Pearl Shard
Artifact
, 
or 
, : Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to any target this turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #30512
Pearl Shard pays three mana and one life to prevent all damage to a creature until end of turn — regeneration without the tap, usable at instant speed. Three mana per activation is too expensive to be a reliable protection tool, and in Commander the competition from actual regeneration effects and zero-mana hexproof spells makes Pearl Shard a hard sell.
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 |
In Commander, Pearl Shard occupies a narrow slot: colorless creature protection that any deck can run, but rarely should. The three-mana activation cost means you're telegraphing a response and tapping out mid-combat, which is exactly where you can't afford to. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient interaction, and Pearl Shard sees essentially no competitive play there. Modern similarly has no reason to run it when cheaper, unconditional protection exists. Pearl Shard is legal in Oathbreaker but faces the same cost-efficiency problem at a smaller table scale where tempo matters even more.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Pearl Shard is deep bulk — you'll find it in a common box or pick it up as throw-in. Bulk colorless artifacts rarely spike without a specific combo context, and Pearl Shard has none in sight, so expect it to stay at this price floor.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.