Caltrops
Artifact
Whenever a creature attacks, this artifact deals 1 damage to it.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Seventh Edition
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #5985
Caltrops shuts down aggressive creature strategies cold — any attacker that isn't already tapped gets a -1/-0 debuff that stacks, making wide boards effectively unable to swing without losing creatures. The real ceiling is Sydri, Galvanic Genius, who can animate Caltrops into a creature that deals its own damage trigger on attack, and Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk, who wants damage dealt to himself to transform — Caltrops delivers that reliably and repeatedly.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Sydri, Galvanic Genius animates Caltrops into a creature, turning a passive deterrent into an active threat that assigns its own damage during combat — a two-card soft lock that punishes every attacking creature your opponents control.
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph triggers whenever a source deals exactly 1 damage to a creature or player, and Caltrops pings every attacking creature for exactly 1 — each attacker your opponents send triggers Ghyrson's damage redirection, quickly turning their board into casualties.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog rewards you for having faster creatures and punishes opponents for attacking, making Caltrops a natural fit that discourages wide attacks while Sonic's own aggression remains largely unaffected.
Maha, Its Feathers Night
Maha, Its Feathers Night cares about life loss and pressuring opponents, and Caltrops keeps blockers and attackers off the table long enough for Maha to dominate combat — fewer profitable attacks for opponents means more life-loss triggers stacking up on your terms.
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy deals damage equal to a creature's power when it fights, and Caltrops softens incoming creatures before those fights even happen, making Wayta's damage trades increasingly one-sided.
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 |
Caltrops is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, and that's effectively the full picture — Modern, Pioneer, Standard, and Pauper are all off the table. In Legacy and Vintage it sees essentially no play; the formats are too fast and too spell-dense for a three-mana artifact that doesn't immediately affect the board state. Commander is where Caltrops actually earns its slot: multiplayer games go wide, attack triggers stack up, and a three-mana artifact that taxes every attacker indefinitely is real deterrence at a table of four.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Bruce Banner // The Incredible HulkCaltrops
Infinite combat phases; Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Caltrops isn't currently available in our system, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number. It's an older card with limited reprint history, so copies can be inconsistently stocked — worth grabbing if you spot it cheaply rather than waiting on a reprint.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk
- Sydri, Galvanic Genius
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Maha, Its Feathers Night
- Wayta, Trainer Prodigy
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.