Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

 

Commander decks

 

Trivia

 

Art series

 

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	Shield with a centered hexagon
Design	Glenn Jones (lead) Corey Bowen Gavin Verhey Chris Mooney Michael Grothe Chris VanMeter Jules Robins David Iezzi Ethan Fleischer Mike Mearls
Development	Corey Bowen (lead) Gavin Verhey Jules Robins David Iezzi Ethan Fleischer Mike Mearls Jadine Klomparens Megan Smith Michael Hinderaker Bryan Hawley
Release date	June 10, 2022
Plane	Forgotten Realms
Themes and mechanics	Legendary, Background, Dice rolling, Flavor words, Gates
Keywords/​ability words	Adventure, Choose a Background, Goad, Initiative, Myriad, Party, Venture into Undercity
Set size	361 + 575
Expansion code	CLB
Development codename	Pentagon
Commander series
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander Decks Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Dominaria United Commander Decks
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
2022 Starter Kit Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Commander Decks

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate is the second Magic: The Gathering Commander set that is designed to be drafted. It was released on June 10, 2022. It is also a Dungeons & Dragons crossover set.

Set details

“

Draft Your Party. Build Your Legend

”

CLB expansion symbol

Key art featuring the Githyanki Lae'zel

Battle for Baldur's Gate is larger than a normal set, with both Commander reprints and new cards. There are 344 new cards, including 85 legendary creatures and planeswalkers. The set is designed to play Limited Commander: you can play Draft or Sealed with it. It was originally planned to be be available and draftable on Magic Online, but that goal wasn't realized. Building on the Commander-first gameplay of 2020's Commander Legends, Battle for Baldur's Gate was advertised to bring in iconic characters, new mechanics, more flavorful spells from D&D, and Commander Legends-style foil-etched legendary creatures.

For Booster Fun, the Showcase "rulebook" frames of Adventures in the Forgotten Realms were expanded upon to include non-creatures. There are also borderless cards and foil-etched legends.

Similar to the original Commander Legends, Battle for Baldur's Gate contains 361 regular cards (141 commons, 120 uncommons, 77 rares, 22 mythic rares, 1 special) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. Alternate card frames have another card number than the original version. Borderless planeswalkers are numbered #362-364. Other borderless cards are #365-374. "Rulebook frames" are #375-450. The Bundle Basic lands are #451-470. Foil-etched Legendaries are #471- 552. The extended artwork cards of the main set are numbered #553-606. The cards of the Commander decks have the same expansion code as the main set. The borderless versions of the Commander exclusive cards are numbered #607-645, while the regular versions are numbered #646-685. These are followed by the reprints #686-930. Cards #931-934 are the display commanders. The Bundle promo is #935 and the Buy-a-Box card is #936.

Eight weeks before the release of the set, someone opened multiple Collector Boosters on TikTok. Multiple cards and mechanics were revealed.

Drafting rules

Commander draft uses three draft boosters per player. For every pick, players take two cards at a time. This is to ensure coherency of decks, as players will need to conform to the color identities of their eventual commanders, and for speed.

After the draft, players build a 60-card deck — much like how a traditional deck of Magic is 60 cards and a traditional draft is 40, here it's 60 to Commander's 100. All other Commander rules apply with one exception: the Singleton rule does not apply. You may play as many copies of a card as you draft of it, though given the set size compared to how many cards players get, it's not very likely to get more than 1 copy of a card. Players may always use one or more Faceless Ones as a commander, even if they didn't draft one.

Storyline

The set takes place in the Forgotten Realms, and focuses on the city of Baldur's Gate. The "Time of Troubles" is one of the most major events in Forgotten Realms history and centered here. The city is under attack by the forces of Avernus and the Dead Three: Bhaal, Lord of Murder; Myrkul, Lord of Bones; Bane, Lord of Darkness.

