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Commander Nexus
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  3. Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills

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Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills

Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills

Legendary Creature — Dwarf Noble

Dáin wants a deck that makes attacking it too costly, so opponents fight each other. It also suits a deck that plays small creatures that make life hard for opponents.

  • Mana cost1 genericwhite
  • White ()
  • Power / toughness2 / 2
  • RarityUncommon

Vigilance

Storied (If you control three or more artifacts, legendaries, and/or Sagas, you have an enduring story for the rest of the game.)

As long as you have an enduring story, creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays 1 generic for each of those creatures.

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Themes

Cards That Fit Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills

Picked for what they do in Dáin's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Dáin'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

Rulings for Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills

explain how Dáin 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

While the effect of Dáin's last ability is applying, your opponents can choose not to attack with a creature that must attack if able as long as there is no other player, planeswalker, or battle for that creature to attack that wouldn't require a cost.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Dáin, 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 glossaryWPlayers write colors as letters: W for white.PillowfortPillowfort decks make attacking you so costly or unappealing that opponents attack each other instead. Cards like Ghostly Prison make a player pay mana for every creature that attacks you, buying time for your own plan.Open the Pillowfort pageRattlesnakeDiscourages attacks rather than preventing them, making an attack expensive or unappealing enough that opponents pick somebody else. Named for a rattlesnake's warning: the point is to be left alone. Propaganda, Sphere of SafetyOpen the Rattlesnake pageAttack TaxCharges opponents mana to attack you, or stops them attacking at all. Because it sits on a permanent, it keeps working every turn rather than answering one attack. Propaganda, Ghostly PrisonOpen the Attack Tax pageHatebearsHatebears decks play cheap creatures that each carry a rule making life harder for opponents, such as spells costing more. Each one is small, but together they slow the whole table down while they attack.Open the Hatebears pageHatebearA cheap creature, costing 3 mana or less, with a rule that slows everyone else down. Spells cost more, things enter tapped, or players cannot do something. It is the community's word for it, and a deck of them is a Hatebears deck. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Drannith Magistrate, Collector OupheOpen the Hatebear pageStax/TaxMakes the game more expensive or more restrictive for everyone: taxing spells and attacks, or stopping permanents from untapping. Propaganda, Ghostly Prison. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check what your table expects first.Open the Stax/Tax pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax pageProtectionA creature with protection from something, like a color, is safe from anything with that quality. It cannot be damaged, enchanted or equipped, blocked, or targeted by it, and players remember the four with the word DEBT. It does not stop effects that neither target nor damage, like a board wipe that destroys every creature. ProgenitusOpen the Protection page