Kederekt Leviathan MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Leviathan
Abilities Unearth
Power 5
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Returning nonland permanents to hands, Kederekt Leviathan drastically swings board control, hindering adversaries.
  2. Instant-speed Unearth surprises foes, disrupting their combat or end-of-turn strategies effectively.
  3. Leviathan’s high cost requires careful deck construction and strategy for its potential game-changing effects.

Text of card

When Kederekt Leviathan comes into play, return all other nonland permanents to their owners' hands. Unearth (: Return this card from your graveyard to play. It gains haste. Remove it from the game at end of turn or if it would leave play. Unearth only as a sorcery.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Kederekt Leviathan offers a significant shift in card advantage by returning all other nonland permanents to their owners’ hands. This ability can disrupt your opponents’ board, effectively setting them back while you maintain the presence of a powerful creature.

Resource Acceleration: Though indirectly, Kederekt Leviathan can act as a form of resource acceleration. By clearing the board, it allows you to replay your permanents with enter-the-battlefield effects, potentially generating additional value and mana opportunities.

Instant Speed: The Unearth ability of Kederekt Leviathan can be activated at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to surprise your opponent during their turn. This can be especially impactful when timed to disrupt an opponent’s combat or end-of-turn plans.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With Kederekt Leviathan, returning it from the graveyard to your hand demands discarding two cards. This cost can be rather taxing when your hand is already running thin, leaving you at a disadvantage as you sacrifice card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Kederekt Leviathan is not only substantial but also color-specific, demanding both blue and generic mana. This specific combination can prove challenging in multicolored decks that might struggle to consistently produce the necessary blue sources when needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The eight total mana required to cast Kederekt Leviathan is steep, particularly when you consider other creatures and spells in the game that evoke powerful effects for less investment. This cost requires careful planning and resource allocation, which might not align with faster, more aggressive strategies.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Kederekt Leviathan brings a level of versatility that few creatures can match. It can be a powerful board reset with its “return all other nonland permanents to their owners’ hands” ability, which can slide into control or reanimation strategies.

Combo Potential: Its unearth ability grants it combo potential, fitting nicely into decks that aim to abuse enter-the-battlefield or leave-the-battlefield triggers. Pairing Kederekt Leviathan with cards that manipulate the graveyard can produce a recurring threat that opponents must constantly maneuver around.

Meta-Relevance: Particularly useful in metas dominated by creature-based aggro or complex board states, its ability to clear the board can swing games in your favor. It can be a game-changer against decks that deploy numerous permanents, allowing you to break stalemates or regain control.


How to beat

Kederekt Leviathan is a monstrous creature in the depths of MTG’s vast card pool that can swing the tide of battle upon its entry. With the ability to return all other nonland permanents to their owners’ hands when it enters the battlefield or is unearthed, this sea creature can wipe the slate clean. Navigating around its powerful effect requires smart play and proper timing.

Countering this leviathan’s disruptive entrance involves holding onto removal spells that can deal with it on the stack or carefully managing resources to be able to rebuild after it resolves. Instant-speed removal like Path to Exile or Unsummon can help mitigate the impact by either removing the leviathan or saving a key permanent from the bounce effect. Graveyard hate cards can prevent it from returning with its unearth ability, making Relic of Progenitus or Tormod’s Crypt valuable tools against recurring threats. Players should anticipate the reset button this card brings and plan their strategy accordingly, holding back some resources for the post-Leviathan board state.

Ultimately, respecting Kederekt Leviathan’s game-warping power while employing strategic countermeasures can prevent it from capsizing your game plan. By playing smart and preparing for the potential upheaval, players can effectively navigate the challenge posed by this deep-sea terror.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive into the strategic depths with Kederekt Leviathan, a mighty force in the MTG realm capable of turning the tides in your favor. As a creature that can reset the board and offer flexibility with its instant speed unearth ability, it’s a card worth mastering. Its influence on the game’s tempo and board state makes it a notable asset, and understanding its advantages and countering its disruption is key. If you’re looking to harness its power or navigate against it, we provide insights and strategies to optimize your gameplay. Immerse yourself in our in-depth analysis and unlock the potential of Kederekt Leviathan today.


Cards like Kederekt Leviathan

Kederekt Leviathan rises from the depths as a noteworthy Sea Serpent in MTG. Its true power mirrors that of other mass bounce spells such as Cyclonic Rift. Both have the potential to clear the board of all non-land permanents. Yet, the Leviathan’s notable distinction lies in its ability as a creature, allowing it to serve as a considerable threat post-wipe. Cyclonic Rift, while not a creature, offers flexibility with its overload ability to be used at instant speed, giving tactical players a significant advantage during opponents’ turns.

