Ensnaring Bridge

Artifact

Creatures with power greater than the number of cards in your hand can't attack.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (44)

Caerwyn on UB: LOTR

2 weeks ago

With the important note that it is still early in spoiler season at the time of writing, I have been rather disappointed with the designs of the unique cards thus far. A lot of them feel like a half-hearted attempt on a fan card thread by someone who only vaguely remembers the books. Take, for example, Gandalf the Grey--the stat block feels like a generic Izzet spellslinger, and thus fails to capture any real feel of the character. Or Tom Bombadil having the "God" creature type. Bombadil is one of the most mysterious characters in the lore, and even Tolkien was reluctant to talk about him. One of the few times Tolkien did speak up was to expressly disavow the notion that Bombadil was a God stand-in (recall, Tolkien was devout Catholic and the world of Arda is likewise monotheistic).

The reskinned cards, such as Gorgoroth as Wasteland and The Bridge of Khazad-dûm as Ensnaring Bridge are excellent and, frankly, do a better job representing the books than anything created specifically for this set. The two instants we have seen thus far also seems solid and do a good job capturing the books' general feel (plus, I am glad to see Reprieve referencing one of my favorite chapters of the book).

Overall, looking forward to seeing more spoilers--especially non-Legendary Creature spoilers--and hope things improve as we see more cards.

I-HaveNoManaAnd-I-MustScream on WIP Control Deck

1 month ago

Awesome! Didja take a look at my maybe board? I don't have much in the way of a budget for the time being so I'd probably be planning out purchases instead of executing. I have Azor's Elocutors and was considering that but I felt it might be too inconsistent and hard to pull off to build towards. I'll take a look at your recommendations and add that some other players at my local shops recommended Meekstone, Defense Grid, Blind Obedience, Loxodon Gatekeeper, Ensnaring Bridge, and Ghostly Prison.

wallisface on Lanter Control

1 month ago

Some thoughts:

• you really need the full playset of Ensnaring Bridge to be able to reliably survive against an opponents attacks.

• both Ashiok, Dream Render and Karn, the Great Creator feel out of place here. Ashiok is maybe a decent sideboard option, but i think Karn is just going to slow you down.

• imo you need some lifegain outlet to not have an absolutely terrible matchup versus burn. I’ve found a single copy of The Underworld Cookbook work wonders for this in that it’s Saga-fetchable, and it also helps Ensnaring Bridge get online faster.

xactly on Premodern Mono Black Control

2 months ago

Thank you Plaguedr88 for the suggestions. I think you are right with the one off tutor isn't needed. I will replace it with a PlagueSpitter. Also will try to fit in 2 Ensnaring Bridge by cutting 1 Crypt Rats and 1 Pestilence.

I also think I need to adjust the Sideboard. Mutilate and all the other stuff should handle creatures very well so I am not shure if I need Perish just against green.

zapyourtumor on How Not To MTG

2 months ago

Necrogen Spellbomb is cute but a really weak card even with saga. I recommend 1 Pithing Needle and 1 Nihil Spellbomb in the main, both are really useful and the spellbomb can be cycled if graveyard hate isn't needed. To be honest, I know you want a lot of artifacts to tap for Herald, but Necrogen Spellbomb and Chromatic Star are probably getting sacrificed anyways so I don't think they are worth including. Grief is also kind of a bad card if you aren't building around it with flicker effects or like in BR scam decks so I'd cut both copies. And since Herald is a fat 7 cmc creature I'd definitely go down to 3, and maybe 2 copies. Most 8rack players have tested Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage since it was released and agreed that it isn't that good. 1 copy is sometimes played though.

I would probably replace them with removal like Bloodchief's Thirst, Fatal Push, and maybe 1x Dismember, and you also probably need the 8rack classic Raven's Crime which is absolutely amazing when getting mana flooded.

There is also the nonbo of Ensnaring Bridge preventing your Herald and constructs from attacking, which is why most rack players running saga cut down on mainboard bridge copies, but on the other hand ensnaring bridge is an artifact that taps for herald.

Also neither Animate Dead nor Dance of the Dead are legal in modern. A way to reanimate herald with Persist after discarding it with lili sounds interesting but probably not feasible unless you find a few other ways to discard herald. And at that point you'd be trying to fit too many things into one deck.

zAzen7977 on TINY PUNISHER - Discard/Stax [cEDH Primer]

3 months ago

Awdiehl7, thanks for the comments! I’m constantly tinkering with the deck and I’d love to hear more feedback as you continue playing with it.

As soon as your play group realizes how powerful the deck really is, you immediately become the arch-enemy lol. If your meta is creature-heavy, try to stick Ensnaring Bridge, No Mercy, or Noetic Scales early to slow them down. Lately I’ve been running Bridge and The Meathook Massacre. You can also run Bile Blight, Black Sun's Zenith, and Innocent Blood in place of Dismember, Night's Whisper, Planar Void, or something else.

LeonSpires on Arcades: The Writing on the Wall

3 months ago

@ SteffisPeppis Yes I realize that no matter what walls with 0 power can still attack with Ensnaring Bridge out. However Ensnaring Bridge only starts preventing opponent's creatures from attacking when there are very few cards in hand (around 0 to 3). Arcades ability causes lots of card draw therefore Ensnaring Bridge is not very useful.

If I was to include another stax card I would consider Blind Obedience. It slows down if not stops some combos and synergizes really well with Meekstone.

You are right Teyo, the Shieldmage is very good against storm/burn decks. But there are not very many storm/burn decks in my meta. If my meta changes I will be sure to include him.

LeonSpires on Arcades: The Writing on the Wall

3 months ago

@ SteffisPeppis Thanks for taking the time to check out my list and leave a comment. However I respectfully disagree with both of your suggestions.

Other then running fetch land, the original dual lands, and the Shadowmoor/Eventide filter lands I have a decently built mana base.

The only other thing I can think of that you could be referring to is that the deck has predominantly more white pips then blue and green pips. However the goal is to cast Arcades as soon as possible. Arcades requires one of each color so I think running an even split is the best strategy. Furthermore very few cards I run require double pips of the same color.

Ensnaring Bridge is terrible in Arcades. Because each creature you cast with defender cantrips you will normally always have a full grip of cards. Ensnaring Bridge is only good when you are hellbent or only have 1 to 2 cards in hand.