Aven Shrine
Enchantment
Whenever a player casts a spell, that player gains X life, where X is the number of cards in all graveyards with the same name as that spell.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Odyssey
- Price
- $0.40
- EDHREC rank
- #21424
Aven Shrine scales its life gain off spell repetition — the more copies of a spell you've cast this game, the more life each new cast returns, making it quietly powerful in spellslinger decks that naturally stack identical spells. The cost is that it does nothing in isolation and needs a critical mass of redundant spells to outpace a simple Solemn Simulacrum; Katilda and Lier, which rebuys spells from the graveyard, is exactly the engine that makes Aven Shrine worth the slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Katilda and Lier
Katilda and Lier's ability to flashback spells directly off the graveyard means the same card gets cast multiple times across a game, which is precisely how Aven Shrine accumulates counters and starts generating meaningful life — the two cards are mechanically designed for each other.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Aven Shrine lives in a narrow but real niche: spellslinger or reanimator-adjacent decks that cast the same spells repeatedly across a long game, where incremental life gain compounds into a genuine cushion against aggro and incidental damage. Legacy and Vintage legality is technically accurate but practically irrelevant — no competitive shell in either format wants a three-mana enchantment that asks you to cast redundant spells to gain life. Oathbreaker gives it a slightly more plausible home, since the tighter game length and signature spell repetition can juice the counter accumulation faster. Outside of Commander, Aven Shrine doesn't have a format where it belongs.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.40 bulk tier
At $0.40, Aven Shrine is bulk — low enough that the financial ask is zero, and the only real question is whether the slot earns its keep on the battlefield. Bulk enchantments at this price rarely hold or climb without a sudden spike in commander popularity, so treat this as a functional pick, not a spec.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Katilda and Lier
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.