Ranging Raptors MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Dinosaur
Abilities Enrage
Power 2
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances land count, refining deck consistency and enabling powerful, cost-intensive plays earlier.
  2. Syncs with instant-speed damage effects for unexpected mana ramp during crucial phases.
  3. Fosters strategy diversity, fitting into decks focused on enrage triggers and land-based mechanics.

Text of card

Enrage — Whenever Ranging Raptors is dealt damage, you may search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.

They cover their territory like a tide of teeth and claws.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ranging Raptors provides a substantial advantage by enabling land searching capabilities when it is dealt damage. This ability allows the player to thin out their deck, making it more likely to draw into vital spells and maintain a strong board presence.

Resource Acceleration: The ability to fetch a basic land card directly onto the battlefield not only ramps up mana resources but also ensures land drops to facilitate casting bigger threats ahead of the curve.

Instant Speed: While Ranging Raptors itself isn’t an instant, it synergizes well with instant-speed spells or abilities that deal damage. This interaction can trigger the Raptors’ land fetching ability at crucial moments, effectively catching an opponent off guard and setting up for future plays.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Ranging Raptors doesn’t directly ask for a card to be discarded, getting the most out of its ability often requires self-sacrifice strategies which could lead to a disadvantageous loss of cards from your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Equity in your mana base is critical with Ranging Raptors, seeing as it necessitates at least one green mana. This can be slightly restrictive when devising a multicolor deck that demands a flexible mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Ranging Raptors comes with the expectation of a solid body or impactful effect. However, considering its enrage mechanic relies on being damaged to reap benefits, it may not be as mana-efficient compared to other creatures in its range that offer more immediate value.


Reasons to Include Ranging Raptors in Your Collection

Versatility: Ranging Raptors is adept at fitting into multiple deck builds, particularly those that look to make the most of land ramping abilities. Its potential to fetch basic lands ensures a smoother mana curve, which is vital for casting high-cost creatures and spells.

Combo Potential: This dinosaur interacts well with strategies that involve damage-based triggers or enrage mechanics. Pairing it with cards that deal damage to all creatures can create a powerful land search engine, providing an impressive tactical advantage.

Meta-Relevance: With a constantly evolving tournament scene, Ranging Raptors remains relevant due to its ability to stabilize mana bases against aggressive decks. By ensuring land drops, it helps maintain pace against the fast meta-decks that aim to overwhelm opponents quickly.


How to beat

Ranging Raptors brings an interesting dynamic to the battlefield with its ability to search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped when it’s dealt damage. This innate capability to ramp makes it a valuable asset in decks that benefit from land acceleration. To effectively counter this, strategies to remove it without dealing damage are essential. Direct removal spells that exile or cause the creature to be sacrificed bypass the Raptors’ land tutor ability, preventing your opponent from gaining that precious land advantage. Cards like Path to Exile or Diabolic Edict are prime examples of efficient removal tools that can handle the Ranging Raptors without triggering its land search.

Moreover, if you’re aiming to stifle your opponent’s mana growth, countering the Ranging Raptors as it hits the stack is another viable approach. Counterspells like Negate or Essence Scatter can thwart your opponent’s plan to ramp, securing your lead in the game. By employing these tactics, you maintain control over the match’s pace and stop your opponent from expanding their mana resources, crucial for beating decks that rely on Ranging Raptors for acceleration.


BurnMana Recommendations

Armed with insights from the strengths and weaknesses of Ranging Raptors, it’s clear this unique card can be a game-changer in MTG. As you build and refine your decks, consider how its land fetching ability can set you ahead, especially when paired with strategic damage-inflicting plays. Looking for further insight to optimize your deck and harness the Raptors’ potential? Explore in-depth strategies, find synergistic cards, and keep up with the evolving meta to enhance your deck’s performance. Whether you’re battling through casual games or aiming for high-stakes competition, augment your gameplay by learning more with us.


Cards like Ranging Raptors

Ranging Raptors offers MTG players an interesting dynamic when it comes to creature cards with the ability to bolster land resources. Comparable to cards such as Sakura-Tribe Elder, Ranging Raptors allows players to search their library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield. While Sakura-Tribe Elder offers this benefit upon being sacrificed, Ranging Raptors requires being dealt damage to activate its land fetching ability, adding a layer of interaction and strategy.

Looking at another similar option, we have Ripjaw Raptor which draws a card when it’s dealt damage – a feature that offers immense card advantage. Though it doesn’t contribute directly to land acceleration like Ranging Raptors, the drawn cards could lead to further land drops or other strategic plays. Another creature card that echoes Ranging Raptors’ land-based theme is Veteran Explorer, which upon dying, allows each player to fetch two basic land cards, a far more symmetrical effect compared to Ranging Raptors’ one-sided land search utility.

Assessing the scope of what Ranging Raptors can do in deck strategies that revolve around lands, it becomes evident that it can hold a vital role, especially in formats that enjoy repeatable land ramp and creature-based interactions.

Sakura-Tribe Elder - Junior Super Series (PSUS)
Ripjaw Raptor - Ixalan (XLN)
Veteran Explorer - Weatherlight (WTH)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ranging Raptors MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan and Game Night 2019, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Ranging Raptors and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ranging Raptors Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-09-29 and 2023-11-17. Illustrated by Simon Dominic.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-09-29IxalanXLN 2012015normalblackSimon Dominic
22019-11-15Game Night 2019GN2 492015normalblackSimon Dominic
32023-11-17The Lost Caverns of Ixalan CommanderLCC 2492015normalblackSimon Dominic

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ranging Raptors has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ranging Raptors card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2018-01-19 If lethal damage is dealt to a creature with an enrage ability, that ability triggers. The creature with that enrage ability leaves the battlefield before that ability resolves, so it won't be affected by the resolving ability.
2018-01-19 If multiple sources deal damage to a creature with an enrage ability at the same time, most likely because multiple creatures blocked that creature, the enrage ability triggers only once.

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