Court of Cunning
Enchantment
When this enchantment enters, you become the monarch.
At the beginning of your upkeep, any number of target players each mill two cards. If you're the monarch, each of those players mills ten cards instead. (To mill a card, a player puts the top card of their library into their graveyard.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander Legends
- Price
- $10.37
- EDHREC rank
- #2591
Court of Cunning mills two players for two on your upkeep and scales to ten when you hold the monarchy — a repeatable threat that doubles as a win condition in any deck that wants the monarch. The cost is that someone will take the crown eventually, so the card rewards aggressive, interactive tables over passive ones.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Obeka, Splitter of Seconds
Obeka, Splitter of Seconds can end the turn in response to upkeep triggers, which means Court of Cunning's cumulative milling can fire repeatedly in a single round without giving opponents a window to reclaim the monarchy.
Captain N'ghathrod
Captain N'ghathrod turns milled creature cards into free creatures under your control, so Court of Cunning isn't just attrition — every upkeep is a potential threat landing on your side of the board.
Bruvac the Grandiloquent
Bruvac the Grandiloquent doubles each mill event, turning Court of Cunning's ten-card monarchy trigger into a twenty-card swing that ends games in a handful of turns.
Soundwave, Sonic Spy
Soundwave, Sonic Spy cares about spells cast from libraries and graveyards, so Court of Cunning fuels the exile pile it wants to exploit while applying independent pressure to all opponents.
The Mindskinner
The Mindskinner amplifies damage whenever opponents mill, making Court of Cunning a source of both library erosion and direct life loss that compounds every upkeep.
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 |
Court of Cunning is a Commander card through and through — the monarch mechanic is designed for multiplayer, and the ability to pressure two libraries simultaneously every upkeep only gets better as player count rises. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; two-player games neuter the multi-target milling, the four-mana cost is glacial in those formats, and faster mills exist at lower prices. Oathbreaker is the one other format where it has a real home, particularly in any Dimir shell that can protect the monarchy long enough to convert the ten-card trigger into a kill.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Sage's Row Denizen and Maddening Cacophony each cost under a dollar and mill at a comparable rate without requiring you to maintain the monarch, which makes them more reliable in decks that can't guarantee combat dominance. The trade-off versus Court of Cunning is that both are one-shot or creature-dependent rather than a permanent engine that passively ticks every upkeep — you lose the snowball potential but gain consistency.
Price Context
Current price
$10.37 mid tier
At $10.37, Court of Cunning sits in the mid tier — noticeable in a budget build but reasonable for a card that serves as both engine and win condition in the right shell. It's a narrow enough card that price is largely commander-gated: if you're not running Bruvac the Grandiloquent, Obeka, Splitter of Seconds, or a dedicated mill strategy, the slot is better spent elsewhere.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.