Marketing

Set Booster depicting Boo

Battle for Baldur's Gate is sold in 20-card Draft booster packs. Each booster pack contains 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 1 guaranteed Traditional Foil card. A 21^st card is a Marketing card. The set is also sold in 15-card Set Boosters, Collector Boosters, a Draft Pack, the Baldur's Gate Bundle and four Commander decks. The Draft Boosters feature art from Lae'zel ; the Set Boosters depict Boo and the Collector Boosters feature art from a dragon.

Events

• Prerelease: June 3–5, 2022

Promotional cards

• Prerelease: a year-stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare.
• Buy-a-Box promo: Alternate art foil Elder Brain
• Bundle promo: Alternate art foil Wand of Wonder

Tokens and markers

Battle for Baldur's Gate comes with 20 tokens and markers. Tokens and markers appear in the marketing card slot.

1. 0/1 Goat creature, for Contraband Livestock.
2. 2/2 Knight creature, for The Council of Four and Recruitment Drive.
3. 1/1 Pegasus creature with flying, for Pegasus Guardian.
4. 1/1 Rabbit creature, for Cadira, Caller of the Small.
5. 1/1 Soldier creature, for Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward, Recruitment Drive, Undercellar Sweep, Veteran Soldier, You're Confronted by Robbers, and Ysgard's Call.
6. 1/1 Faerie Dragon creature with flying, for Ancient Gold Dragon, Elminster, Feywild Caretaker, and Feywild Visitor.
7. 3/3 Demon creature, for Tasha, the Witch Queen.
8. 4/1 Skeleton creature with menace, for Bone Offering, Gut, True Soul Zealot and Undercity.
9. Boo, a 1/1 legendary Hamster creature with trample and haste, for Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes.
10. 1/1 Devil creature with "When this creature dies, it deals 1 damage to any target.", for Raphael, Fiendish Savior.
11. 4/4 Dragon creature with flying, for Dragon Cultist.
12. 2/2 Boar creature, for Carefree Swinemaster and Contraband Livestock.
13. 4/4 Ox creature, for Contraband Livestock.
14. 1/1 Saproling creature, for Undercellar Myconid.
15. 1/1 Squirrel creature, for Cloakwood Hermit.
16. 1/1 Construct artifact creature," for Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter and Nimblewright Schematic.
17. Treasure artifact, for Ancient Copper Dragon, Bathe in Gold, Battle Angels of Tyr, Blood Money, Deadly Dispute, Descent into Avernus, Dungeoneer’s Pack, Ganax, Astral Hunter, Guild Artisan, Gluntch, the Bestower, Heap Gate, Hoarding Ogre, Inspired Tinkering, Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter, Mahadi, Emporium Master, Marching Duodrone, Marut, Noble’s Purse, Patron of the Arts, Prized Statue, Safana, Calimport Cutthroat, Shiny Impetus, Skullport Merchant, Swashbuckler Extraordinaire, Thieves' Tools, Undercity, You've Been Caught Stealing, and Zhentarim Bandit
18. Volo’s Journal, a legendary artifact with hexproof and “Whenever you cast a creature spell, note one of its creature types that hasn’t been noted for this artifact.”, for Volo, Itinerant Scholar.
19. Copy for Elminster’s Simulacrum, Irenicus’s Vile Duplication, Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm and Myrkul, Lord of Bones.
20. Undercity dungeon / The Initiative marker.

The List

The List for Baldur's Gate returned to being 300 cards long, featuring cards from throughout Magic's history. The List includes all the Magic-themed versions of the Secret Lair Drop Series: Stranger Things except for the double-faced Havengul Laboratory. These dropped to the same rarity as the other cards on The List.

Themes and mechanics

Undercity dungeon

Battle for Baldur's Gate features new legendary creatures themed as D&D characters and several multiplayer keywords.

Adventure, D20 dice rolling, Goad, and Myriad are returning mechanics. Flavor words also made a comeback.

Each prerelease pack comes with an Undercity Dungeon Card. This is a unique card that shares the same mechanic as Dungeon Cards from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. The card is not included in a player's deck size or sideboard and is activated by the Initiative mechanic to Venture into Undercity. However, the Forgotten Realms Dungeons are not making a return. The Bundle provides an oversized version.

