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Gnarlbark Elm

Creature — Treefolk Warlock

This creature enters with two -1/-1 counters on it.
{2}{B}, Remove two counters from this creature: Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{2}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Lorwyn Eclipsed
Price
$0.09
EDHREC rank
#21745
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Gnarlbark Elm card art
Gnarlbark Elm gives every non-Human creature you control a permanent +1/+1 counter on entry — no hoops, no activation, just an immediate board-wide snowball engine. The cost is a five-mana enchantment that does nothing the turn you cast it, which makes it a liability in any deck that isn't built to flood the board with non-Humans; pair it with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and the counter redundancy becomes a genuine problem for opponents.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Commander is where Gnarlbark Elm belongs — long games give the counter accumulation time to matter, and non-Human tribal shells like Slivers, Eldrazi, or +1/+1 counter synergy decks treat it as a passive engine that never needs attention. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, five mana for a do-nothing enchantment is simply too slow against efficient interaction and combo decks that win before the counters accrue value. Legacy and Vintage have access to fast mana that could theoretically jam it early, but neither format is interested in this effect at any speed. Standard is the one 60-card context where Gnarlbark Elm could see fringe play if a non-Human go-wide deck is legal and well-positioned, but it will need the right support to justify the slot.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.09 bulk tier

At $0.09, Gnarlbark Elm is deep bulk — you're buying it for pennies and it will stay there unless a non-Human combo or counter synergy deck breaks into competitive relevance. Stock up for your Commander builds without a second thought; there's no financial consideration here.

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Sources

Mentioned

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