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Commander Nexus
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  3. Balin, Loremaster

Command zone

Balin, Loremaster

Balin, Loremaster

Legendary Creature — Dwarf Bard

Balin wants a deck that deals damage straight to its opponents. It also suits a deck that hurts every player at once and outlasts the pain.

  • Mana cost3 genericredred
  • Red ()
  • Power / toughness4 / 4
  • RarityRare

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.

Build a deck with Balin Find it in the app

Themes

Cards That Fit Balin, Loremaster

Picked for what they do in Balin's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Balin's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

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The 6 Cards

Rulings for Balin, Loremaster

explain how Balin works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren't permanents.

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

A single permanent can only count once toward the three legendary, Saga, and/or artifact permanents needed to get an enduring story, even if it has more than one of those qualities. If you control one permanent that is a legendary artifact and a second permanent that is a Saga, you will only have two of the three permanents required to get an enduring story.

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

If you control three legendary, Saga, and/or artifact permanents but don't control a permanent with storied, you don't get an enduring story. For example, if you controlled three artifacts, lost control of two, then cast Thorin Oakenshield, you won't have an enduring story.

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

If your third legendary, Saga, or artifact permanent enters the battlefield and then one of those permanents leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the "legend rule" or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get an enduring story before it leaves the battlefield.

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

Once you have an enduring story, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all of your storied permanents. The enduring story designation is on the player and can't be removed by any effect.

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

Storied isn't a triggered ability and doesn't use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your third legendary, Saga, and/or artifact permanent, but they can't respond to you getting an enduring story once you control that third permanent.

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

The decision to discard your hand is made during the resolution of the ability, so there is no opportunity for an opponent to respond between choosing to discard your hand and drawing cards.

Wizards of the Coast 29 Jun 2026

You may choose to discard your hand even if your hand contains zero cards.

8 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Balin, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryRPlayers write colors as letters: R for red.BurnBurn decks win by dealing damage straight to opponents with spells and abilities, rather than by attacking with creatures. Damage that hits every opponent at once counts three times over at a four-player table.Open the Burn pageMass BurnDeals damage to everything, or to every opponent at once, rather than to a single target. In a four player game the same card hits three people, so small repeated amounts add up quickly. Blasphemous Act, Impact TremorsOpen the Mass Burn pageBurnDeals damage directly, to creatures or to players. Because it can hit a player as easily as a creature, the same card can remove a blocker or finish off an opponent. Lightning Bolt, Blasphemous ActOpen the Burn pageSelf-DiscardDiscards your own cards as a cost or an effect. Filling your own graveyard on purpose is the point: it feeds cards that bring things back, madness and channel abilities, and some cards are worth more there than in hand. Faithless Looting, Boseiju, Who EnduresOpen the Self-Discard pageGroup SlugGroup Slug decks hurt every player at the table at once, then make sure they can survive the pain better than anyone else. Typical cards make each player take damage or lose life whenever they draw, cast a spell or tap a land for mana.Open the Group Slug pageTypal/KindredTypal decks are built around one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, with cards that make that type stronger. The type is printed after the dash on the card's type line, and the strategy is also called kindred or tribal.Open the Typal/Kindred pageTypal PayoffRewards you for playing lots of one kind of creature. That includes "lords" that make every other Goblin or Merfolk you control bigger, and cards that ask you to choose a creature type and then pay you off for it. A creature type is the word on the middle line of the card, like Goblin, Elf or Zombie.Open the Typal Payoff pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw pageDwarvesDwarves are mostly red and white creatures, the miners and smiths of Magic's worlds.Open the Dwarves page