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Shambling Shell

Creature — Plant Zombie

Sacrifice this creature: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
Dredge 3 (If you would draw a card, you may mill three cards instead. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand.)

CMC
3
Mana cost
{1}{B}{G}
Color identity
BG
Rarity
common
Set
Magic Online Theme Decks
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#13652
Buy on TCGplayer
Shambling Shell card art
Shambling Shell puts a +1/+1 counter on any creature you control when it goes to the graveyard — and it self-mills on dredge, so getting it there is trivially easy. The three-mana 2/2 body is irrelevant; you run this because it pairs with Benthic Biomancer and similar evolve or counter-doubling engines to generate value on a loop.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Commander is where Shambling Shell actually lives, slotting into any deck that wants repeatable +1/+1 counter placement or graveyard recursion loops — Golgari, Sultai, and four-color counter strategies all have a use for it. Pauper is the one other format worth mentioning: the dredge 3 mechanic is strong enough that self-mill shells there can exploit Shambling Shell as a free counter engine over multiple turns. In Legacy and Vintage it's strictly outclassed — both formats have more broken things to do with dredge triggers. Modern has moved past it entirely.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data isn't currently available for Shambling Shell, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number. Given that it's a bulk common with a narrow application, expect it to be a near-zero pickup wherever you find it.

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Sources

Mentioned

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