Web of InertiaHow it works & interactions with other cards

How Web of Inertia Works

This enchantment features a triggered ability that goes on the stack at the beginning of combat on each opponent's turn. The ability gives the active player an option: exile any one card from their own graveyard. If they choose not to, or if they simply cannot because their graveyard is empty, an attacking restriction is applied. This restriction prevents any creatures they control from being declared as attackers against you for the duration of that turn.

Resolution Step-by-Step

The process begins as soon as the Main Phase ends and the Combat Phase starts. First, the Web of Inertia trigger is placed on the stack. When it resolves, the opponent decides whether to exile a card. If they do, the restriction is avoided. If they don't, the 'can't attack' effect immediately applies. Note that this happens before the 'Declare Attackers' step, so the opponent will know exactly who can and cannot attack before they commit their creatures.

Common Mistakes and Rulings

The most common oversight involves Planeswalkers. Web of Inertia specifically states creatures can't attack 'you.' According to official rulings, this does not protect Planeswalkers you control; opponents can still send their creatures after your loyalty-bearing permanents even if they didn't exile a card. Additionally, if an opponent has no cards in their graveyard, they cannot fulfill the condition to exile a card, making the combat restriction mandatory.

When to Play It

Web of Inertia is most effective in decks that can manipulate or empty an opponent's graveyard. It serves as a political tool in multiplayer games, taxing the resources of players who want to strike you. It is particularly strong against decks that rely on their graveyard for recursion, as it forces them to exile their own valuable pieces just to stay on the offensive.

Interaction examples

The Taxation Stack

Propaganda

If you control both enchantments, the opponent faces two hurdles. First, at the beginning of combat, they must exile a card or they cannot attack you at all via Web of Inertia. If they do exile a card to bypass the Web, they still must pay {2} for each creature they wish to send your way because of Propaganda. This creates a multi-layered defense that is difficult to penetrate.

Resource Depletion

Rhystic Study

While Rhystic Study taxes an opponent's mana to prevent you from drawing cards, Web of Inertia taxes their graveyard. Together, they force the opponent to constantly choose between losing cards in hand, losing cards in the graveyard, or losing the ability to advance their board state through combat.