Raise the Palisade
Sorcery
Choose a creature type. Return all creatures that aren't of the chosen type to their owners' hands.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Tales of Middle-earth Commander
- Price
- $25.04
- EDHREC rank
- #1073
Raise the Palisade bounces all nonland permanents your opponents control back to their hands — a one-sided Evacuation that resets the board while leaving your side untouched. Galadriel, Elven-Queen decks run it as a tempo nuke that also triggers scry effects on the way back in, and at five mana in blue it's squarely in the fair zone for what it delivers.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Galadriel, Elven-Queen
Galadriel, Elven-Queen triggers off scrying, and Raise the Palisade pairs with that engine by clearing the board and then letting you reload your hand while digging for the next threat — it's the card that turns a tempo play into card selection.
Lord of the Nazgûl
Lord of the Nazgûl goes wide with Wraith tokens, and Raise the Palisade lets that army survive a board wipe while sending every opposing threat back to hand — the tempo gap is often insurmountable.
Elrond, Master of Healing
Elrond, Master of Healing cares about scrying and lifegain triggers, and Raise the Palisade fits as interaction that resets threat-heavy boards without touching the permanents Elrond has built up.
Choco, Seeker of Paradise
Choco, Seeker of Paradise builds around a go-wide creature plan, and Raise the Palisade protects that board investment from sweepers while punishing opponents who've overextended.
Galadriel, Light of Valinor
Galadriel, Light of Valinor rewards card draw and permanents entering under your control, making Raise the Palisade doubly useful — clear the opposition and then benefit from the cascade of draw triggers that follow.
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 |
Raise the Palisade is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but Commander is the only format where it does real work. In Legacy and Vintage, Evacuation already exists at the same mana cost and is symmetrical — the asymmetry that makes Raise the Palisade special in multiplayer is irrelevant in one-on-one games where tempo has a harder ceiling. Commander is the home: three opponents with developed boards means Raise the Palisade can set back 30 or more mana worth of permanents while leaving your side standing, which is a level of efficiency no symmetrical bounce spell can match.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Plain Evacuation costs under $1 and bounces all creatures to all hands — you lose the asymmetry but keep the board-reset effect at the same mana cost, and in pods where you have fewer creatures than opponents it often plays similarly. If you specifically want the one-sided angle, Cyclonic Rift does the same job better at instant speed, though it costs considerably more; Raise the Palisade is actually the budget alternative to Rift rather than the other way around.
Price Context
Current price
$25.04 premium tier
At $25.04, Raise the Palisade sits in the premium tier for a single spell, driven almost entirely by its being a chase card from a heavily-played Lord of the Rings release with strong Commander demand. That price is stable as long as Galadriel, Elven-Queen and related decks stay popular, but it's a significant ask for a card that doesn't combo-win — budget builders should grab Evacuation and move on.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Galadriel, Elven-Queen
- Lord of the Nazgûl
- Elrond, Master of Healing
- Choco, Seeker of Paradise
- Galadriel, Light of Valinor
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.