EDH Optimizer
The Balrog of Moria
Legendary Creature — Avatar Demon · 4BBR
Color identity: Black · Red · Rakdos
The Balrog of Moria is Rakdos (black and red): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Trample, haste
When The Balrog of Moria dies, you may exile it. When you do, for each opponent, exile up to one target creature that player controls.
Cycling {3}{R} ({3}{R}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
When you cycle this card, create two Treasure tokens.
Reference price of the card: €1.70
Comes in the precon The Hosts of Mordor
Average lands in decks for The Balrog of Moria: 36
AristocratsDiscardTreasureComboReanimatorBurnClonesCycling
Build your The Balrog of Moria deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for The Balrog of Moria 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average The Balrog of Moria deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play per EDHREC (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 (67/100)
- Consistency35
- Speed64
- Interaction51
- Resilience78
- Closing96
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (24 nonbasic, 6 Swamp, 6 Mountain)
Sol Ring · Arcane Signet · Blasphemous Act · Rakdos Signet · Too Greedily, Too Deep · Mind Stone · Talisman of Indulgence · Troll of Khazad-dûm · Faithless Looting · Feed the Swarm · The Balrog, Durin's Bane · Bedevil · Chaos Warp · Terminate · Vandalblast · Netherborn Altar · Oliphaunt · Reanimate · Decree of Pain · Fellwar Stone · Rakdos Charm · Wayfarer's Bauble · Lash of the Balrog · Thrill of Possibility · Anger · Dark Ritual · Solemn Simulacrum · Thought Vessel · Thran Dynamo · Animate Dead · Grave Upheaval · Living Death · Abrade · Kardur, Doomscourge · Swiftfoot Boots · Unexpected Windfall · Campfire · Cavern-Hoard Dragon · Stinging Study · Mayhem Devil · Shelob, Dread Weaver · The Balrog, Flame of Udûn · Commander's Sphere · Deadly Dispute · Rampaging War Mammoth · Balor · Big Score · Lightning Greaves · Mirkwood Bats · Rakdos Joins Up · Decadent Dragon // Expensive Taste · Phyrexian Reclamation · Shiny Impetus · Toxic Deluge · Wake the Dragon · Glóin, Dwarf Emissary · Mahadi, Emporium Master · Merciless Executioner · Worn Powerstone · Fiery Emancipation · Fire Diamond · Fling · Go for the Throat · Command Tower · Dragonskull Summit · Smoldering Marsh · Foreboding Ruins · Command Beacon · Mines of Moria · Rogue's Passage · Bojuka Bog · Blood Crypt · Rakdos Carnarium · Sulfurous Springs · Tainted Peak · Canyon Slough · Luxury Suite · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Exotic Orchard · Mount Doom · Temple of Malice · Terramorphic Expanse · Bloodstained Mire · Evolving Wilds · Haunted Ridge · Barren Moor · The Black Gate
🃏 Recommended cards for The Balrog of Moria
The highest-synergy cards in decks for The Balrog of Moria, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Too Greedily, Too Deep | 52% | +52% |
| Troll of Khazad-dûm | 48% | +46% |
| Mines of Moria | 49% | +45% |
| Command Beacon | 49% | +43% |
| The Balrog, Durin's Bane | 43% | +41% |
| Netherborn Altar | 39% | +39% |
| Oliphaunt | 38% | +36% |
| Lash of the Balrog | 33% | +32% |
| Decree of Pain | 36% | +32% |
| Grave Upheaval | 30% | +29% |
| Thran Dynamo | 31% | +27% |
| Rogue's Passage | 46% | +26% |
| Campfire | 26% | +26% |
| Living Death | 30% | +26% |
| Stinging Study | 26% | +25% |
| The Balrog, Flame of Udûn | 25% | +24% |
| Shelob, Dread Weaver | 25% | +24% |
| Cavern-Hoard Dragon | 26% | +23% |
| Rampaging War Mammoth | 23% | +23% |
| Wayfarer's Bauble | 34% | +22% |
| Mind Stone | 49% | +21% |
| Animate Dead | 30% | +20% |
| Balor | 21% | +19% |
| Wake the Dragon | 20% | +19% |
💰 The best cards for your The Balrog of Moria 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.
- Too Greedily, Too Deep
- Troll of Khazad-dûm
- Mines of Moria
- The Balrog, Durin's Bane
- Netherborn Altar
- Oliphaunt
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Command Beacon
- Campfire
- Living Death
- Animate Dead
- Balor
- Glóin, Dwarf Emissary
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Stinging Study
- Cavern-Hoard Dragon
- The Black Gate
- Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
- Revel in Riches
- Goryo's Vengeance
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with The Balrog of Moria
- Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame → Infinite LTB, Infinite ETB, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
- Basalt Monolith + Forsaken Monument → Infinite colorless mana
- Rings of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith → Infinite colorless mana
- Ancient Copper Dragon + Aggravated Assault → Near-infinite colored mana, Near-infinite combat damage, Near-infinite Treasure tokens, Near-infinite combat phases, Near-infinite untap of creatures you control, Near-infinite mana creatures you control can produce
- Karn, the Great Creator + Mycosynth Lattice → Activated abilities of permanents your opponents control can't be activated, Activated abilities can't be activated, Lock, Mass Land Denial
- Reassembling Skeleton + Phyrexian Altar + Pawn of Ulamog → Infinite death triggers, Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite sacrifice triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is The Balrog of Moria's color identity?
The Balrog of Moria 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 of Moria come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average The Balrog of Moria deck (the 99 most-included cards per EDHREC, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 5.9 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 86 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 12 % of the time and floods 39 %. Deck health: B (67/100).
How many lands should a The Balrog of Moria deck run?
Real The Balrog of Moria 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 of Moria?
The three highest-synergy cards are Too Greedily, Too Deep, Troll of Khazad-dûm, Mines of Moria. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in The Balrog of Moria decks.
What combos does The Balrog of Moria have?
The Balrog of Moria has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame. 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 of Moria deck cost?
You can start cheap: Too Greedily, Too Deep, Troll of Khazad-dûm, Mines of Moria 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.