Shield Broker
Creature — Octopus Advisor
When this creature enters, put a shield counter on target noncommander creature you don't control. You gain control of that creature for as long as it has a shield counter on it. (If it would be dealt damage or destroyed, remove a shield counter from it instead.)
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Bloomburrow Commander
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #10251
Shield Broker enters the battlefield and immediately hands an opponent a token with a shield counter on it — then you get to slap a counter on any creature you control whenever that opponent attacks with the gifted creature. The political hook is real, but it lives or dies on whether opponents actually swing with the creature you gave them, which makes Zinnia, Valley's Voice the natural home: she converts those shield counter triggers into a reliable engine rather than a polite suggestion.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Zinnia, Valley's Voice
Zinnia, Valley's Voice cares deeply about putting counters on creatures, and Shield Broker delivers that trigger on demand whenever the opponent you baited into attacking actually swings — meaning Zinnia turns every combat step into incremental advantage rather than hoping for goodwill.
Kros, Defense Contractor
Kros, Defense Contractor is built around gifting opponents counters and then taxing them for using those counters aggressively, so Shield Broker slots directly into the goad-and-profit loop: give an opponent a shielded creature, incentivize the attack, and let Kros harvest the punishment.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Shield Broker's home is Commander, full stop. The political dimension of handing an opponent a token — and the counter payoff that follows — only generates real value in a multiplayer game where you can steer combat and broker alliances. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but competes against formats that have no patience for a three-mana 1/3 with conditional upside and zero impact on a two-player board state. Shield Broker isn't trying to be a constructed card, and there's no reason to pretend otherwise.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Shield Broker is bulk — pick it up without thinking twice if the archetype fits your deck. Bulk rares with narrow homes rarely climb, so don't expect the price to move unless a new counter-matters commander spikes demand.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.