Paladin's Shield
Artifact — Equipment
Flash
When this Equipment enters, attach it to target creature you control.
Equipped creature gets +0/+2.
Equip 
(: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #19756
Paladin's Shield grants a creature +0/+3 and lifelink for two mana — a reasonable stat bump with a relevant keyword stapled on. The problem is that equipment this passive rarely earns a slot in Commander, where three-mana equip cost means you're spending five total mana to make one creature slightly harder to kill.
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 |
Paladin's Shield is legal across Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Pauper, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but competitive play in any of those formats has no interest in it. In Commander it finds the most plausible home in lifegain-matters decks or voltron builds that specifically want lifelink on their commander, though better equipment nearly always exists at this price point. Pauper is the one format where commons get real consideration, but even there the combination of defensive stats and a high equip cost doesn't line up with what aggressive or tempo strategies want.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Paladin's Shield is deep bulk — you'll find it in any common box at your local store for less than a pack of gum. Bulk commons don't appreciate, so there's no reason to stockpile copies; just grab one if a specific deck calls for it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.