefield with mentor on the stack, use its power as that creature last existed on the battlefield to determine whether the target creature has less power.
  • Mentor compares the power of the creature with mentor with that of the target creature at two different times: once as the triggered ability is put onto the stack, and once as the triggered ability resolves. If you wish to raise a creature's power so its mentor ability can target a bigger creature, the last chance you have to do so is during the beginning of combat step.

Similar cards

Other creature cards with a green colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.

In these precons

Tributary Instructor is in the decklist of these preconstructed Commander decks.

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