Biogenic Upgrade
Sorcery
Distribute three +1/+1 counters among one, two, or three target creatures, then double the number of +1/+1 counters on each of those creatures.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Foundations
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #8771
Biogenic Upgrade puts three +1/+1 counters distributed any way you like across your creatures, then doubles every counter on the board — that's the whole game if you have four or five creatures already loaded with counters. Six mana is the real cost, and in anything faster than a counters-matter shell it's too slow to matter, but Crystalline Crawler and similar mana engines can make that number feel much smaller.
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 |
Biogenic Upgrade is a Commander card through and through — the doubling effect needs a board state to be worth six mana, and Commander games run long enough to build one. In 1v1 formats like Modern or Pioneer, sorcery-speed six-drops that don't immediately win get punished, and Biogenic Upgrade doesn't cross that threshold on its own. Legacy and Vintage have faster, more broken things happening at every mana cost. Oathbreaker is viable if your signature spell synergizes with +1/+1 counters, but Commander is where this card actually earns its slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Crystalline CrawlerBiogenic UpgradeReiterate
Infinite colored mana; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite storm count; Infinite +1/+1 counters on creatures you control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Biogenic Upgrade is deep bulk — you're picking this out of a dollar box, not budgeting for it. Bulk rares with narrow archetypes rarely climb unless a new commander pushes the archetype into the mainstream, so don't expect this to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.