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Rootborn Defenses

Rootborn Defenses

Instant

common

Populate. Creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn. (To populate, create a token that's a copy of a creature token you control.)

$0.18 ✦ $0.40View on Scryfall →

Semantic Tags

Copy / Clonemechanical

Creates copies of creatures, permanents, or spells.

Populatemechanical

Creates copies of tokens — populate keyword and similar effects.

Populatevector

Creates copies of tokens — populate keyword and similar effects.

Protectionmechanical

A keyword ability that provides a range of benefits against objects with a specific quality. See rule 702.16, “Protection.”

Creates creature tokens, Treasure tokens, Food tokens, Clue tokens, or other token types.

Prevents token creation or punishes tokens on the battlefield.

Format Legality

commanderlegal
oathbreakerlegal
modernlegal
pioneerlegal
standardnot legal
legacylegal
vintagelegal
pauperlegal
historicnot legal
explorernot legal
alchemynot legal

Price history

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Printings (7)

SetRarityTCGplayerCard KingdomCardmarket
Ravnica: Clue Edition#71common···
Ravnica Remastered#26common···
Starter Commander Decks#32common···
The List#MM3-21common···
Commander 2019#74common···
Modern Masters 2017#21common···
Return to Ravnica#19common···

Related Concepts

Populate

A keyword action that creates a copy of a creature token you control. See rule 701.36, “Populate.”

Related Rules

123.6c

The text that a name sticker is modifying may change due to other effects and/or a permanent’s face-down status (see rule 708, “Face-Down Spells and Permanents”). To determine the name of an object with one or more name stickers, start with the object’s copiable values, then apply each name sticker’s effect and each other text-changing effect in timestamp order. The position of each name sticker will continue to be after the number of words that were before it in the object’s name when it was placed. If there are fewer words in the object’s current name, the word on that sticker is added at the end of its name instead. The position and timestamp order of each name sticker on an object is remembered as the object that sticker is on moves from one public zone to another, and it continues to apply to the new object it becomes in that zone (see rule 123.5). This is an exception to rule 400.7.

206.3b

One card (Golgothian Sylex) refers to permanents with a name originally printed in the Antiquities™ expansion. Those names are Amulet of Kroog, Argivian Archaeologist, Argivian Blacksmith, Argothian Pixies, Argothian Treefolk, Armageddon Clock, Artifact Blast, Artifact Possession, Artifact Ward, Ashnod’s Altar, Ashnod’s Battle Gear, Ashnod’s Transmogrant, Atog, Battering Ram, Bronze Tablet, Candelabra of Tawnos, Circle of Protection: Artifacts, Citanul Druid, Clay Statue, Clockwork Avian, Colossus of Sardia, Coral Helm, Crumble, Cursed Rack, Damping Field, Detonate, Drafna’s Restoration, Dragon Engine, Dwarven Weaponsmith, Energy Flux, Feldon’s Cane, Gaea’s Avenger, Gate to Phyrexia, Goblin Artisans, Golgothian Sylex, Grapeshot Catapult, Haunting Wind, Hurkyl’s Recall, Ivory Tower, Jalum Tome, Martyrs of Korlis, Mightstone, Millstone, Mishra’s Factory, Mishra’s War Machine, Mishra’s Workshop, Obelisk of Undoing, Onulet, Orcish Mechanics, Ornithopter, Phyrexian Gremlins, Power Artifact, Powerleech, Priest of Yawgmoth, Primal Clay, The Rack, Rakalite, Reconstruction, Reverse Polarity, Rocket Launcher, Sage of Lat-Nam, Shapeshifter, Shatterstorm, Staff of Zegon, Strip Mine, Su-Chi, Tablet of Epityr, Tawnos’s Coffin, Tawnos’s Wand, Tawnos’s Weaponry, Tetravus, Titania’s Song, Transmute Artifact, Triskelion, Urza’s Avenger, Urza’s Chalice, Urza’s Mine, Urza’s Miter, Urza’s Power Plant, Urza’s Tower, Wall of Spears, Weakstone, Xenic Poltergeist, Yawgmoth Demon, and Yotian Soldier.

607.5a

If an object gains an ability that refers to a choice, but either (a) doesn’t copy that ability’s linked ability or (b) does copy the linked ability but no choice is made for it, then the choice is considered to be “undefined.” If an ability refers to an undefined choice, that part of the ability won’t do anything.

608.2b

If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. If all its targets, for every instance of the word “target,” are now illegal, the spell or ability doesn’t resolve. It’s removed from the stack and, if it’s a spell, put into its owner’s graveyard. Otherwise, the spell or ability will resolve normally. Illegal targets, if any, won’t be affected by parts of a resolving spell’s effect for which they’re illegal. Other parts of the effect for which those targets are not illegal may still affect them. If the spell or ability creates any continuous effects that affect game rules (see rule 613.11), those effects don’t apply to illegal targets. If part of the effect requires information about an illegal target, it fails to determine any such information. Any part of the effect that requires that information won’t happen.

613.10

Some continuous effects affect players rather than objects. For example, an effect might give a player protection from red. All such effects are applied in timestamp order after the determination of objects’ characteristics. See also the rules for timestamp order and dependency (rules 613.7 and 613.8).

614.12

Some replacement effects modify how a permanent enters the battlefield. (See rules 614.1c–d.) Such effects may come from the permanent itself if they affect only that permanent (as opposed to a general subset of permanents that includes it). They may also come from other sources. To determine which replacement effects apply and how they apply, check the characteristics of the permanent as it would exist on the battlefield, taking into account replacement effects that have already modified how it enters the battlefield (see rule 616.1), continuous effects from the permanent’s own static abilities that would apply to it once it’s on the battlefield, and continuous effects that already exist and would apply to the permanent.

701.36

Populate

701.36a

To populate means to choose a creature token you control and create a token that’s a copy of that creature token.

Rulings

2017-03-14

Rootborn Defenses affects only creatures you control after populating at the time it resolves. The creature token you create will gain indestructible, but creatures you begin to control later in the turn will not.

2024-01-12

If you control no creature tokens when you populate, nothing will happen.

2024-01-12

If you choose to copy a creature token that's a copy of another creature, the new creature token will copy the characteristics of whatever the original token is copying.

2024-01-12

Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied token will trigger when the new token enters the battlefield. Any "as [this creature] enters the battlefield" or "[this creature] enters the battlefield with" abilities of the copied token will also work.

2024-01-12

The new creature token copies the characteristics of the original token as stated by the effect that created the original token.

2024-01-12

Populate doesn't target the creature token you're copying. You choose that creature token as you're taking the populate action. You can choose any creature token you control. If a spell or ability causes you to create a creature token and then instructs you to populate, you may choose to copy the token you just created, or you may choose to copy another creature token you control.

2024-01-12

The new token doesn't copy whether the original token is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras and Equipment attached to it, or any noncopy effects that have changed its power, toughness, color, and so on.