Code of Constraint
Instant
Target creature gets -4/-0 until end of turn.
Draw a card.
Addendum — If you cast this spell during your main phase, tap that creature and it doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #25823
Code of Constraint taps a creature and draws you a card for three mana — functional but unexciting, and the proliferate rider rarely changes the outcome enough to matter. In a format full of cheaper interaction, this slot almost always has a better occupant.
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, Code of Constraint occupies a crowded tier of blue interaction that rarely makes the cut — tapping one creature for three mana is tempo-negative against a table of three opponents, and proliferate on a one-shot effect is a consolation prize rather than a build-around. It earns a slot in dedicated proliferate decks, specifically those running Atraxa or poison-counter strategies where every trigger matters. In Legacy and Vintage, the competition is simply too steep — Cryptic Command does more for one more mana, and cheaper one-mana interaction makes Code of Constraint invisible in those formats. Modern and Pioneer sit in the same boat: the card is legal, but nothing about the current threat landscape makes a three-mana tap-and-draw worth a deck slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Code of Constraint is pure bulk — the kind of card you pull from a draft chaff box without hesitation. That price is stable by inertia rather than demand, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.