Sméagol, Helpful Guide
Legendary Creature — Halfling Horror
At the beginning of your end step, if a creature died under your control this turn, the Ring tempts you.
Whenever the Ring tempts you, target opponent reveals cards from the top of their library until they reveal a land card. Put that card onto the battlefield tapped under your control and the rest into their graveyard.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- $0.31
- EDHREC rank
- #5881
Sméagol, Helpful Guide is a three-mana value engine that mills opponents and rewards you with lands every time a player puts cards in a graveyard — the throughput is real and it starts immediately. The cost is the Ring mechanic's political baggage: you're handing opponents the Ring tempts you trigger, which matters most when Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit // Sam, Loyal Attendant or Dúnedain Rangers are across the table.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit // Sam, Loyal Attendant
Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit // Sam, Loyal Attendant is the natural home — Sméagol, Helpful Guide fuels the Ring tempts you engine while ramping you on every mill trigger, turning what would be a political liability into a synergy loop you're actively steering.
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 Sméagol, Helpful Guide does its best work: four opponents means four mill triggers per rotation, and the land drops compound fast in a long game. Outside of Commander, it's legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Modern, but a three-mana 2/2 that mills slowly and ramps inconsistently has no competitive footing in any of those formats. Oathbreaker is the one fringe case worth noting — a Gollum-adjacent signature spell shell could extract real value from the mill-and-ramp loop at a lower curve.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Sméagol, Helpful GuideDúnedain RangersViscera Seer
Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite landfall triggers; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite mill; Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers; Near-infinite scry 1; Put all land cards from your opponents' libraries onto the battlefield tapped under your control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Sméagol, Helpful GuideDúnedain RangersBloodghastViscera Seer
Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite landfall triggers; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite mill; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers; Near-infinite scry 1; Put all land cards from your opponents' libraries onto the battlefield tapped under your control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Sméagol, Helpful GuideDúnedain RangersRampaging BalothsViscera Seer
Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite landfall triggers; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite mill; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers; Near-infinite scry 1; Put all land cards from your opponents' libraries onto the battlefield tapped under your control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Sméagol, Helpful GuideDúnedain RangersCarrion Feeder
Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite landfall triggers; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite mill; Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers; Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature; Put all land cards from your opponents' libraries onto the battlefield tapped under your control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Sméagol, Helpful GuideDúnedain RangersAshnod's Altar
Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite landfall triggers; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite mill; Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers; Near-infinite colorless mana; Put all land cards from your opponents' libraries onto the battlefield tapped under your control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.31 bulk tier
At $0.31, Sméagol, Helpful Guide is firmly bulk — the kind of card you pick up without thinking about it. Bulk rares with niche synergy profiles rarely climb unless a new card breaks the engine open, so treat this as a cheap pickup for the decks that want it, not a spec.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Dúnedain Rangers
- Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit // Sam, Loyal Attendant
- Viscera Seer
- Bloodghast
- Rampaging Baloths
- Carrion Feeder
- Ashnod's Altar
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.