Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Balin, Loremaster

Balin, Loremaster

Balin, Loremaster

Legendary Creature — Dwarf Bard · {3}{R}{R} · Red commander

Storied (If you control three or more artifacts, legendaries, and/or Sagas, you have an enduring story for the rest of the game.) Whenever Balin or another Dwarf you control enters, you may discard your hand. Draw X cards, where X is the number of cards discarded this way. If you have an enduring story, Balin deals X damage to each opponent.
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What Balin, Loremaster actually does

Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.

What a Balin, Loremaster deck wants

The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.

Best cards for Balin, Loremaster

Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.

Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses

  1. Eternal Acrobat Toast0 mana
  2. Conjurer's Closet5 mana
  3. Eldrazi Confluence4 mana

A body of the exact type the commander's trigger requires — the wrong type is worthless here regardless of quality

  1. Erebor Flamesmith2 mana
  2. Magda, Brazen Outlaw2 mana
  3. Magda, the Hoardmaster2 mana
  4. Storm-Kiln Artist4 mana
  5. Bloodfire Dwarf1 mana
  6. Dwarven Armorer1 mana
  7. Dwarven Grunt1 mana
  8. Dwarven Mauler1 mana

A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses

  1. Chrome Mox0 mana
  2. Cabaretti Courtyard0 mana
  3. Lotus Field0 mana
  4. Riveteers Overlook0 mana
  5. Talon Gates of Madara0 mana
  6. Impact Tremors2 mana
  7. Mithril Coat3 mana
  8. Adventurer's Inn0 mana

Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it

  1. Wild Magic Surge2 mana
  2. Crush1 mana
  3. Umezawa's Jitte2 mana
  4. Titan's Presence3 mana
  5. Abrade2 mana
  6. Untimely Malfunction2 mana
  7. Chaos Warp3 mana
  8. Kozilek's Command2 mana

Answer a whole board at once

  1. Blasphemous Act9 mana
  2. Breaking Point3 mana
  3. Crack the Earth1 mana
  4. Kozilek's Return3 mana
  5. Akki Blizzard-Herder2 mana
  6. Devastating Dreams2 mana
  7. Tectonic Break2 mana
  8. Tremble2 mana

Find the exact card the plan needs

  1. Goblin Recruiter2 mana
  2. Imperial Recruiter3 mana
  3. Dragon's Approach3 mana
  4. Magda, Brazen Outlaw2 mana
  5. Flamekin Harbinger1 mana
  6. Goblin Matron3 mana
  7. Sarkhan's Triumph3 mana
  8. Dwarven Recruiter3 mana

Refill your hand

  1. Skullclamp1 mana
  2. The One Ring4 mana
  3. Pip-Boy 30001 mana
  4. Sticky Fingers1 mana
  5. Vexing Bauble1 mana
  6. Artist's Talent2 mana
  7. Fear of Missing Out2 mana
  8. Key to the City2 mana

Keep a permanent you control alive through removal

  1. Hexing Squelcher2 mana
  2. Cryptothrall4 mana
  3. Lightning Greaves2 mana
  4. Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
  5. Eldrazi Monument5 mana
  6. Commander's Plate1 mana
  7. Mithril Coat3 mana
  8. Akroma's Memorial7 mana

Get ahead on mana

  1. Chrome Mox0 mana
  2. Everflowing Chalice0 mana
  3. Mox Amber0 mana
  4. Mox Diamond0 mana
  5. Mox Opal0 mana
  6. Mana Vault1 mana
  7. Sol Ring1 mana
  8. Wayfarer's Bauble1 mana

Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →

Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables. Read the guide · Browse all commanders · Pricing