Abeyance
Instant
Until end of turn, target player can't cast instant or sorcery spells, and that player can't activate abilities that aren't mana abilities.
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- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- World Championship Decks 1997
- Price
- $4.20
- EDHREC rank
- #14373
Abeyance locks a single opponent out of instants, sorceries, and activated abilities for a full turn while replacing itself — all for two mana. It's a precision tool for stopping a combo player mid-execution or blanking a counterspell on your big turn.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Abeyance earns its slot in stax and combo shells that need a one-turn window of protection — casting it in response to a tutor or on your combo turn buys the time you need. Legacy is where it has genuine competitive history, used to blank counterspells or disrupt storm on the critical turn; the cantrip makes it nearly free to include. Vintage is legal but the format moves fast enough that more permanent disruption usually wins out. It's not legal in Modern, Pioneer, or Standard, so those aren't conversations worth having.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$4.20 cheap tier
At $4.20, Abeyance sits at the low end of the staple range — cheap enough that the barrier is mostly whether your deck wants this effect, not whether you can afford it. It's a niche card with a stable collector floor, so the price is unlikely to move much in either direction.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.