Karoo MTG Card

Karoo lands provide both card advantage and the potential for resource acceleration, enhancing gameplay. They can be a liability with their discard requirement and specificity in mana production. Despite flaws, their versatility and combo potential make them worthwhile for diverse MTG decks.
Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
RarityUncommon
TypeLand

Text of card

Karoo comes into play tapped. When Karoo comes into play, return an untapped plains you control to owner's hand or bury Karoo. oc T: Add o W and one colorless mana to your mana pool.

Cards like Karoo

Karoo is a unique land card in Magic: The Gathering, belonging to a special subset of lands known as bounce lands. This card can be compared to other entries in this category, such as the Azorius Chancery, which, much like Karoo, returns a land to its owner’s hand when it enters the battlefield. However, in contrast to Karoo, which provides colorless mana, Azorius Chancery supplies both white and blue mana, enabling players to focus on dual-color strategies.

Another similar card is the Gruul Turf, offering the same bounce effect but generating red and green mana. Gruul Turf can be a strategic boon in decks that need large amounts of mana in later stages of the game, despite the initial tempo loss. While both of these alternatives are limited to specific color combinations, Karoo’s versatility in providing colorless mana allows it to fit into any deck, making it a fundamental piece for multicolored or colorless-focused decks.

Each bounce land, including Karoo, balances the initial set back of returning a land to hand with the benefit of increased mana availability on subsequent turns, making them a prominent choice for decks able to utilize the tempo swing effectively.

Azorius Chancery - MTG Card versions
Gruul Turf - MTG Card versions
Azorius Chancery - MTG Card versions
Gruul Turf - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The unique mechanism of Karoo lands enables players to return a land to their hand upon entering the battlefield. This allows players to reuse any lands with enter-the-battlefield effects or simply ensure a land drop for the next turn, effectively mitigating the drawback of the land entering play tapped.

Resource Acceleration: Once on the battlefield, Karoo lands provide an advantage by producing two mana of specific colors with just one land. This characteristic aids in accelerating the user’s mana resources, essential for casting high-impact spells earlier in the game.

Instant Speed: While the Karoo itself does not operate at instant speed, its ability to bounce a land back to a player’s hand can be synergistically combined with lands or spells that do have instant speed interactions. This can create unexpected mana flexibility and advantage during the course of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When it comes to the Karoo lands in MTG, one constraint is that returning a land to your hand is essentially a discard requirement. This can be a setback, especially if you’re in the early game and need to develop your mana base without losing any tempo.

Specific Mana Cost: Karoo lands are characterized by their need to tap for a specific combination of mana. This particularity may not align well with decks that require a more flexible mana base or that operate on a single color strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not a direct cost to play, the necessary return of another land to your hand effectively means you’re not expanding your available mana for the turn. In comparison to basic lands or those with lower impact enter-the-battlefield effects, Karoo lands can be seen as having a higher and more restrictive “effective” mana cost due to this slowdown in your play progression.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Karoo lands are a unique asset to any collection for their capability to generate a two-man land drop in a single turn. They’re effectively a land drop and a ramp in one, able to propel a variety of strategies that require more mana.

Combo Potential: While they come back to your hand when played, this reset feature can be leveraged in numerous landfall decks to consistently trigger abilities. Moreover, in combination with cards that allow you to play multiple lands per turn, the Karoo can become an engine for significant mana advancement or combo enablers.

Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, so do the decks that dominate the scene. Karoo lands maintain their importance as they support strategies in both aggressive and long-game decks, providing a degree of utility and efficiency that can tip the scales in various meta environments.

How to Beat Karoo Lands in MTG

Karoo lands have a unique place in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering, acting as both a source of mana and a way to bounce lands back to your hand. This duality can be turned to your advantage when strategizing against them. Effective disruption is key here. Land destruction spells, such as Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruin, can target a Karoo when your opponent is in the process of returning another land to their hand, leaving them down on land count and potentially stalling their mana development.

Beyond targeted land destruction, applying constant pressure can also be a successful tactic against Karoo lands. Aggressive decks can exploit the tempo loss that comes with playing a Karoo. Since they enter tapped and return a land to the player’s hand, your opponent may end up a step behind in deploying their defenses. Rapidly increasing your board presence can force opponents to deal with threats instead of utilizing the Karoo’s benefits.

Counterspells, offering a more subtle form of control, also serve as an effective measure against spells that your opponent aims to cast using the Karoo’s mana. By denying key spells and maintaining board advantage, you can render a Karoo’s value marginal in the heat of the battle.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Karoo MTG card by a specific set like Visions and Commander 2014, 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 Karoo and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Karoo Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1997-02-03 and 2014-11-07. Illustrated by Zina Saunders.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-02-03VisionsVIS 1651997NormalBlackZina Saunders
22014-11-07Commander 2014C14 3032015NormalBlackZina Saunders
32020-09-26The ListPLST VIS-1651997NormalBlackZina Saunders
42020-09-26The ListPLST C14-3032015NormalBlackZina Saunders

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Karoo has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2006-02-01 This has a triggered ability when it enters the battlefield, not a replacement effect, as previously worded.