Gift of the Viper
Instant
Put a +1/+1 counter, a reach counter, and a deathtouch counter on target creature. Untap it.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Modern Horizons 3
- Price
- $0.32
- EDHREC rank
- #1619
Gift of the Viper puts deathtouch and lifelink on any creature for a single green mana — that combination turns any trade into a favorable one and keeps your life total climbing. Me, the Immortal is the headline home, but the card earns its slot anywhere that wants cheap, permanent keyword stacking.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Me, the Immortal
Me, the Immortal cares about stacking multiple keyword abilities on a single creature, and Gift of the Viper drops deathtouch plus lifelink for one mana — two keywords at once, which is exactly what the engine wants to snowball.
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave is a voltron commander that attacks early and often, and Gift of the Viper makes every trade cost the opponent a creature while keeping Skullbriar's counters intact through zone transitions.
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor wants to load up creatures with keyword counters, and Gift of the Viper delivers two at once for one mana — efficient counter generation that scales with every raptor on board.
Kosei, Penitent Warlord
Kosei, Penitent Warlord needs multiple keywords to trigger its damage-doubling ability, and Gift of the Viper gets him halfway there on its own for a single green mana.
Sergeant John Benton
Sergeant John Benton rewards you for having creatures with multiple keywords, and Gift of the Viper is one of the cheapest ways to put two of them on a creature you already control.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Gift of the Viper is a role-player in any green deck that wants keyword stacking or voltron strategies — one mana for a permanent deathtouch-plus-lifelink aura is efficient enough to run without a dedicated payoff. In Pauper, the card is legal and the rate is real, though the format's creature-aura strategies rarely want deathtouch over raw power or evasion, so it sees niche play at best. Legacy and Vintage can run it, but neither format has any reason to — the effect is Commander-scale value, not a piece of a broken engine. Gift of the Viper is squarely a multiplayer card; its ceiling is highest in 100-card singleton where finding one copy reliably matters and keyword-matters commanders give it a dedicated home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.32 bulk tier
At $0.32, Gift of the Viper is bulk — pick it up without thinking about the price. Bulk commons and uncommons with narrow homes rarely climb, so don't expect the number to move, but at this cost it's a free include in any deck that wants it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Me, the Immortal
- Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
- Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
- Kosei, Penitent Warlord
- Sergeant John Benton
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.