Grip of the Roil
Instant
Surge 
(You may cast this spell for its surge cost if you or a teammate has cast another spell this turn.)
Tap target creature. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
Draw a card.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #23274
Grip of the Roil taps a creature and replaces itself with a card draw, which is a fine rate for three mana in Limited but falls short in Constructed. Tap effects at sorcery speed are too easy to play around, and cantripping doesn't save a card that doesn't change the board.
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 |
Grip of the Roil is legal in Commander, Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees essentially no play in any of them. In Commander, three mana to tap one creature at sorcery speed is not a meaningful tempo play — your opponents untap immediately and you've spent a card slot on a delay. Competitive formats like Modern and Legacy have access to far more efficient interaction, and Grip of the Roil's cantrip doesn't bring it to a playable threshold in any of those environments.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Grip of the Roil is deep bulk — the price reflects exactly how rarely it gets sleeved up. There's no meaningful demand to push it higher, so it stays a throw-in card at best.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.