Kazandu Stomper MTG Card


Kazandu Stomper - Zendikar Rising
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Beast
Abilities Trample
Released2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set nameZendikar Rising
Set codeZNR
Power 6
Toughness 5
Number191
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred bySam Rowan

Key Takeaways

  1. Immediate board presence and land recursion strategy makes Kazandu Stomper a versatile pick for ramp decks.
  2. Limited to certain decks due to specific mana needs and its high mana cost in competitive play.
  3. Powerful addition to landfall-themed decks, providing multiple landfall triggers and a sizable creature.

Text of card

Trample When Kazandu Stomper enters the battlefield, return up to two lands you control to their owner's hand.

Elves revere cycles of renewal, but they prefer cycles that don't involve their homes getting smashed.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Kazandu Stomper enters the battlefield, it offers immediate value by returning up to two lands you control to your hand. This can be particularly advantageous if those lands have additional enter-the-battlefield effects, effectively doubling their utility and giving you an edge in maintaining a strong board presence.

Resource Acceleration: Although Kazandu Stomper itself doesn’t directly accelerate your mana, the lands it returns to your hand can be replayed, ensuring that you make your land drops consistently. This can be crucial for ramp strategies that seek to outpace the opponent by having more resources available each turn.

Instant Speed: While Kazandu Stomper operates at sorcery speed, it interacts well with cards that facilitate instant speed plays. For instance, lands with flash returned to your hand can be redeployed on an opponent’s turn, keeping you nimble and able to respond to evolving board states without missing a beat.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Kazandu Stomper obliges players to return two lands they control to their hand upon being cast, which sometimes disrupts mana availability for subsequent plays within the same turn or future turns.

Specific Mana Cost: With a demand for green mana in its casting cost, Kazandu Stomper may not effortlessly fit into all deck archetypes, often constraining it to green-centric or two-color decks that can reliably provide the required mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing six mana to deploy, this card faces stiff competition from other creatures in the six-mana slot. Considering deck efficiency and the curve, players might find other creatures that provide greater impact or versatility for the same or lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Kazandu Stomper slots seamlessly into landfall decks, where its ability to return lands to your hand triggers landfall abilities multiple times.

Combo Potential: There’s synergy with bounce lands or cards like Lotus Cobra, where you can maximize mana generation or repeatedly trigger landfall.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where aggression is key, its trample and substantial 6/5 body can be a game-changer, applying pressure on control decks and blockers.


How to Beat Kazandu Stomper

Kazandu Stomper stands tall among the creatures in Magic: The Gathering with its formidable ability to return lands to your hand when it enters the battlefield, setting up potential landfall triggers for additional benefits. With a solid 6/5 body, this card can dominate the battlefield if left unchecked. To overcome this green giant, consider employing removal spells—like Doom Blade or Path to Exile—before it can trample over your defenses. Focusing on instant-speed removal allows you to manage threats on your terms, ideally when your opponent is tapped out and less able to protect their creature.

Another effective strategy against Kazandu Stomper is to use counter magic, such as Counterspell or Negate, to prevent it from ever hitting the battlefield. These proactive measures can derail an opponent’s game plan, especially if they’re banking on the stomper’s landfall synergy. And if Kazandu Stomper does manage to land, edict effects forcing players to sacrifice a creature, like Diabolic Edict, can prove invaluable, especially if it’s their only creature or if they’re reliant on its size to maintain board presence.

Ultimately, hindering the stomper’s impact involves strategic planning and timely responses, ensuring that the path is clear for your victory.


Cards like Kazandu Stomper

Kazandu Stomper dances into the green creature lineup of MTG with a notable entrance. It stands shoulder to shoulder with formidable creatures such as Territorial Baloth in terms of providing a solid body on the battlefield. What distinguishes Kazandu Stomper is its land return ability, offering a unique interaction by bouncing two lands back to your hand upon entering the battlefield.

In a similar vein, we have the likes of Woodland Wanderer, a creature that not only arrives with a potentially significant power and toughness but also brings the versatility of converging mana. Unlike Kazandu Stomper, it doesn’t provide the land bounce utility, which can be strategically relevant for triggering landfall abilities multiple times. Then there’s the Baloth Woodcrasher, a behemoth in green that capitalizes on landfall to become a sizeable threat. Although it does not have the built-in mechanism to return lands to hand like the Stomper, its landfall effect leads to exponential power growth on the battlefield.

To wrap up, while analyzing the strengths of these creatures, it’s evident that Kazandu Stomper holds its ground. Its unique blend of size and land recall offers strategic depth and synergy with landfall triggers, carving its niche in the array of green creatures in the MTG realm.

Territorial Baloth - MTG Card versions
Woodland Wanderer - MTG Card versions
Baloth Woodcrasher - MTG Card versions
Territorial Baloth - Zendikar (ZEN)
Woodland Wanderer - Battle for Zendikar Promos (PBFZ)
Baloth Woodcrasher - Zendikar (ZEN)

Cards similar to Kazandu Stomper by color, type and mana cost

Craw Wurm - MTG Card versions
Gaea's Liege - MTG Card versions
Force of Nature - MTG Card versions
Wiitigo - MTG Card versions
Autumn Willow - MTG Card versions
Ancient Silverback - MTG Card versions
Sulam Djinn - MTG Card versions
Verdeloth the Ancient - MTG Card versions
Nemata, Grove Guardian - MTG Card versions
Gang of Elk - MTG Card versions
Kavu Howler - MTG Card versions
Crashing Centaur - MTG Card versions
Giant Warthog - MTG Card versions
Rhox - MTG Card versions
Kodama of the East Tree - MTG Card versions
Terra Stomper - MTG Card versions
Feral Throwback - MTG Card versions
Silvos, Rogue Elemental - MTG Card versions
Brontotherium - MTG Card versions
Elvish Aberration - MTG Card versions
Craw Wurm - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Gaea's Liege - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
Force of Nature - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Wiitigo - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Autumn Willow - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Ancient Silverback - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Sulam Djinn - Invasion (INV)
Verdeloth the Ancient - Modern Masters (MMA)
Nemata, Grove Guardian - The List (PLST)
Gang of Elk - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Kavu Howler - Apocalypse (APC)
Crashing Centaur - Odyssey (ODY)
Giant Warthog - Judgment (JUD)
Rhox - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Kodama of the East Tree - Commander Legends (CMR)
Terra Stomper - Magic Origins (ORI)
Feral Throwback - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Silvos, Rogue Elemental - Onslaught (ONS)
Brontotherium - Legions (LGN)
Elvish Aberration - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kazandu Stomper 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 Kazandu Stomper and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Kazandu Stomper has restrictions

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

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