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Basilica Shepherd

Creature — Phyrexian Angel

Flying
When this creature enters, create two 1/1 colorless Phyrexian Mite artifact creature tokens with toxic 1 and "This token can't block." (Players dealt combat damage by them also get a poison counter.)

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{W}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
common
Set
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Price
$0.23
EDHREC rank
#10210
Buy on TCGplayer
Basilica Shepherd card art
Basilica Shepherd enters and makes two 1/1 flyers — that's three bodies for four mana, which is already respectable rate before you account for what dying and returning does. Pair it with Nim Deathmantle or any Elesh Norn board-state and the token generation snowballs fast enough to close games.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01

Elesh Norn

46.7% of decks · synergy 0.44

Elesh Norn's anthem effects turn the two Phyrexian Mite tokens into immediate threats, and Basilica Shepherd's ETB means every reanimation or flicker effect is also a token production event.

02
Vishgraz, the Doomhive

Vishgraz, the Doomhive

19.1% of decks · synergy 0.19

Vishgraz, the Doomhive already wants a critical mass of Phyrexian tokens, and Basilica Shepherd delivers two oil-counter-carrying Mites on entry — fitting the poison subtheme while padding the board for Vishgraz's own triggered abilities.

04
Mondrak, Glory Dominus

Mondrak, Glory Dominus

12.6% of decks · synergy 0.10

Mondrak, Glory Dominus doubles token creation, so Basilica Shepherd's two Mites become four on entry, giving Mondrak a reliable token engine that functions off a single creature spell.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is the clear home for Basilica Shepherd — three bodies on one card is exactly the kind of card-advantage-as-permanents that multiplayer tables reward, and the Phyrexian creature type opens tribal synergies that barely exist in other formats. In Pauper, a four-mana 2/4 flyer plus two tokens is genuinely competitive rate for a go-wide white strategy, and the card is legal there. Modern and Pioneer have access to it, but the four-mana slot is brutally contested in those formats and Basilica Shepherd doesn't do anything efficiently enough to crack those lists. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters — the card is too slow and too fair.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.23 bulk tier

At $0.23, Basilica Shepherd is deep bulk — you're picking this out of a common box or padding a cart to hit free shipping. Bulk rares with genuine combo applications tend to stay in this range until something breaks them wide open, so don't expect to find a bargain by waiting.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.