Drana and Linvala
Legendary Creature — Vampire Angel
Flying, vigilance
Activated abilities of creatures your opponents control can't be activated.
Drana and Linvala has all activated abilities of all creatures your opponents control. You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate those abilities.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BW
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- March of the Machine
- Price
- $6.23
- EDHREC rank
- #1793
Drana and Linvala shuts off every activated ability on opposing creatures the moment it enters — tap abilities, sacrifice outlets, mana dorks, all gone — while stealing those abilities for itself. The cost is five mana in Orzhov colors, which is real, but the floor of blanking a table's worth of creatures is high enough that the card earns the slot. Niche engines like Kormus Bell turn all Swamps into creatures, and Shilgengar, Sire of Famine chains sacrifices off life totals — Drana and Linvala can absorb those stolen abilities and flip entire board states on the spot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine runs Drana and Linvala at over 53% inclusion because the two cards share the same game plan: lock down what opponents can do with their creatures while Shilgengar converts life totals into Angels and card advantage. Drana and Linvala absorbs the activated abilities of any key sacrifice outlets or utility creatures the table brought, leaving Shilgengar free to operate uncontested.
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness cares about opponents losing life and creatures dying, and Drana and Linvala feeds both angles by neutralizing the activated abilities opponents would use to protect their boards or generate value. Nearly half of Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness decks include it because silencing mana dorks and sacrifice outlets accelerates the attrition game Ardbert wants to play.
Kaalia of the Vast
Kaalia of the Vast puts Drana and Linvala into play for free off a combat trigger, immediately blanking every creature-based response an opponent might deploy against an attack. Over 40% of Kaalia of the Vast lists run it precisely because landing a five-drop for free while simultaneously stripping activated blockers or hate pieces is exactly the kind of two-for-one Kaalia decks need.
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk taxes spells and pressures life totals, and Drana and Linvala complements that by removing the safety valves — life-gain engines, sacrifice outlets, untap abilities — opponents lean on to offset Liesa's punishment. About 39% of Liesa, Shroud of Dusk decks include it as an extension of the same taxing, controlling gameplan.
Sen Triplets
Sen Triplets already steals opponents' hands; Drana and Linvala steals their activated abilities, and together they leave opponents with neither resources to play nor creatures to meaningfully use. The 28% inclusion rate reflects that this package is redundant in unfocused builds but extremely consistent in dedicated control shells.
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 |
Commander is where Drana and Linvala does its real work — the format's multiplayer nature means you're silencing three opponents' creature abilities simultaneously, and the singleton rule ensures the effect rarely gets mirrored back at you. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but essentially invisible: a five-mana 3/3 that doesn't end the game immediately doesn't compete with what those formats are doing on turns one through three. Modern and Pioneer are similar stories — the card is playable on paper, but the competitive texture of those formats doesn't create a deck that wants a five-mana legend with a static ability over faster answers. Oathbreaker offers a cleaner home if the signature spell supports the ability-theft angle. The honest conclusion is that Drana and Linvala was designed for Commander and performs best there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Drana and LinvalaKormus BellUrborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Opponents can't activate abilities of lands or creatures they control; Lock; Mass Land Denial
View combo details →
Drana and LinvalaLiving Plane
Opponents can't activate abilities of lands or creatures they control; Lock; Mass Land Denial
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Drana and LinvalaNature's Revolt
Opponents can't activate abilities of lands or creatures they control; Lock; Mass Land Denial
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Drana and LinvalaYavimaya, Cradle of GrowthLife and Limb
Opponents can't activate abilities of lands or creatures they control; Lock; Mass Land Denial
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Drana and LinvalaYavimaya, Cradle of GrowthLiving Lands
Opponents can't activate abilities of lands or creatures they control; Lock; Mass Land Denial
View combo details →Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
The closest budget analog is Linvala, Keeper of Silence, which covers the activated-ability shutdown on opposing creatures for a similar price and without requiring a specific partner — it lacks the ability-stealing upside, but the denial half is what most decks actually want. If the appeal is more about exploiting opponent abilities than locking them out, Zealous Conscripts or Sower of Temptation offer temporary theft at lower cost, though neither provides the persistent blanket suppression that makes Drana and Linvala worth five mana.
Price Context
Current price
$6.23 mid tier
At $6.23, Drana and Linvala sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate slot, cheap enough that it belongs in any deck that can use it without a second thought. Unique effects with no true functional reprint tend to hold value in Commander, and nothing currently does exactly what this card does on the ability-theft side.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.