Repopulate MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Abilities	Cycling
Released	1999-02-15
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Legacy
Set code	ULG
Number	111
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Una Fricker

Key Takeaways

Repopulate shuffles creatures back into your deck, providing late-game card advantage and strategic depth.
Instant speed allows for flexible play, enabling responses to board wipes and graveyard disruption.
Mana specificity and card discard requirements present strategic challenges and deck-building considerations.

Text of card

Shuffle all creature cards from target player's graveyard into that player's library. Cycling (You may pay and discard this card from your hand to draw a card. Play this ability as an instant.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Repopulate ensures that your card resources stay ahead of the curve. By shuffling all creature cards from your graveyard back into your library, you essentially refill your deck with valuable assets, maximizing the chances of drawing into key creatures during the late game.

Resource Acceleration: This card can work as a pivotal point in a strategy centered on creature recycling. Resource acceleration is not direct, but Repopulate allows you to maintain a robust presence of creatures to draw from, effectively acting as an enabler for strategies that capitalize on the quantity of creature cards.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Repopulate at instant speed provides exceptional flexibility. You can maneuver around your opponent’s graveyard disruption or wait for the most opportune moment, such as in response to a board wipe, to maximize the impact of refilling your library with creatures, ensuring you aren’t left vulnerable during your own turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: A significant trade-off when playing Repopulate is the necessity to discard another card. For players grappling with hand size, this can lead to distressing decisions, often forcing them to relinquish key components of their strategy early on. It’s a steep price for deck churn, especially when the game is tight and every card matters.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s utility is constrained by its specific mana requirements. Calling for green mana means only decks with access to forests or green mana sources can leverage it. This limitation prevents a versatile mix in multicolor decks, occasionally leaving the card stuck and unused in a player’s hand.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Deploying Repopulate comes with a fairly substantial mana cost. While refilling your library with creatures can be pivotal, the mana investment is significant, given that other cards may offer similar effects with less of a mana commitment. This can be particularly disheartening when needing to maintain tempo against aggro decks that capitalize on quick, low-cost plays.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Repopulate offers a strategic edge in decks that tackle against graveyard-fueled strategies, providing a reliable method for shuffling creatures back into the library and disrupting opponent plans.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with effects that benefit from creatures entering the battlefield or abilities that are triggered when cards are removed from graveyards, adding a layer of complexity to your plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where graveyard manipulation is prevalent, Repopulate can serve as a cost-effective tool to thwart your opponent’s tactics and keep the battlefield dynamic and under your control.

How to beat

Repopulate is an intriguing card from the world of Magic: The Gathering that brings a sense of resilience to creature-heavy decks. It allows players to shuffle all creature cards from their graveyard back into their library, which effectively counters strategies reliant on graveyard depletion. This can be particularly bothersome when facing decks that aim to win by resource denial.

To overcome the rejuvenating power of Repopulate, it’s instrumental to employ tactics that can preemptively manage the opponent’s graveyard. Graveyard hate cards like Tormod’s Crypt offer an efficient solution, allowing you to exile their graveyard contents before Repopulate can be activated. It’s a brilliant move to limit their options and tempo. Furthermore, countermagic such as Negate serves as a formidable barrier, preventing Repopulate from ever resolving. Prioritizing the removal of key creatures before they hit the graveyard can also cripple the strategic advantage Repopulate provides.

In essence, tackling Repopulate successfully calls for a strategic approach that neutralizes the card’s potential before it can manifest. By adapting your gameplay to include preemptive graveyard management and pinpoint card counters, you can ensure that your opponent’s hopes of creature comeback are nothing more than a fleeting dream.

Cards like Repopulate

Repopulate stands out in the world of creature recovery cards in Magic: The Gathering. Its uniqueness comes from both shuffling creatures from the graveyard into the library and its cycling ability, adding a layer of versatility. By contrast, cards such as Stream of Consciousness focus solely on shuffling targeted cards into your library, offering less flexibility than Repopulate.

Echoing Return is another card that presents an alternative by bringing back all copies of one creature from the graveyard to your hand, rather than shuffling them into the library. This direct approach can be beneficial when looking to reuse a creature’s abilities swiftly. Yet, it falls short on providing the broader utility that Repopulate’s cycling feature offers.

In the sphere of MTG gameplay, comparing Repopulate to its contemporaries illustrates its broad utility, serving both as a recall mechanism and a draw card alternative. This dual function situates Repopulate as an advantageous choice in decks that prize graveyard management and card flow efficiency.

Stream of Consciousness - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Repopulate by color, type and mana cost

Might of the Nephilim - MTG Card versions

Strength of the Tajuru - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Repopulate MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Legacy, 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 Repopulate and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Repopulate has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-10-01	Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not.