Cunning Geysermage MTG Card

Cunning Geysermage can disrupt opponents, offering significant tempo control with its kick ability. It poses deck-building challenges due to its specific mana requirements and higher costs. Its flexibility and combo potential make it a valuable addition for blue-centric decks.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Wizard
Abilities	Kicker
Released	2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar Rising
Set code	ZNR
Power	3
Toughness	2
Number	55
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Chris Rallis

Text of card

Kicker (You may pay an additional as you cast this spell.) When Cunning Geysermage enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, return up to one other target creature to its owner's hand.

"Come on, Skitch, we'll lose them in the geyserfield."

Cards like Cunning Geysermage

In the realm of utility creatures within Magic: The Gathering, Cunning Geysermage stands as an interesting option. Comparable creatures include Merfolk Trickster, which also offers a way to temporarily tap or disable an opponent’s creature without directly removing it. While Cunning Geysermage requires a kicker cost to achieve its return to hand effect, Merfolk Trickster excels at instant-speed interaction without any additional costs involved.

Another similar card is Exclusion Mage. This creature also returns another creature to its owner’s hand upon entering the battlefield, providing a reset button of sorts on the state of play but differs from Cunning Geysermage as it doesn’t offer the flexibility of being played as a regular 2/2 without using its utility effect.

In comparison, Man-o’-War is a classic example, though it is often heralded for its simplicity and lower cost synergy with bounce effects. Each of these creatures share the core concept of reusing entry triggers or disrupting play tempo, offering creative ways to gain the upper hand. However, Cunning Geysermage’s dual nature, blending straightforward creature play with the option for a kicker-powered bounce, positions it uniquely in the field.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cunning Geysermage offers a unique twist on card advantage in MTG. When kicked, it provides the opportunity to return a creature to its owner’s hand, effectively negating an opponent’s previous play and swaying the momentum in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While not a direct source of resource acceleration, Cunning Geysermage can provide a tempo boost. By bouncing an opponent’s creature, you slow them down, potentially gaining the upper hand and the ability to deploy more threats or answers swiftly.

Instant Speed: The versatility of Cunning Geysermage shines with its instant-speed kickability. This allows for reactive play during an opponent’s turn, making it a strategic addition to any deck looking to maintain control and adaptability in a match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Cunning Geysermage asks you to kick in an additional amount of mana to get the full benefit, effectively making it a more expensive play that requires a carefully considered mana budget.

Specific Mana Cost: This card necessitates both blue and generic mana, which might not seamlessly integrate into multicolor decks that are starved for blue sources, potentially stranding it in your hand when you can’t meet its color demands.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Another knock against Cunning Geysermage is its mana cost in relation to its body and effect. For three mana, a 2/2 creature is somewhat lackluster, and other creatures or spells may offer more impactful board presence or utility at a similar or lower cost threshold, leading to tougher competition for deck slots.

Reasons to Include Cunning Geysermage in Your Collection

Versatility: Cunning Geysermage is a flexible card that serves multiple roles within blue-based decks. It can be a creature for board presence, or provide utility as a bounce spell when its kicker cost is paid, allowing for strategic plays in various in-game situations.

Combo Potential: With Cunning Geysermage’s kicker ability, it opens up possibilities for synergies in decks that capitalize on bouncing their own or opponents’ creatures. This mechanism can be harnessed to re-trigger enter-the-battlefield effects or disrupt the opponent’s board setup.

Meta-Relevance: Given the fluctuating nature of the meta, this card’s adaptability can be quite advantageous in formats where the control elements and tempo plays it offers align with the prevailing deck strategies, making it a worthwhile consideration for inclusion in collections targeting diverse and ever-changing gameplay environments.

How to beat Cunning Geysermage

Cunning Geysermage presents an interesting challenge with its kicker mechanic that allows it to return another creature to its owner’s hand. For MTG players facing Cunning Geysermage, understanding the timing and utilizing strategic plays are key to countering this blue card’s potential board impact. To beat Cunning Geysermage, keep a close eye on your opponent’s mana availability. If they have sufficient mana to pay the kicker cost, be wary of committing too many creatures to the board to avoid being set back by its bounce effect.

A solid strategy is to prioritize the removal of Cunning Geysermage before your opponent has the chance to take advantage of the kicker. Instant removal spells are effective in this scenario, especially those that can target and eliminate the Geysermage before it can trigger its ability. Moreover, utilizing counter spells when Cunning Geysermage is cast can preemptively neutralize the threat. Lastly, consider leveraging creatures with abilities that trigger upon entering the battlefield to benefit even if bounced back to your hand.

By carefully anticipating your opponent’s moves and maintaining control over the board state, you can reduce Cunning Geysermage’s effect on the game and maintain the upper hand.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cunning Geysermage MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Cunning Geysermage and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cunning Geysermage has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cunning Geysermage card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2020-09-25	An ability that triggers when a player casts a kicked spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger, but after targets have been chosen for that spell. It resolves even if that spell is countered.
2020-09-25	If you copy a kicked spell, the copy is also kicked. If a card or token enters the battlefield as a copy of a permanent that’s already on the battlefield, the new permanent isn’t kicked, even if the original was.
2020-09-25	If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can’t kick it.
2020-09-25	Kicker represents an optional additional cost that you may choose to pay as you cast the spell. A spell cast with that additional cost paid is “kicked.”
2020-09-25	Some instant or sorcery spells require alternative or additional targets if they’re kicked. You ignore these targeting requirements if those spells aren’t kicked, and you can’t kick those spells unless you can choose the appropriate targets. On the other hand, you can kick a permanent spell even if you won’t be able to choose targets for an enters-the-battlefield ability of that permanent once the spell resolves.
2020-09-25	To determine a spell’s total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card’s effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The converted mana cost of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
2020-09-25	You can’t pay a kicker cost more than once.