Hidden Gems for Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

Clever Girl

Hello spelunkers! This is Hidden Gems, where we highlight underappreciated and overlooked Magic cards for the Commander format. Today’s guest of honor is the most popular commander, and Miss Congeniality, from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Pantlaza, Sun-Favored.

At first glance, it’s pretty easy to see how one might hire her to lead an army of Dinosaurs. But let’s dig deeper into alternative strategies. Typal decks are great and all, but so often become nothing more than a collection of the best cards of that type. Again, not knocking it. I love me an evening with a glass of wine, mood lighting, and a straightforward Zombie battle with Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver at the helm.

But what other tricks can we pull off with Pantlaza?

#1. Astral Drift and Astral Slide

Give that Dinosaur a bicycle, because we’re going Cycling. Every turn you Cycle a card (including your opponents’ turns), you can exile Pantlaza and get a new Discover 4 trigger at the end of the turn. If you want to max out the efficiency, you can customize your deck so that these two enchantments are easy to get. Cut back on cards that cost four or less by spending your first few turns using Cycling triggers instead of spells. 

Think Krosan Tusker, Shefet Monitor, and basic land Cyclers. You don’t even need to play other Dinosaurs for a Cycling build. You can focus on Pantlaza, who will be terribly difficult to kill when she’s blinking in and out of existence.

#2. Eldrazi Displacer

In case you didn’t know, Pantlaza’s “Do this only once each turn” clause gets refreshed every time she comes into play. If she leaves the battlefield and comes back, she’ll forget if her ability has triggered and you can trigger it again.  Flicker effects will bring her back instantly, resetting her memory and allowing you to Discover again. So, if you Discover into another flicker effect, you can chain free value. About a third of Pantlaza decks on EDHREC play a copy of Ephemerate to do just that, but few other effects see as much play. 

I say, ramp this strategy up to 11. Play all of them. Chain as many flicker effects as possible to make for one explosive turn. You can create a big board state right away, while drawing cards with Garruk's Uprising and/or doing damage with cards like Purphoros, God of the Forge. 

#3. Legion's Initiative

While this pick might look the same as another flicker effect, it’s quite different. The exiled creature doesn’t come back right away. Colloquially, this is called “blinking.” The advantage of going this route is that you can blink your creatures away, play a board wipe, then blink your creatures back in. 

You still get to do the same shenanigans, but it’s a slower, more control-focused build of the idea. 

#4. Maskwood Nexus

Before anyone yells at me, here’s my pick for a “Dinosaur” card for the deck. It turns everything into a Dinosaur! And it makes tokens so that you can get a Pantlaza trigger on an opponent’s turn. 

You want Pantlaza to trigger from Atzocan Seer? Here you go. You want to include your pet card just for funsies? Sure, Avacyn, Angel of Hope can be a Dinosaur too. Maskwood Nexus lets you go full Tyrannosaurus Oprah. “YOU are a Dinosaur. And YOU are a Dinosaur! EVERYONE is a Dinosaur!” 

Pantlaza, Sun-Favored	CardKingdom $3.99	TCGPlayer $2.97
Astral Drift	CardKingdom $0.49	TCGPlayer $0.40
Astral Slide	CardKingdom $0.35	TCGPlayer $0.50
Eldrazi Displacer	CardKingdom $2.49	TCGPlayer $2.33
Legion's Initiative	CardKingdom $1.49	TCGPlayer $0.80
Maskwood Nexus	CardKingdom $6.49	TCGPlayer $5.27

That’s all for this edition of Hidden Gems. Don’t forget to check out our Premium Membership for more market insights and entertainment. Until next time, YOU are a Dinosaur!

Further reading:

Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commanders - Which Versions Should You Buy?