Stampeding Serow MTG Card


Stampeding Serow - Saviors of Kamigawa
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Antelope Beast
Abilities Trample
Released2005-06-03
Set symbol
Set nameSaviors of Kamigawa
Set codeSOK
Power 5
Toughness 4
Number150
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byEdward P. Beard, Jr.

Key Takeaways

  1. Stampeding Serow excels in card value growth through repeatable creature bounce mechanics.
  2. It aids in ramping resources, enhancing board presence by enabling creature reuse.
  3. Flexibility with instant speed interactions maximizes strategic responses during games.

Text of card

Trample At the beginning of your upkeep, return a green creature you control to its owner's hand.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Leveraging the recurrent ability to return a green creature to your hand each turn, Stampeding Serow gives you the distinct advantage of reutilizing enter-the-battlefield effects of creatures or saving key creatures from removal. This can significantly increase your card value over time.

Resource Acceleration: By enabling the reuse of creatures with mana abilities or ones that generate tokens, Stampeding Serow can effectively accelerate your resource accumulation. This creature enhances board presence and can help you outpace your opponent in terms of available mana and creatures.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Stampeding Serow complements instant speed cards. You can bounce a creature to your hand during your end step and preserve mana for instants or effects that disrupt your opponent’s plays, maximizing your flexibility and response potential.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Stampeding Serow comes with a discard requirement, forcing players to discard a card each turn. This can be a significant drawback, especially in games where maintaining card advantage is critical.

Specific Mana Cost: Boarding a specific mana cost in its casting, this Serow necessitates a dedicated green mana setup. Players running multicolored decks may find the casting cost restrictive, as it hampers the deck’s flexibility and potential for a swift play.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment for Stampeding Serow might not match its in-game impact when compared to other creatures in the same cost bracket. Four mana is quite steep, and savvy players might opt for creatures that offer a greater threat or utility for the same, if not a lower, mana cost.


Reasons to Include Stampeding Serow in Your Collection

Versatility: Stampeding Serow offers a flexible role within green decks, providing a reliable way to return creatures to your hand. This can be particularly useful for reusing comes-into-play effects or to save creatures from removal.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with creatures that have powerful enter-the-battlefield triggers, paving the way for recurring value each turn and maximizing the impact of those creatures.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where creature-based strategies are common, Stampeding Serow can be a dynamic tool. Its ability to repeatedly ensure value from other creatures ensures it keeps pace with evolving deck archetypes, solidifying its place in various formats.


How to beat Stampeding Serow

Encountering Stampeding Serow in Magic: The Gathering can be an interesting challenge. This green creature has the notable ability to return a green creature you control to its owner’s hand at the beginning of your upkeep. This provides a recurring way to utilize enter-the-battlefield effects of other green creatures. Overcoming this card requires a strategy that disrupts this synergy.

Removal spells that bypass protection or that can be cast at instant speed are key in this duel. Cards like Path to Exile offer a straightforward solution to deal with Stampeding Serow regardless of its power due to its exile effect. Ensuring you have ways to interfere during your opponent’s turn is crucial, as it allows you to react to the board before the Serow’s ability can be used again.

Board wipes also prove effective, as they can clear the Serow along with other creatures that might be taking advantage of its ability. Wrath of God is a classic example that resets the board, forcing your opponent to rebuild their presence. Remember, interference with your opponent’s tempo through timely removal or reset tactics can turn the game in your favor against Stampeding Serow.


Cards like Stampeding Serow

Stampeding Serow offers an intriguing dynamic for creature-based strategies in Magic: The Gathering. This card bears resemblance in functionality to other creatures that favor return-to-hand mechanics, such as Roaring Primadox. Similar to Stampeding Serow, the Primadox enforces the return of another creature to your hand during your upkeep, although it comes at a greater power tally and for the same mana cost.

Another card that echoes the abilities of Stampeding Serow is Stampeding Wildebeests. Despite sharing not only a part of the name but also the same return-to-hand effect and mana cost, the Wildebeests differ with a 5/4 body, providing a sturdier presence on the field compared to the Serow’s 4/3 stats. However, both creatures offer a valuable loop for replaying creatures with powerful enter-the-battlefield effects, optimizing their role in green decks that exploit such synergies.

Assessing the field of similar cards, Stampeding Serow holds its own by facilitating recurring ETB triggers and tactical hand management, key aspects for players who harness and thrive on the cunning maneuvers provided by such agile green creatures in Magic: The Gathering.

Roaring Primadox - MTG Card versions
Stampeding Wildebeests - MTG Card versions
Roaring Primadox - Magic 2013 (M13)
Stampeding Wildebeests - Visions (VIS)

Cards similar to Stampeding Serow by color, type and mana cost

Giant Spider - MTG Card versions
Marsh Viper - MTG Card versions
Scarwood Bandits - MTG Card versions
Carnivorous Plant - MTG Card versions
Erhnam Djinn - MTG Card versions
War Mammoth - MTG Card versions
Aurochs - MTG Card versions
Lhurgoyf - MTG Card versions
Jackalope Herd - MTG Card versions
Rootwater Alligator - MTG Card versions
Golden Bear - MTG Card versions
Argothian Swine - MTG Card versions
Elvish Piper - MTG Card versions
Erithizon - MTG Card versions
Skyshroud Cutter - MTG Card versions
Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - MTG Card versions
Fungusaur - MTG Card versions
Viridian Lorebearers - MTG Card versions
Monkey Monkey Monkey - MTG Card versions
Matsu-Tribe Birdstalker - MTG Card versions
Giant Spider - Tenth Edition (10E)
Marsh Viper - The Dark (DRK)
Scarwood Bandits - The Dark (DRK)
Carnivorous Plant - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Erhnam Djinn - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
War Mammoth - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Aurochs - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Lhurgoyf - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
Jackalope Herd - Exodus (EXO)
Rootwater Alligator - Exodus (EXO)
Golden Bear - Portal Second Age (P02)
Argothian Swine - Urza's Saga (USG)
Elvish Piper - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Erithizon - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Skyshroud Cutter - Nemesis (NEM)
Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Fungusaur - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Viridian Lorebearers - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Monkey Monkey Monkey - Unhinged (UNH)
Matsu-Tribe Birdstalker - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stampeding Serow MTG card by a specific set like Saviors of Kamigawa, 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 Stampeding Serow and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stampeding Serow has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2014-02-01 The ability that returns a creature doesn’t target anything. You can return a creature with shroud or protection from green, for example. You don’t decide which creature to return until the ability resolves. If you control no other green creatures, you must return Stampeding Serow itself.
2014-02-01 You choose a creature and return it all during resolution of the triggered ability. This means that if you control two of these, there is no way to end up returning only one creature.

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