Bar the Door
Instant
Creatures you control get +0/+4 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Dark Ascension
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #8446
Bar the Door gives every creature you control +0/+4 until end of turn for a single white mana, which can swing a combat or survive a board wipe on the spot. It's a narrow trick outside of toughness-matters shells, but in those decks — particularly Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant builds that want high-toughness creatures to generate free mana — it earns its slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant
Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant cares specifically about untapped creatures with power 0, and Bar the Door can pump toughness without touching power, keeping your whole board eligible to trigger Tadeas's mana ability while also surviving combat.
Arcades, the Strategist
Arcades, the Strategist turns toughness into offensive stats, so Bar the Door is a combat trick that simultaneously pumps damage output and blocks — a two-for-one that no other equivalent one-mana spell matches in this shell.
Doran, the Siege Tower
Doran, the Siege Tower makes creatures deal damage equal to toughness, so Bar the Door is effectively a mass +4 power pump for one mana — an absurd rate that can close games or survive an alpha strike that would otherwise wipe the board.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Bar the Door is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but the honest truth is it barely registers outside Commander. In Pauper it's too conditional to compete with more flexible white tricks. In Legacy and Vintage the power ceiling is so high that a one-shot toughness pump at sorcery speed doesn't move the needle. Commander is where Bar the Door actually lives, and only in toughness-matters builds — outside of Arcades, Doran, or Tadeas strategies, it's a cut.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Bar the Door is deep bulk — you're not paying a premium for anything here. The price reflects its narrow application accurately; it holds no cross-format demand, so don't expect it to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant
- Arcades, the Strategist
- Doran, the Siege Tower
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.