Tracking Carnage Tyrant Print Frequency Across Expansions

In TCG ·

Carnage Tyrant — Ixalan dinosaur card art by Yeong-Hao Han

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Tracking the print history of a card like Carnage Tyrant is more than a trivia exercise 🧙‍♂️. It’s a window into how Wizards balances power, scarcity, and nostalgia across expansions. Carnage Tyrant—the green, 7/6 dinosaur from Ixalan—offers a striking case study: a mythic rarity with a hulking body, a design that ages well in Commander tables, and a clause that resists the usual counterspell war 🔥. By examining its reach across sets, finishes, and market perception, we can better appreciate how a single card’s print footprint ripples through formats, collectability, and even deck-building psychology 💎⚔️.

Print profile of a green titan

Carnage Tyrant is a creature — Dinosaur with a mana cost of {4}{G}{G}, yielding a formidable 7 power on a 6-mana frame. It is green-aligned, carrying the color identity of green and the keywords Hexproof and Trample, which combine to create an unstoppable threat once it lands. Its official text reads, This spell can't be countered.—a rare flavor in a combat-focused creature, ensuring it can wade through the spell-slinging of multiplayer formats. The card’s layout is standard for its 2015 frame era, with Yeong-Hao Han’s art contributing a memorable, earth-shaking presence on the battlefield 🧙‍♂️🎨.

In terms of release, Carnage Tyrant debuted in IX IXalan (set code XLN), released in 2017-09-29. It resides in the Ixalan expansion as a mythic rarity, a designation that places it among the rarer pulls in booster packs and contributes to its long-term collectability. The card has both foil and non-foil finishes, with current price signals showing around $2.99 for the non-foil and about $4.20 for the foil version, according to market readings. Its EDH/Commander footprint remains meaningful, reflected in an EDHREC rank of 5539—a testament to its value in green-heavy, dinosaur-centered configurations 🧩.

The Ixalan print is not just a moment in history; it’s a design thesis. Hexproof ensures a built-in resilience against common removal or targeted answers, while Trample ensures that even in crowded boards, Carnage Tyrant can push through chump blockers or soft removal lines. The clause “This spell can’t be countered” is a deliberate push toward inevitability—an idea that resonates with players who love big, decisive plays that feel impossible to stop once they land 🔥. Pair that with a 7/6 body and green’s ramp machinery, and you’ve got a card that not only wins games but also stamps a vivid memory on a playgroup’s narrative 🎲.

Tracking print frequency: scarcity, reprints, and market signals

According to its official data, Carnage Tyrant has not been reprinted since its Ixalan introduction. The card’s reprint status is false, and its set is listed as Ixalan (XLN), with this particular printing available in both foil and non-foil finishes. This scarcity—paired with its mythic status—helps explain why it remains a target for collectors and a sturdy choice in Commander decks that want a green, unstoppable punch in multiplayer games 🧭.

From a market perspective, the card’s price points reflect its dual nature as both a competitive threat and a collectible icon. The combination of a high-impact body, hard-to-counter presence, and limited reprint potential means that demand can outpace supply in certain cycles, especially around EDH events and big green ramp archetypes. However, the absence of a Standard-legal cadence and the card’s exclusion from many modern formats (per its legality matrix) keep its price tethered to eternal formats and casual Commander play rather than ongoing Standard rotation. The net effect is a card that feels evergreen in spirit, even though its print history is a one-shot moment in Ixalan 🪙.

For builders, that print profile translates into practical strategy cues. If you’re piloting dinosaur-heavy Commander lists or any green ramp sequence, Carnage Tyrant remains a credible finisher and a stabilizer against mass removal. Its hexproof ensures it survives when opponents fear a wipe, and its trample makes it a credible threat to leverage damage through blockers. In terms of deck construction, you’ll often see it slotted into board-states where green’s top-end power is king, while you buffer other turns with ramp, card draw, and removal that keeps the big green threat online 🔧.

Strategic takeaways for collectors and players

  • Rarity and print history matter: a single Ixalan print with foil and non-foil options means long-term scarcity—a factor that often translates to value in collectors’ markets 💎.
  • Open formats and Commander love helps sustain demand: with wide legality and real presence on EDH tables, Carnage Tyrant remains a reliable pick in large green-centric builds 🧭.
  • Design signals heritage: the combination of hexproof, trample, and “cannot be countered” makes it feel both timeless and aggressively modern—an appealing blend for nostalgia-driven players and new fans alike 🔥.
  • Finishes matter: foil copies often command premium prices, while non-foil remains the staple for budget-conscious players looking to jam big dinosaurs into action 🎨.

If you’re curating a nostalgia-driven MTG shelf or mapping how print cycles shape value, Carnage Tyrant stands as a clear example of how a card’s pedigree—green ramp, mythic rarity, a memorable creature type, and a single strong print line—can outlive many of its successors. And whether you’re tallying its impact on your deck or your collection, there’s something wonderfully primal about watching a colossal dinosaur crash into the battlefield and remind everyone why green mana can feel like unyielding nature itself ⚔️🧪.

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