Storm of Saruman
Enchantment
Ward 
Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, copy it, except the copy isn't legendary. You may choose new targets for the copy. (A copy of a permanent spell becomes a token.)
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- $35.65
- EDHREC rank
- #3506
Storm of Saruman turns every instant or sorcery you cast into a free copy — the first one that turn, no mana required — which means a single spell chain can spiral into a board-flooding tempest. Saruman of Many Colors is the natural home, but any blue-red spellslinger shell that casts three or more instants and sorceries per turn treats this enchantment as a force multiplier from the moment it resolves.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Saruman of Many Colors
Saruman of Many Colors was practically designed to run Storm of Saruman — his amass trigger fires on each spell cast, and copying those spells means every cantrip or interaction spell both builds the Orc Army and triggers amass a second time, compounding the board presence with minimal effort.
Alisaie Leveilleur // Alphinaud Leveilleur
Alisaie Leveilleur // Alphinaud Leveilleur runs a high density of instants and sorceries to fuel both siblings' triggered abilities, and Storm of Saruman steps in as a free copy engine that doubles the trigger count each turn cycle without requiring any additional mana investment.
Neera, Wild Mage
Neera, Wild Mage already cheats spells into play for free off the top of the library, and Storm of Saruman ensures the first spell cast each turn gets copied — so even if Neera's wild magic whiffs, you still extract extra value from every cantrip or removal spell in hand.
Saruman, the White Hand
Saruman, the White Hand rewards casting noncreature spells with amass payoffs, and Storm of Saruman doubles those triggers by copying the first instant or sorcery each turn, letting the deck build a massive Orc Army faster than opponents can respond.
Lord of the Nazgûl
Lord of the Nazgûl cares about casting spells with Ward — specifically instants and sorceries — to generate Wraith tokens, and Storm of Saruman copies those spells, meaning each qualifying spell nets two Wraith triggers instead of one and accelerates the token swarm considerably.
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 Storm of Saruman does its best work — long games with high spell volumes give the copy trigger time to compound, and the enchantment's six-mana cost is manageable once ramp is factored in. In Legacy and Vintage, the card is technically legal but competes against formats that end games on turns one through three, making a six-mana enchantment a near-unplayable luxury. Modern has enough spellslinger shells to imagine a fringe build, but the lack of redundancy at this cost slot keeps Storm of Saruman off the competitive radar there. Oathbreaker is the sleeper fit — planeswalker-led decks that cast spells repeatedly each turn can leverage the copy trigger every single cycle, and the format's faster pace actually rewards the explosive upside.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Dual Casting and Primal Amulet both do a version of what Storm of Saruman does at a fraction of the price — Dual Casting copies any instant or sorcery for the price of tapping an enchanted creature, and Primal Amulet eventually flips into a land that copies spells outright. Neither is as clean or unconditional as Storm of Saruman — Dual Casting requires a creature and tap cost, and Primal Amulet demands charge counter setup — but both sit under $5 and slot into the same spellslinger shells without requiring heavy deck retooling.
Price Context
Current price
$35.65 premium tier
At $35.65, Storm of Saruman sits firmly in premium enchantment territory, on par with other high-demand Commander staples that see play in exactly one archetype but dominate that archetype completely. The price is defensible if you're building a dedicated spellslinger shell — it's a genuine engine piece, not a luxury inclusion — but budget builders have reasonable alternatives that cost far less.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Saruman of Many Colors
- Alisaie Leveilleur // Alphinaud Leveilleur
- Neera, Wild Mage
- Saruman, the White Hand
- Lord of the Nazgûl
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.