Essence Bottle
Artifact
, 
: Put an elixir counter on this artifact., Remove all elixir counters from this artifact: You gain 2 life for each elixir counter removed this way.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Tempest
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #28059
Essence Bottle enters tapped, charges up over several turns, and eventually pays out life equal to the counters on it — a slow, incremental effect that asks a lot for a modest reward. In a format where life gain needs to either be massive or recursive to matter, Essence Bottle almost never clears that bar.
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 |
Essence Bottle is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but seeing meaningful play in none of them. In Commander, life totals start at 40 and incremental gain without an attached payoff — a card that draws, triggers, or closes — is functionally irrelevant; Essence Bottle offers none of that. Legacy and Vintage move too fast for a tap-in artifact that does nothing until several upkeeps have passed. Oathbreaker shares Commander's 40-life baseline without offering any unique synergy to rehabilitate it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Essence Bottle is deep bulk — the kind of price that reflects genuine low demand rather than an undiscovered gem. Don't expect that floor to move; there's no competitive context waiting to pop this card.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.