Rootrunner
Creature — Spirit
, Sacrifice this creature: Put target land on top of its owner's library.
Soulshift 3 (When this creature dies, you may return target Spirit card with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to your hand.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Champions of Kamigawa
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #27453
Rootrunner puts a land on top of an opponent's library every turn it attacks — repeatable land denial stapled to a creature is the whole pitch. The soulshift recursion is a nice bonus, but you're playing Rootrunner to slow down a player who needs their next land drop.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Rootrunner has any real home, specifically in stax or tempo decks that want to grind out land development — Kamahl, Fist of Krosa or Azusa, Lost but Seeking shells that flood the board and punish opponents who fall behind on mana. In Legacy and Vintage it's unplayable; four mana for a 2/2 with a conditional tap ability doesn't exist on those timelines. Modern has long since moved past this power level. Rootrunner is a Commander-only conversation.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Rootrunner is pure bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not card. That price is stable by default since there's no competitive demand pulling it anywhere.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.