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Bulwark Ox

Creature — Ox Mount

Whenever this creature attacks while saddled, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
Sacrifice this creature: Creatures you control with counters on them gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.
Saddle 1 (Tap any number of other creatures you control with total power 1 or more: This Mount becomes saddled until end of turn. Saddle only as a sorcery.)

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
rare
Set
Aetherdrift
Price
$0.31
EDHREC rank
#7457
Buy on TCGplayer
Bulwark Ox card art
Bulwark Ox enters with a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control, turning a board of tokens into a suddenly threatening army the moment it lands. The cost is a five-mana 3/4 with no evasion — acceptable when the enter trigger does real work, irrelevant when it doesn't, and outright broken when Solemnity is off the table and Kolodin, Triumph Caster is doubling every counter it places.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Kolodin, Triumph Caster

Kolodin, Triumph Caster

35.7% of decks · synergy 0.35

Kolodin, Triumph Caster triggers off creatures entering with counters, and Bulwark Ox puts a +1/+1 counter on every creature you control the moment it arrives — that's a mass trigger that can chain into card advantage, damage, or both depending on how Kolodin's ability resolves.

02
Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan

Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan

16.1% of decks · synergy 0.15

Felothar, Dawn of the Abzan cares about creatures with counters and rewards you for growing them, so Bulwark Ox functions as a one-card setup spell that puts the whole board into Felothar's payoff zone simultaneously.

03
Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam

Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam

17.4% of decks · synergy 0.15

Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam synergizes with +1/+1 counters spread across multiple permanents, and Bulwark Ox distributes those counters to every creature at once — exactly the kind of wide counter-seeding Dyadrine wants to build on.

04
Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon

Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon

14.3% of decks · synergy 0.13

Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon generates swarms of small tokens, and Bulwark Ox turns the entire token mass into a meaningful threat the second it resolves — the wider the board, the higher the ceiling on that enter trigger.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Bulwark Ox is legal across every major constructed format but sees virtually no play outside Commander, where a five-mana creature needs a compelling enter trigger rather than raw stats. In Commander, it earns a slot specifically in counter-matters or token-wide strategies where the mass +1/+1 distribution does real work — it's a role-player, not a staple, and only fits a narrow slice of decks. In Standard, Pioneer, Modern, and Legacy, the combination of five mana, no evasion, and a sorcery-speed effect puts it well below the power threshold those formats demand. Oathbreaker shares Commander's multiplayer math, so the same token-swarm shells that want it there will want it here.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.31 bulk tier

At $0.31, Bulwark Ox is deep bulk — you're not paying a premium, and there's no meaningful financial risk in picking up a copy. Bulk rares rarely climb unless they land in a breakout deck, and Bulwark Ox's narrow niche keeps that ceiling low, so treat it as a cheap piece of a specific synergy rather than a pickup with upside.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.