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Retreat to Kazandu

Enchantment

Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, choose one —
• Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
• You gain 2 life.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{2}{G}
Color identity
G
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Duel Decks: Zendikar vs. Eldrazi
Price
$0.32
EDHREC rank
#2416
Buy on TCGplayer
Retreat to Kazandu card art
Retreat to Kazandu turns every land drop into a +1/+1 counter or two life, and in landfall-heavy Commander builds that triggers four, five, six times a game before anyone blinks. Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor and Fertilid both make the enchantment absurd — Obuun converts the counters into a swinging threat, and Fertilid can recur itself indefinitely when paired with counter-doubling effects. Three mana for a repeatable, permanent-based engine is the right cost for what it delivers.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor

Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor

55.0% of decks · synergy 0.54

Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor puts +1/+1 counters directly on lands, so every trigger from Retreat to Kazandu that stacks counters feeds a land that swings as a creature — the two cards form a tightly interlocked engine where more land drops means bigger attackers and more counters simultaneously.

02
Jyoti, Moag Ancient

Jyoti, Moag Ancient

30.5% of decks · synergy 0.27

Jyoti, Moag Ancient creates Forest land tokens whenever creatures enter, which means the deck generates extra land drops as a byproduct of playing creatures — Retreat to Kazandu converts each of those Forest tokens entering or being played as a land into free counters or life, squeezing value out of every token.

03
Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait

Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait

28.7% of decks · synergy 0.25

Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait lets you play an additional land each turn and draws a card whenever a land enters, so the deck is already maximizing land-drop volume — Retreat to Kazandu slots in as a payoff that turns that volume into a growing board presence without spending additional resources.

04
Tifa Lockhart

Tifa Lockhart

27.8% of decks · synergy 0.23

Tifa Lockhart cares about accumulating +1/+1 counters on creatures to power up her combat triggers, and Retreat to Kazandu provides a steady drip of counters on whatever creature needs them most with zero additional mana investment per trigger.

05
The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride

The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride

23.0% of decks · synergy 0.21

The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride sacrifices lands to push through combat damage, and Retreat to Kazandu offsets that resource drain by rewarding each land that does enter with a counter or life, keeping the engine from running dry.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Retreat to Kazandu is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its real home is Commander and nowhere else. In Modern and Pioneer the three-mana enchantment with no immediate board impact is too slow — landfall decks in those formats want Steppe Lynx and Murasa Rootgrazer effects that threaten damage immediately, not a permanent that pays off over multiple turns. Legacy and Vintage have enough broken landfall redundancy that Retreat to Kazandu doesn't crack lists. Commander is the format where enchantments survive long enough to generate five or more triggers, where Fertilid loops and Obuun counters compound into something oppressive, and where a three-mana piece that doesn't demand attention early is exactly right.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.32 bulk tier

At $0.32, Retreat to Kazandu sits firmly in bulk territory — this is a throw-it-in card that costs less than a sleeve and punches well above that price point in any landfall Commander build. Bulk enchantments with genuine combo applications tend to stay cheap indefinitely, so there's no urgency to buy a playset, but there's also no reason not to own a copy.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.