Earthbind
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
When this Aura enters, if enchanted creature has flying, this Aura deals 2 damage to that creature and this Aura gains "Enchanted creature loses flying."
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Foreign Black Border
- Price
- $12.00
- EDHREC rank
- #22279
Earthbind strips flying from a creature and deals 2 damage to its controller if it had the ability — relevant disruption stapled onto a permanent threat-answer. For one red mana, that is an overperforming rate, but the enchantment framing means it eats any removal pointed at enchantments and evaporates if the creature leaves.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Earthbind is a fringe include — the format is too threat-dense for a one-target aura that answers exactly one flier and does nothing the turn a flying commander starts connecting for lethal. In Pauper, the one-mana cost is more meaningful and the 2 damage pings matter more in a lower-life-total-pressure context, making it a marginal sideboard option against mono-blue flier strategies. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters; Earthbind simply does not compete at those power levels. Oathbreaker sits closer to Commander in practice, so the same skepticism applies.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Earthbind's floor is already one mana, so the question isn't cost — it's whether a non-aura answer serves better. Clip Wings hits any flying creature for one green mana as a sorcery without the enchantment fragility, and it trades the aura's ongoing ground-lock for an outright destroy effect that doesn't vanish when the creature does. If you specifically want the reach-removal angle in red, Smelt-Ward Ignus or a simple Plummet in green gives you cleaner, less conditional interaction for the same budget.
Price Context
Current price
$12.00 mid tier
At $12.00, Earthbind sits in mid-tier pricing that is almost entirely driven by age and scarcity rather than competitive demand — this is a Reserved List card with extremely narrow application. That scarcity floor may keep the price stable, but there is no gameplay pressure pushing it higher.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.