Palani's Hatcher
Creature — Dinosaur
Other Dinosaurs you control have haste.
When this creature enters, create two 0/1 green Dinosaur Egg creature tokens.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you control one or more Eggs, sacrifice an Egg, then create a 3/3 green Dinosaur creature token.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GR
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #3710
Palani's Hatcher puts three 3/2 Dinosaur tokens on the board for five mana — that's immediate, tangible presence before you even consider what those tokens enable. The real payoff is in recursive loops: slotting it alongside Atla Palani, Nest Tender and Nim Deathmantle turns a single attack step into a cascading creature engine that can empty your deck.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Atla Palani, Nest Tender
Palani's Hatcher is practically a staple in Atla Palani, Nest Tender decks — the three egg-adjacent Dinosaur tokens feed directly into Atla's trigger, and the Hatcher's own text syncs with Atla's cost-reduction to keep the engine churning at minimal mana investment.
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor wants as many Dinosaurs entering the battlefield as possible, and Palani's Hatcher delivers three in a single cast — every token Owen touches becomes a threat with a counter stapled to it.
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored triggers discover off the first Dinosaur entering each turn, so Palani's Hatcher guarantees that trigger reliably while also flooding the board with bodies for the turns that follow.
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
Gishath, Sun's Avatar decks run Palani's Hatcher as a Dinosaur-tribal filler piece that also produces attackers — the tokens help crew the combat math that gets Gishath's damage through and starts chaining free casts off the top of the library.
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 |
Palani's Hatcher is a Commander card through and through — five mana for three 3/2s plus an ability that pays off only inside a dedicated Dinosaur or egg-loop shell is exactly the kind of parasitic, synergy-dependent rate that thrives in the 100-card singleton format. In Modern, Pioneer, and Legacy it's firmly unplayable outside of casual brews; competitive creature strategies in those formats demand more immediate, standalone value at the five-drop slot. Standard legality gives it a technical home, but the payoff requires too many moving pieces to make noise in a 60-card environment. Commander is the only context where Palani's Hatcher is doing real work, and even there it earns its slot only if your deck is built specifically to exploit it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Nim DeathmantleAshnod's AltarPalani's Hatcher
Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite colorless mana; Infinite death triggers; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite creature tokens with haste
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Palani's Hatcher isn't currently available here, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number before buying. Given its narrow Commander-only application and the size of its relevant playerbase, it typically sits in the affordable range — worth grabbing a copy if you're building any of the Dinosaur commanders above.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Nim Deathmantle
- Atla Palani, Nest Tender
- Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer // Blue, Loyal Raptor
- Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
- Gishath, Sun's Avatar
- Ashnod's Altar
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.