Monologue Tax
Enchantment
Whenever an opponent casts their second spell each turn, you create a Treasure token.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2021
- Price
- $7.01
- EDHREC rank
- #1243
Monologue Tax generates a Treasure every time any opponent casts their second or more spell in a turn, turning the table's natural gameplay into a passive income stream. At two mana, it's cheap enough to land early and wide enough to matter in any multiplayer game — Vihaan, Goldwaker decks in particular run it at a 60% clip because Treasures are the whole point.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Vihaan, Goldwaker
Vihaan, Goldwaker animates Treasures into attackers, so every token Monologue Tax generates is both mana and a body — the card is doing double duty the moment it resolves.
Aminatou, Veil Piercer
Aminatou, Veil Piercer cares about enchantments entering and leaving, and Monologue Tax is a long-lived enchantment that quietly funds the engine; nearly half of all Aminatou, Veil Piercer decks include it for exactly that combination of type and ongoing value.
Quintorius, History Chaser
Quintorius, History Chaser triggers off spells cast from unusual zones, and the Treasure income from Monologue Tax keeps the mana flowing for the recursive loops Quintorius, History Chaser wants to assemble.
The Council of Four
The Council of Four rewards opponents for casting multiple spells per turn by drawing cards — Monologue Tax layers Treasure production on top of the same trigger condition, so both halves of the engine fire simultaneously.
Ragost, Deft Gastronaut
Ragost, Deft Gastronaut cares about artifacts entering the battlefield, and every Treasure Monologue Tax produces is an artifact ETB that can feed that trigger while also accelerating the expensive spells Ragost, Deft Gastronaut wants to cast.
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 where Monologue Tax does its best work — four opponents each casting multiple spells per turn means the Treasure output compounds fast in a way that simply doesn't happen in one-on-one formats. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but sees no meaningful play; those formats run too few players and too much disruption for a slow enchantment to generate real value. Oathbreaker is the one other format worth mentioning, where the multiplayer dynamic can make Monologue Tax functional, though the faster pace of those games reduces the number of turns it actually sits in play.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Smothering Tithe occupies the same design space — a white enchantment that taxes opponents' actions and generates resources — but costs significantly more and asks opponents to pay mana rather than triggering on spell count. If the budget doesn't support Monologue Tax, Makeshift Munitions or other cheap artifact payoffs can redirect existing Treasure production, though nothing below a dollar replicates the passive generation from opponents' own casts as cleanly.
Price Context
Current price
$7.01 mid tier
At $7.01, Monologue Tax sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a conscious include but not a barrier for most Commander budgets. It's a single-printing enchantment with broad multi-commander demand, so the price is unlikely to crater without a reprint.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.