Monocolored Legendary creatures in the set have the ability to Choose a Background. By choosing a Background, you can customize your Commander.

Limited archetypes

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate features the following limited archetypes:

• : Blink (Oji, the Exquisite Blade)
• : Initiative (Rilsa Rael, Kingpin)
• : Treasure & Sacrifice (Mahadi, Emporium Master)
• : Dragons: power matters (Thrakkus the Butcher)
• : Tokens (Cadira, Caller of the Small)
• : Aristocrats / "Revolt" (Minthara, Merciless Soul)
• : Dragons: spells matters (Lozhan, Dragons’ Legacy)
• : Graveyard recursion (Kagha, Shadow Archdruid)
• : Myriad, "melee" (Commander Liara Portyr)
• : Dragons: Ramp (Korlessa, Scale Singer)

Card types

The set features the new Background enchantment type, that is only featured on Legendary Enchantments.

The set also introduces the Elminster, Minsc and Tasha planeswalker types, the Gith and Walrus creature types and the Undercity dungeon type.

Cycles

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate has at least ten cycles.

Cycle name
Mythic metallic dragons	Ancient Gold Dragon	Ancient Silver Dragon	Ancient Brass Dragon	Ancient Copper Dragon	Ancient Bronze Dragon
	Five mythic rare Dragons each with an ability to roll a d20 when they deal combat damage to a player.
Rare background legends	Lae’zel, Vlaakith’s Champion	Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy	Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar	Wyll, Blade of Frontiers	Jaheira, Friend of the Forest
	Five rare legendary creatures with choose a Background.
Rare character spells	Lae’zel’s Acrobatics	Gale's Redirection	Astarion's Thirst	Wyll's Reversal	Jaheira's Respite
	Five rare instants that depict the cycle of rare background legends.
Rare backgrounds	Noble Heritage	Shameless Charlatan	Cultist of the Absolute	Popular Entertainer	Raised by Giants
	Five rare Backgrounds.
Rare adventurers	White Plume Adventurer	Tomb of Horrors Adventurer	Ravenloft Adventurer	Caves of Chaos Adventurer	Undermountain Adventurer
	Five rare creatures that take the initiative and become more powerful if you've completed a dungeon.
Gem dragons	Crystal Dragon	Sapphire Dragon	Topaz Dragon	Amethyst Dragon	Emerald Dragon
	Five uncommon dragons with adventure.
Uncommon "dethrone" backgrounds	Veteran Soldier	Sword Coast Sailor	Agent of the Shadow Thieves	Guild Artisan	Hardy Outlander
	Five uncommon Backgrounds that check if you are attacking the opponent with the most life.
Uncommon dice rollers	Contraband Livestock	Cone of Cold	Nothic	Thunderwave	Overwhelming Encounter
	Five uncommon spells that have the caster roll a d20. Each have a "critical hit" for a natural 20.
Common dice rollers	Recruitment Drive	Contact Other Plane	Myrkul's Edict	Hoarding Ogre	Druid of the Emerald Grove
	Five common spells that have the caster roll a d20. Each have a "critical hit" for a natural 20.
Invokers	Bane's Invoker	Tymora's Invoker	Myrkul’s Invoker	Bhaal's Invoker	Silvanus's Invoker
	Five common creatures with an activated ability costing .
Common backgrounds	Flaming Fist	Candlekeep Sage	Scion of Halaster	Tavern Brawler	Master Chef
	Five common Backgrounds.
Thriving gates	Citadel Gate	Sea Gate	Black Dragon Gate	Cliffgate	Manor Gate
	Five common Gates that are functional reprints of the Thriving lands but with the added subtype.
Impetuses	Martial Impetus	Psychic Impetus	Parasitic Impetus	Shiny Impetus	Predatory Impetus
	Five uncommon Auras that goad the enchanted creature, and have an additional benefit whenever they attack.
Diamonds	Marble Diamond	Sky Diamond	Charcoal Diamond	Fire Diamond	Moss Diamond
	Five common artifacts that each cost to cast, enters the battlefield tapped, and produces one mana of the appropriate color when tapped.
Cycle name
Bond lands	Sea of Clouds	Morphic Pool	Luxury Suite	Spire Garden	Bountiful Promenade
	Five rare dual lands that enter the battlefield tapped, unless you have two or more opponents. Reprinted from Battlebond.

