Bold Plagiarist
Creature — Vampire Rogue
Flash
Whenever an opponent puts one or more counters on a creature they control, they put the same number and kind of counters on this creature.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2021
- Price
- $0.60
- EDHREC rank
- #14978
Bold Plagiarist turns every counter your opponents hand out into counters on your creatures, effectively taxing any generosity at the table. The cost is steep for what it does in isolation — four mana for a 2/1 body that does nothing without opponents already distributing counters — but in Breena, the Demagogue decks where the whole game plan revolves around incentivizing attacks, it snowballs fast.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Breena, the Demagogue
Breena, the Demagogue puts +1/+1 counters on your creatures every time a player swings at someone else, and Bold Plagiarist copies each of those triggers — your board grows at roughly double the rate Breena alone would produce, which is the core engine the deck is built to exploit.
Shadrix Silverquill
Shadrix Silverquill's triggered ability lets opponents choose to give you a 2/1 token or a card, and when they opt to hand out a +1/+1 counter instead through other political effects, Bold Plagiarist ensures you're always the bigger beneficiary — it converts Silverquill's political texture into raw board advantage.
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 |
Bold Plagiarist is a Commander card through and through — its entire value proposition depends on a multiplayer table where opponents are actively distributing counters, which simply doesn't happen in one-on-one formats. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but wholly unplayable; no competitive shell wants a four-mana 2/1 that reads "do nothing until your opponent enables it." Commander is the only home where Bold Plagiarist earns its slot, and even there it's narrowly slotted into decks like Breena, the Demagogue that are explicitly built around counter proliferation and political combat.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.60 bulk tier
At $0.60, Bold Plagiarist is firmly bulk — the price reflects its extreme niche rather than any deficiency in raw power. It's a safe pickup for Breena or Silverquill builds; don't expect the price to move unless a popular Commander precon pushes counter-copying into the mainstream.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.