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Ballad of the Black Flag

Enchantment — Saga

(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after IV.)
I, II, III — Mill three cards. You may put a historic card from among them into your hand. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
IV — Historic spells you cast this turn cost {2} less to cast.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{1}{U}{U}
Color identity
U
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Assassin's Creed
Price
$0.37
EDHREC rank
#6195
Buy on TCGplayer
Ballad of the Black Flag card art
Ballad of the Black Flag lets you draw a card whenever a creature you control with a counter on it deals combat damage to a player — a repeatable, on-attack draw engine that scales with counters synergies. The cost is three mana for a saga with a delayed payoff, but if your deck already wants Ratonhnhaké꞉ton or Sensei's Divining Top on top of your deck, the card advantage compounds fast enough to justify the slot.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Ratonhnhaké꞉ton

Ratonhnhaké꞉ton

29.9% of decks · synergy 0.30

Ratonhnhaké꞉ton is the natural home — Ballad of the Black Flag triggers every time his naturally counter-laden body connects, turning each attack into a free card and fueling the aggressive, evasive game plan he already wants to run.

02
Basim Ibn Ishaq

Basim Ibn Ishaq

29.1% of decks · synergy 0.29

Basim Ibn Ishaq cares deeply about creatures carrying counters, and Ballad of the Black Flag slots in as a draw engine that rewards exactly the combat pressure Basim is designed to generate.

03
Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil

28.1% of decks · synergy 0.26

Tom Bombadil's saga-centric strategy means Ballad of the Black Flag pulls double duty — it triggers Tom's ability the moment it enters and then provides recurring card draw off counters-matter creatures the deck already runs.

04
Edward Kenway

Edward Kenway

20.7% of decks · synergy 0.20

Edward Kenway's pirate-and-treasure theme frequently puts +1/+1 counters on aggressive creatures, so Ballad of the Black Flag converts his go-wide attacks into a card advantage stream that keeps the hand full through the midgame.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is the clear home for Ballad of the Black Flag — the 100-card singleton format gives you enough counters-matter creatures and enough long games to trigger the draw chapter repeatedly before opponents stabilize. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; three mana for a conditional draw engine doesn't compete with the raw power of those formats. Modern could theoretically support it in a dedicated counters shell, but faster, more consistent draw options crowd it out. Oathbreaker is a legitimate second venue if your planeswalker and signature spell pair leans into the +1/+1 counters theme.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.37 bulk tier

At $0.37, Ballad of the Black Flag sits firmly in bulk territory, which makes it a zero-regret inclusion for any counters-matter Commander build. Bulk sagas rarely spike unless a new commander dramatically warps demand, so expect the price to stay flat.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.