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  3. Hei Bai, Spirit of Balance

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Hei Bai, Spirit of Balance

Hei Bai, Spirit of Balance

Legendary Creature — Bear Spirit

Hei Bai wants a deck that keeps making its creatures bigger turn after turn. It also works in a deck built around Bears or Spirits.

  • Mana cost2 genericwhite or blackwhite or black
  • White, Black ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 3
  • RarityUncommon

Whenever Hei Bai enters or attacks, you may sacrifice another creature or artifact. If you do, put two +1/+1 counters on Hei Bai.

When Hei Bai leaves the battlefield, put its counters on target creature you control.

Build a deck with Hei Bai Find it in the app

Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Hei Bai, Spirit of Balance

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

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The 6 Cards

Does what Hei Bai, Spirit of Balance does6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Hei Bai, Spirit of Balance

explain how Hei Bai 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 2 Oct 2025

Hei Bai's last ability doesn't cause you to move counters from Hei Bai onto the target creature. Rather, you put the same number of each kind of counter Hei Bai had when he left the battlefield onto the target creature.

Wizards of the Coast 2 Oct 2025

Hei Bai's last ability puts all counters that were on Hei Bai onto the target creature, not just his +1/+1 counters.

Wizards of the Coast 2 Oct 2025

If enough -1/-1 counters are put on Hei Bai at the same time to make his toughness 0 or less, his last ability will see all of the +1/+1 counters he had when he left the battlefield as well as the -1/-1 counters he had, and an equal number of each of those types of counters (plus any other applicable counters) will be put onto the target creature.

Wizards of the Coast 2 Oct 2025

If Hei Bai has -1/-1 counters on him when he leaves the battlefield, that ability will include those as well. This may result in the recipient of the counters dying.

Wizards of the Coast 2 Oct 2025

In some cases, you may end up putting the appropriate counters on more than one permanent. For example, if you control a Buzzard-Wasp Colony when Hei Bai dies, you'll put the appropriate number of each kind of counter onto both the Buzzard-Wasp Colony and the target creature. If you target Buzzard-Wasp Colony with Hei Bai's last ability, it will receive counters from both abilities.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Hei Bai, 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 glossaryWBPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, B for black.+1/+1 Counters+1/+1 counter decks put small markers on their creatures that make each one permanently bigger, and keep adding more every turn. Each +1/+1 counter adds one to a creature's power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it can take).Open the +1/+1 Counters pageAttack TriggerTriggers when a creature attacks, so the reward comes from declaring the attack. You get it even if the creature is blocked. Sword of the Animist, Adeline, Resplendent CatharOpen the Attack Trigger pageCounter EngineAdds +1/+1 counters over and over rather than once. A counter here is a small permanent marker that raises a creature's power and toughness for good. It is not a counterspell, which is a different thing entirely. Something that adds them every turn makes your whole board bigger and keeps it that way. Hardened Scales, Corpsejack MenaceOpen the Counter Engine page+1/+1 CountersPuts +1/+1 counters on creatures, permanently raising their power and toughness. Unlike a temporary boost that wears off at end of turn, these markers stay put and stack up over a long game. Hardened Scales, The Great HengeOpen the +1/+1 Counters page