Scavenging Ooze MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 16 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Ooze
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Scavenging Ooze provides card advantage by exiling graveyard cards and strengthening itself.
  2. It operates at instant speed, offering strategic flexibility and game disruption.
  3. Mana-intensive abilities can be restrictive but offer significant strategic benefits.

Text of card

: Exile target card from a graveyard. If it was a creature card, put a +1/+1 counter on Scavenging Ooze and you gain 1 life.

In nature, not a single bone or scrap of flesh goes to waste.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Scavenging Ooze offers incremental card advantage by exiling cards from graveyards. This can gradually decrease an opponent’s resources while buffing the Ooze, making it a formidable presence on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Each time Scavenging Ooze activates its ability, it grows larger by gaining a +1/+1 counter. This not only accelerates your board presence but also turns the Ooze into a more significant threat as the game progresses.

Instant Speed: The ability to use Scavenging Ooze’s graveyard exiling effect at instant speed gives players flexibility during the game. This allows you to respond to graveyard-based strategies of your opponent effectively disrupting their plays and gaining a significant advantage at crucial moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Scavenging Ooze offers flexible graveyard management, it periodically necessitates the expenditure of green mana to fully utilize its abilities. If a player is short on green mana sources, they may be constrained in their ability to both develop their board and leverage the Ooze’s potential.

Specific Mana Cost: Scavenging Ooze demands a specific mana commitment – green – for both casting and activating its ability. This can be restrictive in multicolored decks that may not always have green mana readily available, making it less optimal in certain play situations.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While its initial cost is manageable, continuously activating Scavenging Ooze’s ability to exile cards from graveyards can add up, creating a potentially high cumulative mana demand. Additionally, as a two-mana 2/2 creature, there are instances where immediate board impact is needed and other creatures or spells could be more cost-effective for the same or lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include Scavenging Ooze in Your Collection

Versatility: Scavenging Ooze is a dynamic card that can adapt to various game situations. It fits well in an array of deck types, particularly ones that utilize the graveyard for card advantage or recursion strategies. Its ability to grow larger and gain life with each activation makes it valuable in both aggressive and long-game decks.

Combo Potential: This creature excels in combinations that revolve around graveyard manipulation. By exiling cards from graveyards, it can disrupt opponents’ strategies while bolstering your own board state. It also synergizes well with strategies that benefit from having a robust, scalable creature.

Meta-Relevance: In current competitive play, having responses to graveyard-based tactics is essential. Scavenging Ooze offers a proactive approach to dealing with such strategies, emerging as a powerful asset against widely used reanimation and delve mechanics.


How to beat

Scavenging Ooze has carved its niche within the pantheon of Magic: The Gathering creature cards, lauded for its graveyard manipulation and life gain abilities. Versatile and often disruptive, this creature poses a unique challenge on the battlefield. It demands a swift and tailored approach to overcome its growth and recursion hindering capability.

Battling the Ooze hinges on your capacity to maintain graveyard control or diminish its ability to feast upon the cards therein. Options include graveyard-emptying spells like Relic of Progenitus, or Tormod’s Crypt, effectively starving the creature of its sustenance. Additionally, instant-speed removal such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push can respond to the Ooze’s activation, ensuring its threat is mitigated before it becomes insurmountable.

Understanding the Ooze’s potential is crucial, but executing the most timely response secures the advantage. By combining foresight with efficient disruption, players can navigate around the resilience of Scavenging Ooze, rendering it a manageable aspect of an opponent’s strategy in the diverse game of Magic: The Gathering.


BurnMana Recommendations

Scavenging Ooze is a card that commands respect on the battlefield and deserves a place in any MTG player’s collection. Its ability to disrupt graveyard strategies while growing in power makes it a versatile asset in a variety of situations. Knowing when and how to utilize such a dynamic creature can turn the tides of a match in your favor. For those looking to refine their deck’s performance and tactical depth, understanding the intricacies of Scavenging Ooze is paramount. Embark on a journey to harness the full potential of this powerhouse with our insights. Delve deeper into strategic play with us and watch your game thrive.


