Where Ancients Tread
Enchantment
Whenever a creature you control with power 5 or greater enters, you may have this enchantment deal 5 damage to any target.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Shards of Alara
- Price
- $1.06
- EDHREC rank
- #10997
Where Ancients Tread turns every 5-power creature entering the battlefield into a free Shock — except it's 5 damage, which kills most things in Commander on the spot. The five-mana setup cost is real, but in decks that routinely drop Polyraptor or flood the board through Omnath, Locus of Rage, each trigger is a removal spell or a face-burn clock that costs nothing extra.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Omnath, Locus of Rage
Omnath, Locus of Rage makes 5/5 Elementals whenever a land enters, so Where Ancients Tread converts every land drop into a 5-damage missile — an engine that can clear the board or close the game without attacking.
Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients
Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients spawns 3/3 Dragon Spirit tokens when it takes damage, and those tokens trigger Where Ancients Tread the moment they enter — chaining damage without needing any other setup.
Mayael the Anima
Mayael the Anima cheats 5-power creatures directly onto the battlefield, and Where Ancients Tread turns each of those free drops into guaranteed removal or damage before the creature even gets to swing.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Where Ancients Tread is a Commander card through and through — the five-mana cost is irrelevant when games go long, and the payoff compounds every time a big creature hits the battlefield. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but never sees play; the five-mana enchantment is far too slow for formats where games end on turn one or two. Oathbreaker can support it in the right big-creature shell, though the tighter game length makes the setup feel heavier than in Commander. If you're playing a 5-power-matter strategy, Commander is the only format where Where Ancients Tread is worth a slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
PolyraptorWhere Ancients Tread
Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$1.06 cheap tier
At $1.06, Where Ancients Tread sits firmly in bulk-rare territory — a low-cost inclusion for any big-creature Commander deck that wants repeatable damage without paying into the stack. Don't expect the price to move much; it's widely available and sees no competitive play outside Commander.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Polyraptor
- Omnath, Locus of Rage
- Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients
- Mayael the Anima
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.