Belligerent Yearling
Creature — Dinosaur
Trample
Whenever another Dinosaur you control enters, you may have this creature's base power become equal to that creature's power until end of turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #8417
Belligerent Yearling enters with a trample counter and grows every time its controller attacks with more creatures — a clock that compounds naturally in any go-wide or tribal shell. The real payoff is Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor, where Dinosaur synergies and repeated combat triggers turn a two-mana 2/2 into a legitimate finisher.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor is the premier home for Belligerent Yearling — the Dinosaur type checks out immediately, and the commander's attack-trigger economy means the Yearling is picking up counters almost every turn, often hitting well above its weight by the midgame.
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
Gishath, Sun's Avatar cheats Dinosaurs onto the battlefield in cascading waves, and Belligerent Yearling earns its slot because those waves translate directly into additional +1/+1 counters — the more Dinosaurs swinging alongside it, the faster it outgrows targeted removal.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Belligerent Yearling is a Commander card first and foremost: the payoff scales with the size of your board, and Commander is the format that consistently delivers four or more creatures swinging every combat. In Standard and Pioneer it's a fringe consideration for Dinosaur tribal, but two-mana creatures in those formats compete against removal-resistant threats and faster aggro curves that leave a scaling beater looking slow. Modern and Legacy have no interest — the bar for a two-drop that does nothing the turn it enters is simply too high. Stick to Commander, specifically any deck that already wants to attack with a crowd.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Belligerent Yearling is deep bulk — easy to acquire as a throw-in or in a common lot. Bulk rares that see play in exactly one Commander archetype rarely climb without a reprint banning a competitor, so treat this as a stable, low-cost pickup rather than a card with upside.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
- Gishath, Sun's Avatar
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.