For me one of the fun things about Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan was being able to build decks that had dinosaurs in them.

I have a fun (for me) to play Commander dinosaur tribal deck. Which could do with an update. Add some of the tribal cards I’ve gotten since building the deck, replace one or two of the cards with the more powerful option that I now have. But I digress.

There are a few dinosaurs from those sets that I just love. The elder dinosaurs fantastic. Ghalta, Gishath, Regisaur Alpha, Burning Sun’s Avatar, Rampaging Ferocidon (unjustly banned in Standard), Thrashing Brontodon and Raptor Hatchling to name some of my favourites.

The incredible thing is that two or three of them still have a place in the Standard meta. They will always have a place in my dinosaur tribal deck (until we ever return to Ixalan).

But there is one that if you splash green in your deck is an auto include. And when it comes out strikes fear in your opponent.

Yep Carnage Tyrant.

If Carnage Tyrant isn’t in your main deck, there is usually a copy or two in the sideboard.

For a 6 CMC, it’s not a cheap card. But you get a lot of bang for your buck. First off it’s a 7/6 body with trample. So no chump blocking with a 1/1 to stop the damage getting through.

But it’s these next two abilities that make this card so powerful, and an auto include. Carnage Tyrant can’t be countered. So those pesky control players can’t use their counter spells to stop you casting it. Then when it is out on the battlefield it has hexproof. Which means that now it is out they can’t target their removal at it.

And that’s why at the very least you will see copies of it in the sideboard. It’s the anti-control card.

But even at 6 CMC being green, you have ramp. So in all likely hood Carnage Tyrant could be out turn four, definitely turn five. There is not much that will be out at that point to stop it.

Sadly because it is such a good card in Standard, it’s not a cheap card to buy. So Commander players will have to wait for it to rotate out to pick their copies up.

I have heard/read that in some decks now with Hydroid Krasis now on the scene that Carnage Tyrant isn’t as powerful as it used to be in some decks. I can’t really comment on that, I’m not really playing at the high levels the people making those statements are. For me in the decks I’m building and playing it’s a star card.

I’m going to miss Carnage Tyrant when it rotates out, I hope it likes it’s retirement homes in my dinosaur tribal deck, and the big green stompy deck.