Sleep Paralysis
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
When this Aura enters, tap enchanted creature.
Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadows over Innistrad
- Price
- $0.05
- EDHREC rank
- #22253
Sleep Paralysis taps a creature and locks it down for as long as the enchantment stays in play — solid permanent removal substitute at four mana. The problem is that four mana for a conditional, enchantment-based tap effect is a steep ask when hard removal and bounce spells do the job cleaner.
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 |
In Commander, Sleep Paralysis occupies the bottom tier of removal options — it handles one threat indefinitely but folds to any enchantment removal and does nothing against activated abilities or triggered effects that don't require attacking. Pauper is the format where it sees the most honest consideration, since the card pool shrinks and repeated tapping effects have more relative value. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer, the competition is simply too deep; there is no shell where Sleep Paralysis is the right call when unconditional removal exists at the same or lower cost. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander: unless your deck has a specific enchantress payoff, cleaner answers exist.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.05 bulk tier
At $0.05, Sleep Paralysis is deep bulk — you're not paying for power, you're paying for cardboard. Bulk commons don't appreciate, so there's no reason to stock up beyond immediate need.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.