Dragon-Scarred Bear MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Bear
Abilities Formidable
Power 3
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Dragon-Scarred Bear offers card advantage with its instant-speed regeneration, enhancing board presence.
  2. With its economical cost and solid stats, it accelerates deck strategies and maintains board control.
  3. Comparatively higher mana cost and specific requirements may limit its integration into diverse decks.

Text of card

Formidable — : Regenerate Dragon-Scarred Bear. Activate this ability only if creatures you control have total power 8 or greater.

Bears are a delicacy for the Atarka. The few that remain are the toughest of their species.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Although Dragon-Scarred Bear doesn’t draw cards directly, it offers card advantage through its formidable ability. By satisfying the condition of controlling creatures with total power 8 or greater, you unlock its regenerative ability. This can help maintain board presence without expending additional cards from your hand.

Resource Acceleration: As a 3/2 creature for three mana, Dragon-Scarred Bear is cost-efficient and aligns well with green’s natural tendency for ramping up resources. It can be an early threat that accelerates your game plan towards deploying more formidable creatures or triggering formidable itself.

Instant Speed: Dragon-Scarred Bear itself isn’t an instant, but its regeneration ability can be activated at instant speed. This lets you respond to threats or removal during your opponent’s turn, effectively saving your creature and potentially catching an opponent off-guard. It’s a resilient asset that can persist through sweepers and targeted removal if the formidable condition is met.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Dragon-Scarred Bear demands that you have a formidable creature card among your graveyard’s residents to unlock its regenerative abilities. This prerequisite can sometimes prove to be a stumbling block if your graveyard is devoid of such creatures, thereby nullifying one of the key features of this card.

Specific Mana Cost: To summon the Dragon-Scarred Bear, a precise concoction of mana is necessary, specifically one green and two of any other kind. This mandate can sometimes restrict its assimilation into multi-colored deck strategies and can be burdensome for decks that focus on mana flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana for a 3/2 creature, the Dragon-Scarred Bear may not be the most economical option available. Especially when the battlefield is teeming with creatures that boast more impressive abilities or stats and demand an equivalent—or even lesser—mana investment.


Reasons to Include Dragon-Scarred Bear in Your Collection

Versatility: Dragon-Scarred Bear offers value in decks that thrive on creatures with persistent board presence. As a 3/2 for three mana, it complements well with green’s creature-centric strategies, also fitting smoothly into a range of deck archetypes due to its formidable stats and regeneration ability.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes with mechanics that reward creature survival and graveyard interaction. Its regenerate ability makes it a reliable presence for enabling combos that capitalize on creatures entering or leaving the battlefield continuously.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where board wipes and spot removal are prevalent, Dragon-Scarred Bear’s ability to regenerate positions it as a resilient threat. It maintains relevance in metas where keeping creatures on the board is a challenge, giving green mages an edge against controlling opponents.


How to Beat

The Dragon-Scarred Bear is a unique creature in MTG, boasting both ferocity and the capacity to regenerate. This 3/2 creature, priced at three mana, including one green, becomes formidable when you have ferocious—controlling a creature with power four or greater—allowing it to regenerate, thus avoiding lethal damage. Its power lies within this resilience, making it an asset against decks that can’t easily bypass its regeneration shield.

To overcome the Dragon-Scarred Bear, consider using exile effects or spells like Path to Exile, which can permanently remove it from the field, bypassing regeneration altogether. Board wipes that don’t deal damage but rather destroy or force sacrifices—think Day of Judgment or Toxic Deluge—can also effectively deal with the bear. In the realm of combat, deploying creatures with power four or more can nullify the ferocious benefit, or using spells that reduce its power, rendering regeneration irrelevant. Timing your removal spells when the opponent is low on mana can prevent them from activating Dragon-Scarred Bear’s regeneration as well.

All in all, while Dragon-Scarred Bear presents a resilient threat on the battlefield, strategic removal and power management can efficiently check this creature’s potential and maintain your upper hand in the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the depth of MTG’s strategic requirements opens doors to mastering the game’s intricate mechanics. Dragon-Scarred Bear stands as a testament to green’s resilience on the battlefield, offering regenerative abilities that keep your strategies alive. Whether you’re a seasoned player refining your green deck or a newcomer eager to understand the significance of each card’s role, there’s always new wisdom to gain. Embrace the challenge, deepen your knowledge of synergies, and build a formidable presence at your next MTG gathering. Immerse yourself further into the world of MTG with us and ensure your deck is not just a collection but a true arsenal of tactical might.


Cards like Dragon-Scarred Bear

In the realm of creature cards within Magic: The Gathering, Dragon-Scarred Bear offers an interesting dynamic with its formidable combination of abilities. For a creature of its cost, it shares similarities with cards like Ainok Survivalist and Circle of Elders. Both Ainok Survivalist and Dragon-Scarred Bear possess the morph ability, allowing a flexible play style. However, Ainok Survivalist leans towards utility by being able to destroy enchantments or artifacts when flipped, whereas Dragon-Scarred Bear is a steady aggressor with a regeneration feature that can keep it on the battlefield longer under certain conditions.

Exploring further, Circle of Elders and Dragon-Scarred Bear are also akin in that both cards have a formidable presence thanks to their vigilance ability, enabling them to attack without tapping and still be ready to block on the next turn. The Bear takes an edge with its regeneration, which might not be as impactful as the Elders’ ability to ramp mana under the bolster of formidable, but it gives it an enduring quality that could frustrate opponents over time.

To sum up, Dragon-Scarred Bear makes its mark in MTG as a versatile and resilient choice among creatures with similar casting costs, balancing aggression with defensive capabilities.

Ainok Survivalist - MTG Card versions
Circle of Elders - MTG Card versions
Ainok Survivalist - Dragons of Tarkir (DTK)
Circle of Elders - Dragons of Tarkir (DTK)

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Cat Warriors - Legends (LEG)
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Timberwatch Elf - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Leatherback Baloth - DCI Promos (PDCI)
Pincher Beetles - Tenth Edition (10E)
Yavimaya Elder - Mystery Booster (MB1)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dragon-Scarred Bear MTG card by a specific set like Dragons of Tarkir and Mystery Booster, 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 Dragon-Scarred Bear and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dragon-Scarred Bear Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2015-03-27 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Lars Grant-West.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12015-03-27Dragons of TarkirDTK 1832015normalblackLars Grant-West
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 11862015normalblackLars Grant-West
32020-09-26The ListPLST DTK-1832015normalblackLars Grant-West

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dragon-Scarred Bear has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2015-02-25 If you control a creature with power less than 0, use its actual power when calculating the total power of creatures you control. For example, if you control three creatures with powers 4, 5, and -2, the total power of creatures you control is 7.
2015-02-25 Other formidable abilities are triggered abilities with an “intervening ‘if’” clause. Such abilities check the total power of creatures you control twice: once at the appropriate time to see if the ability will trigger, and again as the ability tries to resolve. If, at that time, the total power of creatures you control is no longer 8 or greater, the ability will have no effect.
2015-02-25 Some formidable abilities are activated abilities that require creatures you control to have total power 8 or greater. Once you activate these abilities, it doesn’t matter what happens to the total power of creatures you control.

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