Junk Winder
Creature — Serpent
Affinity for tokens (This spell costs 
less to cast for each token you control.)
Whenever a token you control enters, tap target nonland permanent an opponent controls. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
- CMC
- 7
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Bloomburrow Commander
- Price
- $0.31
- EDHREC rank
- #1763
Junk Winder taps down an opponent's permanent every time you cast a spell for free — and in token-heavy or clue-generating shells, that's not a rare event, it's every turn. The Watcher in the Water decks run it at over 64% inclusion because Junk Winder turns clue tokens into a soft lock, and The Watcher in the Water gives you the token density to make that happen immediately.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Watcher in the Water
The Watcher in the Water generates clue tokens naturally, and each one you sacrifice to draw a card triggers Junk Winder — meaning The Watcher in the Water decks can tap down a blocker or problematic permanent at instant speed every single turn.
Runo Stromkirk
Runo Stromkirk rewards you for stacking the graveyard with sea creatures, and Junk Winder's Kraken typing means it contributes to Runo Stromkirk's flip condition while also locking down blockers that would otherwise stop your large sea creatures from connecting.
Morska, Undersea Sleuth
Morska, Undersea Sleuth cares about clues and tokens at a structural level, and Junk Winder slots in as both a payoff and a control piece — every clue Morska, Undersea Sleuth's engine produces is another tap trigger waiting to happen.
Hylda of the Icy Crown
Hylda of the Icy Crown rewards tapping opponents' creatures with token generation, and Junk Winder creates a feedback loop: tap their permanent with Junk Winder, Hylda of the Icy Crown puts a token on board, that token lets you trigger Junk Winder again next spell.
Lonis, Cryptozoologist
Lonis, Cryptozoologist floods the board with clue tokens off every creature you cast, and Junk Winder converts that clue surplus directly into a soft lock — Lonis, Cryptozoologist decks rarely lack for noncreature tokens to spend.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Junk Winder is a Commander card — full stop. The effect is too slow and conditional for Legacy or Vintage, where the game is decided before token synergies reach critical mass, and Modern's card-quality bar is high enough that a five-mana 3/3 needs to win the game on the spot to see play. In Commander, Junk Winder is genuinely strong: multiplayer tables give you multiple targets, token-generating strategies are endemic to the format, and tapping down the most dangerous permanent at the table every turn for free is a real political and strategic tool. Oathbreaker is a plausible home if your planeswalker generates tokens, but the lower life totals compress the game enough that Junk Winder's incremental value matters less.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
The Watcher in the WaterVerity CircleJunk Winder
Creatures opponents control do not untap; Tap all creatures opponents control; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.31 bulk tier
At $0.31, Junk Winder is bulk — you're not paying a premium for what is one of the better tap-lock pieces in token-heavy Commander decks. Bulk rares with narrow but real applications tend to stay in this range, so don't expect the price to move unless a new commander pushes clue or token strategies into the mainstream.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.