Loyal Warhound
Creature — Dog
Vigilance
When this creature enters, if an opponent controls more lands than you, search your library for a basic Plains card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
- Price
- $1.29
- EDHREC rank
- #1570
Loyal Warhound enters the battlefield and fetches a Plains if you're behind on lands — a 3/1 vigilance body that doubles as catch-up ramp is a real deal for two mana. Sophia, Dogged Detective decks run it at nearly 80% inclusion because the triggered ability lines up perfectly with clue and token strategies, but even outside that home it's a clean, low-risk two-drop that earns its slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sophia, Dogged Detective
Sophia, Dogged Detective triggers off creatures entering and leaving the battlefield, and Loyal Warhound's enters-the-battlefield land fetch generates immediate value the turn it lands — it's the single highest-synergy fit for the card at 79% inclusion across over 5,000 decks.
Rin and Seri, Inseparable
Rin and Seri, Inseparable rewards you for playing both Dogs and Cats, and Loyal Warhound fills the Dog slot while fixing mana in a two-color deck that can occasionally stumble on white sources.
God-Eternal Oketra
God-Eternal Oketra floods the board with Zombie tokens whenever you cast a creature, so Loyal Warhound gets you a free Plains and then immediately spawns a 4/4 the moment it resolves.
Zinnia, Valley's Voice
Zinnia, Valley's Voice cares about creature types and filling the board, and Loyal Warhound's vigilance body stays back to block while the land trigger helps Zinnia decks hit their white mana consistently in a color-intensive build.
Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd blinks her own creatures for value, and repeatedly bouncing and replaying Loyal Warhound translates into repeated land fetches that accelerate the entire engine.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Loyal Warhound occupies the same role as Oreskos Explorer — a white two-drop that patches land equity against faster opponents — and it's strictly better than Explorer in most white creature strategies because vigilance matters on a blocker. In Modern and Pioneer, it's legal but sees virtually no play; the conditional land trigger (only when you control fewer lands than an opponent) is too slow against linear decks that don't care about your mana development. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient options, so Loyal Warhound is a Commander card first and only.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.29 cheap tier
At $1.29, Loyal Warhound sits firmly in the budget staple tier — cheap enough to throw into any white creature build without a second thought. Supply is healthy and demand is driven almost entirely by casual Commander, so the price is stable rather than positioned to move in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.