Infinite Hourglass
Artifact
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a time counter on this artifact.
All creatures get +1/+0 for each time counter on this artifact.
: Remove a time counter from this artifact. Any player may activate this ability but only during any upkeep step.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Ice Age
- Price
- $0.61
- EDHREC rank
- #19989
Infinite Hourglass locks every creature on the board to a base power of 1 — a symmetrical ceiling that punishes go-wide and go-tall strategies alike. The catch is the three-mana-per-turn upkeep tax, which makes it a liability in slower games unless you're built to exploit the effect.
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 |
In Commander, Infinite Hourglass occupies a niche stax role — it neuters combat-reliant threats like Blightsteel Colossus and neutralizes commanders whose value is tied to high power, buying time for combo or control lines to close. Legacy and Vintage both have access to it, but neither format has ever had reason to run it; faster interaction and more targeted answers make the upkeep cost a non-starter in those environments. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander at a smaller scale, and the same niche applies. The card only earns a slot if your gameplan specifically profits from a board where nothing hits harder than 1.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.61 bulk tier
At $0.61, Infinite Hourglass is firmly bulk — easy to acquire, easy to cut if the effect stops pulling weight. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to move unless a commander with direct synergy spikes in popularity.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.