Cards like Scavenging Ooze

Scavenging Ooze stands out as a unique utility creature in Magic:The Gathering, offering flexible graveyard interaction and life gain. Comparable to other graveyard hate cards like Tormod’s Crypt, Scavenging Ooze provides a proactive approach by allowing you to target specific cards while also growing stronger and padding your life total. Meanwhile, Tormod’s Crypt offers a one-shot mass graveyard exile without the incremental benefit of a growing creature or life gain.

On a similar note, Deathrite Shaman provides multifaceted graveyard interaction with the ability to exile specific cards from graves. However, Scavenging Ooze is better suited for creature-heavy metas due to its potential size increase and the life gain it provides. Rest in Peace is another card that also exiles graveyards entirely, but it lacks the on-demand versatility and creature presence that Scavenging Ooze brings to the battlefield.

When examining the functionality of different graveyard manipulation cards in Magic:The Gathering, Scavenging Ooze provides a unique blend of offense and defense, making it a formidable presence on the board while keeping opponents’ graveyards in check.

Tormod's Crypt - MTG Card versions
Deathrite Shaman - MTG Card versions
Rest in Peace - MTG Card versions
Tormod's Crypt - The Dark (DRK)
Deathrite Shaman - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Rest in Peace - Return to Ravnica (RTR)

Cards similar to Scavenging Ooze by color, type and mana cost

Wyluli Wolf - MTG Card versions
Whirling Dervish - MTG Card versions
Grizzly Bears - MTG Card versions
Elvish Archers - MTG Card versions
River Boa - MTG Card versions
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves - MTG Card versions
Albino Troll - MTG Card versions
Silverglade Pathfinder - MTG Card versions
Priest of Titania - MTG Card versions
Quirion Elves - MTG Card versions
Blurred Mongoose - MTG Card versions
Llanowar Loamspeaker - MTG Card versions
Genesis Hydra - MTG Card versions
Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse - MTG Card versions
Heir of the Wilds - MTG Card versions
Mayor of Avabruck // Howlpack Alpha - MTG Card versions
Wren's Run Vanquisher - MTG Card versions
Muscle Sliver - MTG Card versions
Ayula, Queen Among Bears - MTG Card versions
Tel-Jilad Chosen - MTG Card versions
Wyluli Wolf - Arabian Nights (ARN)
Whirling Dervish - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Grizzly Bears - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Elvish Archers - Fifth Edition (5ED)
River Boa - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves - Tempest (TMP)
Albino Troll - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Silverglade Pathfinder - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Priest of Titania - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Quirion Elves - Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. the Coalition (DDE)
Blurred Mongoose - Invasion (INV)
Llanowar Loamspeaker - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Genesis Hydra - Iconic Masters (IMA)
Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Heir of the Wilds - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Mayor of Avabruck // Howlpack Alpha - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Wren's Run Vanquisher - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Muscle Sliver - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Ayula, Queen Among Bears - Fallout (PIP)
Tel-Jilad Chosen - Mirrodin (MRD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Scavenging Ooze MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Magic Online Promos, 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 Scavenging Ooze and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Scavenging Ooze Magic the Gathering card was released in 13 different sets between 2011-06-17 and 2023-02-03. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 819122015normalblackSam Rowan
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 624512015normalblackDan Scott
32002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 999791997normalblackAustin Hsu
42011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 1702003normalblackAustin Hsu
52013-01-01Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 PromosPDP14 32003normalblackDan Scott
62013-07-19Magic 2014M14 1952003normalblackAustin Hsu
72016-11-11Commander 2016C16 1662015normalblackAustin Hsu
82017-03-17Modern Masters 2017MM3 1342015normalblackAustin Hsu
92018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 1432015normalblackAustin Hsu
102019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 1352015normalborderlessWizard of Barge
112020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 2042015normalblackAustin Hsu
122020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 3182015normalborderlessSam Rowan
132020-09-26The ListPLST CMD-1702003normalblackAustin Hsu
142021-06-22Love Your LGS 2021PLG21 51997normalblackAustin Hsu
152022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 3092015normalblackAustin Hsu
162023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be One CommanderONC 1122015normalblackAustin Hsu

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Scavenging Ooze has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-06-23 If the target card is an illegal target when the ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. No +1/+1 counter will be put on Scavenging Ooze and you won't gain life. Notably, this means that if you activate Scavenging Ooze's ability multiple times targeting the same creature card, only the first instance of the ability to resolve will have any effect.

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