20 Best Dinosaur Cards for Commander
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored by Sam Burley
Dinosaurs are a favorite of children the world over. Though the dinosaur craze of the early 1990s -brought on by the release of Jurassic Park - has abated somewhat in the intervening 30+ years, Dino kindred support is a relatively new addition to the world of Magic: The Gathering.
Though the very first Dinosaur card debuted alongside Magic's first set (Fungusaur
In the interim, Dinosaurs have been bestowed with even more support of late after the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan as well as the Jurassic World Collection bonus sheet from the same set, which brings various characters and dinos from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises into the world of Magic. Ultimately, Dinosaurs are an incredibly fun creature type to explore, so let's swoop down, much like a Pteranodon
Honorable Mentions
Kinjalli's Caller
Dinosaurs, being apex predators in their day, are rather expensive when it comes to casting them for full mana value in Magic. Enter these mana-reducers/mana dorks that specifically ramp you into your biggest dinosauric threats. Sure, they're not Dinos themselves, but they deserve a mention at least, as you'll surely be playing some combination of these if you're playing Dinos.
Many Dinosaur creatures feature trample, including this one from Ikoria, which delivers you a mighty trampling Dinosaur token based on the excess trample damage dealt to your foe. Fun fact: this is the only card in Magic history with "Quartz" in its official name (Bio-Quartz Spacegodzilla
If you're looking for maximum fun, this might be your best bet when selecting a commander for your Dino kindred deck. A big, beefy body (9/9) with three notable keywords (vigilance, reach, trample) that allows you untap all lands you control when it enters if cast plus three strong activated abilities means you'll always be happy to throw this fatty down - especially if you can cast it early via ramp!
One of the best fight spells of all time, especially in Dino builds, this card will almost always be picking off one of your foe's biggest threats, as Dinosaur creatures typically have meaty power and toughness quotients. Also, many of them have Enrage, which will provide a boon to you when they take damage. Nice!
A nigh-unstoppable threat in Limited, Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
The 20 Best Dinosaur Cards for Commander
Surprisingly, Dinos as a creature type have a number of hate cards that punish players for employing various strategies. Scytheclaw Raptor
Wakening Sun's Avatar
19. Temple Altisaur
Temple Altisaur
For instance, if you're playing the classic Ixalan red sorcery Star of Extinction
A towering 12/12 trampler for only , this Dinosaur Vampire collabo creature hails from the March of the Machine set from 2023. With a modal triggered ability upon attacking, this beastie can throw down a tapped and attacking trampling Dino token or X lifelinking Vampire tokens based on the highest power among your other attacking creatures or the number of your other attacking creatures, respectively.
Notably, this Selesnya Dino legend can be cheated into play as early as turn one(!) with the three-mana planeswalker Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
Two straight Ghalta cards this early? Believe it! Combining the original Ghalta
Originally printed in 2018's Rivals of Ixalan and seeing myriad reprints over the years - including in the eminently flavorful Just Add Milk Secret Lair Drop - Ghalta
16. Ripjaw Raptor
There are numerous synergy pieces that go alongside Dinos to help you accrue card advantage and draw more cards, ultimately allowing you to toss down more Dino threats with reckless abandon.
One of the best is an actual Dino itself: Ripjaw Raptor
15. Marauding Raptor
A premier enabler for Enrage, Marauding Raptor
This raptor can also balloon to huge sizes if a lot of creatures are entering the battlefield under your control, and when combined with a trample-bestowing spell or Aura (trivial to find in a Dino deck), this raptor just might maraud its way to victory for you.
A top-flight mana-ramper for Dinosaur decks, this 5/5 beater only costs , but it features a drawback via its ascend ability: it can't attack or block unless you have the city's blessing (you control ten or more permanents).
Of course, this should happen a lot faster now that you're playing two lands per turn. But ultimately, this card exists as a synergy piece (due to counting as a Dino) and as a means to toss more lands onto the battlefield in advance of playing your bigger threats. For example...
13. Apex Altisaur
A 10/10 for a whopping must be a big threat... right? Indeed, this massive Dino can cause a chain reaction of fights that wipes away entire boards (save for your own, of course).
