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Linvala, Keeper of Silence

Legendary Creature — Angel

Flying
Activated abilities of creatures your opponents control can't be activated.

CMC
4
Mana cost
{2}{W}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
mythic
Set
Modern Masters 2017
Price
$19.09
EDHREC rank
#2496
Buy on TCGplayer
Linvala, Keeper of Silence card art
Linvala, Keeper of Silence shuts off every activated ability on opponents' creatures the moment she hits the battlefield — no triggers, no setup, just a hard stop on mana dorks, combo creatures, and anything Living Plane puts on the board. Four mana for a 3/4 flier that answers entire strategies is the deal; the cost is that she does nothing to abilities opponents have already used and folds to removal like any creature.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Captain Sisay

Captain Sisay

42.1% of decks · synergy 0.39

Captain Sisay tutors Linvala, Keeper of Silence directly onto the battlefield given her legendary status, making her a reliable silver bullet against creature-activated-ability combos that Sisay toolbox builds need to answer.

02
Giada, Font of Hope

Giada, Font of Hope

46.3% of decks · synergy 0.36

Giada, Font of Hope builds angel tribal, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence slots in as both a role-player in the angel count and a passive lock piece that taxes opponents without asking anything of the deck's engine.

03
Avacyn, Angel of Hope

Avacyn, Angel of Hope

44.6% of decks · synergy 0.35

Avacyn, Angel of Hope runs a top-heavy angel package where every creature needs to earn its slot, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence earns hers by neutralizing the mana dorks and combo activations that would otherwise race past Avacyn's indestructibility.

04
Sigarda, Font of Blessings

Sigarda, Font of Blessings

32.4% of decks · synergy 0.29

Sigarda, Font of Blessings cares about angels and humans, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence contributes to the angel density while providing a disruption layer that the mostly-creature strategy otherwise struggles to include.

05
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV

27.5% of decks · synergy 0.25

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is a stax commander, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence layers on a second axis of denial — taxing spells with the Arbiter while Linvala locks down activated abilities covers two of the most common routes opponents take to break through a permission shell.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Linvala, Keeper of Silence earns her reputation — the format is packed with mana dorks, tap-to-win combos, and creature-based engines, all of which she answers with a single static ability. In Legacy and Vintage she sees occasional sideboard play against creature-combo strategies, but her four-mana cost is a real liability in formats where the game is often decided on turn two or three. Modern has enough creature-based combo threats to give her a niche, though dedicated removal and faster clocks keep her fringe rather than staple there. She is not legal in Pioneer, Standard, or Pauper, so her competitive ceiling is almost entirely defined by what she does in Commander.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Hushbringer and Hushwing Gryff cover much of the same space for under a dollar each, shutting off triggered abilities on creatures entering the battlefield — they miss activated abilities entirely, which is the half of Linvala, Keeper of Silence's text that actually locks down tap-based combo. Phyrexian Revoker is the closest true budget alternative at roughly $0.50, naming a single card's activated abilities, but it requires you to predict the threat in advance rather than blanketing the table.

Price Context

Current price

$19.09 mid tier

At $19.09, Linvala, Keeper of Silence sits squarely in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate inclusion but not the $50-plus ask of the format's premier stax pieces. Her price has stayed in this range because she's both a genuine competitive tool and an angel for tribal decks, which keeps demand broad and consistent.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.