Emperor's Vanguard
~$0.18 low · ~$0.60 high
Green. Creature — Human Scout
Ixalan #189 · Illustrated by Victor Adame Minguez
Ixalan #189 · Illustrated by Victor Adame MinguezWhat is Emperor's Vanguard worth?
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TCGplayer market prices in USD, updated October 14, 2026. Each price is for one printing and one finish.
Oracle text
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, it explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
4/3
Format legality
All 2 printings of Emperor's Vanguard
| Printing | Rarity | Non-foil | Foil | Cardmarket (EUR) | My collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ixalan Promos pxln #189s· 2017Promorare· Cardmarket €0.36 foil | rare | No non-foil printing | $0.60 | €0.36 foil | |
 Ixalan xln #189· 2017rare· Cardmarket €0.09 · €0.34 foil | rare | $0.18 | $0.25 | €0.09€0.34 foil |
Prices are TCGplayer market prices in USD for each printing and finish, via Scryfall. They are a guide, not an appraisal.
Where to buy Emperor's Vanguard
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Card details
- First printed
- 2017
- Printings
- 2
- Mana value
- 4
- EDHREC rank
- #25,499 on EDHREC (Commander popularity)
- Keywords
- Explore
- Artist
- Victor Adame Minguez
Rulings (7)
2018-01-19
Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again.
2018-01-19
Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter.
2018-01-19
If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature you control explores" trigger if appropriate.
2018-01-19
In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.)
2018-01-19
If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate.
2018-01-19
If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard.
2018-01-19
If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter.
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