Gaea's Gift
Instant
Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. It gains reach, trample, hexproof, and indestructible until end of turn. (It can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy it.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- The Brothers' War
- Price
- $1.22
- EDHREC rank
- #1317
Gaea's Gift jams trample, hexproof, and a +1/+1 counter onto any creature at instant speed for a single green mana — one of the most efficient combat tricks ever printed. Legolas, Master Archer decks run it near-universally because the hexproof alone breaks the damage-redirection engine wide open.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Legolas, Master Archer
Legolas, Master Archer pings blockers by redirecting damage, and Gaea's Gift's hexproof makes the buffed attacker untargetable mid-combat, locking opponents out of the responses that would otherwise shut the engine down.
Sarulf, Realm Eater
Sarulf, Realm Eater grows by exiling permanents with -1/-1 counters on them, and Gaea's Gift's instant-speed hexproof protects Sarulf from the targeted removal that opponents lean on to stop the snowball before it gets out of hand.
Kosei, Penitent Warlord
Kosei, Penitent Warlord needs three keyword abilities to start dealing massive noncombat damage, and Gaea's Gift contributes trample plus hexproof in a single spell while leaving mana open for more pump on the stack.
Anzrag, the Quake-Mole
Anzrag, the Quake-Mole demands that opponents block it or face a chain of untap triggers, and Gaea's Gift gives Anzrag hexproof so opponents can't remove it before their blockers are declared — trample then makes chump-blocking irrelevant.
The Howling Abomination
The Howling Abomination triggers off instants and sorceries cast on your opponents' turns, and Gaea's Gift is exactly the one-mana instant you flash in during their combat to rack up triggers while protecting your board.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Gaea's Gift earns its keep — one mana for hexproof and trample at instant speed is the kind of efficiency that pulls its weight in a 40-life format where a single protected, trampling attacker can close games. In Pauper it fits into green stompy as a cheap combat trick that trades favorably against removal-heavy interaction, though the format's suite of efficient answers keeps it from being a staple. Modern and Pioneer have access to more powerful one-mana options and faster clocks, so Gaea's Gift rarely makes the cut outside of niche creature-protection shells. Legacy and Vintage have bigger fish; the card is legal but practically invisible in those formats.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.22 cheap tier
At $1.22, Gaea's Gift sits in the cheap tier — low enough to slot into any budget build without a second thought. Given its 70% inclusion rate in Legolas, Master Archer decks and strong overlap with several other popular commanders, that price is fair and unlikely to drop further.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.