Black Poplar Shaman
Creature — Treefolk Shaman
: Regenerate target Treefolk.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Lorwyn
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #15480
Black Poplar Shaman turns a 1/3 body into a 3/3 threat for two mana — the ceiling is live on turn two in any deck where toughness-matters effects are already online. Outside that context, specifically Doran, the Siege Tower and its kin, this is a vanilla 1/3 with flavor text.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Doran, the Siege Tower
Doran, the Siege Tower flips Black Poplar Shaman's activated ability from win-more to core engine — paying one green to pump toughness by two is a combat trick, a clock accelerant, and a blocker upgrade all at once in a deck where every point of toughness is already a point of power.
Doran, Besieged by Time
Doran, Besieged by Time runs the same toughness-as-power engine in a newer shell with a wider color identity, and Black Poplar Shaman slots in as a cheap, repeatable toughness pump that scales as the game extends — the lower synergy score reflects the larger card pool pulling inclusion in different directions, not a fundamental mismatch.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Black Poplar Shaman is a niche card in every format it's legal in, and the honest read is that Commander is the only place it earns a slot. In Legacy, Vintage, and Modern it's simply outclassed — two mana for a 1/3 with a conditional activated ability doesn't compete for space when those formats demand efficiency from card one. Pauper is legal and the toughness-matters angle is theoretically accessible, but the tribal support and critical mass to make it work don't exist at common in a meaningfully competitive shell. Commander is the target format, and even there Black Poplar Shaman belongs in exactly one archetype: Doran-style toughness-matters builds where the pump ability pulls real weight.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Black Poplar Shaman is bulk — you're not paying for scarcity, you're paying for a sleeve. It's unlikely to appreciate outside a sudden spike in Doran, the Siege Tower's popularity, so buy the copy you need and don't hold extras.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Doran, the Siege Tower
- Doran, Besieged by Time
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.