Briar Shield
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1.
Sacrifice this Aura: Enchanted creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Weatherlight
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #21038
Briar Shield gives a creature +1/+1 and trample for one green mana, and it bounces back to your hand when the creature dies — so you're not trading the card for a removal spell. Outside of dedicated Aura or voltron shells like Mazzy, Truesword Paladin, the effect is too modest to compete for deck slots.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Mazzy, Truesword Paladin
Mazzy, Truesword Paladin triggers whenever an Aura enters attached to a creature you control, and Briar Shield's death-return loop means a single copy can fire that trigger repeatedly across the game, turning creature trades into free value.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Briar Shield earns its slot almost exclusively in Aura-matters decks — the recursive bounce mechanic scales with commanders like Mazzy, Truesword Paladin who reward repeated enchantment casts. In Pauper, where commons have to pull genuine weight, Briar Shield sees fringe play in green aggro as a cheap trample enabler that dodges two-for-one losses. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters; the effect is underpowered for those formats regardless of the recursion upside.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Briar Shield is bulk — buy a playset without thinking about it. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to move unless a new Aura commander breaks wide open.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Mazzy, Truesword Paladin
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.