Tyrant of Valakut
Creature — Dragon
Surge 
(You may cast this spell for its surge cost if you or a teammate has cast another spell this turn.)
Flying
When this creature enters, if its surge cost was paid, it deals 3 damage to any target.
- CMC
- 7
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Oath of the Gatewatch Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #24260
Tyrant of Valakut enters swinging — a 5/4 flying Dragon that deals 2 damage to any target the moment it hits the battlefield, and Surge lets you cast it for five mana instead of seven if you've already cast another spell that turn. The ceiling is real in any deck that wants both a hasty clock and an ETB damage trigger, but seven mana without Surge means it competes hard with better top-end threats in most fair lists.
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 |
Tyrant of Valakut is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it's almost exclusively a Commander card in practice. In competitive eternal formats it's simply outclassed — a seven-mana 5/4 flier doesn't make the cut in Legacy or Vintage, and Modern and Pioneer have more efficient threats at every point on the curve. Commander is where Tyrant of Valakut earns its slot: Surge is easy to trigger in spell-heavy or token-generating lists, the ETB damage is relevant as a point of interaction, and a flying Dragon body closes games in multiplayer.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't currently available for Tyrant of Valakut, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for current buylist and market prices. As a bulk rare that sees narrow constructed play, it historically sits in the sub-$1 range and is easy to pick up as a casual Commander inclusion without significant financial commitment.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.