Encrust
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant artifact or creature
Enchanted permanent doesn't untap during its controller's untap step and its activated abilities can't be activated.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Magic 2013
- Price
- $0.04
- EDHREC rank
- #20877
Encrust neutralizes a permanent completely — no activated abilities, no attacking, no blocking — for two mana plus a blue, stapled to an enchantment that sticks until answered. The catch is that it doesn't remove the permanent, so a single Disenchant effect undoes all of it; for that reason, Encrust loses to most dedicated removal in Commander but earns its slot in formats and shells where recurring tap effects matter.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Encrust is fringe — the format's power density makes a three-mana 'soft lock' on one permanent easy to play around, and enchantment removal is ubiquitous enough that it rarely stays on the battlefield long. Pauper is its best home, where the common card pool is shallow enough that locking down a key creature or artifact can swing a game, and enchantment removal is scarcer. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer, Encrust is simply outclassed by cheaper and cleaner answers; no competitive deck is interested. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander — passable in a budget list, unremarkable otherwise.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.04 bulk tier
At $0.04, Encrust is deep bulk — it costs more to ship than to buy. That price reflects demand accurately; don't expect it to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.