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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Baral, Chief of Compliance
Image from Wizards.com

Baral, Chief of Compliance
- Aether Revolt

Reviewed Feb. 21, 2017

Constructed: 4
Casual: 3.75
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 4

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

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David Fanany

Player since 1995

Baral, Chief of Compliance
 
Superficially, Baral looks like he wants to go into those old-style mono-blue decks that counter everything and eventually win. I'm not sure how much he really fits in a purely reactive deck - they often count a lack of targets for creature removal as one of their strengths. Saving mana on every spell is a powerful effect, and adding card selection to counterspells is useful in the abstract and opens up deck slots. I think the kind of deck that's more interested in economizing there is something more like Talrand, or something aggressive with prowess. He's definitely too powerful of a card not to use somewhere.
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5
James H. Baral, Chief of Compliance (2/21)
 
Making instants and sorceries cheaper is always a decent effect; what makes Baral better is that he's a two-mana 1/3.  He's not invincible, but he stands a good chance of living long enough to work. His cost-reduction works well in blue decks, making your Cancels and Void Shatters into Counterspells (which is always a good thing). For the color he is, his effect is very good.
 
His second effect is also decent. Looting helps a lot in the late game, and being able to do so repeatedly makes Baral a nice way to keep the gas coming. That's more likely to matter in Constructed than in Limited, since countermagic is sparse in Draft and Sealed, but his first effect is worth the price of admission.
 
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 4

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