Bad Bard by ClosedPenguin

Format: Commander

Commander: Bard, King of Dale

Bracket: 3

Deck overview

This is an Azorius tempo/control deck helmed by Bard, King of Dale, built entirely around the commander's two doubling abilities: every draw beyond the first of each draw step draws two cards instead, and every token created is doubled. The deck leans heavily on the "recruit" mechanic (draw, discard, create a 1/1 Human Soldier token) and a cluster of "draw your second card" payoff creatures to convert that card advantage into a wide, pumped token army. The primary win condition is combat damage from a doubled swarm of Human Soldiers backed by anthem effects like Bard's Company and Dwarven Provisioner, with Eagle of the Great Shelf and Esgaroth Garrison as the biggest beaters. A dense counterspell and bounce suite - Force Spike, Remove Soul, Evacuation, Unsummon - keeps the board clear while the engine grinds. There are no infinite combos; the deck wins through incremental, grindy board presence.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage
  • 1 Bard the Bowman
  • 1 Bard's Company
  • 1 Bard, King of Dale
  • 1 Bilbo Baggins, Burglar // Take a Glance
  • 1 Bilbo, Luckwearer // Burglar's Plot
  • 1 Boomerang
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Bribery
  • 1 Cease-Fire
  • 1 Celebrate the Mountain-king
  • 1 Channel Harm
  • 1 Chastise
  • 1 Cloudsteel Kirin
  • 1 Confound
  • 1 Confusticate and Bebother
  • 1 Demystify
  • 1 Dragonscale General
  • 1 Dwarven Provisioner
  • 1 Dwarven Shortsword
  • 1 Eagle of the Great Shelf
  • 1 Earth Kingdom Jailer
  • 1 Esgaroth Garrison
  • 1 Evacuation
  • 1 Exclude
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Flash Counter
  • 1 Force Spike
  • 1 Fountain of Youth
  • 1 Gandalf, Wandering Wizard
  • 1 Glasses of Urza
  • 1 Healing Salve
  • 1 High Tide
  • 1 Highspire Bell-Ringer
  • 1 Holy Day
  • 1 Intrepid Hero
  • 13 Island
  • 1 Kismet
  • 1 Lake-town
  • 1 Lake-town Lookout
  • 1 Lake-town Mariners // Gone Fishing
  • 1 Lakeshore Apothecary
  • 1 Long Lake Nuisance
  • 1 Master Decoy
  • 1 Master's Councillors
  • 1 Moment of Glory
  • 1 Mystical Tutor
  • 1 North Pole Gates
  • 1 Old Thrush
  • 1 Patient Instructor
  • 15 Plains
  • 1 Plunder the Trollshaws
  • 1 Ravenhill Flock
  • 1 Rebound
  • 1 Remove Soul
  • 1 Reprisal
  • 1 Restless Anchorage
  • 1 Rumble Arena
  • 2 Snow-Covered Island
  • 1 Sound the Trumpets
  • 1 Spell Blast
  • 1 Spellbook
  • 1 Spiketail Hatchling
  • 1 Sword of the Chosen
  • 1 Telepathy
  • 1 Terrain Generator
  • 1 The Mountain-king's Return
  • 1 Twiddle
  • 1 Uneasy Partings
  • 1 Unsummon
  • 1 Velvetwing Butterflies // Gaze in Wonder
  • 1 Vow to Erebor
  • 1 Worship