Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is one of those cards players keep coming back to — and the Scryfall record shows exactly why. Ragavan, Nimble Pilf...
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is one of those cards players keep coming back to — and the Scryfall record shows exactly why.
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer — Legendary Creature — Monkey Pirate — Mana cost: {R} — Rarity: mythic — Set: Modern Horizons 2
Oracle text: Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card. Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)
What Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer does
Read the oracle text literally: Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card. Dash adds a haste option. Its type line is Legendary Creature — Monkey Pirate and its mana cost is {R} (converted mana cost 1.0). It was printed in Modern Horizons 2 at mythic rarity.
Where it fits
A one-mana legendary Monkey Pirate that creates Treasure and exiles opponent cards when it connects. Legal formats listed by Scryfall include: timeless: legal, gladiator: legal, modern: legal, vintage: legal, commander: legal, oathbreaker: legal. Always confirm legality in the MTGBrew card database.
Building around it
Start with the job the card does, then fill the rest of the deck. Brew in the MTGBrew AI Deck Builder and browse related cards in the MTGBrew card database.
Learn more
Start with MTGBrew Learn.
When to play it — and when to leave it out
Timing and context decide whether this card shines. In the early game, ask whether it advances your plan or just looks powerful in isolation. In the mid game, it should either stabilize the board, create card advantage, or threaten to close the game. In the late game, top-decking it should still matter — the best staples pass that test in most board states. Leave it out when your deck already does its job better with a cheaper or more synergistic option, when your mana base cannot cast it reliably on curve, or when your local meta punishes that strategy. Deck building is not about collecting individually powerful cards; it is about a coherent 60- or 100-card plan where every slot supports the others.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common mistake is playing the card for its headline effect and ignoring its cost — mana, cards in hand, life, or tempo. The second mistake is cutting lands or interaction to fit one more exciting card; consistency wins more games than one extra haymaker. Test the deck honestly: goldfish the opening hands, note when the card sits dead, and track whether it actually changed outcomes. MTGBrew's builder and card database exist to make that testing faster — search the exact card, check its legalities, compare similar effects, and iterate. Small, evidence-based changes compound into a much stronger list over a few weeks of play.
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