Rootwater Thief
Creature — Merfolk Rogue
: This creature gains flying until end of turn.
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 
. If you do, search that player's library for a card and exile it, then the player shuffles.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Nemesis
- Price
- $2.45
- EDHREC rank
- #20309
Rootwater Thief lets you pay two mana and tap to exile a card directly from an opponent's library the moment it deals combat damage — not a random mill, a surgical removal of whatever threatens you most. The activation cost means you're trading mana for information and precision, which is exactly the deal you want in a format full of silver bullets.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Rootwater Thief is a niche but real disruptor — paying two mana on your combat step to exile a tutor target, a combo piece, or a problematic finisher before it can be cast is the kind of interaction that wins long games. Legacy is where it has historical roots as a hate piece against Reanimator and Survival stacks, though it's far too slow for the current Legacy landscape. Vintage makes it legal but irrelevant — the format moves too fast for a two-mana activation on a 1/1. Rootwater Thief is at its best in Commander, where the threat density is high, opponents telegraph their lines, and a single exiled card can dismantle an entire game plan.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$2.45 cheap tier
At $2.45, Rootwater Thief sits in the cheap tier — low enough to include without much deliberation if the effect fits your deck. It's a narrow card with a loyal audience in Dimir and rogue strategies, so the price is unlikely to crater, but don't expect appreciation either.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.