Hithlain Rope
Artifact
This artifact can't be sacrificed.
, 
: Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. The player to your right gains control of this artifact.
, : Draw a card. The player to your right gains control of this artifact.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Tales of Middle-earth Commander
- Price
- $0.39
- EDHREC rank
- #5323
Hithlain Rope enters the battlefield and immediately taps a nonland permanent — no attack step required, no hoops to jump through. At two mana with a repeatable untap trigger, it's the kind of tap-based control piece that earns its slot on raw efficiency alone, and Iroh, Tea Master decks snap it up at over 65% inclusion for good reason.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Iroh, Tea Master
Iroh, Tea Master triggers off you tapping artifacts and enchantments, and Hithlain Rope taps itself on entry and again whenever you gain life — turning every life-gain trigger into a free tap activation that fuels Iroh's card draw engine.
Zedruu the Greathearted
Zedruu the Greathearted wants permanents to donate, and Hithlain Rope is a low-investment gift that keeps opponents' key pieces locked down before it leaves your side of the table.
Zidane, Tantalus Thief
Hithlain Rope's repeatable tap effect feeds directly into Zidane, Tantalus Thief's theft and combat-damage triggers by keeping blockers and utility creatures off the board at minimal cost.
Blim, Comedic Genius
Blim, Comedic Genius builds around donating permanents with drawbacks, and Hithlain Rope hands an opponent a piece that taps their own permanents — turning the Rope's ability into a liability once it crosses the table.
River Song
River Song benefits from a broad mix of instant and sorcery triggers, and Hithlain Rope slots in as a cheap, recurring tap effect that generates value without competing for spell slots.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Hithlain Rope is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but Commander is the only format where it realistically sees play. In Legacy and Vintage, a two-mana tap effect with no immediate board impact is far too slow against the threats those formats demand answers to. Commander is where Hithlain Rope earns its keep: multiplayer games give the repeatable tap trigger more targets, longer games mean more life-gain triggers to activate it, and the enchantment type matters for synergy commanders like Iroh, Tea Master. Oathbreaker is theoretically legal but a niche enough format that its presence there is academic.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.39 bulk tier
At $0.39, Hithlain Rope is deep bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or cheap single. Bulk enchantments with narrow commander synergies don't appreciate meaningfully, so buy it for the deck, not the binder.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Iroh, Tea Master
- Zedruu the Greathearted
- Zidane, Tantalus Thief
- Blim, Comedic Genius
- River Song
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.