BlueLegendary Creature — Human WizardBarrin, Tolarian Archmage
Mana value3Rank#8,443
The Commander
When Barrin enters, return up to one other target creature or planeswalker to its owner's hand.
At the beginning of your end step, if a permanent was put into your hand from the battlefield this turn, draw a card.
Guide
Gameplan
Barrin is a mono-blue blink/bounce value engine: you repeatedly return your own ETB creatures and tokens to hand, bounce opponents' threats, and convert every bounce into card draw at your end step. You grind the game out by out-carding everyone, then close with a finisher or a recursive lock.
Strengths
- Built-in card advantage every turn just for bouncing a permanent
- Bouncing your own ETB creatures generates repeatable value
- Can be recast cheaply to clear blockers or reset opponent threats
- Mono-blue gives access to the best counterspells and card draw
Weaknesses
- Mono-color limits removal for enchantments and artifacts
- Bounce is tempo, not permanent answers—threats come back
- No inherent way to win; needs dedicated finishers
- Slow to close games and vulnerable to fast combo decks
Key Cards
- Mulldrifter — Classic ETB body to bounce repeatedly for cards plus Barrin's draw trigger.
- Snapcaster Mage — Bounce-and-replay engine that flashbacks your best spells while feeding the draw trigger.
- Deadeye Navigator — Soulbond blink loops with ETB creatures generate near-infinite value and Barrin draws.
- Frantic Search — Free bounce-fueled card filtering that helps assemble your engine.
- Cyclonic Rift — Overloaded reset that bounces everything and synergizes with the end-step draw.
- Venser, Shaper Savant — Flexible bounce/counter that pairs perfectly with Barrin's value loop.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault) and stronger counters to protect your engine. Build toward a compact combo finish such as Palinchron plus a mana doubler or Deadeye Navigator with Peregrine Drake. Trim clunky value creatures for efficient ETBs and tutors like Mystical Tutor and Fabricate to find your combo pieces faster.
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
- ▸Infinite mana/bounce loops (Palinchron, Deadeye Navigator) into a draw or mill outlet
- ▸Grinding card advantage into a big finisher like a reusable beater or Laboratory Maniac
- ▸Overloaded Cyclonic Rift followed by an alpha strike
- ▸Mill or extra-turn lock once resources are dominated
Archetypes
- Blink/Flicker — Barrin returns ETB creatures to hand to recast them for repeated value and card draw.
- Control — Mono-blue counters, bounce, and card draw let you grind opponents out of resources.
- Combo — Bounce loops with creatures like Palinchron or Deadeye Navigator can go infinite.
- Tempo Bounce — Repeatedly returning opponents' threats keeps the board clear while drawing cards.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (U), by popularity.
