Horses of the Bruinen
Sorcery
Return up to two target creatures to their owners' hands. Scry 1. The Ring tempts you.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #14008
Horses of the Bruinen enters with a board-wide tap effect that locks down attackers or blockers on the spot — and in Galadriel of Lothlórien decks, it does that while also scrying and drawing off the Ring tempting you. Five mana is real, but the immediate impact justifies it in any Elf or Ring-matters shell.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Galadriel of Lothlórien
Galadriel of Lothlórien tempts the Ring on entering the battlefield, which means Horses of the Bruinen simultaneously taps down threats and advances your Ring progression — that's two jobs in one five-mana slot, which is why it shows up in over a third of Galadriel lists.
Elrond, Master of Healing
Elrond, Master of Healing cares about scrying and lifegain triggers, and Horses of the Bruinen plugs into the Ring-tempting chain he rewards — it's a payoff and an enabler at the same time.
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 |
Horses of the Bruinen is a Commander card through and through — the tap effect and Ring-tempting payoff only matter in a multiplayer game where locking down several creatures simultaneously can swing a board state. In Legacy and Vintage, where it's technically legal, five mana for a tap effect with no immediate card advantage is simply not competitive; nobody is casting it. Commander, and specifically Ring-matters or Elf-tribal builds, is the entire home for Horses of the Bruinen.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Horses of the Bruinen is pure bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or cheap single. Given its narrow home in Lord of the Rings-themed Commander decks, don't expect the price to move unless a new Ring-matters commander drives broader demand.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Galadriel of Lothlórien
- Elrond, Master of Healing
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.