Viridian Lorebearers
Creature — Elf Shaman
, 
: Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of artifacts your opponents control.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Fifth Dawn
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #28526
Viridian Lorebearers turns any creature with a +1/+1 counter into a mana ability, letting you tap it for one green mana — a payoff that compounds fast in counter-heavy shells. The cost is a five-mana 3/4 body that does nothing without counters already on board, so it earns its slot only in decks built around that synergy.
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 |
Commander is the only format where Viridian Lorebearers is worth serious consideration, specifically in decks that go wide with +1/+1 counters — Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Hamza, Guardian of Arashin, or any Simic counters build that wants to convert a board of buffed creatures into a mana engine. In Legacy and Vintage it is legal but entirely outclassed by faster, less conditional mana acceleration and will never see competitive play. Modern could theoretically host it in a fringe counters shell, but five mana for a conditional dork is too slow when the format demands efficiency. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander — playable in the right shell, irrelevant everywhere else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Viridian Lorebearers sits firmly in bulk territory, which is exactly where a narrow five-mana synergy piece belongs. It is unlikely to appreciate unless a future commander pushes counters-as-mana into a must-build archetype, so grab copies for the cost of a sleeve and don't think twice about it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.