How does Beorn the Fierce's combat trigger work?

At the beginning of combat on your turn, put a trample counter on up to one target creature you control and it becomes a Bear in addition to its other types — meaning any creature can effectively join the tribe and pick up the anthem, one at a time, every turn.

When does Beorn the Fierce draw cards?

The same combat trigger checks, after making a creature a Bear, whether you control three or more Bears — if so, you draw two cards, so hitting that Bear count is a real card-advantage payoff on top of the growing board of anthem-boosted attackers.

Is Beorn the Fierce good outside a dedicated Bear tribal deck?

Yes, more than most tribal payoffs — since it can turn any creature into a Bear itself, a deck doesn't need to already run actual Bear creatures to benefit; it just needs creatures worth pumping and a few turns to build up the count.

Beorn the Fierce — Card Spotlight

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Strategies it goes well with

Bear tribal and go-wide green decks. The anthem effect and the type-changing trigger work together — even a deck with few natural Bears can turn its existing board into the tribe over a couple of turns.
Card advantage via wide boards. Reaching three Bears on the battlefield is a real, repeatable draw-two trigger, rewarding a deck that goes wide rather than tall.
Trample and combat-focused green decks. Granting trample as part of the same trigger that grants the type change makes previously chump-blockable creatures into real threats.

How it does in Commander

As the commander

As the commander it rewards a green go-wide deck built around turning its own board into Bears over time — repeated access to both the anthem and the type-changing trigger from the command zone makes hitting the three-Bear card-draw threshold a realistic, repeatable goal.

In the 99

A strong late-game drop in any green creature deck, since it doesn't require actual Bear creatures already in the list to start producing value.

Formats it's strong in

Go-wide green decks. More creatures on the battlefield means more targets to turn into Bears and more bodies benefiting from the anthem.
Decks that don't mind a slower build-up. The card advantage trigger rewards patience — reaching three Bears takes a couple of turns, which suits a deck built to grind rather than sprint.

Formats it's weak in

Low-creature-count decks. With few other creatures on the battlefield, there's little to turn into Bears and little for the anthem to boost.
Very fast, aggressive pods. A five-mana payoff that takes a few turns to fully come online is a poor match for a table trying to close games out quickly.

Synergistic cards

Any wide token generator — More bodies on the battlefield means more targets to convert into Bears and more creatures receiving the anthem over time.
Craterhoof Behemoth — A classic go-wide finisher that benefits from the same large, buffed creature count Beorn is building toward.
Zendikar's Roil (or similar landfall token makers) — A steady stream of small creatures gives Beorn plenty of raw material to turn into Bears each turn.
Any card-advantage payoff for a wide board — Beorn's own draw trigger stacks with anything else rewarding a go-wide green plan.

Is it worth the price?

As a recent-set card with a strong rate, Beorn the Fierce carries a moderate price for what it does. Worth it for a green go-wide or Bear-adjacent deck; a lower priority for a deck with few other creatures to leverage the type-changing trigger with.

Current printings and prices →

Beorn the Fierce