Tangle
Instant
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.
Each attacking creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- World Championship Decks 2001
- Price
- $1.23
- EDHREC rank
- #6770
Tangle taps all attacking creatures and prevents them from untapping next turn — a one-mana fog that punishes aggression for two full combat steps instead of one. The Cabbage Merchant builds around it, but any green deck that needs to survive a swing and answer it later will reach for this.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Cabbage Merchant
The Cabbage Merchant runs Tangle because the deck wants to stall combats long enough to build its board — locking down attackers for two turns buys exactly the time needed to develop the engine and capitalize on the tempo swing.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Tangle is a cheap answer to the most common early threat: a player who overcommits to combat. One mana to tap down an entire army and deny their untap is a clean rate, especially in green decks that lack traditional removal. Pauper is where Tangle has seen the most competitive discussion — it's legal and the two-turn lockout on an aggressive creature base can flip races in mono-green or Stompy shells. Legacy and Vintage have access to it, but the range of faster, more flexible interaction at those power levels keeps Tangle on the fringe. Modern and Pioneer don't apply.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.23 cheap tier
At $1.23, Tangle sits comfortably in the cheap tier — low enough that there's no reason to cut it for budget reasons. Niche cards with a loyal fanbase tend to hold at this floor rather than drop further, so picking up copies now is straightforward.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.