Desert Drake MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Drake |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 1997-05-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Portal |
| Set code | POR |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
| Number | 122 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Gerry Grace |
Key Takeaways
- Desert Drake excels in aerial combat and can consistently draw additional cards to enhance your hand.
- The creature’s need for card discard and specific mana can be restrictive, yet it remains a versatile attacker.
- Combating Desert Drake involves targeted removal or disrupting land synergies to diminish its battlefield impact.
Text of card
Flying
Never doubt a dragon just because of its size.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Desert Drake comes with the benefit of potentially drawing you an extra card each time it attacks. This flying creature can not only deal damage aerially but consistently improve your hand, keeping your resources plentiful.
Resource Acceleration: If you’re looking for a way to ramp up your mana resources, Desert Drake can be particularly useful. This agile creature may not directly produce mana or treasure, but by ensuring a steady flow of cards, it indirectly increases your chances of hitting your land drops or finding the acceleration tools you need.
Instant Speed: The true strength of Desert Drake lies in its synergy with instant-speed spells. While the Drake itself doesn’t have flash, its flying nature often requires an immediate answer from your opponent, potentially leaving them vulnerable to your instants during combat or at the end of their turn, adding a tactical edge to your gameplay.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One downside of the Desert Drake is that activating its key abilities often requires discarding a card. This can present a setback if your hand is dwindling and each card is crucial to your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that includes desert-specific mana, the Desert Drake can be challenging to incorporate into multicolored decks. Players must ensure they have the right mana sources to cast it efficiently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing a moderate amount of mana to summon, the Desert Drake might be considered a heavy investment especially in faster paced games. There are alternative creatures available that can offer similar or better board presence for less mana, making it essential to weigh the Drake’s impact against its cost.
Reasons to Include Desert Drake in Your Collection
Versatility: Desert Drake adds a layer of adaptability to various decks. Its flying ability lets it evade many ground-based defenses, fitting well into aggressive strategies seeking to bypass blockers.
Combo Potential: As a creature with flying, Desert Drake can be a key piece in aerial synergy decks or work in tandem with cards that capitalize on the number of creatures you control with flying to overwhelm your opponents.
Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting landscape of the MTG metagame, Desert Drake offers a cost-effective flying threat that can quickly adapt to changes, making it a smart and versatile choice for players looking to stay competitive without frequent deck overhauls.
How to beat
The Desert Drake card presents an interesting challenge on the battlefield with its ability to render land cards in your hand as momentary mana boosters. This flying creature can catch opponents off guard and accelerate game play with its unique land disposal strategy. To effectively counter Desert Drake, it’s advisable to disrupt this synergy. Removal spells are a direct method to tackle this creature; cards like Murder can easily dispatch it before the land ability becomes too powerful. Control decks that limit hand size or restrict land retrieval can also hamstring the benefits that Desert Drake’s ability offers.
It’s also worth noting that land destruction or discard-focused strategies can greatly diminish the impact of Desert Drake’s ability. By attacking your opponent’s land base or forcing them to discard lands, the advantage Desert Drake provides dwindles. Consider incorporating land disturbance spells or abilities into your game plan. In a pinch, simply outpacing the ramp that Desert Drake offers with more aggressive creature deployment or ramping yourself can turn the tables in your favor.
Ultimately, understanding how Desert Drake can shape the landscape of a match will guide you in formulating a strategy to beat it. Whether through targeted removal or strategic land countermeasures, ensure you’re prepped to ground this drake as you navigate your matches.
Cards like Desert Drake
Desert Drake finds its place among the more intriguing flying creatures within the MTG universe. It shares a kinship with cards like Spire Monitor – both are three-power flyers and carry a cost-effective mana curve for their flying threat. While the Spire Monitor comes with flash, allowing it a more tactical edge and surprise factor, Desert Drake stands out for its resilience in environments plagued by Earth-based magics.
Comparing it to a card like Gust Walker, which also boasts the potential of flying, Desert Drake doesn’t require exertion and consistently provides aerial offense every turn without the need to skip attacking the next turn. An additional parallel can be drawn with Snapping Drake, which is a direct match in terms of mana cost and power, although Snapping Drake offers a simpler, no-frills flying solution without the desert land walk ability that Desert Drake enjoys. This subtle ability can tip the scales in specific matchups that depend on terrain-based strategies.
When analyzing the roles that such creatures play within their decks, Desert Drake holds its ground thanks to its efficient cost-to-power ratio and its specialized ability to maneuver through sand-based landscapes unimpeded.
Cards similar to Desert Drake by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Desert Drake MTG card by a specific set like Portal, 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 Desert Drake 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Desert Drake has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
