Involuntary Cooldown
Sorcery
Tap up to two target artifacts and/or creatures. Put two stun counters on each of them. (If a permanent with a stun counter would become untapped, remove one from it instead.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Brothers' War
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #18146
Involuntary Cooldown taps a creature and puts two time counters on it, keeping it locked down for two full turns — a three-mana instant that effectively removes a threat for a combat cycle without spending a destroy or exile effect. The cost is real: it's temporary, and a sufficiently protected creature just comes back.
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 |
Commander is where Involuntary Cooldown is most at home, specifically in decks that need to neutralize a commander or a combo piece long enough to assemble a win — two turns of lockdown can be the window that matters. In competitive non-rotating formats like Legacy, Modern, and Vintage, it doesn't compete with cheaper or permanent answers; no serious deck wants a three-mana tap effect when Path to Exile and Fatal Push exist. Pioneer sees the same problem: the effect doesn't match what tempo and control decks actually want at three mana. Involuntary Cooldown is a Commander card through and through.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Involuntary Cooldown is deep bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or grab from any dollar bin. Bulk uncommons with narrow applications rarely appreciate, so don't expect this to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.