Meekstone
Artifact
Creatures with power 3 or greater don't untap during their controllers' untap steps.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Fourth Edition
- Price
- $9.86
- EDHREC rank
- #2824
Meekstone locks down every creature with power 3 or greater at a cost of one colorless mana, and it does so permanently until someone answers it. Arcades, the Strategist runs it because defenders have zero power and ignore the restriction entirely; Harmonious Archon abuses it by equalizing all creatures at 1/1 while Meekstone keeps the big threats tapped and helpless.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Arcades, the Strategist
Arcades, the Strategist runs Meekstone in nearly half its decks because defenders have power 0 — they attack freely while every opponent's threat stays tapped indefinitely.
Delney, Streetwise Lookout
Delney, Streetwise Lookout cares about creatures with power 2 or less, and Meekstone is a permanent enforcement mechanism that keeps the battlefield exactly in that range, protecting Delney's triggers while neutering anything larger.
Felothar the Steadfast
Felothar the Steadfast rewards vigilance, and Meekstone punishes every creature that doesn't have it — anything that attacks untaps into Meekstone's lockdown and stays tapped, while Felothar's vigilant team remains unaffected.
The Pride of Hull Clade
The Pride of Hull Clade grows creatures by distributing +1/+1 counters, but Meekstone ensures those counters stay on your side of the ledger — opponents' beefed-up threats lock themselves down the moment they swing.
Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant
Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant generates mana from unblocked creatures with power 1 or less, and Meekstone is the cleanest way to ensure the path stays open by keeping every large blocker tapped.
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 |
Commander is the format where Meekstone earns its slot — the average game features multiple large creatures, and a one-mana artifact that permanently taps anything with power 3 or greater is a soft lock that demands an answer. In Vintage, Meekstone is legal but the format's combo-heavy nature means most threats never attack anyway, so the effect rarely matters. Legacy gives it a legal home but the format's threat density skews toward cheap efficient creatures and fast combo rather than the big attackers Meekstone punishes, limiting its practical impact. It's not legal in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, or Pauper, so Commander and Oathbreaker are where it actually sees play — and in those formats, especially in dedicated small-power strategies, it's one of the most efficient permanent stax pieces available.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Harmonious ArchonMeekstone
Archon creatures with power 3 or greater do not untap; Non-Archon creatures do not untap; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
There's no direct budget replacement for Meekstone — the effect is unique enough that nothing else replicates it at a lower price point. Marble Titan is the closest analog, doing the same thing at three mana for one colorless more, and it's essentially free; the trade-off is that hitting the battlefield a full turn later matters significantly in faster games. If the goal is simply keeping large creatures tapped, Glare of Subdual or Cryptic Gateway-style tap effects can fill a similar role but require board investment rather than working automatically.
Price Context
Current price
$9.86 mid tier
At $9.86, Meekstone sits in the mid tier — meaningful money, but justified by a unique effect you genuinely cannot find on a cheaper card. It's a Reserved List artifact, so the supply is fixed; the price reflects steady demand from Arcades and vigilance-matters builds rather than any speculative spike.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Harmonious Archon
- Arcades, the Strategist
- Delney, Streetwise Lookout
- Felothar the Steadfast
- The Pride of Hull Clade
- Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.