The Jolly Balloon Man is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Haste,
: Create a token that's a copy of another target creature you control, except it's a 1/1 red Balloon creature in addition to its other colors and types and it has flying and haste. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step. Activate only as a sorcery.
Complete guide
The Jolly Balloon Man is a whimsical yet powerful commander that turns your most formidable creatures into lightweight, flying balloons. While these colorful copies are small, they retain all the powerful abilities of the original creature, allowing for explosive turns and repeated utility.
What It Does
The Jolly Balloon Man allows you to pay one mana and tap him to create a 1/1 red Balloon copy of another creature you control. This token gains flying and haste, making it a perfect tool for getting in damage or reusing 'enters-the-battlefield' effects. Note that you can only activate this ability during your main phase when the stack is empty.
Step-by-Step Resolution
When you activate the ability, you first target a creature you control. Upon resolution, a token is created that copies all printed characteristics of the target. However, the token's power and toughness are overwritten to 1/1, and it becomes red and a Balloon in addition to its other traits. It also gains flying and haste permanently, but you must sacrifice it when the next end step begins.
Common Mistakes
Players often forget that the token copies the printed card, not any temporary buffs, counters, or equipment on the original creature. Additionally, because the sacrifice happens at the beginning of the next end step, if you activate the ability during an end step (using an effect that lets you cast spells as though they had flash), the token will actually stay until the following turn's end step.
When to Play It
The best time to use this ability is usually right after you have played a creature with a powerful 'enters' or 'dies' trigger. Since the token has haste, you can also use it to generate an extra attacker with evasion if the board is stalled on the ground.
Interaction examples
The Jolly Balloon Man
Solemn SimulacrumWith Solemn Simulacrum on the battlefield, you activate The Jolly Balloon Man's ability. You create a 1/1 flying Solemn Simulacrum token. When the token enters, you search for a basic land. You can then attack for 1 damage in the air. At the beginning of the end step, you sacrifice the token, triggering its ability to draw a card.
Roaming ThroneIf you target Roaming Throne with the ability, the resulting 1/1 Balloon token will enter and allow you to choose a creature type (such as Human). Now, whenever you activate The Jolly Balloon Man, the Roaming Throne token will see the Human's ability trigger and cause it to trigger an additional time, potentially giving you two balloon tokens for the price of one.
CopyIf you control a token that is already a copy of something else, The Jolly Balloon Man creates a new token based on the current characteristics of that token. The new balloon will still be a 1/1 red Balloon with flying and haste, regardless of what the first copy looked like.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : The Jolly Balloon Man
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Except for the listed exceptions, the token created by The Jolly Balloon Man's ability copies exactly what was printed on the original creature and nothing else (unless that creature is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn't copy whether that creature is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras and Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, and so on.
Card named in this ruling
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If the copied creature has
in its mana cost, X is 0.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If the copied creature is a token, the token that's created copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that created that token, with the stated exceptions.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If the copied creature is copying something else, then the token enters as whatever that creature copied, with the stated exception.
Card named in this ruling
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
Any enters abilities of the copied creature will trigger when the token enters. Any "as [this creature] enters" or "[this creature] enters with" abilities of the copied creature will also work.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Village Bell-Ringer
- 1Activate a creature by tapping it, adding .
- 2Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, creating a token copy of Village Bell-Ringer that is a 1/1 Balloon with flying and haste in addition to its other types.
- 3When the Village Bell-Ringer token enters the battlefield, it triggers, untapping all creatures you control.
- 4Repeat.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor + Zealous Conscripts
- 1Activate a mana-producing creature by tapping it, adding at least .
- 2Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, targeting the mana-producing creature.
- 3Ertha Jo triggers, copying The Jolly Balloon Man's ability, targeting Zealous Conscripts.
- 4Resolve the copy of The Jolly Balloon Man's ability, creating a token copy of Zealous Conscripts that is a 1/1 Balloon with haste.
- 5When Zealous Conscripts enters the battlefield, it triggers, untapping The Jolly Balloon Man.
- 6Resolve the Jolly Ballon Man ability from step 2, creating a token copy of the mana-producing creature that is a 1/1 Balloon with haste.
- 7Activate the mana-producing creature token by tapping it, adding at least .
- 8Repeat from step 2.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Coercive Recruiter
- 1Activate a creature by tapping it, adding .
- 2Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, creating a token copy of Coercive Recruiter with haste that is a 1/1 Balloon in addition to its other types.
- 3When the Coercive Recruiter token enters the battlefield, each Coercive Recruiter you control triggers.
- 4Resolve the first two triggers, untapping the mana-producing creature and The Jolly Balloon Man.
- 5Resolve all other Coercive Recruiter triggers, if applicable.
- 6Repeat.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Ashnod's Altar + Village Bell-Ringer
- 1Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, creating a token copy of Village Bell-Ringer that is a 1/1 Balloon with flying and haste in addition to its other types.
- 2When the Village Bell-Ringer token enters the battlefield, it triggers, untapping all creatures you control.
- 3Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing Village Bell-Ringer, adding at least one mana.
- 4Repeat.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor + Restoration Angel
- 1Activate a mana-producing creature by tapping it, adding at least .
- 2Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, targeting the mana-producing creature.
- 3Ertha Jo triggers, copying The Jolly Balloon Man's ability, targeting Restoration Angel.
- 4Resolve the copy of The Jolly Balloon Man's ability, creating a token copy of Restoration Angel that is a 1/1 Balloon with haste.
- 5When Restoration Angel enters the battlefield, it triggers, blinking The Jolly Balloon Man.
- 6Resolve the Jolly Ballon Man ability from step 2, creating a token copy of the mana-producing creature that is a 1/1 Balloon with haste.
- 7Activate the mana-producing creature token by tapping it, adding at least .
- 8Repeat from step 2.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor + Felidar Guardian
- 1Activate a mana-producing creature by tapping it, adding at least .
- 2Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, targeting the mana-producing creature.
- 3Ertha Jo triggers, copying The Jolly Balloon Man's ability, targeting Felidar Guardian.
- 4Resolve the copy of The Jolly Balloon Man's ability, creating a token copy of Felidar Guardian that is a 1/1 Balloon with haste.
- 5When Felidar Guardian enters the battlefield, it triggers, blinking The Jolly Balloon Man.
- 6Resolve the Jolly Ballon Man ability from step 2, creating a token copy of the mana-producing creature that is a 1/1 Balloon with haste.
- 7Activate the mana-producing creature token by tapping it, adding at least .
- 8Repeat from step 2.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Combat Celebrant + Determined Iteration
- 1Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, creating a token copy of Combat Celebrant that is a 1/1 Balloon with flying and haste.
- 2At the beginning of your combat phase, Determined Iteration triggers, creating a copy of the Combat Celebrant token.
- 3Declare the Combat Celebrant token as an attacker, choosing to exert it as it attacks. It triggers, causing you to untap all other creatures you control and get an additional combat phase after this one.
- 4Repeat from step 2 each combat phase.
The Jolly Balloon Man + Felidar Guardian + Mondrak, Glory Dominus
- 1Activate a permanent you control by tapping it, adding at least .
- 2Activate The Jolly Balloon Man by paying and tapping it, creating two token copies of Felidar Guardian that are 1/1 Balloons with haste.
- 3When the Felidar Guardian tokens enter the battlefield, they trigger, blinking the mana-producing permanent and The Jolly Balloon Man.
- 4Repeat.
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
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