An All-Timer Green Card Returns to Standard in Tarkir: Dragonstorm

Last updated on March 18, 2025

Craterhoof Behemoth | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Tarkir: Dragonstorm is full of awesome cards: dragons galore, the return of the original clans, lands aplenty, and… wait a minute, is that a Craterhoof Behemoth reprint? Wow, TDM is not messing around.

A Much-Needed Reprint

Tarkir: Dragonstorm marks the ‘Hoof's second only Standard-legal printing, originally dating back to Avacyn Restored. Even though it's been included in supplementary products throughout the year, as recently as Innistrad Remastered just earlier this year, the price holds steady in the $25-30 range pretty much no matter what. It's one of those top-of-class Commander cards like Cyclonic Rift that endures any number of reprints and retains its pricetag due to its power and pedigree in 100-card formats. The cheapest version of the ‘Hoof is still over $25 on average.

A Standard Reprint

It can't be stressed enough how big it is that this will see print in the mainline Tarkir: Dragonstorm set. That means it'll be included in Play boosters and Collector boosters alike, which tends to drive down card prices for reprints that retain their price due to scarcity and demand. Should you expect $5 Craterhoofs in a few weeks? Probably not. But even dropping to the $10-15 range for a bit would be a win for Commander players everywhere, and a loss for all their opponents.

Wait a Minute… That's an Elephant

Magali Villeneuve never really misses with their art, but why is this beast creature clearly an elephant in the artwork? Well, it hardly matters, but two possible reasons: One, elephants can totally be beasts. Second, the art may have been commissioned for a different green card that later got switched to Craterhoof Behemoth late into set development. You can only imagine what the elephant card might've been, but no one's really complaining if that's what happened and players ended up with Craterhoof instead.

Will This See Standard Play?

Smuggler's Surprise | Illustration by Jonas De Ro

Anything's possible in a world where Llanowar Elves is legal for five years, but 8 mana will always be a big stop sign, especially in any format where countermagic like Three Steps Ahead and No More Lies exists.

There could be an elves shell with Elvish Archdruid also legal in Standard, but this typal build lacks the velocity of its Legacy counterparts.

That leads to the next possible line of play: Can players cheat Craterhoof Behemoth into play somehow? Well, Smuggler's Surprise will be Standard-legal for a while, Oviya, Automech Artisan was just printed, and Loot, Exuberant Explorer was also included in Foundations, though you'd have to already have eight lands in play to make that happen anyway.

So slim chance this reprint leaves a hoof-sized footprint on Standard, but at the very least Commander players will be very, very happy about this green powerhouse's return.