Gelid Shackles
Snow Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature can't block, and its activated abilities can't be activated.
: Enchanted creature gains defender until end of turn. ( can be paid with one mana from a snow source.)
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Coldsnap
- Price
- $0.24
- EDHREC rank
- #16110
Gelid Shackles taps a creature, strips it of activated abilities, and prevents it from untapping — all for one white mana and a snow permanent already in play. Outside of Isu the Abominable and other snow-heavy builds that meet that cost trivially, the snow requirement makes this a niche inclusion rather than a universal staple.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Isu the Abominable
Isu the Abominable builds around snow permanents by design, so Gelid Shackles enters with zero additional setup cost — Isu's deck is already full of the snow sources the enchantment demands, making it one of the cleanest single-mana threat locks available to that strategy.
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, Gelid Shackles is a role-player in dedicated snow decks and nearly unplayable outside them — the snow permanent requirement is trivial in the right shell and a deal-breaker in every other. Pauper is where it has historically seen the most cross-deck relevance, since the common slot is starved for cheap permanent-based removal and snow synergies are more broadly supported there. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient interaction, so Gelid Shackles doesn't compete. Modern is legal but the card sees no real play there — the format's speed and the snow restriction both work against it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.24 bulk tier
At $0.24, Gelid Shackles sits firmly in bulk territory, which is accurate for a card with a narrow home. It won't appreciate — the ceiling is defined entirely by Isu the Abominable's popularity — but it costs essentially nothing to pick up if you're building that deck.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.