Shrine of Boundless GrowthHow it works & interactions with other cards

How it Accumulates Counters

The Shrine has two distinct triggers for gaining charge counters. First, a mandatory trigger occurs at the beginning of each of your upkeep steps, ensuring it grows naturally over time. Second, every time you cast a green spell, a triggered ability is put onto the stack that adds another counter. Because this triggers on casting, the counter is added to the Shrine before the green spell itself even resolves.

Cashing in the Growth

To activate the mana ability, you must tap the Shrine and sacrifice it as a cost. This means once you decide to use it, opponents cannot destroy the Shrine in response to stop the mana from being added. The amount of colorless mana you receive is determined by the number of charge counters that were on the Shrine at the moment it was sacrificed. This mana can be used to pay for generic mana costs, but not specific colored pips.

Strategic Considerations

A common mistake is forgetting that the Shrine only counts green spells you cast, not green permanents that enter the battlefield via other means. Additionally, because the activation requires the tap symbol, you cannot sacrifice the Shrine for mana the same turn it enters the battlefield unless you have a way to grant it haste. It is often best to let the Shrine sit for several turns to maximize the return on your three-mana investment.

When to Activate

Since the Shrine is an artifact, it is vulnerable to removal. If an opponent targets your Shrine of Boundless Growth with a destruction spell, you can respond by tapping and sacrificing it to get your mana immediately, provided it doesn't have 'summoning sickness.' Use this mana for an instant-speed spell or a creature with Flash to ensure your counters don't go to waste.

Interaction examples

Early Game Stabilization

Arcane Signet

On turn three, you cast Shrine of Boundless Growth. On turn four, at the beginning of your upkeep, the Shrine gains its first charge counter. You then tap your Arcane Signet to help pay for a green spell. When you cast that green spell, the Shrine triggers again, gaining a second counter. Even if you haven't cast many spells, the Shrine is already prepared to give you two colorless mana whenever you need to sacrifice it.

Protecting Your Investment

Swiftfoot Boots

If you need mana urgently on the same turn you play the Shrine, you can use Swiftfoot Boots. First, cast and resolve the Shrine. Then, if you have a creature equipped with Swiftfoot Boots that can move the boots to the Shrine (if it were a creature) or if you simply use the haste logic for creatures, normally artifacts don't need haste. However, if the Shrine becomes a creature, it would need haste to tap. If it remains a non-creature artifact, you can tap it the turn it arrives as long as you can pay its costs. If an opponent tries to exile the Shrine, you can tap and sacrifice it in response to add mana to your pool, which you could then spend to equip Swiftfoot Boots to a key creature.