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Magic: The Gatheringis full of big monsters, whether they be Dragons, Minotaurs, or Leviathans from the deep ocean. But there’s one creature type that has secured itself in the hearts of every Magic player, and that’s dinosaurs. Nothing gets a Timmy’s heart aflutter quite the same way as an army of prehistoric behemoths bearing down on your opponents with teeth and claws.
Dinosaurs have historically struggled as a Commander archetype, but with the Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Dinosaurs received a potent new addition. Pantlaza, Sun-Favored is the perfect Dinosaur to lead your Jurassic horde into battle, and this guide will tell you how to get the most out of this flamboyantly-feathered Dino.
The Commander: Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
Available from theLost Caverns of Ixalan’sVeloci-Ramp-Tor Commander deck, Pantlaza, Sun-Favored isthe perfect commander for a Dinosaur-centric strategy. A 4/4 for five mana, Pantlazadiscoverswhenever either itself or another Dinosaur enters the battlefield, with thediscover value equal to the Dinosaur’s toughness.
So, play Pantlaza, and you’ll be able to dig four cards deep to play any non-land card without paying its mana cost (or at least putting that non-land card into your hand).Once you get to play Dinosaurs with a lot of toughness, such as Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant,you’ll be able to really dig through your deckto find the cards you need.
The keys to Pantlaza’s abilities areDinosaursandtoughness. Getting a bunch of Dinosaurs is simple, and most Dinosaurs are pretty tough, so we’ll be getting a lot of value out of Pantlaza’s discover triggers.
The only problem with Dinosaurs is that they tend to be prettymana-hungry beasts. Even Pantlaza is a little tricky to cast at five mana.Any Pantlaza deck will need to have plenty of rampto ensure Pantlaza can be cast as quickly as possible every game. Luckily, there are a bunch of Dinosaur-focused cards that help reduce the cost of these expensive lizards.
Building Your Pantlaza, Sun-Favored Deck
Pantlaza wants Dinosaurs; the more Dinos you cast, the more value you’ll get out of Pantlaza. Eventually, the tempo boost you get out of Pantlaza willlet your Dinosaurs speed ahead of the competitionand crush all opposition.
To that end, your Pantlaza Commander deck will bemostly Dinosaurswithplenty of rampto ensure Pantlaza can be cast anda few supporting spellsto ensure you can deal with a few threats as they arise. The deck should also have a fewrepeatable sources of card drawto refill your hand after you’ve cast all your Dinosaurs.
Creatures
As stated repeatedly, this deck is all about Dinosaurs. Cheaper Dinosaurs likePugnacious Hammerskull,Dinosaur Egg, andHunting Velociraptorlead into middle-range Dinos likeCurious AltisaurandHulking Raptorbefore finally leading to the top-end monsters likeGishath, Sun’s Avatar,Etali, Primal Conqueror, andGhalta, Stampede Tyrant.
Supporting all these Dinosaurs are a few helpful humans.Ixalli’s Lorekeeper,Drover of the Mighty, andIntrepid Paleontologistall help ramp out Pantlaza and a horde of more expensive Dinosaurs. Other creatures likeMarauding RaptorandOtepec Huntmasterprovide a reduction in Dinosaur cost that ensures Pantlaza can be cast consistently.
And finally, we have more utility-focused Dinsoaurs. Cards likeThrashing BrontodonandTranquil Frillbackprovides this deck with artifact and enchantment hate while also triggering Pantlaza.Temple Altisaurreduces the damage all your Dinosaurs take, andWrathful Raptorsincentivize players against blocking lest they take more damage.
As you’d expect from such a fearsome creature type, Dinosaurs thrive on aggression. Most of them have big, scary numbers, keywords like trample or haste, and other attention-grabbing effects. There’s very little subtlety to dinosaurs;play them, eat your opponents, repeat.
Ramp
Key to any deck is consistency, and with tons of expensive cards spanning three colors,a solid core of ramp is required. We’ve already got some creature cards helping out (as mentioned in the previous section), but we also have some artifacts and spells helping out too.
On the artifact side, the standard trio ofArcane Signet,Sol Ring, andWayfarer’s Baubleare ideal early-game plays to set up and solidify your mana base.Fellwar Stoneis an often overlooked mana rock that often produces every color in a casual multiplayer group.Herald’s Hornreduces the cost of all Dinosaurs, andProgenitor’s Iconprovides yet more mana and the added bonus of Dinos with flash.
