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Gather Specimens Shards of Alara MTG card

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Gather Specimens

INSTANT Rare
Shards of Alara ALA #45 EDHREC #15,871
$1.47
+0.7% 7 days

Price history

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Gather Specimens price history chart, default range 3 months. currently $1.47.

View buying optionsMana Pool · Nonfoil

Gather Specimens Price Summary

Gather Specimens's current headline price is $1.47.

Gather Specimens Printings & Prices

1 printings

Gather Specimens has 1 tracked printing across 1 sets, in nonfoil and foil finishes.

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Sell Gather Specimens: Buylist Offers

4 offers
Buyer Printing Finish Cash offer Retail Spread
CoolStuffInc ALA #45 Foil
Card Kingdom ALA #45 Foil
Card Kingdom ALA #45 Nonfoil
CoolStuffInc ALA #45 Nonfoil

Gather Specimens Rules Text & Legality

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Instant — mana cost {3}{U}{U}{U}

If a creature would enter the battlefield under an opponent's control this turn, it enters under your control instead.

""It's free to do whatever it wants. I've merely told it what that is." —Xorin, Architect of Will"

Gather Specimens is legal in Modern, Legacy and Commander, and not legal in Standard, Pioneer and Pauper.

standard
Not legal
pioneer
Not legal
pauper
Not legal

Gather Specimens Rulings

5 most recent
  • Oct 1, 2008 Gather Specimens affects both token creatures and nontoken creatures. It affects creatures that would enter by any means. This includes, of course, creature spells that resolve. It also includes creatures put onto the battlefield as a result of a resolving spell (such as Call of the Herd or Zombify), resolving ability (such as Verdant Force's ability or Doomed Necromancer's ability), cost (such as Varchild's War-Riders's cumulative upkeep cost), replacement effect (such as the one created by Words of Wilding), or any other means.
  • Oct 1, 2008 Gather Specimens isn't targeted. It affects creatures that would enter under any opponent's control.
  • Oct 1, 2008 Gather Specimens won't retroactively change the control of creatures that have already entered that turn.
  • Oct 1, 2008 If a creature spell controlled by an opponent would resolve, it resolves, but the creature enters under your control instead of the opponent's control. Choices made when casting that spell (such as whether it was kicked or the value of X in the spell's cost) are remembered. Any "enters" triggered abilities will trigger after the creature is on the battlefield under your control.
  • Oct 1, 2008 If the effect that puts a creature onto the battlefield also creates a delayed triggered ability, Gather Specimens doesn't change who controls that ability. In the unearth example above, your opponent controls the ability that exiles the creature at the beginning of the end step. On the other hand, if the effect that puts a creature onto the battlefield grants a triggered ability to the creature (with "gains" or "has"), the player who controls the creature at the time the ability triggers will be the player who controls that ability. For example, if your opponent casts Makeshift Mannequin and you cast Gather Specimens in response, the creature will return to the battlefield under your control with a mannequin counter and it will have the ability "When this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it." If the ability triggers, you'll control it, so you'll have to sacrifice the creature.

Reprints & Reprint Risk

2 printings

Gather Specimens has been reprinted 2 times.

Set Date Rarity Treatment
ALA #45 2008-10-03 Rare Standard
ALA #45 2008-10-03 Rare Standard

Gather Specimens in Commander

Gather Specimens is the #15,871 most-played card on EDHREC, down 385 places over the last 30 days.

Gather Specimens FAQ

How much is Gather Specimens worth?

Gather Specimens is worth about $1.47 for its cheapest playable printing as of Sep 23, 2026.

Is Gather Specimens legal in Commander?

Yes — Gather Specimens is legal in Commander. It is also legal in Modern and Legacy.

Has Gather Specimens been reprinted?

Yes — Gather Specimens has been reprinted 2 times, with 1 printings tracked on The Index.

Why is Gather Specimens cheap?

Gather Specimens trades at about $1.47 — 2 reprints keep supply plentiful, and Commander demand is modest (#15,871 on EDHREC).