Pangosaur MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Dinosaur
Released	1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mercadian Masques
Set code	MMQ
Power	6
Toughness	6
Number	261
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mark Tedin

Key Takeaways

Pangosaur synergizes with landfall, promoting quicker board state development through multiple land plays per turn.
Ability to bounce back at instant speed offers a flexible defense, adapting to the game’s changing conditions.
High mana cost and specific summoning conditions challenging, yet unique mechanics provide meta-relevance and versatility.

Text of card

Whenever a player plays a land, return Pangosaur to its owner's hand.

Only Rushwood is vast enough to swallow this creature whole.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pangosaur can help you control the board by returning to your hand under certain conditions, keeping your hand stocked and ready to redeploy threats.

Resource Acceleration: This creature card interacts favorably with landfall effects and plays, promoting a faster development of your board state when playing multiple lands per turn.

Instant Speed: Pangosaur’s ability to bounce back to the owner’s hand at instant speed makes it a flexible defensive option, allowing you to adapt to the dynamic state of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In order to summon Pangosaur, a player must meet the unique condition of their opponents playing a land. This requirement can be less predictable and possibly hard to exploit, especially when not paired with land control strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Pangosaur necessitates a precise blend of mana types for casting, including green mana. This specificity can make it challenging to include in multicolored decks or those that struggle with mana flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes both specific colors and a sizeable amount of generic mana, Pangosaur can be a costly addition to your board. For the same investment, alternative creatures might provide more immediate board presence or impact.

Reasons to Include Pangosaur in Your Collection

Versatility: Pangosaur offers a unique reactionary mechanic that allows it to spring into action whenever a land is played. Its adaptability shines in decks that manipulate land plays or as a board presence in matches against ramp-heavy opponents.

Combo Potential: This prehistoric creature pairs well with strategies that involve playing or bouncing lands to your hand. Combine it with cards that allow land plays on opponents’ turns for a surprise blocker or use it to capitalize on landfall triggers multiple times in a turn.

Meta-Relevance: Given the fluctuating landscape of the MTG meta, Pangosaur can act as a situational tech choice. In environments where landfall or ramp decks are prevalent, it serves as a resilient threat that can repeatedly enter the battlefield and disrupt opponent strategies.

How to Beat Pangosaur

Pangosaur is a unique creature card that pops onto the battlefield whenever a player plays a land. This dinosaur can present a challenge as it repeatedly enters the fray, potentially disrupting strategies focused on land deployment. Overcoming Pangosaur can hinge on controlling land plays or neutralizing its ability to return to the battlefield effectively.

One effective strategy is the employment of removal spells that exile such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, as these will prevent Pangosaur from coming back. Board wipes like Wrath of God can also be invaluable, clearing the board and dealing with all creatures at once, though Pangosaur can return if lands continue to be played thereafter. Alternatively, limiting land drops with cards like Zo-Zu the Punisher dissuades players from activating Pangosaur’s ability, while land destruction spells can remove the card’s trigger conditions altogether.

Ultimately, staying ahead of Pangosaur means either dealing with it decisively, reducing the frequency of land plays, or circumventing its ability by utilizing lands that have alternative ways to be played, such as those with cycling. Adaptive gameplay and strategic planning are key to keeping Pangosaur from taking over the game.

Cards like Pangosaur

The Pangosaur bears a striking resemblance to a handful of other creatures in Magic: The Gathering, showcasing a unique blend of disruption and creature play. Like the Pangosaur, the Mesmeric Fiend offers a sort of interaction with the opponent’s hand upon entering the battlefield, though it allows you to view and temporarily exile a card from their hand instead of waiting for them to play a land.

Additionally, the card Obsessive Skinner presents a related concept where its abilities are tied to a specific gameplay action. Whereas Pangosaur responds to land plays by bouncing back to its owner’s hand, Obsessive Skinner capitalizes on the delirium mechanic, granting a creature an additional +1/+1 counter when a fourth card type enters your graveyard. The interactive nature of both creatures can significantly affect the flow of the game, albeit in different contexts.

In the realm of recurring creature strategies, Fleetfoot Panther shares some common ground with Pangosaur. This feline also returns to its owner’s hand, providing flexibility—though triggered by casting another creature as opposed to an opponent’s land play. Between creature control and potential combos, Pangosaur finds its niche in a player’s deck for its reactive capabilities and ability to surprise opponents.

Cards similar to Pangosaur by color, type and mana cost

Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - MTG Card versions

Viridian Lorebearers - MTG Card versions

Monkey Monkey Monkey - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pangosaur MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Pangosaur and other MTG cards: