Bottle Gnomes
Artifact Creature — Gnome
Sacrifice this creature: You gain 3 life.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Magic Online Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #14712
Bottle Gnomes trades itself for 3 life and then comes back — in the right deck, that loop is the engine, not a side effect. Outside of recursive shells, a 1/3 for three mana that gains 3 life once is firmly a Limited card; Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker is the reason it earns a Commander slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker returns any creature with power 1 or less that died under your control at end of turn, and Bottle Gnomes — a 1/3 with power 1 — dies on command by sacrificing itself, meaning Shirei loops the life gain every turn cycle as both a cushion against aggro and a free sacrifice trigger.
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 |
In Commander, Bottle Gnomes is a niche include that earns its slot almost exclusively in Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker or sacrifice-value builds where repeated death triggers matter more than the rate. Pauper is where it sees the most competitive relevance — 3 life at common is a legitimate number in a format where burn is prevalent, and it blocks well against aggressive one- and two-power creatures. In Legacy and Vintage, the card is legal but irrelevant; nothing in those formats is looking for a three-mana 1/3. Modern sees it the same way: the rate doesn't compete, and better lifegain options exist at the same cost.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available in the current feed for Bottle Gnomes, but as a decades-old common with no competitive demand outside niche Commander builds, it typically sits well under $1 across printings. Pick it up in a bulk bin — there's no reason to pay a premium.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.