Double cycles

Cycle name
Gold rares	The Council of Four	Jon Irenicus, Shattered One	Raphael, Fiendish Savior	Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss	Gluntch, the Bestower	Astarion, the Decadent	Neera, Wild Mage	Baba Lysaga, Night Witch	Duke Ulder Ravengard	Alaundo the Seer
	Ten rare dual-colored legendary creatures.
Gold signposts	Oji, the Exquisite Blade	Rilsa Rael, Kingpin	Mahadi, Emporium Master	Thrakkus the Butcher	Cadira, Caller of the Small	Minthara, Merciless Soul	Lozhan, Dragons’ Legacy	Kagha, Shadow Archdruid	Commander Liara Portyr	Korlessa, Scale Singer
	Ten uncommon dual-colored legendary creatures, each a signpost for a draft archetype.
Uncommon legend pairs	Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward	Imoen, Mystic Trickster	Sivriss, Nightmare Speaker	Ganax, Astral Hunter	Halsin, Emerald Archdruid	Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant	Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher	Viconia, Drow Apostate	Amber Gristle O'Maul	Wilson, Refined Grizzly
	Alora, Merry Thief	Safana, Calimport Cutthroat	Gut, True Soul Zealot	Skanos Dragonheart	Ellyn Harbreeze, Busybody	Sarevok, Deathbringer	Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat	Erinis, Gloom Stalker	Rasaad yn Bashir	Renari, Merchant of Marvels
	Ten pairs of uncommon monocolored legendary creatures with choose a Background, each together making a signpost for a draft archetype.
Cycle name
Tricolor legends	Gorion, Wise Mentor	Bane, Lord of Darkness	Zevlor, Elturel Exile	Bhaal, Lord of Murder	Mazzy, Truesword Paladin	Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter	Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm	Myrkul, Lord of Bones	Dynaheir, Invoker Adept	Nine-Fingers Keene
	Ten rare tri-colored legendary creatures.

Mini-cycles

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate has one cycle of three cards:

Cycle name
Orbs of Dragonkind	Lapis Orb of Dragonkind	Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind	Jade Orb of Dragonkind
	Each of these uncommon mana rocks gives an extra effect if their produced mana is spent in a dragon spell.

Pairs

Mirrored pair		Description
Volo, Itinerant Scholar ()	Karlach, Fury of Avernus ()	Two mythic rare legendary creatures with Choose a Background. They synergize with creatures in different ways: Card draw equal to the noted creature types for Volo, and extra attacking for Karlach.
Young Blue Dragon ()	Young Red Dragon ()	Two common dragon with adventure.
Lore pair		Description
Descent into Avernus ()	Ascend from Avernus ()	Two cards representing the fall and later rise of Elturel from Avernus.

Reprints

This list only includes the reprints that appear in the draftable main set. The Commander decks feature 245 additional reprints.

