EDH Optimizer
The Balrog, Durin's Bane
Legendary Creature — Avatar Demon · 5BR
Color identity: Black · Red · Rakdos
The Balrog, Durin's Bane is Rakdos (black and red): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
This spell costs {1} less to cast for each permanent sacrificed this turn.
Haste
The Balrog can't be blocked except by legendary creatures.
When The Balrog dies, destroy target artifact or creature an opponent controls.
Reference price of the card: €0.55
Average lands in decks for The Balrog, Durin's Bane: 36
TreasureSacrificeAristocratsAggroVoltronTokensArtifactsCombo
Build your The Balrog, Durin's Bane deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for The Balrog, Durin's Bane 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average The Balrog, Durin's Bane deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: B (70/100)
- Consistency45
- Speed64
- Interaction58
- Resilience71
- Closing100
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (26 nonbasic, 5 Swamp, 5 Mountain)
Sol Ring · Deadly Dispute · Arcane Signet · Impulsive Pilferer · Mayhem Devil · Mahadi, Emporium Master · Pitiless Plunderer · Big Score · Accursed Marauder · Innocent Blood · Visions of Ruin · Mirkwood Bats · Professional Face-Breaker · Juri, Master of the Revue · Plaguecrafter · Xorn · Unexpected Windfall · Kalain, Reclusive Painter · Rakdos Signet · Goldspan Dragon · Blasphemous Edict · Greedy Freebooter · Village Rites · The Reaver Cleaver · Crime Novelist · The Balrog of Moria · Feed the Swarm · Lobelia Sackville-Baggins · Smaug, Wicked Worm · Talisman of Indulgence · Chaos Warp · Ruthless Technomancer · There and Back Again · Black Market Connections · Fleshbag Marauder · Grim Hireling · Lash of the Balrog · Blood Money · Blasphemous Act · Dark Ritual · Merciless Executioner · Nasty End · Sheoldred's Edict · Warren Soultrader · Ashnod's Altar · Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge · Spiteful Banditry · Corrupted Conviction · Fatal Grudge · Crack the Earth · Seize the Spoils · Victimize · Descent into Avernus · Mind Stone · Morbid Opportunist · Viscera Seer · Commander's Sphere · Revel in Riches · Terminate · Too Greedily, Too Deep · Captain Lannery Storm · Rain of Riches · Soul Shatter · Command Tower · Dragonskull Summit · Smoldering Marsh · Mines of Moria · Sulfurous Springs · Blood Crypt · Foreboding Ruins · Evolving Wilds · Bloodstained Mire · Bojuka Bog · Tainted Peak · Luxury Suite · Terramorphic Expanse · Rogue's Passage · Haunted Ridge · Shadowblood Ridge · Phyrexian Tower · Treasure Vault · Fabled Passage · Mount Doom · Blazemire Verge · Myriad Landscape · Graven Cairns · Rakdos Carnarium · Temple of Malice · Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway
🃏 Recommended cards for The Balrog, Durin's Bane
The highest-synergy cards in decks for The Balrog, Durin's Bane, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Impulsive Pilferer | 64% | +57% |
| Mines of Moria | 60% | +55% |
| Innocent Blood | 54% | +53% |
| Visions of Ruin | 52% | +51% |
| Accursed Marauder | 55% | +50% |
| Mahadi, Emporium Master | 60% | +48% |
| Deadly Dispute | 74% | +46% |
| Plaguecrafter | 49% | +45% |
| Pitiless Plunderer | 57% | +44% |
| Juri, Master of the Revue | 49% | +43% |
| Kalain, Reclusive Painter | 46% | +42% |
| Xorn | 49% | +39% |
| Greedy Freebooter | 43% | +39% |
| Mayhem Devil | 63% | +38% |
| The Balrog of Moria | 39% | +37% |
| Mirkwood Bats | 51% | +37% |
| Lobelia Sackville-Baggins | 38% | +36% |
| The Reaver Cleaver | 42% | +36% |
| Blasphemous Edict | 44% | +36% |
| Lash of the Balrog | 36% | +35% |
| There and Back Again | 37% | +35% |
| Big Score | 56% | +34% |
| Goldspan Dragon | 45% | +34% |
| Fleshbag Marauder | 36% | +33% |
💰 The best cards for your The Balrog, Durin's Bane deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Impulsive Pilferer
- Mines of Moria
- Innocent Blood
- Visions of Ruin
- Accursed Marauder
- Mahadi, Emporium Master
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Pitiless Plunderer
- Xorn
- Blasphemous Edict
- There and Back Again
- Goldspan Dragon
- Professional Face-Breaker
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- The Reaver Cleaver
- Grim Hireling
- Warren Soultrader
- Ashnod's Altar
- Cavern-Hoard Dragon
- Revel in Riches
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with The Balrog, Durin's Bane
- Underworld Breach + Wheel of Fortune + Jeska's Will → Infinite draw triggers for all players, Infinite looting for all players, Near-infinite magecraft triggers, Near-infinite storm count
- Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar → Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite storm count
- Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar + Reassembling Skeleton → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
- The Reaver Cleaver + Aggravated Assault → Infinite artifact ETB, Infinite artifact LTB, Infinite artifact sacrifice triggers, Infinite artifact tokens, Infinite colored mana, Infinite combat damage, Infinite combat phases, Infinite mana creatures you control can produce, Infinite Treasure tokens, Infinite untap of creatures you control
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Ashnod's Altar → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers
- Warren Soultrader + Gravecrawler + Blood Artist → Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite storm count
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is The Balrog, Durin's Bane's color identity?
The Balrog, Durin's Bane is Rakdos (black and red): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does The Balrog, Durin's Bane come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average The Balrog, Durin's Bane deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 5.2 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 97 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 6 % of the time and floods 25 %. Deck health: B (70/100).
How many lands should a The Balrog, Durin's Bane deck run?
Real The Balrog, Durin's Bane decks run 36 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for The Balrog, Durin's Bane?
The three highest-synergy cards are Impulsive Pilferer, Mines of Moria, Innocent Blood. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in The Balrog, Durin's Bane decks.
What combos does The Balrog, Durin's Bane have?
The Balrog, Durin's Bane has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Underworld Breach + Wheel of Fortune + Jeska's Will. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a The Balrog, Durin's Bane deck cost?
You can start cheap: Impulsive Pilferer, Mines of Moria, Innocent Blood are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.