Gandalf, Friend of the Shire
Legendary Creature — Avatar Wizard
Flash
You may cast sorcery spells as though they had flash.
Whenever the Ring tempts you, if you chose a creature other than Gandalf as your Ring-bearer, draw a card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- $0.24
- EDHREC rank
- #5810
Gandalf, Friend of the Shire puts a free instant or sorcery on the stack every time a legendary spell resolves, which in the right deck means you're drawing cards or dealing damage almost every turn without spending additional mana. The cost is a five-mana 3/3 body that does nothing on its own — outside of legendary-dense shells like Ashling, Flame Dancer or Gandalf of the Secret Fire, it's an expensive do-nothing.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Gandalf of the Secret Fire is the natural home — casting Gandalf, Friend of the Shire triggers itself, and every subsequent legendary spell chains into a free spell that Gandalf of the Secret Fire can then copy, turning the deck's legendary density into a cascade of free effects.
Lord of the Nazgûl
Lord of the Nazgûl decks run heavy legendary creature counts to flood the board with Wraiths, and Gandalf, Friend of the Shire converts each of those legendary casts into a free instant or sorcery — card advantage stapled to an already-explosive legendary tribal engine.
Saruman of Many Colors
Saruman of Many Colors rewards casting spells on opponents' turns, and Gandalf, Friend of the Shire supplies a free spell trigger every time a legendary lands, giving Saruman consistent fodder for its connive and copy abilities.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the only format where Gandalf, Friend of the Shire earns its slot — legendary-tribal density is high enough there to fire its trigger multiple times a game, and the free spell effect scales with the power level of your instant and sorcery suite. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but functionally irrelevant: five mana for a 3/3 that requires legendary casts to do anything is nowhere near the power threshold those formats demand. Modern has the same problem — five mana is a lot to ask before the first trigger even happens. Oathbreaker is legal and theoretically interesting if the signature spell is a legendary, but the format's smaller game count limits how often the engine fires.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Ashling, Flame DancerWorldfireGandalf, Friend of the Shire
Each opponent loses the game; Exile all cards in hands and graveyards; Exile all permanents; Near-infinite lifeloss for all players; Mass Land Denial
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Sway of the StarsMyojin of Roaring BladesGandalf, Friend of the Shire
Each opponent loses the game; Near-infinite lifeloss for all players; Shuffle all hands, graveyards and permanents on the battlefield into their owner's library
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Near-Death ExperienceYavimaya Bloomsage // ChannelGandalf, Friend of the Shire
Win the game
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.24 bulk tier
At $0.24, Gandalf, Friend of the Shire is firmly bulk — pick it up without a second thought if you're building any legendary-heavy Commander deck. Bulk mythics with narrow synergy profiles tend to stay cheap, so don't expect movement unless a future legendary-tribal commander pushes demand.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.