Balrog, Prince of Darkness by pm1022

Format: Commander

Commander: The Balrog, Durin's Bane

Bracket: 4

Deck overview

This is a Rakdos sacrifice-and-treasure midrange deck helmed by The Balrog, Durin's Bane. The plan is to flood the board with Treasure tokens and fodder, sacrifice permanents to steeply discount the commander, then swing immediately thanks to haste and near-unblockability. Treasure engines (Goldspan Dragon, Pitiless Plunderer, Professional Face-Breaker, Magda, Brazen Outlaw) and sac outlets (Ashnod's Altar, Phyrexian Altar) fuel both the discount and value loops with Mayhem Devil, Mirkwood Bats, and Juri, Master of the Revue. Primary wins come from combat (Balrog plus pumped attackers under Obsessive Pursuit or Fiery Emancipation) and burn payoffs like Chandra's Ignition. Secondary lines include Magda tutoring Dragons/artifacts and attrition drains. The commander is a strong closer but not the sole engine-the 99 still generates mana and pressure without it.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Academy Manufactor
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Arena of Glory
  • 1 Ashnod's Altar
  • 1 Big Score
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Blasphemous Edict
  • 1 Blazemire Verge
  • 1 Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway
  • 1 Blood Crypt
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Bolt Bend
  • 1 Bonehoard Dracosaur
  • 1 Chandra's Ignition
  • 1 Command Beacon
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Crime Novelist
  • 1 Deadly Dispute
  • 1 Deflecting Swat
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Diabolic Intent
  • 1 Dragonskull Summit
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Faithless Looting
  • 1 Feed the Swarm
  • 1 Fiery Emancipation
  • 1 Flare of Malice
  • 1 Gimli of the Glittering Caves
  • 1 Gimli's Reckless Might
  • 1 Goldlust Triad
  • 1 Goldspan Dragon
  • 1 Graven Cairns
  • 1 Grim Hireling
  • 1 High Market
  • 1 Impulsive Pilferer
  • 1 Jeska's Will
  • 1 Juri, Master of the Revue
  • 1 Lich-Knights' Conquest
  • 1 Liquimetal Torque
  • 1 Lively Dirge
  • 1 Long-Range Sensor
  • 1 Luxury Suite
  • 1 Magda, Brazen Outlaw
  • 1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
  • 1 Mayhem Devil
  • 1 Mines of Moria
  • 1 Mirkwood Bats
  • 1 Morbid Opportunist
  • 1 Mortuary Mire
  • 7 Mountain
  • 1 My Precious // Allure of Power
  • 1 Obsessive Pursuit
  • 1 Ophiomancer
  • 1 Phyrexian Altar
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Pitiless Plunderer
  • 1 Plundering Barbarian
  • 1 Professional Face-Breaker
  • 1 Prosper, Tome-Bound
  • 1 Rain of Riches
  • 1 Rakdos Charm
  • 1 Rankle and Torbran
  • 1 Rocky Tar Pit
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Rose, Cutthroat Raider
  • 1 Seize the Spotlight
  • 1 Shadowblood Ridge
  • 1 Skullport Merchant
  • 1 Smaug the Magnificent
  • 1 Smaug, Wicked Worm
  • 1 Smoldering Marsh
  • 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Soul Shatter
  • 1 Spiteful Banditry
  • 1 Sticky Fingers
  • 1 Sulfurous Springs
  • 1 Supernatural Stamina
  • 3 Swamp
  • 1 Tainted Peak
  • 1 The Balrog, Durin's Bane
  • 1 The Black Gate
  • 1 The Misty Mountains Cold
  • 1 Tibalt's Trickery
  • 1 Treasure Vault
  • 1 Undying Malice
  • 1 Unexpected Windfall
  • 1 Untimely Malfunction
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Withering Torment
  • 1 Wyll's Reversal
  • 1 Xorn