Chained to the Rocks
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant Mountain you control
When this Aura enters, exile target creature an opponent controls until this Aura leaves the battlefield. (That creature returns under its owner's control.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Pioneer Masters
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #16659
Chained to the Rocks exiles a creature for one mana — that's the deal, and it's a good one. The Mountain dependency keeps it out of non-white decks, but any deck running Plains alongside even a handful of Mountains gets one of the most efficient removal spells in the game.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Chained to the Rocks is a staple in Boros, Mardu, Jeskai, and Naya shells — anywhere white touches red and Mountains are a natural part of the mana base. The enchantment-removal vulnerability matters more in a four-player game where someone is always running Naturalize effects, so treat it as a tempo play rather than a permanent answer. In Pioneer and Modern, it shows up in white-based aggressive and midrange lists where the Mountain count is high enough to turn it on reliably by turn one. Legacy has better options at the same cost, so it rarely makes the cut there. Oathbreaker mirrors Commander in that the format's slower pace makes the aura vulnerability more of a liability, but one-mana exile is still worth the risk in the right color pair.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available at the moment, so check Scryfall or your preferred retailer for a current number. Chained to the Rocks has been printed multiple times and typically sits in budget-friendly territory, making it an easy pickup for any white-red deck that needs cheap exile removal.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.