Banner of Kinship
Artifact
As this artifact enters, choose a creature type. This artifact enters with a fellowship counter on it for each creature you control of the chosen type.
Creatures you control of the chosen type get +1/+1 for each fellowship counter on this artifact.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Foundations
- Price
- $9.55
- EDHREC rank
- #699
Banner of Kinship enters, names a creature type, and pumps every creature you control that shares that type — permanently, with a +1/+1 counter dropped on each one immediately. Five mana for a tribal anthem that sticks to the board even after the artifact is gone is a real rate, and Shroofus Sproutsire decks running wall-to-wall Fungi make that counters trigger feel more like a game-ending swing than a modest bonus.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Shroofus Sproutsire
Shroofus Sproutsire wants every Fungi to be as large as possible, and Banner of Kinship drops a +1/+1 counter on each one the moment it resolves — which is exactly the kind of board-wide scaling that turns Shroofus's passive into a lethal threat. Nearly half of all Shroofus decks run it, and that inclusion rate tells you it's not a flex slot.
Arahbo, the First Fang
Arahbo, the First Fang commands a Cat-tribal strategy that already wants bodies big, and Banner of Kinship naming Cat gives every creature an immediate counter plus an anthem baseline going forward. Arahbo's own pump abilities stack on top, so the ceiling on combat damage gets out of hand fast.
Finneas, Ace Archer
Finneas, Ace Archer helms Rabbit tribal, and Banner of Kinship naming Rabbit turns the whole board into a +1/+1 counter delivery system that synergizes with anything tracking counters or power thresholds. At nearly 39% inclusion across Finneas decks, it's a staple, not a spice.
Mabel, Heir to Cragflame
Mabel, Heir to Cragflame cares about Mouse creatures getting bigger, and Banner of Kinship delivers an immediate counters-wide effect that can accelerate Mabel's own power scaling. The immediate pump also means creatures are already larger when they attack, squeezing more value out of Mabel's combat triggers.
Muerra, Trash Tactician
Muerra, Trash Tactician leads a Raccoon-tribal shell that rewards going wide with creatures entering buffed, and Banner of Kinship naming Raccoon gives every creature on the board a permanent size increase the turn it resolves. That immediate +1/+1 distribution lines up cleanly with any counters payoffs Muerra's list is already running.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Banner of Kinship is a Commander card through and through — the payoff scales with the number of creatures you control, and tribal Commander decks routinely field 20-plus creatures of a single type, which is the population density needed to make five mana feel efficient. In 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, tribal decks exist but rarely want a five-mana artifact that doesn't close the game immediately; the counter distribution is powerful but too slow relative to the threats those formats demand. Standard legality opens a window for Limited and constructed experimentation, but Banner of Kinship is almost certain to see action overwhelmingly at the Commander table. Oathbreaker is a plausible home if a creature-type-centric signature spell strategy exists, though the format's lower life totals push toward faster payoffs.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Shared Animosity and Door of Destinies both do tribal anthem work at lower price points — Door of Destinies builds over time rather than distributing counters immediately, so it rewards longer games but is slower to impact the board than Banner of Kinship. If the permanent-counter aspect is the main draw, Cathars' Crusade covers similar ground for less money in decks that are already casting creatures frequently, though it lacks the named-type restriction that makes Banner of Kinship such a clean tribal fit.
Price Context
Current price
$9.55 mid tier
At $9.55, Banner of Kinship sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to be a deliberate include but not a budget-breaker for a focused tribal build. Given how broadly it's played across multiple high-population commanders, that price is unlikely to soften significantly while Fungi and Cat tribal remain popular Commander archetypes.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.