Balshan Collaborator
Creature — Bird Soldier
Flying
: This creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BU
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Torment
- Price
- $0.11
- EDHREC rank
- #31028
Balshan Collaborator turns every spell your opponents cast into a potential flying blocker or attacker on your side — the effect is real, but the three-mana activation cost per trigger means you'll burn through your mana fast just keeping up. It's a value engine in the right shell, but the ceiling is lower than it looks the moment you're tapped out.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Balshan Collaborator occupies a narrow spellslinger niche — with three or more opponents casting spells every turn, the triggers stack up, but so does the activation bill, and three mana per trigger is prohibitive at a typical EDH table where you need that mana for your own gameplan. Legacy and Vintage are legal but irrelevant; the card is far too slow and situational for those formats, where opponents aren't casting spells on your schedule and a 2/2 flyer is not a meaningful threat. Oathbreaker is the one fringe case where a spell-heavy planeswalker shell could make consistent use of the trigger, especially if the commander generates mana. Across all formats, Balshan Collaborator is a Commander-only conversation, and even there it's a build-around rather than a staple.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.11 bulk tier
At $0.11, Balshan Collaborator is deep bulk — you'll find it in a common box or a bulk lot before you'd ever pay shipping for a single copy. The price reflects the card's narrow playability accurately and isn't going anywhere.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.