Gather Specimens
Instant
If a creature would enter the battlefield under an opponent's control this turn, it enters under your control instead.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Shards of Alara
- Price
- $1.44
- EDHREC rank
- #15205
Gather Specimens turns every opponent's Cultivate, Mulldrifter, and Craterhoof Behemoth into yours — at instant speed, for the rest of the game. Six mana is a real ask, but Fractured Identity aside, nothing else in blue converts an entire wave of entering creatures into a permanent army with a single card.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Gather Specimens earns its slot: multiplayer tables generate enough enters-the-battlefield triggers in a single turn cycle that a well-timed cast can steal three or four creatures at once. In Legacy and Vintage it's a novelty — six mana at sorcery-speed threat density makes it unplayable in those formats. Gather Specimens is legal in Oathbreaker but faces the same speed problem. Stick to Commander, where patience is rewarded and a single opponent's tutor'd Avenger of Zendikar can swing the whole game.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Fractured IdentityGather SpecimensNaru Meha, Master Wizard
Exile all nonland permanents opponents control; Infinite copies of instant and sorcery spells on the stack; Infinite copies of all nonland permanents; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite magecraft triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Fractured IdentityGather SpecimensDualcaster Mage
Exile all nonland permanents opponents control; Infinite copies of instant and sorcery spells on the stack; Infinite copies of all nonland permanents; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite magecraft triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$1.44 cheap tier
At $1.44, Gather Specimens sits in the throw-it-in range where budget is never the reason to cut it. Casual demand keeps the price stable — it's not a card that spikes, but it's also not one that rotates into bulk.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.