G'raha Tia wants a deck that casts lots of instant and sorcery spells. It also suits a deck that keeps making its creatures bigger turn after turn.
Mana cost
White, Blue, Black ()
Power / toughness2 / 3
RarityMythic
Lifelink
Throw Wide the Gates — Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, you may pay X life, where X is that spell's mana value. If you do, create a 1/1 colorless Hero creature token and put X +1/+1 counters on it. Do this only once each turn.
Picked for what they do in G'raha Tia's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit G'raha Tia's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how G'raha Tia works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
Alternative costs, additional costs, and cost reductions don't change a spell's mana value. Its mana value is still based on its mana cost.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
For spells on the stack with {X} in their mana costs, use the value chosen for X to determine the spell's mana value.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
G'raha Tia's last ability resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered or otherwise leaves the stack.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWUBPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, U for blue, B for black. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.SpellslingerSpellslinger decks cast lots of instants and sorceries, one-time spells, and play creatures that reward every spell you cast. Instants and sorceries take effect once and then go to your graveyard, and an instant can even be cast during another player's turn.Open the Spellslinger pageSpellslingerRewards you for casting instants and sorceries, usually triggering each time you cast one. Storm-Kiln Artist, GuttersnipeOpen the Spellslinger pageLife GainGains you life, once or over and over. Soul Warden, The Great Henge. In Commander life is something to spend, not just a cushion, and many of these cards also set off others that reward gaining life.Open the Life Gain pageCounter EngineAdds +1/+1 counters over and over rather than once. A counter here is a small permanent marker that raises a creature's power and toughness for good. It is not a counterspell, which is a different thing entirely. Something that adds them every turn makes your whole board bigger and keeps it that way. Hardened Scales, Corpsejack MenaceOpen the Counter Engine pageToken EngineMakes tokens again and again rather than once. A token is a creature or other permanent created by a card, with no card of its own. Something that makes one token gives you a body; something that makes them every turn gives you a board you can keep rebuilding after it is cleared. Grave Titan, Bitterblossom, OphiomancerOpen the Token Engine page+1/+1 Counters+1/+1 counter decks put small markers on their creatures that make each one permanently bigger, and keep adding more every turn. Each +1/+1 counter adds one to a creature's power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it can take).Open the +1/+1 Counters page+1/+1 CountersPuts +1/+1 counters on creatures, permanently raising their power and toughness. Unlike a temporary boost that wears off at end of turn, these markers stay put and stack up over a long game. Hardened Scales, The Great HengeOpen the +1/+1 Counters pageTokensToken decks fill the battlefield with small creatures made by their cards, then attack with all of them or make them all bigger at once. A token is a creature (or other object) that a card creates, not a card from your deck.Open the Tokens pageToken MakerCreates one or more tokens. Different cards make very different ones: creatures Grave Titan, Treasures Smothering Tithe, Clues Tireless Tracker or Food Gilded Goose. This is one of our largest tags, so pair it with an archetype or theme when you are hunting a specific kind.Open the Token Maker pageLife Pay EngineCards that let you pay life instead of mana, or pay life for an extra effect, treating your life total as something to spend.Open the Life Pay Engine page
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