Chain of Silence
Instant
Prevent all damage target creature would deal this turn. That creature's controller may sacrifice a land of their choice. If the player does, they may copy this spell and may choose a new target for that copy.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Onslaught
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #28404
Chain of Silence equips a creature and silences it — preventing it from attacking, blocking, or activating abilities — while offering each opponent the chance to copy the effect onto one of their own creatures by paying one white mana. The political wrinkle is real, but the baseline is a one-mana Aura that hard-neutralizes the most dangerous creature on board.
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, Chain of Silence occupies a narrow but legitimate slot in white Aura or pillowfort strategies — one mana to neutralize a commander or combat threat is efficient, and the copy clause occasionally generates goodwill or stacks the effect across multiple problem creatures. Outside Commander, it's a Legacy and Vintage-legal card with essentially no competitive history in those formats; the effect is too situational and too slow for 1v1 battlefields where opponents rarely volunteer to copy a disadvantageous Aura onto themselves. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander at a smaller table. Chain of Silence is a Commander card through and through.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Chain of Silence is deep bulk — you're paying almost nothing for a card with genuine niche utility in the right white deck. That price is unlikely to move meaningfully unless a high-profile Aura or pillowfort commander pushes demand, so grab it cheaply now if the effect fits your build.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.