Stax pieces
Permanents that make the game more expensive for everyone, ideally more expensive for them than for you. Taxes, untap restrictions, and outright denial.
Run this search live → or edit it: the site reads plain English, so "stax pieces that tax or lock the game under 3 mana" works too.
| Card | Cost | Type | What it does | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhystic Study | {2}{U} | Enchantment | Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you may draw a card unless that player pays {1}. | $70.86 |
| 2 | Smothering Tithe | {3}{W} | Enchantment | Whenever an opponent draws a card, that player may pay {2}. If the player doesn't, you create a Treasure token. (It's an artifact with "{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.") | $59.01 |
| 3 | Propaganda | {2}{U} | Enchantment | Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays {2} for each creature they control that's attacking you. | $2.12 |
| 4 | Ghostly Prison | {2}{W} | Enchantment | Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays {2} for each creature they control that's attacking you. | $6.44 |
| 5 | Grand Abolisher | {W}{W} | Creature — Human Cleric | During your turn, your opponents can't cast spells or activate abilities of artifacts, creatures, or enchantments. | $18.58 |
| 6 | Drannith Magistrate | {1}{W} | Creature — Human Wizard | Your opponents can't cast spells from anywhere other than their hands. | $13.97 |
| 7 | Mesmeric Orb | {2} | Artifact | Whenever a permanent becomes untapped, that permanent's controller mills a card. | $17.73 |
| 8 | Teferi, Time Raveler | {1}{W}{U} | Legendary Planeswalker — Teferi | Each opponent can cast spells only any time they could cast a sorcery. +1: Until your next turn, you may cast sorcery spells as though they had flash. −3: Return up to one target artifact, creature, or enchantment to its owner's hand. Dr… | $7.22 |
| 9 | Silent Arbiter | {4} | Artifact Creature — Construct | No more than one creature can attack each combat. No more than one creature can block each combat. | $10.70 |
| 10 | Myrel, Shield of Argive | {3}{W} | Legendary Creature — Human Soldier | During your turn, your opponents can't cast spells or activate abilities of artifacts, creatures, or enchantments. Whenever Myrel attacks, create X 1/1 colorless Soldier artifact creature tokens, where X is the number of Soldiers you con… | $18.35 |
| 11 | Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger | {6}{G}{G} | Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor | Trample Whenever you tap a land for mana, add one mana of any type that land produced. Whenever an opponent taps a land for mana, that land doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. | $13.15 |
| 12 | Grand Arbiter Augustin IV | {2}{W}{U} | Legendary Creature — Human Advisor | White spells you cast cost {1} less to cast. Blue spells you cast cost {1} less to cast. Spells your opponents cast cost {1} more to cast. | $18.32 |
| 13 | Defense Grid | {2} | Artifact | Each spell costs {3} more to cast except during its controller's turn. | $7.09 |
| 14 | Norn's Annex | {3}{W/P}{W/P} | Artifact | ({W/P} can be paid with either {W} or 2 life.) Creatures can't attack you or planeswalkers you control unless their controller pays {W/P} for each of those creatures. | $5.46 |
| 15 | Deafening Silence | {W} | Enchantment | Each player can't cast more than one noncreature spell each turn. | $1.89 |
| 16 | Grafdigger's Cage | {1} | Artifact | Creature cards in graveyards and libraries can't enter the battlefield. Players can't cast spells from graveyards or libraries. | $2.87 |
| 17 | Karn, the Great Creator | {4} | Legendary Planeswalker — Karn | Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated. +1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value. −2: You may r… | $5.16 |
| 18 | Archon of Emeria | {2}{W} | Creature — Archon | Flying Each player can't cast more than one spell each turn. Nonbasic lands your opponents control enter tapped. | $2.56 |
| 19 | Aura of Silence | {1}{W}{W} | Enchantment | Artifact and enchantment spells your opponents cast cost {2} more to cast. Sacrifice this enchantment: Destroy target artifact or enchantment. | $8.94 |
| 20 | Archangel of Tithes | {1}{W}{W}{W} | Creature — Angel | Flying As long as this creature is untapped, creatures can't attack you or planeswalkers you control unless their controller pays {1} for each of those creatures. As long as this creature is attacking, creatures can't block unless their … | $4.71 |
| 21 | Thalia, Guardian of Thraben | {1}{W} | Legendary Creature — Human Soldier | First strike Noncreature spells cost {1} more to cast. | $0.39 |
| 22 | God-Pharaoh's Statue | {6} | Legendary Artifact | Spells your opponents cast cost {2} more to cast. At the beginning of your end step, each opponent loses 1 life. | $0.96 |
| 23 | Linvala, Keeper of Silence | {2}{W}{W} | Legendary Creature — Angel | Flying Activated abilities of creatures your opponents control can't be activated. | $20.06 |
| 24 | Ethersworn Canonist | {1}{W} | Artifact Creature — Human Cleric | Each player who has cast a nonartifact spell this turn can't cast additional nonartifact spells. | $5.16 |
| 25 | Meekstone | {1} | Artifact | Creatures with power 3 or greater don't untap during their controllers' untap steps. | $12.17 |
| 26 | Winter Moon | {2} | Artifact | Players can't untap more than one nonbasic land during their untap steps. | $0.50 |
| 27 | Lavinia, Azorius Renegade | {W}{U} | Legendary Creature — Human Soldier | Each opponent can't cast noncreature spells with mana value greater than the number of lands that player controls. Whenever an opponent casts a spell, if no mana was spent to cast it, counter that spell. | $0.66 |
| 28 | Winter Orb | {2} | Artifact | As long as this artifact is untapped, players can't untap more than one land during their untap steps. | $21.26 |
| 29 | Rule of Law | {2}{W} | Enchantment | Each player can't cast more than one spell each turn. | $0.45 |
| 30 | Eidolon of Rhetoric | {2}{W} | Enchantment Creature — Spirit | Each player can't cast more than one spell each turn. | $0.52 |
30 of 2111 cards the search scored for "stax pieces that tax or lock the game". Ordered by how much each card is played, among the cards that matched. Prices and legality come from Scryfall; the list was last refreshed on 2026-09-23.
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