Arcane Foundry › Commanders › The Jolly Balloon Man
The Jolly Balloon Man
Legendary Creature — Human Clown · {1}{R}{W} · Red/White commander
Haste
{1}, {T}: Create a token that's a copy of another target creature you control, except it's a 1/1 red Balloon creature in addition to its other colors and types and it has flying and haste. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step. Activate only as a sorcery.
Build a The Jolly Balloon Man deck →
What The Jolly Balloon Man actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Activated ability{1}, {T}: Create a token that's a copy of another target creature you control, except it's a 1/1 red Balloon creature in addition to its other colors and types and it has flying and haste. Sacrifice i
- Keyword · hastehaste
What a The Jolly Balloon Man deck needs
Plays as copy engine. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- high-value creatures and activated-ability creatures worth copying or borrowing
- token payoffs — anthems, sacrifice outlets and go-wide finishers (it makes tokens on repeat)
- untap effects that reach the commander (it has haste; each untap repeats its tap ability)
The The Jolly Balloon Man deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 14× A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- 7× Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- 14× Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- 6× A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
Best cards for The Jolly Balloon Man
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.
A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- Knight of the White Orchid2 mana
- Spirited Companion2 mana
- Solemn Simulacrum4 mana
- Dualcaster Mage3 mana
- Imperial Recruiter3 mana
- Loran of the Third Path3 mana
- Ranger-Captain of Eos3 mana
- Dire Fleet Daredevil2 mana
Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- Aggravated Assault3 mana
- Aurelia, the Warleader6 mana
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger2 mana
- Umbral Mantle3 mana
- Genji Glove5 mana
- Éomer, Marshal of Rohan4 mana
- Honor-Worn Shaku3 mana
- Lightning Runner5 mana
Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- Replicating Ring3 mana
- Elspeth, Storm Slayer5 mana
- Hero of Bladehold4 mana
- Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate0 mana
- Elspeth, Sun's Champion6 mana
- Andúril, Flame of the West3 mana
- Cosmogrand Zenith3 mana
- Hanweir Garrison3 mana
A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- Intangible Virtue2 mana
- Caretaker's Talent3 mana
- Inspiring Leader3 mana
- Prava of the Steel Legion3 mana
- Gideon's Memorial2 mana
- Mite Overseer4 mana
- Phantom General4 mana
- Castle Embereth0 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- Wild Magic Surge2 mana
- March of Otherworldly Light1 mana
- Generous Gift3 mana
- Erode1 mana
- Unwanted Remake1 mana
- Angelic Ascension2 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Open the Armory2 mana
- Enlightened Tutor1 mana
- Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon3 mana
- Templar Knight2 mana
- Idyllic Tutor3 mana
- Imperial Recruiter3 mana
- Ranger-Captain of Eos3 mana
- Loyal Tutor1 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Wrath of God4 mana
- Blasphemous Act9 mana
- Chain Reaction4 mana
- Day of Judgment4 mana
- Street Spasm1 mana
- Shatter the Sky4 mana
- Split Up3 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Professional Face-Breaker3 mana
- Archivist of Oghma2 mana
- The One Ring4 mana
- Sticky Fingers1 mana
- Vexing Bauble1 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Flowering of the White Tree2 mana
- Hexing Squelcher2 mana
- Bastion Protector3 mana
- Codsworth, Handy Helper3 mana
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope8 mana
- Coppercoat Vanguard2 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
Combos with The Jolly Balloon Man
Known combos from Commander Spellbook that The Jolly Balloon Man is a piece of, and how many decks list them.
- The Jolly Balloon Man + Village Bell-Ringer14,187 decks
- The Jolly Balloon Man + Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor + Zealous Conscripts4,327 decks
- The Jolly Balloon Man + Coercive Recruiter3,764 decks
- The Jolly Balloon Man + Ashnod's Altar + Village Bell-Ringer3,576 decks
- The Jolly Balloon Man + Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor + Restoration Angel3,284 decks
- The Jolly Balloon Man + Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor + Felidar Guardian1,979 decks
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