Rampaging BalothsHow it works & interactions with other cards

Massive Reinforcements

The core of Rampaging Baloths is the Landfall keyword. Every time a land enters the battlefield under your control, this creature's triggered ability goes on the stack. Unlike some abilities that only trigger when you 'play' a land during your main phase, Rampaging Baloths triggers regardless of how the land gets there—whether it is your normal land play for the turn or a land brought out by a spell or ability.

Resolving the Stampede

When a land enters, the Landfall ability is placed on the stack. If you have multiple permanents with Landfall, you choose the order in which these abilities are placed on the stack, and they resolve one by one. Each resolution of the Rampaging Baloths ability creates a 4/4 green Beast creature token. These tokens do not have haste, so they will typically need to wait a turn before they can join the attack alongside the Baloths.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is assuming that if a permanent you already control becomes a land (such as through an effect that animates a non-land permanent), Landfall will trigger. It does not. The permanent must actually enter the battlefield as a land. Additionally, if Rampaging Baloths is removed from the battlefield in response to a land entering, the ability that already triggered will still resolve and create a token.

Strategic Timing

Because the ability triggers on any land entering, cards that allow you to put lands onto the battlefield on an opponent's turn become much more powerful. This allows you to create surprise blockers that can ambush attackers, effectively using your lands as combat tricks.

Interaction examples

Multiplying the Value

Avenger of Zendikar

If you have both creatures on the battlefield and a land enters, both Landfall abilities trigger. You can stack them so that Rampaging Baloths resolves first, creating a 4/4 Beast, and then Avenger of Zendikar resolves to put +1/+1 counters on your Plant tokens. Note that the Beast token will not receive a counter from the Avenger, as it is not a Plant.

Defensive Stampede

Seedborn Muse

While Seedborn Muse untaps your creatures each turn, it doesn't trigger Landfall itself. However, if you use a card to put a land into play during an opponent's turn while Rampaging Baloths is out, you create a 4/4 Beast. With Seedborn Muse keeping your mana and existing creatures ready, you can continuously generate blockers and maintain a daunting defense throughout every player's turn.

The Token Army

Beast

When you play a Forest, the Landfall ability triggers. Once the ability resolves, you place a 4/4 green Beast token onto the battlefield. If you then use an effect to put another land into play during the same turn, you create a second 4/4 green Beast token, quickly building an army from a single creature.