Ovalchase Dragster MTG Card
2016-09-30 - Number 225
2020-11-12 - Number 256
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Artifact — Vehicle |
| Abilities | Crew,Haste,Trample |
| Power | 6 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Ovalchase Dragster grants instant board presence, enabling aggressive plays and pressure on opponents early on.
- Demands strategic crewing and energy resources, posing challenges for deck-building and in-game decisions.
- Excels in artifact-focused and high-tempo decks, potentially dominating fast-paced games and meta environments.
Text of card
Trample, haste Crew 1 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 1 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
It'll either crash or win the race. Possibly both.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Ovalchase Dragster may not directly influence card advantage, it offers strong board presence which can pressure opponents into unfavorable trades, effectively leveraging your position.
Resource Acceleration: This card provides significant tempo by boasting a remarkable speed with trample, allowing for high impact plays as early as turn four, pushing your strategy forward with considerable force.
Instant Speed: Despite Ovalchase Dragster itself not operating at instant speed, its haste feature allows for immediate impact upon casting, similar to the benefits instants offer by allowing swift reactions to the state of the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Ovalchase Dragster provides a considerable burst of speed to your vehicle arsenal, it demands a strategic setup. Players must consider the discard requirement for crewing this artifact. Discarding a card can be particularly taxing if you’re already struggling to maintain card advantage or if you have crucial pieces in hand that you can’t afford to lose.
Specific Mana Cost: The necessity of having two specific energy counters to activate Ovalchase Dragster’s ability could present a hurdle. Decks not focused on energy production may find the mana cost restrictive, limiting the inclusion of the Dragster to synergistic builds that can reliably generate the required energy.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Players might find the initial investment of four mana a steep entrance fee. When compared to other vehicle or creature options in the same mana range, Ovalchase Dragster’s upfront cost doesn’t always translate to lasting board presence or impact, making it a potentially less appealing option when mana efficiency is taken into account.
Reasons to Include Ovalchase Dragster in Your Collection
Versatility: The Ovalchase Dragster thrives in decks that favor quick and aggressive playstyles. It’s a vehicle that brings impactful board presence, capable of delivering high damage at lightning speed, catering to a diverse array of strategies that appreciate haste and high power.
Combo Potential: This Dragster’s affinity for artifice can empower various artifact-related synergies. It excels in decks that exploit the Crew mechanic or benefit from the mere presence of artifacts, whether that’s fueling improvise abilities or enhancing the potency of artifact-centric cards.
Meta-Relevance: Given its speed and power, the Dragster can be a formidable threat in metas where the pace of play is fast, and races are won by the swiftest. It serves as a quick strike vehicle that can outpace slower, more controlling strategies, securing its place in a collection ready to face a dynamic competitive environment.
How to beat
Ovalchase Dragster stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a formidable Artifact Vehicle with the potential to deliver a potent burst of damage thanks to its trample ability and high power. Racing onto the battlefield, this card can catch opponents off-guard, turning the tide of a match within a few turns. However, like any speedster, it has its weaknesses. In direct combat, it can be neutralized if blocked by creatures with enough toughness, effectively stalling its assault.
Artifact removal spells are another quick fix to dismantle the Dragster’s threat. Cards such as Naturalize or Disenchant can send it directly to the graveyard, bypassing the need to engage it in combat. Furthermore, general removal spells like Fatal Push or Path to Exile, which target creatures, also work once Ovalchase Dragster becomes a creature with the help of a crew. For control decks, countering the card upon casting or systematically dismantling an opponent’s board presence can mitigate the impact of vehicles like Ovalchase Dragster altogether, preserving your life total and giving you time to rev up your own game plan.
Ultimately, while Ovalchase Dragster can be a high-octane challenge on the battlefield, with the right strategies and cards, players can apply the brakes to its high-speed onslaught, keeping their decks racing to victory.
Cards like Ovalchase Dragster
Ovalchase Dragster marks an exhilarating presence in the world of artifact vehicles from Magic: The Gathering. It aligns with the ilk of hasty vehicles such as Fleetwheel Cruiser. Though both cards come with the advantage of haste, allowing them to swing in quickly, Ovalchase Dragster boasts a more formidable power level at the cost of fragility due to its lower toughness compared to Cruiser. Meanwhile, Fleetwheel Cruiser requires no energy and turns into a creature without the crew cost on the first turn.
Another card worth mentioning is the Renegade Freighter. Although lacking haste, it compensates by becoming significantly sturdier upon attacking. The Freighter requires a slightly more modest crew cost while delivering a consistent increase in power and toughness. The trade-off here is between the Dragster’s immediate impact on the game and the Freighter’s incremental value.
Each vehicle brings a different dynamic to the field, so drivers must weigh Ovalchase Dragster’s quick assault against the strategic potentials of its counterparts. In the high-octane races of your matches, choosing the right vehicle could be the difference between a win and a wipeout.
Cards similar to Ovalchase Dragster by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ovalchase Dragster MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh and Kaladesh Remastered, 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 Ovalchase Dragster and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Ovalchase Dragster Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-09-30 and 2020-11-12. Illustrated by Victor Adame Minguez.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-09-30 | Kaladesh | KLD | 225 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Victor Adame Minguez | |
| 2 | 2020-11-12 | Kaladesh Remastered | KLR | 256 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Victor Adame Minguez |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ovalchase Dragster has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ovalchase Dragster card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-09-29 | Any untapped creature you control can be tapped to pay a crew cost, even one that just came under your control. |
| 2017-09-29 | Creatures that crew a Vehicle aren't attached to it or related in any other way. Effects that affect the Vehicle, such as by destroying it or giving it a +1/+1 counter, don't affect the creatures that crewed it. |
| 2017-09-29 | Each Vehicle is printed with a power and toughness, but it's not a creature. If it becomes a creature (most likely through its crew ability), it will have that power and toughness. |
| 2017-09-29 | For a Vehicle to be able to attack, it must be a creature as the declare attackers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to attack with it is during the beginning of combat step. For a Vehicle to be able to block, it must be a creature as the declare blockers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to block with it is during the declare attackers step. In either case, players may take actions after the crew ability resolves but before the Vehicle has been declared as an attacking or blocking creature. |
| 2017-09-29 | If a permanent becomes a copy of a Vehicle, the copy won't be a creature, even if the Vehicle it's copying has become an artifact creature. |
| 2017-09-29 | If an effect causes a Vehicle to become an artifact creature with a specified power and toughness, that effect overwrites the Vehicle's printed power and toughness. |
| 2017-09-29 | Once a Vehicle becomes a creature, it behaves exactly like any other artifact creature. It can't attack unless you've controlled it continuously since your turn began, it can block if it's untapped, it can be tapped to pay a Vehicle's crew cost, and so on. |
| 2017-09-29 | Once a player announces that they are activating a crew ability, no player may take other actions until the ability has been paid for. Notably, players can't try to stop the ability by changing a creature's power or by removing or tapping a creature. |
| 2017-09-29 | Vehicle is an artifact type, not a creature type. A Vehicle that's crewed won't normally have any creature type. |
| 2017-09-29 | When a Vehicle becomes a creature, that doesn't count as having a creature enter the battlefield. The permanent was already on the battlefield; it only changed its types. Abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield won't trigger. |
| 2017-09-29 | You may activate a crew ability of a Vehicle even if it's already an artifact creature. Doing so has no effect on the Vehicle. It doesn't change its power and toughness. |
| 2017-09-29 | You may tap more creatures than necessary to activate a crew ability. |
