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Temple Elder

Creature — Human Cleric

{T}: You gain 1 life. Activate only during your turn, before attackers are declared.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{2}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Portal Second Age
Price
$0.24
EDHREC rank
#30758
Buy on TCGplayer
Temple Elder card art
Temple Elder taps to scry 1 and gain 1 life — real, repeatable value — and it costs three mana for a 2/2 body that enables Agatha's Soul Cauldron shenanigans by dying and leaving its activated ability behind. That rate is fair, not busted, which means it earns its slot only in decks that specifically want the tap ability on a creature.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Temple Elder is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but the only home worth discussing is Commander. Legacy and Vintage move too fast for a three-mana 2/2 that scries one at a time, and neither format has a payoff that justifies it. In Commander, Temple Elder finds a niche in lifegain-matters decks and Agatha's Soul Cauldron builds where getting its ability onto a creature with counters creates a repeatable scry-and-life engine across the table.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.24 bulk tier

At $0.24, Temple Elder is deep bulk — easy to pick up in any trade binder or bulk bin. It's unlikely to move unless a new Agatha's Soul Cauldron-style enabler pushes the archetype into the mainstream, so buy what you need and don't expect the price to matter.

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Sources

Mentioned

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