Jungle Creeper MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Elemental
Released	2018-01-19
Set symbol
Set name	Rivals of Ixalan
Set code	RIX
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	161
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Matt Stewart

Key Takeaways

Jungle Creeper can recur from the graveyard for sustained board presence, giving decks a reliable threat.
The card’s versatile instant-speed ability enhances strategic gameplay choices during opponents’ turns.
While powerful, its specific mana requirements and higher casting cost can pose deck-building challenges.

Text of card

: Return Jungle Creeper from your graveyard to your hand.

"You cannot kill it, not for long. It ripens where the ground is soaked with the blood of the slaughtered." —Atiuru, priest of the Verdant Sun

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Jungle Creeper allows you to repeatedly get it back from your graveyard to your hand, ensuring a persistent threat and ongoing card value over multiple turns.

Resource Acceleration: While this creature itself doesn’t accelerate resources, its ability to return from the graveyard can synergize with land-based mechanics or graveyard-to-play effects, effectively contributing to long-term resource acceleration.

Instant Speed: The recursive ability works at instant speed, providing you the flexibility to adapt during the end of your opponent’s turn, and keeps mana available for other instant speed interactions during the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When delving into the depths of Jungle Creeper’s abilities, players should consider its discard requirement. This mechanic might lead to tricky situations, especially when your hand is already stretched thin on valuable cards.

Specific Mana Cost: Another aspect to keep in mind is Jungle Creeper’s specific mana cost which can be somewhat restrictive. Decks not tuned to harness the blend of mana types needed may find integrating this card challenging.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Lastly, while its effects can be powerful in the right setting, Jungle Creeper comes with a comparatively high mana cost. In the world of quick plays and low-cost creatures, this could potentially slow down the pace of your game plan.

Reasons to Include Jungle Creeper in Your Collection

Versatility: Jungle Creeper offers a flexible role in various deck builds. Its ability to return from the graveyard to your hand ensures it’s a reliable presence throughout the game, making it a resilient choice for decks that need recurring threats.

Combo Potential: The recur ability of Jungle Creeper makes it a staple for combos in graveyard-focused strategies. It can synergize with cards that benefit from creatures entering the battlefield or being cycled in and out of the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: With graveyard mechanics frequently making waves in the competitive scene, Jungle Creeper remains a relevant piece in strategies that aim to utilize the graveyard as a resource, adapting well to shifts in the gaming environment.

How to beat

Jungle Creeper offers a versatile threat in Magic: The Gathering, with its ability to return from the graveyard to the battlefield. This recursive quality can pose quite the challenge to players facing off against this persistent creature. To effectively counter Jungle Creeper, it’s essential to use cards that exile it from the graveyard, such as Scavenging Ooze, which prevents the Creeper from making a comeback. Graveyard hate is key.

Another strategy is to employ control spells that render the creature’s abilities useless. Cards like Pithing Needle can stifle the Creeper’s return ability, leaving it stranded in the graveyard. It’s also beneficial to keep the game on a swift tempo, overwhelming your opponent before they can accumulate the mana resources needed to exploit the Creeper’s abilities.

When facing Jungle Creeper, always be mindful of the balance between aggression and removal. Applying pressure while holding back the right answers for when Jungle Creeper tries to resurface is crucial. In essence, by incorporating graveyard interaction and strategic control elements, MTG players can stave off the Jungle Creeper’s looming threat and gain the upper hand in the match.

Cards like Jungle Creeper

Jungle Creeper is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering, sharing similarities with other cards that present a combo of abilities. For instance, it’s akin to Gravebreaker Lamia, which also boasts an effect associated with the graveyard. While the Lamia reduces the mana cost of spells from the graveyard and allows for card search, Jungle Creeper returns directly to your hand from the graveyard, ensuring it remains a persistent threat.

Another comparable card is Eternal Witness, a creature renowned for its ability to retrieve any card from your graveyard to your hand. Although Eternal Witness has a broader effect on card recovery, Jungle Creeper offers continuous self-recovery, maintaining board presence. Greenwarden of Murasa fits this conversation too, providing a similar but once-off effect of reclaiming a card from your graveyard when it enters or leaves the battlefield. The versatility of Jungle Creeper to be a recurring element in the game gives it an edge over these one-time use cards.

Overall, in the ecosystem of graveyard-utilizing creature cards within Magic: The Gathering, Jungle Creeper distinguishes itself with the built-in capability of recurrently clawing its way back into the game, offering steady value to players who capitalize on graveyard strategies.

Greenwarden of Murasa - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Jungle Creeper MTG card by a specific set like Rivals of Ixalan, 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 Jungle Creeper and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Jungle Creeper has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal