Rooting Kavu MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Kavu
Released	2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Invasion
Set code	INV
Power	4
Toughness	3
Number	207
Frame	1997
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Heather Hudson

Key Takeaways

Facilitates drawing extra cards by utilizing your graveyard as an extended hand.
Boosts mana base by enabling the play of additional land cards.
Enhances flexibility with instant-speed spell casting capabilities.

Text of card

When Rooting Kavu is put into a graveyard from play, you may remove Rooting Kavu from the game. If you do, shuffle all creature cards from your graveyard into your library.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Rooting Kavu enables you to potentially draw multiple cards over the course of a few turns. It interacts with the graveyard by allowing you to replay lands, thus filling your hand with more resources and giving you an edge over your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: This creature can help you to ramp up your mana base efficiently. Since you can play additional lands from your graveyard, Rooting Kavu essentially turns your graveyard into a resource that can keep fueling your game plan and allows for potent mana acceleration.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Rooting Kavu synergizes well with instant-speed spells. By providing resource acceleration, it frees up your mana to cast instants on your opponent’s turn, keeping your game versatile and responsive.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Rooting Kavu necessitates discarding a card, which can be a downside, especially in games where hand size is crucial for maintaining options and board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise combination of mana colors to cast it effectively. This specificity can be a barrier in decks that aren’t fine-tuned to provide those colors reliably.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a notably steep mana investment required to field it, Rooting Kavu might be cumbersome compared to other creatures that present more immediate impact or lower-cost utility.

Reasons to Include Rooting Kavu in Your Collection

Versatility: Rooting Kavu is a dynamic addition to any deck. Its ability to repeatedly cycle through your deck ensures you’re never too far away from the cards you need. Whether you’re looking for land drops or combo pieces, this card keeps your game plan flowing smoothly.

Combo Potential: This creature can act as a key piece in various combo setups, fueling graveyard strategies or acting as a reliable way to get specific cards into your graveyard. It pairs well with cards that benefit from having a high card turnover rate or with abilities that trigger when cards leave the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where game tempo and consistent deck cycling are crucial, Rooting Kavu emerges as a contender. Its capacity to adapt to various strategies and the persistent deck filtering it offers make it a well-suited choice for decks that aim to stay ahead of the curve in the current metagame.

How to beat

Rooting Kavu presents a unique challenge on the battlefield for Magic: The Gathering players. The card’s flexible nature allows it to adapt to various decks, making it a versatile threat. However, there are strategies to effectively counteract this card. Utilizing removal spells that can directly eliminate it before it becomes too entrenched is key. Cards such as Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization can handle the Kavu efficiently.

Another tactic is to bypass the creature entirely with enchantments or abilities that prevent it from blocking. This can be done with cards like Invisibility or effects that tap creatures, making it impossible for Rooting Kavu to fulfill its blocking duties. Moreover, since Rooting Kavu works well in graveyard-centric decks, employing graveyard hate such as Rest in Peace or Relic of Progenitus can also disrupt the synergy it relies upon for maximizing its potential.

Remember, Rooting Kavu can be a resilient opponent, but with the right strategies and timely plays, its impact can be mitigated, protecting your path to victory. Consider your deck’s strengths and choose the most effective method to keep this creature from taking root.

Cards like Rooting Kavu

Rooting Kavu offers Magic the Gathering players a unique spin on library manipulation and graveyard utility. Much like Obsessive Stitcher, Rooting Kavu provides the player with a method to sift through their deck, albeit with a distinctly creature-based approach. While Obsessive Stitcher allows for more direct control by drawing and discarding at instant speed, Rooting Kavu operates at sorcery speed during your upkeep, posing a structured strategy in contrast to the former’s flexibility.

Life from the Loam shares a thematic kinship with Rooting Kavu, inviting players to recycle cards from the graveyard to the hand. The Kavu, however, allows for a broader selection of cards, not just lands, increasing its versatility in various deck builds. Satyr Wayfinder is another similar entity, excavating the top cards of the library and offering land card retrieval to the hand. Both Rooting Kavu and Satyr Wayfinder promote land-centric deck strategies, but the Kavu swings in with the potential for mid-to-late game momentum through nonland card selections.

To put it succinctly, within Magic the Gathering’s vast array of library and graveyard interacting cards, Rooting Kavu stands out with its unique deck cycling capabilities, offering both immediate utility and long-term value.

Obsessive Stitcher - Core Set 2021 (M21)

Life from the Loam - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Satyr Wayfinder - Born of the Gods (BNG)

Cards similar to Rooting Kavu by color, type and mana cost

Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - MTG Card versions

Viridian Lorebearers - MTG Card versions

Monkey Monkey Monkey - MTG Card versions

Matsu-Tribe Birdstalker - MTG Card versions

Carnivorous Plant - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)

Erhnam Djinn - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)

War Mammoth - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)

Lhurgoyf - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)

Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Matsu-Tribe Birdstalker - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rooting Kavu MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Rooting Kavu and other MTG cards: