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Volrath's fortress
What this set is
Stronghold is the small second set of the Tempest block, set inside Volrath's stronghold on Rath. It has 143 cards and no new keywords; it continues Tempest's shadow, buyback and licids and adds six more Slivers.
One of those Slivers is Sliver Queen, a five-color legend that makes 1/1 Sliver tokens for two mana each, and it was one of the first five-color commanders. The set's other famous cards are Mox Diamond, a free mana source that costs you a land from hand, and Grave Pact, which makes every other player sacrifice a creature whenever one of yours dies.
Burgeoning, Fling, Tortured Existence and Mana Leak are here too. 7 cards are on the Reserved List, Sliver Queen and Mox Diamond among them.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
Stronghold is a single code with one Legacy ban and nothing banned in Commander.
Not Standard-legal, and not Modern-legal as a set: Modern starts at Eighth Edition (July 2003). A card from here that was reprinted in a later Modern-legal set is Modern-legal in this printing too, because legality follows the card, not the printing. Legacy bans Hermit Druid. Nothing here is banned in Commander. It is also legal in Premodern, the community format built on Fourth Edition through Scourge. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Commanders
The most played commanders from Stronghold
The legends this set is best known for. Tap one for its printings and what it costs.
Boosters, precons and singles from Stronghold are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
Where can I play Stronghold cards?
In Legacy, Vintage and Commander, minus the cards each format bans. Stronghold is too old for Standard, Pioneer or Modern as a set, though any card that was later reprinted in a Modern-legal set is Modern-legal in every printing. It is also legal in Premodern, a community format built on Fourth Edition through Scourge.
Is Sliver Queen legal in Commander?
Yes. It is a five-color legendary creature, so it can lead a five-color deck. It is on the Reserved List, so it hasn't had a tournament-legal reprint.
Is Mox Diamond on the Reserved List?
Yes. It is one of Stronghold's 7 Reserved List cards, and it is legal in Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Stronghold released on Mar 2, 1998; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
Playing Stronghold in Commander?
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