Advanced Sequencing with Kavu Titan: Master ETB Tricks

Advanced Sequencing with Kavu Titan: Master ETB Tricks

In TCG ·

Kavu Titan artwork from the Invasion set

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Kavu Titan: Advanced Sequencing and ETB Mastery

If you love the art of tempo, