Balefire Dragon

Creature — Dragon

Flying

Whenever Balefire Dragon deals combat damage to a player, it deals that much damage to each creature that player controls.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (45)

OHCyanide on Clever Name Here V1.2 (Prossh EDH)

1 month ago

V1.1 - Cannibalizing other decks to flesh mine out

Out

Ashenmoor Liege, Shattergang Brothers, Fell Shepherd, Walker of the Grove, Plague Boiler, Jar of Eyeballs, Vile Requiem, Empty the Pits, Rough / Tumble

In

Karametra's Acolyte - Green devotion mana dork. Xenagos, God of Revels - Generally great, explosive charges Balefire Dragon - Psuedo-board clear, can pump with Xenagos, God of Revels. Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - Psuedo-rap, board control Bow of Nylea - Attacking death touch tokens are way more threatening, can't chunk block them. Devotion to green. Cultivate - Ramp is good. Ranger's Path - Ramp is still good. Into the Wilds - Semi draw, semi ramp, top of library manipulation. Xenagos, the Reveler - Ramp, tokens, whats not to like? Death's Presence - A bit win more, but re-using the stats from stacked tokens can be great.

SaskeSaskia on dragon tribal

1 month ago

As another user said, Dragonmaster Outcast is a must have in a dragon deck. It offers insane value and is too hard to ignore.

Some good dragons that would be awesome here include Dragonlord Dromoka,Ramos, Dragon Engine (combos off of fist of suns), and Balefire Dragon.

I would also include a Helm of the Host

Hexapod on Draconic Rager

1 month ago

I have a lot of ideas for you, but it depends how much budget you want to allow for this upgrade. I see you are contemplating Old Gnawbone, so I will assume you are ok with some suggestions being on the pricey side.

As dragons go, Scourge of the Throne would be a nice addition. I also like Balefire Dragon.

Dragonmaster Outcast is a good value for the low cost.

Every good tribal deck in red needs Shared Animosity.

Other pieces I would contemplate for ramp and draw are The Great Henge and Frontier Siege.

Hope this helps!

Rhadamanthus on Can I play a card …

3 months ago

You do choose the order that the triggers are put onto the stack, but you can't get what you want out of that specific example. If a triggered ability has targets, they have to be chosen at the time the trigger is put onto the stack. In your example, Balefire Dragon isn't on the battlefield yet at the time you need to choose a target for Halana and Alena, Partners' ability.

Quickspell on Can I play a card …

3 months ago

Thank you for the clarify, Rhadamanthus.

I got your point, but just to be sure: Since I can stack my own triggers as I want, the following works, correct?

1. At the Beginning of combat on my turn, I use Fight Rigging to put a +1/+1 counter on Halana and Alena, Partners. Then, if I meet the conditions, I play the hidden card - e.g. I cast Balefire Dragon and put it onto the battlefield.
2. I use Halana and Alena, Partners to put counters on Balefire Dragon and give it haste.
3. I attack with Balefire Dragon.

Beebles on Wernog & Sophina | Investigators of Innistrad

4 months ago

Nice deck! I have a deck that does a similar thing in Malcolm & Akiri. But black also has a lot of fun toys :). I got some cards here that you could consider:

• Indomitable Creativity: trade in your tokens for something more valuable, while also chaos warping (kinda) a few of your opponent’s expensive threats.
• Martyr's Bond: great control option if that’s a thing you’re after
• Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast: diverse card that can be nice if your deck is able to protect planeswalkers. But likely your creatures will be going sideways most of the time…
• Hidden Stockpile: nice utility card that can give you more bodies to attack with. Perhaps not good enough given your commander doesn't work with tokens...
• Tamiyo's Journal: did you say clues :)?
• Herald of Anguish: I love this card and am sad I have no home for it yet. Would be great in this list I think.

For bombs with attack triggers you could consider Balefire Dragon, Drakuseth, Maw of Flames and Etali, Primal Storm.

Hope you like some of them!

Wuzibo on Does Isshin trigger at any …

6 months ago

Does Isshin, Two Heavens as One only trigger when creatures attack, or can it also trigger on an attacking creature who is proccing a "when this creature deals combat damage to a player" triggered ability?

Does "a creature attacking" refer to "any attacking creature" who triggers a permanent's triggered ability, or does it only refer to "a creature being declared as an attacker". Like, for instance, does he double Balefire Dragon's damage to the opponent's creatures if he deals combat damage to the player, since he is a permanent, and he is also an attacking creature triggering an ability? Would the swords of x and y, like the Sword of Fire and Ice trigger twice when a creature deals combat damage to the player, since their effect is effect of a permanent, and that triggered because of an attacking creature? Which would then mean if he has double strike, he can get 4 triggers off the sword. Is that how it works? Or is it only on declare attackers?

Profet93 on “Budget” Xenagos Ground & Pound

7 months ago

The way a Xenagos deck typically operates is that you have your ramp, your big beaters, draw and interaction.

Ramp

Your options include creature ramp such as Llanowar Elves/Arbor Elf and other 1-3 CMC mana dorks as well as cards such as Cultivate. Having a lot of ramp is crucial in any deck, as it enables you to get your expensive commander out more quickly. Most people prefer artifact ramp, but given that you are running green, it's better to either use mana dorks or land ramp spells listed above. Land ramp is the most preferred because it ensures you don't miss land drops and they are less susceptible to being removed by your opponent.

Beaters

Next you have your big beaters, the damage dealers. Xenagos plays one big creature at a time that gets buffed and swings for lethal. Your deck has a bunch of smaller, less impactful creatures. Even your big creatures are not that threatening. For example, a Malignus with your commander and a source that gives it trample is game over if they don't have interaction. There are many options for beaters of different budgets, cmc's and more. I prefer beaters with built in protection such as Carnage Tyrant as I can use a draw spell on it with little fear of them removing the creature in response. Others prefer beaters with built in evasion such as a flying Balefire Dragon (I run both).

Draw

Without draw, it's difficult to maintain pressure on your opponents towards the late - middle game. It doesn't seem you have any draw in your deck. With such a low CMC and low draw, I imagine you run out of cards pretty quickly. There are 2 kinds of draw, burst and steady. Examples of burst card draw include Rishkar's Expertise, Return of the Wildspeaker, and Greater Good (fyi, greater good is the BEST card in a Xenagos deck, no matter what, add it, thank me later). Examples of steady card draw include Outpost Siege, War Room/Bonders' Enclave and Elder Gargaroth. Burst is definitely much more effective, but riskier, as if an opponent removes your creature in response to your draw spell, you will be out of luck. A mix of both is usually ideal.

Interaction Some of your interaction is not bad at all, ancient grudge and fling are great! To further improve your interaction, I would include cards such as Inferno Titan, Terastodon, Kogla, the Titan Ape, Beast Within, Hull Breach and Decimate (Note, you need 4 targets for decimate).

There are many other cards to suggest, but I don't want to overwhelm you. I would definitely take a look at other Xenagos decks on the site to get a better idea of how it is traditionally played. This is my deck, while not updated as of 2020, it still has most of the core cards. There are expensive ones as well, but those can be easily replaced with more budget options. Another good resource is EDH Rec, as it gives you an idea of how the decks usually play out.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, want more suggestions for cards to add or what you feel should be removed. I have been playing Xenagos for several years and I love it. It's the deck I play when I'm too tired to think, because all you need to do is just play big dudes and swing!