The perfect combo with this card? Another Altisaur, the aforementioned Temple Altisaur
12. Ranging Raptors
A rather unassuming three-mana 2/3 Dinosaur ranks pretty highly alongside stone-cold bombs, game-ending threats and board-clearing beasties. Why? Well, accruing as much mana as possible is critical in the early game in Commander, and this Raptor certainly aids you on that front.
This is among the best Enrage abilities across any Dinosaur card, and even if you only get one or two lands out of this, it will still likely have been worth the investment as a blocker or - in a pinch - an attacker backed up by combat tricks or a fight/bite spell.
Cascade was one of the most busted keyword abilities ever created in Magic history, and Dinosaurs even feature a card with that text (Annoyed Altisaur
Yes, this six-mana 7/6 trampler from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan features the new-and-improved cascade mechanic, discover. Featuring awesome art from Lars Grant-West, a tricky activated ability that allows this spell to act as an emergency removal spell if necessary and discover 5, this card is surely a powerhouse threat that fills numerous niches during Dino deckbuilding.
10. Vaultborn Tyrant
Released in 2024's Outlaws of Thunder Junction as part of The Big Score bonus sheet, this mythic rare pays you off for playing creatures with power four or greater. Seeing as you're playing Dinos, that will be most of them, so you're always going to be gaining three life and drawing a card when you play a creature, so long as this powerful card remains on the board.
In addition, this 6/6 trampler has built-in protection, since if it leaves the battlefield, you get a token copy of it that's also an artifact. Vaultborn Tyrant
This The Lost Caverns of Ixalan rendition of everyone's favorite legendary Dino costs a staggering but retains its standard stats of 12/12 and trample. The most impactful piece of text on this card, though, is its ETB ability.
Being able to put any number of creature cards onto the battlefield when this card enters is an absurd boon, especially if you can cheat it into play with a reanimation spell. A nice double whammy is reanimating this card for cheap with a stacked hand and then casting Last March of the Ents
The very first Naya-colored legendary Dinosaur creature remains a potent threat in certain Commander builds and also as a popular Dino commander choice. While is surely a steep mana cost, you get three impactful keywords (trample, vigilance, and haste) on a 7/6 body and a massively powerful triggered ability.
Much like Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant
A 2/5 vanilla creature for doesn't immediately scream "must kill" in a Commander pod, but it's Runic Armasaur
In most games of Commander, activated abilities on lands and creatures from your opponents are going to pop with regularity. Being able to draw a card for each of those activations is a huge play. As such, this card is safe to include in almost any creature-based Commander deck that features green, such as one themed around Dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs as a creature type don't really have "lords," per se (or creatures that boost power and toughness of other Dinos or bestow notable keywords), which is surprising, as even Treefolk have a banger one; see the 20 best Treefolk cards for Commander for proof.
Instead, because Dinos already have such high power and toughness, their sole lord on this list is Regisaur Alpha
Much like Ripjaw Raptor
Extremely well-statted with an amazing triggered ability, this card should be an auto-include in any Dinosaur deck and also is a terrific representation of the wonders of power creep. A five-mana 5/5 with absolutely no abilities used to be pretty darn good on its own!
Part of a series of mono-colored Dinosaur legends from Rivals of Ixalan that included Zetalpa and the original Ghalta, Etali, Primal Storm
While the original might have been upstaged by its newer, flashier March of the Machine version (read on for more on that), Etali, Primal Storm
There is debate about which Etali card is the better one, and it is frankly difficult to decide. They both allow you to steal notable stuff from your opponents and they are both highly mana-intensive. At the end of the day, being able to rifle through your foes' libraries until you nab a huge threat is seemingly stronger than simply hoping your foe has a bomb sitting atop their library.
Also, this card is able to transform into a Gruul-colored Blightsteel Colossus
All of the Dinosaur cards on this list boast rather intensive mana values. But what if there was a card that could make all of your Dinos cost only ? That card indeed exists, and it can be found in the Jurassic World Collection bonus sheet from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
The best card from that collection by far, Hunting Velociraptor
I wavered on whether Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
While it could use some protection (enter Temple Altisaur
Life, Uh... Finds A Way
As someone who watched Jurassic Park nearly 10 times in theaters as a wee lad of three, having Dinos enter the world of Magic in the late 2010s was a dream come true. Being able to write about their place in a chaotic and fun format like Commander is just as awesome. So, keep an eye out for impact tremors (no, not that one
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