On the spell side,Cultivate(or Kodama’s Reach),Rampant Growth, andFarseekdraw out lands from your deck, providing both ramp and mana fixing. Green will be the most important color largely to ensure these spells can be cast soon after the game starts.
Card Draw
Pantlaza encourages you to play Dinosaurs as early and often as possible, but if your opponent sweeps the board with a Wrath of God, you’ll be left without any Dinosaurs in play or in your hand. This is why your deck should haveplenty of cards whose only job is keeping your hand full.
A few Dinosaurs help out with card draw, such asCurious Altisaur,Ripjaw Raptor,Bonehoard Dracosaur, andEarthshaker Dreadmaw.Return of the Wildspeakercould potentially draw a ton of cards when cast at the right time, andGarruk’s UprisingandDescendant’s Pathprovide repeatable non-creature card draw.
You’re likely to see only one or two of these cards per game, sobe careful to cast them when you know they’ll be safefrom counterspells and disenchants.
Removal And Board Sweepers
Every Commander deck should have a board sweeper or two in its arsenal. For Pantlaza,Blasphemous ActandFarewellprovide two solid options.Wakening Sun’s Avataris an expensive board sweeper, but it leaves all your Dinosaurs alive to potentially win the game.
For more targeted removal, we turn to standbys likePath to ExileandStroke of Midnight. A few Dinosaurs also help out here, withTrumpeting Carnosauroffering an expensive Lightning Bolt,Bronzebeak Foragersexiling a non-land permanent for each opponent, andApex Altisaurchallenging folks to fights they’ll almost certainly lose.Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath, will constantly say “my dad can beat up your dad” provided you’ve got two mana to spare.
Since you don’t have a lot of it,your instant-speed removal should be reserved for the direst of threats. Let your Dinosaurs bully opponents into pacifism
Drover of the Mighty
Ghalta and Mavren
Return of the Wildspeaker
Rhythm of the Wild
3 Plains
Budget Substitutions
The good news for budget Magic players is that most of the expensive Dinosaurs have cheaper alternatives that work almost as well, and there are plenty of low-cost lands you can substitute for things like Stomping Ground and Jetmir’s Garden. Here are a fewsuggested alternativesif you’re lookingto build Pantlaza on a budget.
Kogla and Yidaro
Welcome to . . . / Jurassic Park
Furycalm Snarl, Sacred Peaks
Tips For Playing The Deck
As is typical of most Commander decks, your first goal is to play your commander. Pantlaza is fairly expensive, sofocus on playing as much ramp as possibleto get five mana as quickly as you can.
With Pantlaza on the board, it’s time to start building your army of Dinos. This should generallystart with the toughest Dinos first to get the most value out of Pantlaza, but don’t be afraid to cast something with more power if that’ll help you get ahead. Hunting Velociraptor is an amazing card that can further propel your Dinos to the table alongside Pantlaza.
The trickiest part will be keeping Panltaza alive. Most opponents will recognize Pantlaza’s discover ability as an existential threat, so expect Pantlaza to eat a removal spell from decks with an abundance of such cards.
Once you’ve got your army, it’s time to strike.Heroic InterventionandAkroma’s Willare both great cards tokeep your dinosaurs aliveas they trample opponents to death. The key will be to keep some dinosaurs in reserve to prevent surviving opponents from taking advantage of your distraction.
Ghalta and Mavrenis a great card to have on the table as itproduces a defensive army even as it attacks.
Most Commander games will inevitably see a board wipe when things get out of hand, and an army of dinosaurs will certainly qualify. Try tosave some mana for Return of the Wildspeaker or Earthshaker Dreadmaw(with some help from Vivien, Champion of the Wilds or Progenitor’s Icon) to cast as the spell resolves so you may get a brand-new hand of Dinos to cast.
An alternative strategy is to slow-play opponents. If you draw Blasphemous Act or Farewell in your opening hand, wait for your opponents to play their armies before blasting them all with your spell, then follow up with a Dinosaur army.
Dinosaurs led by Pantlaza is about as straight over the plate as you can get for a creature-themed Commander deck. Your opponents will generally see your strategy right away, but just because you can see a T-Rex coming doesn’t make it any less terrifying when it arrives.Be the beast, and Pantlaza won’t let you down.
