Detainment Spell
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature's activated abilities can't be activated.
: Attach this Aura to target creature.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Time Spiral
- Price
- $0.25
- EDHREC rank
- #17488
Detainment Spell locks down an activated ability permanently — as long as the enchantment stays on the battlefield — for a single white mana. The catch is that it leaves the creature alive and untapped, so it answers problem abilities without answering threats, which is a narrow enough use case that most decks want hard removal instead.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Detainment Spell occupies the extreme budget end of ability-hate — it handles things like Krenko, Mob Boss activations or Maze of Ith, but a Swords to Plowshares or Imprisoned in the Moon does the job more completely for a similar investment. Pauper is the format where Detainment Spell gets the most consideration, since removal options are constrained and shutting down a recurring activated ability can buy meaningful tempo. In Legacy and Vintage the card is technically legal but far too slow and narrow to compete — those formats have efficient disruption that answers the creature outright. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander read: situationally fine, never a priority slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.25 bulk tier
At $0.25, Detainment Spell is pure bulk — you're not paying for power, you're paying for a niche answer that happens to cost nothing. It won't appreciate; pick it up only if a specific activated ability in your local meta demands a permanent answer on the cheap.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.