Card
Balin, Loremaster
Mana cost {3}{R}{R}
Legendary Creature — Dwarf Bard 4/4
Storied (If you control three or more artifacts, legendaries, and/or Sagas, you have an enduring story for the rest of the game.) Whenever Balin or another Dwarf you control enters, you may discard your hand. Draw X cards, where X is the number of cards discarded this way. If you have an enduring story, Balin deals X damage to each opponent.
No bracket restriction: playable from bracket 1. 8 official rulings.
- Commander
- Legal
- Printing
- Rare · HOB · #87
- Cheapest printing
- €0.20
- EDHREC salt
- —
- Color identity
- Red
Bracket
- B1 Exhibition — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
- B2 Core — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
- B3 Upgraded — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
- B4 Optimized — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
- B5 cEDH — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
Why
- No Game Changer, mass land denial, extra turn, tutor or two-card combo
How Lotus Vault estimates a bracket
Bracket: Lotus Vault analysis, with Commander Spellbook flags
Combos
No known combos for this card.
Combos: Commander Spellbook
Rulings
- 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
If your third legendary, Saga, or artifact permanent enters the battlefield and then one of those permanents leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the "legend rule" or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get an enduring story before it leaves the battlefield. - 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
Once you have an enduring story, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all of your storied permanents. The enduring story designation is on the player and can't be removed by any effect. - 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
You may choose to discard your hand even if your hand contains zero cards. - 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
If you control three legendary, Saga, and/or artifact permanents but don't control a permanent with storied, you don't get an enduring story. For example, if you controlled three artifacts, lost control of two, then cast Thorin Oakenshield, you won't have an enduring story. - 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
A single permanent can only count once toward the three legendary, Saga, and/or artifact permanents needed to get an enduring story, even if it has more than one of those qualities. If you control one permanent that is a legendary artifact and a second permanent that is a Saga, you will only have two of the three permanents required to get an enduring story. - 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
The decision to discard your hand is made during the resolution of the ability, so there is no opportunity for an opponent to respond between choosing to discard your hand and drawing cards. - 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren't permanents. - 2026-06-29 · Wizards of the Coast
Storied isn't a triggered ability and doesn't use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your third legendary, Saga, and/or artifact permanent, but they can't respond to you getting an enduring story once you control that third permanent.
Rulings: Scryfall · Wizards of the Coast