Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

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Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate
 
Commander decks
 
Trivia
 
Art series
 
Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Battle for Baldurs Gate logo.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description A 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[1]
Development codename Pentagon[2]
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.[3] It is also a Dungeons & Dragons crossover set, using the cast from the Baldur's Gate video games series, including those from the then-unreleased Baldur's Gate 3.[4][5][6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

For Booster Fun, the Showcase "rulebook" frames of Adventures in the Forgotten Realms were expanded upon to include non-creatures.[9] There are also borderless cards and foil-etched legends.[9][10]

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. [11]

Drafting rules

Commander draft uses three draft boosters per player. For every pick, players take two cards at a time.[12] 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.[13]

Storyline

The set takes place in the Forgotten Realms, and focuses on the city of Baldur's Gate.[8] The "Time of Troubles" is one of the most major events in Forgotten Realms history and centered here.[14] 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 21st 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.[15] The Draft Boosters feature art from Lae'zel ; the Set Boosters depict Boo and the Collector Boosters feature art from a dragon.

Events

Promotional cards

Tokens and markers

Battle for Baldur's Gate comes with 20 tokens and markers. Tokens and markers appear in the marketing card slot.[17]

  1. {W} 0/1 Goat creature, for Contraband Livestock.
  2. {W} 2/2 Knight creature, for The Council of Four and Recruitment Drive.
  3. {W} 1/1 Pegasus creature with flying, for Pegasus Guardian.
  4. {W} 1/1 Rabbit creature, for Cadira, Caller of the Small.
  5. {W} 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. {U} 1/1 Faerie Dragon creature with flying, for Ancient Gold Dragon, Elminster, Feywild Caretaker, and Feywild Visitor.
  7. {B} 3/3 Demon creature, for Tasha, the Witch Queen.
  8. {B} 4/1 Skeleton creature with menace, for Bone Offering, Gut, True Soul Zealot and Undercity.
  9. {R} Boo, a 1/1 legendary Hamster creature with trample and haste, for Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes.
  10. {R} 1/1 Devil creature with "When this creature dies, it deals 1 damage to any target.", for Raphael, Fiendish Savior.
  11. {R} 4/4 Dragon creature with flying, for Dragon Cultist.
  12. {G} 2/2 Boar creature, for Carefree Swinemaster and Contraband Livestock.
  13. {G} 4/4 Ox creature, for Contraband Livestock.
  14. {G} 1/1 Saproling creature, for Undercellar Myconid.
  15. {G} 1/1 Squirrel creature, for Cloakwood Hermit.
  16. {C} 1/1 Construct artifact creature," for Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter and Nimblewright Schematic.
  17. {C} 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. {C} 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.[10] 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.[9][18]

Adventure, D20 dice rolling, Goad, and Myriad are returning mechanics. Flavor words also made a comeback.[5]

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.[19] 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:[20]

Card types

The set features the new Background enchantment type, that is only featured on Legendary Enchantments.[18]

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 {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
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, corresponding to the 5 types of Gem Dragon in D&D.
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 {8}.
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 {2} to cast, enters the battlefield tapped, and produces one mana of the appropriate color when tapped.
Cycle name {W}{U} {U}{B} {B}{R} {R}{G} {G}{W}
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 {W}{U} {U}{B} {B}{R} {R}{G} {G}{W} {W}{B} {U}{R} {B}{G} {R}{W} {G}{U}
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 {G}{W}{U} {W}{U}{B} {U}{B}{R} {B}{R}{G} {R}{G}{W} {R}{W}{B} {G}{U}{R} {W}{B}{G} {U}{R}{W} {B}{G}{U}
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 {U} {R} {G}
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 ({U}) Karlach, Fury of Avernus ({R}) 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 ({U}) Young Red Dragon ({R}) Two common dragon with adventure.
Lore pair Description
Descent into Avernus ({R}) Ascend from Avernus ({W}) 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.

Notable cards

Banned and restricted cards

  • The Initiative was determined, much like the Monarch, to be a turnwise engine much more powerful when ported to two-player Magic, especially in Eternal where many decks do not regularly engage in combat. Only one spell could grant the Initiative at three mana, White Plume Adventurer, which made up the "Initiative Stompy" deck with Seasoned Dungeoneer. As such, White Plume Adventurer was banned in March 2023; Delver also suffered a ban that month and the two decks were considered opposing forces.

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.[4] These are meant to be on-ramps to Commander.

Theme
deck name 		Color Identity Commander
{W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
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 take back products.[24][25] Mark Rosewater later stated that it shouldn't have been called Commander Legends, as it set up incorrect expectations.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Information below the text box
  2. ↑ Mark Rosewater (March 26, 2022). "Hi Mark, what was the code name for Baldur's Gate?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  3. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (February 24, 2022). "Streets of New Capenna and Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Release Dates". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. ↑ a b Adam Styborski (March 24, 2022). "A First Look at Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (May 17, 2022). "First Out of Baldur's Gate". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ Jess Dunks (April 28, 2022). "Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. ↑ Magic Online (May 24, 2022). "Magic Online Announcements, May 24, 2022". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. ↑ a b Adam Styborski (August 24, 2021). "What Happened In Magic Showcase 2021?". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. ↑ a b c Magic Showcase 2021 (live) (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (August 24, 2021).
  10. ↑ a b Max McCall (May 17, 2022). "Collecting Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. ↑ Commander Legends Baldur's Gate Leak Gallery. Reddit (April 15, 2022).
  12. ↑ WPN (April 25, 2022). "How to Draft Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate". Wizards Play Network.
  13. ↑ Adam Styborski and Billie Kaplan (May 17, 2022). "Welcome to Your Magic Adventure with Dungeons & Dragons". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 06, 2022). "Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Vision Design Handoff". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. ↑ Harless Snyder (May 17, 2022). "Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Product Overview". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. ↑ Gavin Verhey (June 1, 2022). "Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Prerelease Primer". Magic.gg.
  17. ↑ Kendall Pepple (June 2, 2022). "The Tokens of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  18. ↑ a b Jess Dunks (May 18, 2022). "Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  19. ↑ WPN (March 24, 2022). "Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Retail Guide". Wizards Play Network.
  20. ↑ Gavin Verhey (My 28, 2022). "Here are the MTGBaldursgate draft archetypes.". Twitter.
  21. ↑ Magic: The Gathering (May 17, 2022). "Bramble Sovereign translated to the D&D concept very neatly and contributes to the politics at a Commander table.". Twitter.
  22. ↑ Gavin Verhey (June 1, 2022). "Things we talked about today.". Twitter.
  23. ↑ Jess Dunks (June 1, 2022). "Oracle Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  24. ↑ Double Masters 2022 DISASTER - MTG Is In Crisis Mode (Video). The Magic Historian. YouTube (June 17, 2022).
  25. ↑ Baldurs Gate Is The Biggest FAILURE In MTG History - What Happened? (Video). The Magic Historian. YouTube (June 22, 2022).
  26. ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 1, 2022). "State of Design 2022". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

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