Baral, Chief of Compliance

Gameplan

Baral is a mono-blue spellslinger/control engine: he discounts every instant and sorcery, letting you chain cantrips, counters, and bounce while protecting your board. Early turns you slow opponents with counters and card advantage, then close with a value-loaded big-mana payoff or a storm-style turn. The counter-to-loot trigger smooths your draws and fuels graveyard or discard synergies.

Key Cards

• High Tide — Doubles your blue mana and, with Baral's discount, fuels enormous spell-chaining turns.
• Aetherflux Reservoir — A natural payoff that turns your discounted spell volume into a lethal life-loss laser.
• Mystic Remora — Cheap, repeatable card advantage that keeps your hand full for the long game.
• Murktide Regent — A huge cheap threat that grows from all the instants and sorceries you exile.
• Reite the Past / Mind's Desire — Storm-style payoffs that exploit the high spell count Baral enables.
• Snapcaster Mage — Recasts your cheap interaction at a discount, generating relentless tempo and counter triggers.

Upgrade Path

Add fast mana and rituals (Mana Vault, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, High Tide) plus the Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal combo to convert Baral's discounts into infinite mana. Tighten your counter suite (Force of Will, Force of Negation, Fierce Guardianship, Pact of Negation) and tutors (Mystical Tutor, Personal Tutor) to find payoffs consistently. Lean into a compact win like Aetherflux Reservoir or Thassa's Oracle so you don't rely on slow combat damage.