• Dawnbringer Cleric, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Martial Impetus, first printed in Commander 2020, last seen in Commander 2021.
• Minimus Containment, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Slaughter the Strong, first printed in Rivals of Ixalan, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Contact Other Plane, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Dream Fracture, first printed in Eventide, last seen in Conspiracy.
• Kindred Discovery, first printed in Commander 2017, last seen in The List.
• Psychic Impetus, first printed in Commander 2020, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Run Away Together, first printed in Throne of Eldraine, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Ambition's Cost, first printed in Portal Three Kingdoms, last seen in Commander 2021.
• Cast Down, first printed in Dominaria, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Deadly Dispute, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Murder, first printed in Magic 2013, last seen in Streets of New Capenna.
• Parasitic Impetus, first printed in Commander 2020, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Skullport Merchant, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Thieves' Tools, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Fireball, first printed in Alpha, last seen in The List.
• Hoarding Ogre, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Lightning Bolt, first printed in Alpha, last seen in Secret Lair.
• Shiny Impetus, first printed in Commander 2020, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Band Together, first printed in War of the Spark.
• Bramble Sovereign, first printed in Battlebond.
• Nature's Lore, first printed in Ice Age, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Predatory Impetus, first printed in Commander 2020, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Skullwinder, first printed in Commander 2015, last seen in The List.
• Traverse the Outlands, first printed in Commander 2017, last seen in The List.
• You Meet in a Tavern, first printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Arcane Encyclopedia, first printed in Core Set 2019, last seen in Jumpstart.
• Arcane Signet, first printed in Throne of Eldraine, last seen in Neon Dynasty Commander.
• Bag of Holding, first printed in Core Set 2020, last seen in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
• Basilisk Collar, first printed in Worldwake, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Blade of Selves, first printed in Commander 2015
• Burnished Hart, first printed in Theros, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Charcoal Diamond, first printed in Mirage, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Fire Diamond, first printed in Mirage, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Gate Colossus, first printed in Ravnica Allegiance.
• Geode Golem, first printed in Commander 2018.
• Manifold Key, first printed in Core Set 2020, last seen in Time Spiral Remastered.
• Marble Diamond, first printed in Mirage, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Meteor Golem, first printed in Core Set 2019, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Mind Stone, first printed in Weatherlight, last seen in Forgotten Realms Commander.
• Moss Diamond, first printed in Mirage, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Pilgrim's Eye, first printed in Worldwake, last seen in Commander 2021.
• Prophetic Prism, first printed in Rise of the Eldrazi, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Sky Diamond, first printed in Mirage, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Swiftfoot Boots, first printed in Magic 2012, last seen as Streets of New Capenna launch party promo.
• Treasure Keeper, first printed in Aether Revolt, last seen in Double Masters.
• Universal Solvent, first printed in Aether Revolt, last seen in Commander Legends.
• Wayfarer’s Bauble, first printed in Fifth Dawn, last seen in Streets of New Capenna/Commander decks.
• The Allied color Bond lands, first printed in Battlebond, last seen in Zendikar Rising/Expeditions.
• Command Tower, first printed in Commander 2011, last seen in New Capenna Commander.
• Evolving Wilds, first printed in Rise of the Eldrazi, last seen in Innistrad: Double Feature.
• Reflecting Pool, first printed in Tempest, last seen in Conspiracy.

Notable cards

• Faceless One is a Background creature, and printed at common. As such, it is the second common legendary creature printed, the second legal in Pauper, and fills the role that The Prismatic Piper did in the original Commander Legends and has the same Special rarity. It lacks a creature type.
• Venture Forth is the green member of a mega cycle started with Inspiring Refrain and Rousing Refrain (Commander 2021). These are all rare sorceries with suspend 3.
• Zevlor, Elturel Exile received errata before it was released, "When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single opponent [...]".

Preconstructed decks

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate features four preconstructed Commander decks that are released as a regular part of a set's product line. These are meant to be on-ramps to Commander.

Theme deck name	Color Identity					Commander
Party Time	W		B			Nalia de'Arnise
Mind Flayarrrs		U	B			Captain N'ghathrod
Draconic Dissent		U		R		Firkraag, Cunning Instigator
Exit from Exile				R	G	Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald

Reception

Baldur's Gate was quickly overshadowed by the follow-up set Double Masters 2022, which actually contained stronger cards and better value reprints for Commander play. This led to unsalable stock for LGS's, dropping prices and distributors refusing to taking back products. Mark Rosewater later stated that it shouldnt have been called Commander Legends.

External links

• The Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Mark Rosewater (May 23, 2022). "Going Baldur's Gate, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Mark Rosewater (May 30, 2022). "Going Baldur's Gate, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Mark Rosewater (June 06, 2022). "Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Vision Design Handoff". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (June 10, 2022). "Let's Talk Set Design for Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (June 10, 2022). "Crash Course in Commander for Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.