Chained to the Rocks MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2013-09-27
Set symbol
Set name	Theros
Set code	THS
Number	4
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Aaron Miller

Key Takeaways

Efficient creature removal attached to a land at a low cost.
Requires a Mountain, limiting its use to red or Boros decks.
Offers strategic depth in gameplay and metagame positioning.

Text of card

Enchant Mountain you control When Chained to the Rocks enters the battlefield, exile target creature an opponent controls until Chained to the Rocks leaves the battlefield. (That creature returns under its owner's control.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Chained to the Rocks offers a significant shift in board presence by allowing you to remove a problematic creature from the battlefield. This one-for-one exchange can often leave you effectively ahead, as the targeted creature is likely more valuable in the current game state than the enchantment.

Resource Acceleration: Though it doesn’t directly accelerate resources, the low mana cost of Chained to the Rocks makes it a highly efficient use of mana. This essentially frees up your resources to deploy other spells or manage your board more effectively, indirectly contributing to a form of resource acceleration.

Instant Speed: While Chained to the Rocks is not an instant, it’s important to consider the instant-speed interactions it can provoke. Once it’s on the board, opponents must be wary of using bounce or destruction effects on the enchanted land during your turn, lest they unexpectedly release their own creature and face it during combat or in subsequent turns.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside of Chained to the Rocks is that it necessitates the control of a Mountain to cast. This means that in decks lacking a significant number of Mountains, its inclusion can be less reliable or even a dead draw.

Specific Mana Cost: It requires both white and red mana. While this is not uncommon for Boros colored cards, it can be restrictive for decks that are not heavily committed to these two colors, making the card difficult to cast on curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While one mana might seem low, the true cost includes both having a Mountain on the field and the card itself. This can be a high price to pay in formats where tempo is crucial and the land requirement could be put to better uses.

Reasons to Include Chained to the Rocks in Your Collection

Versatility: Chained to the Rocks offers a unique removal spell that can be integrated into decks utilizing mountains. It’s especially powerful in red/white decks, where removal options may be limited, providing a way to deal with potent threats.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes with land-fetching mechanics, ensuring you have the necessary mountains to cast it. Additionally, it works well with land untapping spells or permanents, allowing you to reuse the same mountain for multiple enchantments.

Meta-Relevance: Its relevance grows in metas filled with single powerful creatures. Being able to exile a key piece of an opponent’s strategy with a low-cost spell like Chained to the Rocks can give you a significant edge in such environments.

How to beat

Chained to the Rocks is a unique and format-defining removal spell in Magic the Gathering, known for its ability to exile creatures at a minimal mana cost. This enchantment offers a combination of speed and efficiency that can catch many players off-guard, especially with its requirement being a Mountain in play to activate its exile effect. To effectively navigate around this card, players ought to consider the enchantment removal in their decks as a direct countermeasure. Cards like Disenchant or Nature’s Claim can remove Chained to the Rocks from the battlefield, freeing your creature and keeping your strategy intact.

Another angle is to reduce your reliance on creatures that can become targets for such removal. Adopting a strategy with fewer creatures can minimize the impact Chained to the Rocks has on your game. Alternatively, running creatures with hexproof or shroud can prevent them from being valid targets for Chained to the Rocks in the first place. It’s also valuable to be mindful of deck tempo; sometimes, applying pressure with fast-paced plays can outpace an opponent’s ability to set up their mana and utilize Chained to the Rocks effectively.

In essence, understanding your own deck’s strengths and the mechanics at play are key. By incorporating enchantment removal, diversifying your threats, or speeding up your play, you can weaken the stronghold that Chained to the Rocks might impose on the battlefield.

Cards like Chained to the Rocks

Chained to the Rocks is an intriguing enchantment in the realm of Magic: The Gathering removal spells. It draws a parallel with other exile effects like Path to Exile. Both cards serve to permanently remove a creature from the battlefield. However, Chained to the Rocks carries the unique requirement of controlling a Mountain, as it targets the exiled creature to that particular land. Path to Exile, while not tied to land, compensates the opponent with a basic land card.

Then there’s Journey to Nowhere, another removal enchantment. It is similar to Chained to the Rocks in functionality by exiling creatures, but it lacks the Mountain stipulation, offering more versatility in deck construction. Conversely, Chained to the Rocks is more cost-efficient for red-based decks that can easily meet its Mountain requirement. Lastly, there is Banishing Light, a broader removal tool capable of exiling nonland permanents, not just creatures. However, it comes with a higher mana cost and doesn’t leverage land type as Chained to the Rocks does, making the latter a more efficient choice in certain strategies.

By sifting through the features and limitations of similar enchantments, Chained to the Rocks distinguishes itself in Magic: The Gathering as a powerful and specific tool for red or red-white decks that can fully exploit its synergies with Mountains.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Chained to the Rocks MTG card by a specific set like Theros, 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 Chained to the Rocks and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Chained to the Rocks has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Chained to the Rocks card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2013-09-15	Auras attached to the exiled creature will be put into their owners' graveyards (unless they have bestow). Equipment attached to the exiled creature will become unattached and remain on the battlefield. Any counters on the exiled creature will cease to exist.
2013-09-15	Chained to the Rocks's ability causes a zone change with a duration, a style of ability introduced in Magic 2014 that's somewhat reminiscent of older cards like Oblivion Ring. However, unlike Oblivion Ring, cards like Chained to the Rocks have a single ability that creates two one-shot effects: one that exiles the creature when the ability resolves, and another that returns the exiled card to the battlefield immediately after Chained to the Rocks leaves the battlefield.
2013-09-15	If Chained to the Rocks leaves the battlefield before its triggered ability resolves, the target creature won't be exiled.
2013-09-15	If a creature token is exiled, it ceases to exist. It won't be returned to the battlefield.
2013-09-15	If the land Chained to the Rocks is enchanting stops being a Mountain or another player gains control of it, Chained to the Rocks will be put into its owner's graveyard when state-based actions are performed.
2013-09-15	In a multiplayer game, if Chained to the Rocks's owner leaves the game, the exiled card will return to the battlefield. Because the one-shot effect that returns the card isn't an ability that goes on the stack, it won't cease to exist along with the leaving player's spells and abilities on the stack.
2013-09-15	The exiled card returns to the battlefield immediately after Chained to the Rocks leaves the battlefield. Nothing happens between the two events, including state-based actions.