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Baral, Chief of Compliance

Legendary Creature — Human Wizard

Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Whenever a spell or ability you control counters a spell, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{U}
Color identity
U
Rarity
rare
Set
Secret Lair Drop
Price
$7.33
EDHREC rank
#1285
Buy on TCGplayer
Baral, Chief of Compliance card art
Baral, Chief of Compliance turns every instant and sorcery into a one-mana discount and every countered spell into a free loot, which makes him one of the most efficient two-drops in blue spell-slinging shells. Commanders like Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy // Scion of Halaster and Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia aside, the density of instants and sorceries in your 99 is what determines how much work Baral actually does — build to him, or don't run him.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Gale, Waterdeep ProdigyScion of Halaster

Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy // Scion of Halaster

52.8% of decks · synergy 0.51

Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy // Scion of Halaster wants to cast spells from everywhere, and Baral, Chief of Compliance shaving a mana off each one accelerates the engine dramatically — more spells per turn means more triggers, more value, faster wins.

02
Azami, Lady of Scrolls

Azami, Lady of Scrolls

59.2% of decks · synergy 0.48

Azami, Lady of Scrolls draws cards off Wizards, and Baral, Chief of Compliance is a Wizard who also reduces the cost of the counterspells that protect the combo — he pulls double duty in a way few two-drops can.

04
Talrand, Sky Summoner

Talrand, Sky Summoner

43.4% of decks · synergy 0.32

Talrand, Sky Summoner makes a Drake for every instant or sorcery cast, and Baral, Chief of Compliance lets you squeeze more spells into each turn — directly translating to more 2/2 flyers entering the battlefield.

05
Katilda and Lier

Katilda and Lier

31.3% of decks · synergy 0.31

Katilda and Lier gives all your instants and sorceries flashback, and Baral, Chief of Compliance makes casting them the second time materially cheaper — the looting clause also helps find threats when the engine is running.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Baral, Chief of Compliance is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but Commander is the format where he genuinely warps deck construction. In Commander, the combination of cost reduction and repeated looting on a two-mana body is strong enough that any blue deck running twenty or more instants and sorceries should be asking whether he belongs in the 99 — or the command zone. In non-rotating 60-card formats like Modern and Legacy, he sees occasional fringe play in storm and spellslinger shells, but competing with more format-warping pieces keeps his presence limited. Pioneer offers the narrowest window; the formats' counterspell pool is shallower and faster threats crowd him out. His ceiling is clearly Commander, where a long game rewards every mana shaved and every extra card looted.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Goblin Electromancer does roughly half the job of Baral, Chief of Compliance — the cost reduction is identical, but you lose the looting clause entirely, which matters more than it looks. Archmage Emeritus and Murmuring Mystic are worth considering if your deck wants spell triggers rather than raw cost reduction, but neither replaces the combination of discount plus cantrip that makes Baral uniquely efficient at two mana.

Price Context

Current price

$7.33 mid tier

At $7.33, Baral, Chief of Compliance sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to feel like a deliberate inclusion, cheap enough that it isn't a barrier in any serious spellslinger build. The price is fair for what it does, and given its consistent Commander demand across multiple archetypes, it isn't likely to crater.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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