Rootwater Matriarch
Creature — Merfolk
: Gain control of target creature for as long as that creature is enchanted.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Tempest
- Price
- $0.42
- EDHREC rank
- #23208
Rootwater Matriarch steals any creature an opponent taps — permanently — as long as you can keep mana up during their turn. The cost is real: four mana for a 2/2 that requires blue mana investment every time it triggers, but in the right shell it's a repeatable Control Magic stapled to a body.
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 |
In Commander, Rootwater Matriarch is at its ceiling — three opponents mean a near-constant stream of tapped creatures to steal, and the political leverage of threatening to take any attacker changes how the table sequences combat. Legacy and Vintage are legal but irrelevant; the rate is far too slow for those formats where the game is often over before a four-mana do-nothing-immediately creature gets to untap. Modern is technically legal but Rootwater Matriarch has no competitive presence there — removal density is too high and the payoff too incremental. Commander is the only format where this card does meaningful work.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.42 bulk tier
At $0.42, Rootwater Matriarch sits firmly in bulk territory — cheap enough to slot in on a whim. The price reflects its narrow appeal, so don't expect movement unless a high-profile Commander deck puts creature-theft strategies back in the spotlight.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.