Palantír of Orthanc
Legendary Artifact
At the beginning of your end step, put an influence counter on Palantír of Orthanc and scry 2. Then target opponent may have you draw a card. If that player doesn't, you mill X cards, where X is the number of influence counters on Palantír of Orthanc, and that player loses life equal to the total mana value of those cards.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #1339
Palantír of Orthanc forces opponents to choose between losing life and handing you card advantage every turn — and that pressure compounds fast at a multiplayer table. Y'shtola Rhul decks are the most enthusiastic adopters, but any shell that wants repeated political leverage or incremental drain runs it without hesitation.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Y'shtola Rhul
Y'shtola Rhul triggers off opponents taking damage, and Palantír of Orthanc generates that damage on a loop — every player who refuses to reveal hands you a card and bleeds for it, feeding Y'shtola's ability turn after turn.
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider cares about artifacts entering and leaving play and rewards aggressive card advantage engines, making Palantír of Orthanc a natural fit that churns cards while taxing opponents who won't cooperate.
The Capitoline Triad
The Capitoline Triad builds around incremental life loss and political pressure across a board of opponents, and Palantír of Orthanc is one of the cleanest repeatable sources of both — more than half of all Capitoline Triad decks run it.
Saruman of Many Colors
Saruman of Many Colors rewards copying spells cast by opponents, and Palantír of Orthanc nudges opponents into casting spells rather than revealing cards, feeding Saruman's copy engine while grinding down their life totals.
Sauron, the Dark Lord
Sauron, the Dark Lord wants the Ring tempted and opponents pressured, and Palantír of Orthanc delivers steady life drain that keeps the table off-balance while contributing to the Mordor-flavored threat package.
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 where Palantír of Orthanc earns its slot — three opponents means three separate life-loss triggers each turn cycle, and the political dimension of forcing reveal-or-pay decisions is uniquely potent in a multiplayer game. In Legacy and Vintage, it's technically legal but realistically too slow; a three-mana artifact that doesn't impact the board immediately has no place in formats that end on turn two or three. Oathbreaker gives it a narrower window, but the compressed game state still rewards the kind of incremental advantage Palantír of Orthanc generates.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Palantír of Orthanc isn't available in this snapshot, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number. Given its Lord of the Rings set pedigree and consistent 40–50% inclusion rates in its top commander archetypes, expect it to carry a modest premium over a bulk rare.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Y'shtola Rhul
- Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
- The Capitoline Triad
- Saruman of Many Colors
- Sauron, the Dark Lord
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.