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Ozolith, the Shattered Spire

Legendary Artifact

If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on an artifact or creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.
{1}{G}, {T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on target artifact or creature you control. Activate only as a sorcery.
Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{G}
Color identity
G
Rarity
rare
Set
March of the Machine
Price
$9.18
EDHREC rank
#661
Buy on TCGplayer
Ozolith, the Shattered Spire card art
Ozolith, the Shattered Spire turns every +1/+1 counter you'd place on a creature into a banked resource — counters it can't receive pile onto the Ozolith instead, and a one-mana activated ability moves them where they're needed at instant speed. The cost is real: you're paying three mana for an artifact that does nothing the turn your board is empty, but in any deck running Vigor or Zimone, Infinite Analyst, it's a near-automatic inclusion.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Zimone, Infinite Analyst

Zimone, Infinite Analyst

74.9% of decks · synergy 0.67

Zimone, Infinite Analyst's engine generates +1/+1 counters at scale, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire absorbs overflow that would otherwise be wasted on creatures already at their ceiling — the 74% inclusion rate among Zimone builds isn't an accident.

02
Reyhan, Last of the AbzanYoshimaru, Ever Faithful

Reyhan, Last of the Abzan // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

67.2% of decks · synergy 0.64

Reyhan, Last of the Abzan // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful cares about counters moving between creatures when things die, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire gives that engine a persistent holding tank so no counters disappear into the graveyard without a fight.

03
Primo, the Unbounded

Primo, the Unbounded

55.1% of decks · synergy 0.47

Primo, the Unbounded rewards stacking huge numbers of counters on a single creature, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire accelerates that by capturing counters from sources that would otherwise cap out elsewhere and funneling them toward Primo's target.

04
Agatha of the Vile Cauldron

Agatha of the Vile Cauldron

51.2% of decks · synergy 0.44

Agatha of the Vile Cauldron wants creatures loaded with counters to fuel her activated-ability sharing, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire lets her redistribute stockpiled counters at instant speed to whichever creature is most useful in a given moment.

05
Me, the Immortal

Me, the Immortal

47.2% of decks · synergy 0.43

Me, the Immortal's life-gain and counter loops benefit from a node that absorbs excess counters, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire fills that role while doubling as a mana sink when the engine is running.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Commander is where Ozolith, the Shattered Spire earns its keep — 100-card singleton means you need redundancy in your counter-moving effects, and this card provides a unique combination of banking and redistribution that no other single card replicates. In Modern and Pioneer, the counter-synergy decks that exist tend to move too fast for a three-mana artifact with a one-mana activation to pay off; it sees fringe play at best. Legacy and Vintage have access to it but give it essentially zero attention — those formats aren't looking for this effect. Oathbreaker is a reasonable home whenever the planeswalker commander generates or cares about +1/+1 counters, which is often enough to matter.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Hardened Scales does a version of the same job for one mana — it won't hold counters in reserve or let you move them, but it amplifies counter generation in a way that compresses the card-slot cost significantly. Ozolith, the Shattered Spire's actual banking and redistribution effect has no true budget replacement; the closest analogue is Sword of Hours or Plated Onslaught, and neither of them covers the overflow-absorption role that makes Ozolith irreplaceable in dedicated counter decks.

Price Context

Current price

$9.18 mid tier

At $9.18, Ozolith, the Shattered Spire sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a real budget decision, cheap enough that counter-focused decks should just run it. It's a mythic rare with sustained demand across several popular commanders, so the price is unlikely to crater without a reprint.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

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