The Ozolith — Magic: The Gathering card

The Ozolith

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Legendary Artifact

Whenever a creature you control leaves the battlefield, if it had counters on it, put those counters on The Ozolith.

At the beginning of combat on your turn, if The Ozolith has counters on it, you may move all counters from The Ozolith onto target creature.

*As it twists, so does all life around it.*

Set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Rarity Rare
Mana Value 1
Artist Sam Burley
Collector # 237
Scryfall

Why Play The Ozolith

Counter-based strategies often struggle when key creatures are removed, losing all accumulated value in an instant. The Ozolith solves this problem by preserving counters from departed creatures and redistributing them to new threats each combat. Deploy it early in games where you expect removal-heavy matchups, or when running sacrifice outlets that can trigger repeatedly. Its low mana cost makes it an ideal turn-one play that generates value throughout the entire game.

Format Notes

Commander sees the most play for The Ozolith, where longer games and multiplayer politics create numerous opportunities to accumulate and redistribute counters. Pioneer and Modern decks occasionally include it in Hardened Scales builds or other +1/+1 counter strategies. The card has never faced banning issues and maintains steady relevance in casual counter-based strategies across all legal formats. Its price reflects strong Commander demand rather than competitive dominance.

Combos & Synergies

Hardened Scales multiplies the value proposition by increasing both the counters placed on creatures and those collected by The Ozolith. Carrion Feeder and other free sacrifice outlets create repeatable triggers while advancing your board state. Animation Module pairs excellently by creating additional creatures to receive redistributed counters, often generating more value than the original investment. Any persist or undying creatures also work well, as they naturally accumulate counters before leaving the battlefield again.

Learn More

Artifact Modern Pioneer Commander