RedLegendary Creature — Elf ShamanBaeloth Barrityl, Entertainer
Mana value5Rank#4,156
The Commander
Creatures your opponents control with power less than Baeloth Barrityl's power are goaded. (They attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.)
Whenever a goaded attacking or blocking creature dies, you create a Treasure token.
Choose a Background (You can have a Background as a second commander.)
Guide
Gameplan
Baeloth is a politics-and-pillowfort engine that forces your opponents' smaller creatures to attack each other while you sit safe, generating Treasure every time a goaded creature dies. You grow Baeloth's power to widen the goad net, profit off the chaos with Treasure ramp, and close with big red haymakers or a damage-doubling finish once the table has worn itself down.
Strengths
- Strong political control—you weaponize opponents' boards against each other while staying out of the crossfire
- Treasure generation snowballs into ramp and fixing, letting mono-red splash effects and cast huge spells
- Cheap to deploy at 5 mana and immediately impactful in multiplayer
- Background slot adds deckbuilding flexibility and a second 'commander' threat
Weaknesses
- Goad only hits creatures with power LESS than Baeloth, so his small base power means many threats slip through unless you pump him
- Removal-light mono-red can struggle against resilient combo or a single big controller
- Doesn't directly protect itself—Baeloth is a removal magnet and dies to almost anything
- Can accelerate aggressive opponents' aggression if not pointed carefully
Key Cards
- Raised by Giants — As a Background it makes Baeloth a 10/10, goading nearly every creature on the board.
- Disrupt Decorum — Mass goad turns the whole table's army against each other for explosive Treasure value.
- Embercleave — A cheap, game-ending equipment that also raises Baeloth's power to goad even more.
- Fervor — Haste effects and power pumps make Baeloth a relevant attacker and widen the goad threshold.
- Hellkite Tyrant — Treasure synergy lets you steal artifacts and provides a flying Treasure-payoff finisher.
- Reconnaissance — Lets your own creatures attack freely and dodge damage, abusing combat math while opponents are goaded.
Upgrade Path
Lean into power-boosting Backgrounds and equipment (Raised by Giants, Embercleave, Bonesplitter) so Baeloth goads the entire board rather than just tokens. Add mass-goad spells (Disrupt Decorum, Aggravate) and Treasure payoffs (Hellkite Tyrant, Reckless Fireweaver), plus efficient red interaction (Chaos Warp, Vandalblast) and fast mana like Sol Ring and Jeska's Will to outpace the table.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Letting opponents grind each other down via goad, then finishing with a pumped Baeloth or Embercleave swing
- ▸Treasure-fueled big-mana payoffs like Hellkite Tyrant or a large X-spell/burn finisher
- ▸Damage doublers (Fiery Emancipation, Dictate of the Twins) turning combat chaos lethal
Archetypes
- Politics/Pillowfort — Goad redirects opponents' creatures away from you and at each other, controlling combat without traditional removal.
- Treasure/Ramp — Goaded creatures dying off mints Treasure, fueling oversized red spells and artifact payoffs.
- Group Slug — Pairs naturally with damage and chaos effects that punish the constant forced attacks.
- Voltron — Pumping Baeloth's power both widens the goad net and turns him into a real beater with equipment.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (R), by popularity.
