Curse of Chains MTG Card

Shadowmoor (SHM)
2008-05-02 - Number 139

Curse of Chains - Ravnica: Clue Edition (CLU)

Ravnica: Clue Edition (CLU)
2024-02-23 - Number 183

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Curse of Chains provides card advantage by limiting opponent creature abilities, skewing the game in your favor.
Its aura nature gives the flexibility to apply it at opportune moments, quickly adapting to board changes.
While not an outright removal, the card disrupts enemy strategies and accelerates your path to victory.

Text of card

Enchant creature At the beginning of each upkeep, tap enchanted creature.

The giant's real punishment was the fleeting moment when he was allowed to stand before being dragged down to his knees again.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Curse of Chains shines by limiting an opposing creature’s abilities, effectively reducing the resources available to your opponent. This can disrupt their strategy and tilt the card balance in your favor, creating an indirect card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: By restricting a key creature, you’re accelerating your resources towards victory. You won’t need to invest as many cards or turns handling that creature, allowing you to devote your resources elsewhere and speeding up your control of the game.

Instant Speed: While Curse of Chains is an enchantment, its aura nature means it can be deployed at the speed of your choice, considering it’s not bound to the stack timing of instants. This flexibility lets you adapt swiftly to evolving board states, applying the Curse when most advantageous.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For a card that doesn’t outright remove the opponent’s threat, Curse of Chains requires a permanent to be tapped in addition to its casting cost. This can be seen as a downside since you lose the flexibility of that permanent until the next turn.

Specific Mana Cost: Curse of Chains necessitates a precise mana alignment, needing one blue and one white mana. This requirement may not fit seamlessly into all decks, particularly those running multiple colors or lacking a strong mana base to support these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the card isn’t exorbitantly expensive to play, its cost of two mana for an enchantment that doesn’t immediately alter the board state can be high, considering other options in the game that might provide greater tempo or more comprehensive control for a similar investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Curse of Chains is a useful control option fitting into a variety of blue or white decks. As an enchantment that can lock down creatures, it’s practical in situations where board management is crucial.

Combo Potential: This card plays well with tap/untap mechanics and can feed into strategies that capitalize on opponent’s creatures being rendered inert. It can also partake in synergies with aura-focused decks, triggering various effects each time an enchantment is played.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to shut down key creatures, Curse of Chains can shift the tide in matches dominated by creature-heavy or voltron-style decks. Keeping opponent’s threats at bay often proves vital, especially in fast-paced or closely competitive games.

How to Beat Curse of Chains

Curse of Chains stands as a tool of restraint in the Magic: The Gathering universe. It’s a blue-white enchantment that locks down opposing creatures, denying them the ability to attack or block, which can be a significant setback. However, not all hope is lost when facing this binding spell. To overcome Curse of Chains, one must consider strategic versatility and adaptability.

One reliable tactic is to employ removal spells capable of targeting enchantments directly. Disenchant or Naturalize, for instance, can dispatch Curse of Chains swiftly, releasing your creature from its icy grip. Another effective method is to utilize abilities or spells that grant hexproof or shroud to your creature, making it an invalid target for such confinements. Finally, having a backup creature on hand to take the reins when another is incapacitated is always wise. Employ cards that can multiply or regenerate, ensuring your board presence remains unshaken.

Adaptation is the key to success in Magic: The Gathering, and knowing how to handle common control spells like Curse of Chains can strengthen any player’s strategy, making them more resilient against this and other disabling tactics that await in the multiverse.

Cards like Curse of Chains

Curse of Chains is an intriguing control enchantment within the Magic: The Gathering lore. It’s often compared to other blue and white cards that restrict opponents’ creatures. One notable parallel is Claustrophobia, which similarly taps the enchanted creature and inhibits it from untapping during its controller’s untap step. While both cards fulfill the role of neutralizing threats, Curse of Chains is versatile with its hybrid mana cost, allowing for inclusion in a wider variety of decks.

Another card from this restraining gallery is Ice Cage, a straightforward enchantment that keeps the targeted creature tapped until it becomes the target of a spell or ability. Whereas Ice Cage can result in an early release for the captive creature, Curse of Chains doesn’t grant such an easy escape. Yet, there’s also Pacifism, which, while not tapping the creature, simply prevents it from attacking or blocking, offering a more permanent solution against combatant creatures but allowing their abilities to remain active, unlike Curse of Chains, which suppresses any attendance on the battlefield.

Taking these comparisons into account, Curse of Chains secures its place in the magic arsenal of many players who appreciate the control and flexibility it brings to the game. Its hybrid mana cost and comprehensive restriction make it a notable option for decks aiming to keep the field under surveillance.

Cards similar to Curse of Chains by color, type and mana cost

A-Dorothea, Vengeful Victim // A-Dorothea's Retribution - MTG Card versions

Dorothea, Vengeful Victim // Dorothea's Retribution - MTG Card versions

Regenerations Restored - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Curse of Chains MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor and Ravnica: Clue Edition, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Curse of Chains and other MTG cards: