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Contagion Clasp

Artifact

When this artifact enters, put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.
{4}, {T}: Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)

CMC
2
Mana cost
{2}
Color identity
C
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret
Price
$0.58
EDHREC rank
#1394
Buy on TCGplayer
Contagion Clasp card art
Contagion Clasp enters, immediately shrinks a creature with a -1/-1 counter, and then becomes a repeatable proliferate engine for four mana a trigger — that's two distinct modes of value on one artifact. Commanders like The Scorpion God and Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus treat it as a staple precisely because the floor (spot removal on entry) and ceiling (stacking counters every turn) are both relevant.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
The Scorpion God

The Scorpion God

75.1% of decks · synergy 0.74

The Scorpion God draws a card whenever a creature with a -1/-1 counter on it dies, and Contagion Clasp puts those counters on demand — the enter trigger kills x/1s outright and the proliferate activation keeps spreading counters to finish off anything that survived.

02
Auntie Ool, Cursewretch

Auntie Ool, Cursewretch

76.9% of decks · synergy 0.71

Auntie Ool, Cursewretch cares about curse and counter synergies that compound each turn, and Contagion Clasp's repeatable proliferate activation feeds that engine while also functioning as incremental removal against small creatures.

03
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons

69.8% of decks · synergy 0.67

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons creates a 1/1 deathtouch Snake every time a -1/-1 counter is placed on a creature, turning each Contagion Clasp activation into a token factory on top of the counter pressure.

04
The Reaper, King No More

The Reaper, King No More

67.5% of decks · synergy 0.62

The Reaper, King No More generates value from counters and attrition-based strategies, and Contagion Clasp slides in as a low-cost artifact that keeps the counter density high while doubling as early interaction on entry.

05
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus

Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus

61.5% of decks · synergy 0.60

Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus doubles every proliferate trigger, meaning each four-mana Contagion Clasp activation proliferates twice — that transforms what would be a slow grind into an exponential counter-stacking engine.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Contagion Clasp is a Commander card through and through — the proliferate activation is too slow and mana-intensive to compete in Legacy or Vintage, where it's legal but essentially irrelevant. In Modern, two mana for a -1/-1 counter on entry doesn't clear the bar when removal options are far more efficient, and the four-mana repeat cost is crippling at that speed. Commander is where Contagion Clasp lives: the longer game, the abundance of counter-based commanders, and the multiplayer context where proliferating loyalty counters, poison counters, or charge counters across multiple permanents compounds quickly into a board-defining advantage.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.58 bulk tier

At $0.58, Contagion Clasp is firmly bulk — the kind of card you pick up without thinking about the price. It sees enough Commander play across counter-centric decks that the supply stays loose and the price stable at the floor.

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Sources

Mentioned

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