Runner's Bane
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature with power 3 or less
When this Aura enters, tap enchanted creature.
Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Dragon's Maze
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #28219
Runner's Bane taps a creature and locks it down for as long as it stays enchanted — the target can't untap and loses any activated abilities that require tapping. Two blue mana for a permanent soft-lock on a creature is a real rate, but the aura vulnerability and the narrowness of the tap-ability clause keep it out of most serious lists.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Runner's Bane is a Pauper staple where blue tempo and aura synergies are legitimate strategies, and the two-mana cost lines up cleanly against the format's threat density. In Commander, it competes against instant-speed removal that answers a threat outright rather than leaving a body on the board — a tapped creature still blocks, still triggers on upkeep, and still dies to a Swords to Plowshares that frees up the enchantment slot. In Legacy and Vintage, the card is legal but irrelevant; those formats kill you too fast for a two-mana tap effect to matter. Modern and Pioneer offer slightly more breathing room, but again, unconditional removal at the same mana cost does more work. Runner's Bane belongs in Pauper and nowhere else above that rarity floor.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Runner's Bane is deep bulk — the kind of card you pick up out of a dollar box without thinking twice. That price is stable because demand is narrow and supply is abundant; it won't climb, but for Pauper players who want copies, the entry cost is essentially zero.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.