Whelming Wave is another spell casting ripples across similar waters. While it sends most creatures back to players’ hands like our Leviathan, it spares Sea Serpents, Krakens, and other colossal sea creatures, potentially leaving the caster with a board advantage. Kederekt Leviathan, on the flip side, offers no such exemptions, resulting in a more indiscriminate reset. Furthermore, the Leviathan can repeatedly invoke its influence through unearth, proving its worth over singular-use spells.

Assessing its companions in the realm of mass board disruption, Kederekt Leviathan not only stands tall as a colossal creature but also as a significant impact card, offering players a multifaceted tool for controlling the pace and state of the game.

Cyclonic Rift - MTG Card versions
Whelming Wave - MTG Card versions
Cyclonic Rift - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Whelming Wave - Born of the Gods (BNG)

Cards similar to Kederekt Leviathan by color, type and mana cost

Deep Spawn - MTG Card versions
Benthic Behemoth - MTG Card versions
Denizen of the Deep - MTG Card versions
Tidal Kraken - MTG Card versions
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Cognivore - MTG Card versions
Brinelin, the Moon Kraken - MTG Card versions
Sphinx of the Second Sun - MTG Card versions
Scornful Egotist - MTG Card versions
Qumulox - MTG Card versions
Hoverguard Sweepers - MTG Card versions
Greater Morphling - MTG Card versions
Tidespout Tyrant - MTG Card versions
Slipstream Serpent - MTG Card versions
Lorthos, the Tidemaker - MTG Card versions
Stormtide Leviathan - MTG Card versions
Trench Gorger - MTG Card versions
Tidal Force - MTG Card versions
Elder Deep-Fiend - MTG Card versions
Vexing Scuttler - MTG Card versions
Deep Spawn - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Benthic Behemoth - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Denizen of the Deep - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Tidal Kraken - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Avatar of Will - Prophecy (PCY)
Cognivore - Odyssey (ODY)
Brinelin, the Moon Kraken - Commander Masters (CMM)
Sphinx of the Second Sun - Murders at Karlov Manor Commander (MKC)
Scornful Egotist - Scourge (SCG)
Qumulox - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret (DDF)
Hoverguard Sweepers - Commander 2014 (C14)
Greater Morphling - Unhinged (UNH)
Tidespout Tyrant - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Slipstream Serpent - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
Lorthos, the Tidemaker - Commander Masters (CMM)
Stormtide Leviathan - Commander Legends (CMR)
Trench Gorger - The List (PLST)
Tidal Force - Commander 2013 (C13)
Elder Deep-Fiend - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
Vexing Scuttler - Eldritch Moon (EMN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kederekt Leviathan MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara and Double Masters 2022, 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 Kederekt Leviathan and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Kederekt Leviathan Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2008-10-03 and 2022-07-08. Illustrated by Mark Hyzer.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12008-10-03Shards of AlaraALA 482003normalblackMark Hyzer
22022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 552015normalblackMark Hyzer
32022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 4312015normalblackMark Hyzer

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Kederekt Leviathan has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-10-01 Activating a creature card’s unearth ability isn’t the same as casting the creature card. The unearth ability is put on the stack, but the creature card is not. Spells and abilities that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle) will interact with unearth, but spells and abilities that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul) will not.
2008-10-01 At the beginning of the end step, a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth is exiled. This is a delayed triggered ability, and it can be countered by effects such as Stifle or Voidslime that counter triggered abilities. If the ability is countered, the creature will stay on the battlefield and the delayed trigger won’t trigger again. However, the replacement effect will still exile the creature when it eventually leaves the battlefield.
2008-10-01 If a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth would leave the battlefield for any reason, it’s exiled instead — unless the spell or ability that’s causing the creature to leave the battlefield is actually trying to exile it! In that case, it succeeds at exiling it. If it later returns the creature card to the battlefield (as Oblivion Ring or Flickerwisp might, for example), the creature card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The unearth effect will no longer apply to it.
2008-10-01 If you activate a card’s unearth ability but that card is removed from your graveyard before the ability resolves, that unearth ability will resolve and do nothing.
2008-10-01 Unearth grants haste to the creature that’s returned to the battlefield. However, neither of the “exile” abilities is granted to that creature. If that creature loses all its abilities, it will still be exiled at the beginning of the end step, and if it would leave the battlefield, it is still exiled instead.

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