Saruman, the White Hand
Saruman, the White Hand: Legendary Creature - Avatar Wizard, Tales of Middle-earth Commander. Printings, prices, and format legality on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {1}{U}{B}{R}
- Mana value
- 4
- Type
- Legendary Creature - Avatar Wizard
- Colour identity
- Blue, black and red (UBR)
- Power / toughness
- 2/5
- Rarity
- Mythic
- Set
- Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
- Released
- 2023-06-23
- Collector number
- 8
- Artist
- Leonardo Borazio
- Keywords
- Amass
- Commander
- Can be your commander
Build around this card with Grover
About Saruman, the White Hand
Saruman, the White Hand is a Magic: The Gathering card, a mythic rare blue, black and red legendary creature from Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC), a Commander product released in June 2023. It is collector number 8 in that set, with art by Leonardo Borazio. It costs {1}{U}{B}{R} (one generic, one blue, one black and one red mana) to cast, for a mana value of 4. It is a 2/5 creature. Its colour identity is blue, black and red. It is legal in Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Historic, Timeless and Gladiator. Tales of Middle-earth Commander is its only printing so far. It can be your commander. The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $1.47 (normal finish, as of 2026-10-23).
Card text
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, amass Orcs X, where X is that spell's mana value. (Put X +1/+1 counters on an Army you control. It's also an Orc. If you don't control an Army, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token first.)
Goblins and Orcs you control have ward {2}.
Over all his works a dark smoke hung and wrapped itself about the sides of Orthanc.
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $1.47 (as of 2026-10-23).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Saruman, the White Hand by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Legacy | Legal |
|---|---|
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
Other printings of Saruman, the White Hand
The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC) #477 | Mythic | 2023 |
| Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC) #91 | Mythic | 2023 |
Official rulings
The 8 most recent official rulings for Saruman, the White Hand, newest first.
- To amass Orcs N, if you don't control an Army creature, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token. Then you choose an Army creature you control and put N +1/+1 counters on it. If that Army isn't already an Orc, it becomes an Orc in addition to its other types.
- Amass abilities are now written as "amass [subtype] N." Previous cards with amass have received errata to say "amass Zombies N."
- Amass Zombies works the same way, except you create a 0/0 black Zombie Army creature token if you don't control an Army. If the Army creature you chose isn't already a Zombie, it becomes a Zombie in addition to its other types. By combining cards with amass Orcs and amass Zombies, you can end up with an Orc Zombie Army.
- If you don't control an Army, the Orc Army token you create enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature before receiving counters. Any abilities that trigger when a creature with a certain power enters the battlefield, such as that of Mentor of the Meek, will see the token enter as a 0/0 creature before it gets +1/+1 counters.
- Some cards refer to the "amassed Army." That means the Army creature you chose to receive counters, even if no counters were placed on it for some reason.
- If Saruman, the White Hand is a Goblin or an Orc, it will have ward {2}.
- A creature that is both a Goblin and an Orc still only gets one instance of ward {2} from Saruman, the White Hand's last ability.
- In the rare case that you control multiple Army creatures (perhaps because you played a creature with changeling) while you amass Orcs, you choose which of your Army creatures to put the +1/+1 counters on. If that creature isn't an Orc, it becomes an Orc in addition to its other types.
Similar cards
Other creature cards with a blue, black and red colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.