The Balrog, Flame of Udûn
Legendary Creature — Avatar Demon
Trample
When a legendary creature an opponent controls dies, put The Balrog on the bottom of its owner's library.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Tales of Middle-earth Deluxe Commander Kit
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #20371
The Balrog, Flame of Udûn lands as a 7/5 trampler with haste that devours a creature or planeswalker every time it swings — and exiles itself plus the blocked creature rather than dying normally, making it nearly impossible to chump profitably. The cost is real: five mana into black-red, and it exiles itself if it ever dies to non-combat damage, which every Lightning Bolt and Doom Blade in the room is happy to arrange.
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 The Balrog, Flame of Udûn does its best work — repeatable attack triggers that exile blockers generate massive value over a long game, and black-red decks in the 99 are always hunting for threats that demand an answer rather than just trading with a Squirrel token. The exile-on-death drawback hurts more in 1v1 formats like Legacy and Vintage, where opponents have the removal density to punish it consistently and a 5-mana creature needs to do more than swing once before folding to a Fatal Push. Modern can support it as a finisher in grindy midrange shells, but the self-exile clause makes it a liability against the format's ubiquitous instant-speed removal. Oathbreaker sits closer to Commander in game length, so the attack trigger gets more chances to fire — worth considering in any black-red shell there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't currently available for The Balrog, Flame of Udûn, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number before buying. Given its mythic rarity and niche in Commander, expect the price to reflect casual demand rather than competitive play — it's unlikely to be a budget pickup, but it's also not chasing a tier-1 spike.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.