i recently obtained a copy of Baral. Been experimenting, trying different things, but I would like to solicit feedback on what other folks think works well with him.
How do YOU use Baral?
He’s a monster… even after they nerfed him.
In legacy events, I use him in a Saheeli deck with Niblis of Frost, Harness the Storm, Murderer’s Axes, Honed Khopesh, disruption and fetch spells.
In Standard events, I use him with Managorger Hydra, pump/web effects, disruption and fetch spells.
I also like to use Aetherflux Reservoir for life gain.
Kiora
Creatures:
Baral
Vizier of many faces
Spells:
Gather the pack
Rishkars expertise
Reason
Heiroglyphic illumination (draw 2,cycle 1)
Desert of indomitable
Beneath the sands
Animists awakening
Overcome
Have fun. Hope you got all cards listed.
Nice pick 
New Baral is still one of the best cards in the game.
I like to play him with simply 2 other creatures and 7 spells. With Saheeli, Kiora, Tezzeret 2, Dovin always the same recipe
Example my Dovin for Emergency Ordinances :
Baral
Harbinger of the Tides
Aethersphere Harvester
Winds of Rebuke
Talent of the Telepath
Galestrike
Turn to Frog
Forsake the Worldly
Glimmer of Genius
Confiscation Coup
Saheeli abuses a powerhorse like Baral. If you have Imminent Doom I recommend a deck with the two as from a certain point it goes on autopilot.
Non-budget Example (some more budget variants offered in paranthesis, can be interchanged):
Creatures (2|1)
Baral
Skysovereign (no budget variant really, but I guess you can experiment with other vehicles or drop in favor of more spells)
Supports (2|1)
Imminent Doom
Swarm Intelligence
– no replacement really, but add another spell here if you must to speed things up - Inferno Jet | Exquisite Firecraft
– or protection via Insidious Will to prevent your doom from being removed
Spells (6|7|8)
Pull from Tomorrow (Tezzeret’s Ambition)
Day’s Undoing (Desert of the Mindful)
Galestrike
Hour of Devastation (Imaginary Threats|Farm//Market)
Demolish
Whir of Invention (Talent of the Telepath | Supreme Will)
How the deck pilots:
- You want to get Baral on the board to get your spell storm rolling. Even without him it can be really good, but Baral adds extra card draw and generates enormous amounts of mana if you are left with cards in hand.
- Imminent Doom is your primary wincon. It is vulnerable to support removal so you can consider protecting it with either Insidious Will or Day’s Undoing (shuffling your opponent’s hand can be really powerful, more so than people give it credit for)
- Pull & Day’s Undoing keep the engine going. Whir works double work to get Imminent Doom and Swarm Intelligence.
- Swarm generates enormous amounts of mana and keeps the engine going. Combined with Whir it can be a beast! If you play only very cheap spells it is not a must have.
- The only reason why I have Hour/Threats/Farm is to be able to deal with hexproof creatures, especially GR. Maybe you can win fast enough before it becomes a problem… This order because Farm is a support, and I prefer having spells in this deck with Baral/Doom powering and being powered up by them.
- Demolish is standard creature removal.
- Galestrike combines beautifully with Day’s Undoing to ensure your opponent is not full handed, and in this game is soft removal is sometimes just as good as hard removal. Drawing an extra card is just allowing deeper digging.
With all this heavy card draw you should have no issues dealing with dumping cards from your hand to dig deeper for answers. Leave cards in your hand charged at your own discretion.
Baral, as all have said, is a great card. He’s a strong engine to power any spell-oriented deck, and at 5/5 for 8 mana he also provides efficient damage.
I typically use him with Kiora or Dovin, with one or two other creatures, 2-4 removal spells, and a few utility cards (other spells or supports).
The Amonkhet/Hour of Devastation sets offer a lot of really good blue spells. Lay Claim is very playable with Baral, since he helps with the 21 mana cost. He will fill the mana of Unsummon or Winds of Rebuke in a single turn, and fill most of the mana of Galestrike. He helps make cycling even more powerful (though it’d be redundant if you have New Perspectives)
As an example, I used this Kiora deck in the “Take 10 or Less Damage” node of the HOD weekend event, and had great success using mostly common and uncommon cards. Of the three rare cards, two didn’t really have much impact - Overcome and New Perspectives.Works well on the summon 2 or fewer creatures, too. Baral in general works well with both of those types of objectives.
Creatures
Baral
Honored Hydra
Spells
Dissenter’s Deliverance (support removal)
Ambuscade (buff + removal)
Lay Claim (removal)
Hieroglyphic Illumination (draw)
Gather the pack (fetch + discard)
Unsummon (removal)
Overcome (buff + removal)
Support
New Perspectives
My general strategy with Baral, once he’s on the field, is to let his ability charge removal spells and keep them in hand, and use the mana from gem matches to cast other cards. Unless I need a certain spell right away, I just put them in the bottom of my hand and let them charge up passively. In most cases, you’ll have a response already prepared to most threats that the AI casts, and will be constantly replenishing your hand.
There are exceptions, of course, and no single card guarantees a win, but Baral can give you a big advantage in most games.
I’m using him in a Bolas deck with higher cost spells and creatures – he drives mana to the spells so I can focus on the creatures.
Creatures:
Lord of Extinction (B/G, 21 mana)
Wildfire Elemental (R, 21 mana)
Baral, Chief of Compliance (U, 8 mana)
Supports:
Sphinx’s Tutelage (U, 6 mana)
Omniscience (U, 17 mana)
Spells:
Lost Legacy (B, 12 mana)
Days Undoing (U, 10 mana)
Reason / Believe (U,G, 11 mana)
Grind / Dust (W,B, 13 mana)
Exquisite Firecraft (R, 6 mana)
I also use him in my Saheeli Imminent Doom deck:
Creatures:
Baral, Chief of Compliance (U, 8 mana)
The Locust God (U,R, 22 mana)
Supports:
Imminent Doom (R, 12 mana)
Spells:
Artificer’s Epiphany (U, 2 mana)
Desert of the Mindful (U, 3 mana)
Hieroglyphic Illumination (U, 4 mana)
Days Undoing (U, 10 mana)
Imaginary Threats (U, 5 mana)
Fateful Showdown (R, 6 mana)
Violent Impact (R, 5 mana(
And in this fun Kiora:
Creatures:
Baral, Chief of Compliance (U, 8 mana)
Ornithopter (C, 4 mana)
Supports:
Metallurgic Summonings (U, 11 mana)
Spells:
Artificer’s Epiphany (U, 2 mana)
Desert of the Mindful (U, 3 mana)
Hieroglyphic Illumination (U, 4 mana)
Slaughter Pact (C, 1 mana)
Talent of the Telepath (B, 5 mana)
Unsummon (B, 4 mana)
Animist’s Awakening (G, 5 mana)
PW: Bolas
Creatures:
Baral
Supports:
New Perspectives
Spells:
Rush of Vitality
Hostile Desert
Desert of the Glorified
Desert of the Mindful
Desert of the Fervent
Stir the Sands
Inferno Jet
Hieroglyphic Illumination
If i had Imminent Doom i would put it in there and replace a spell.
That’s just evil looking.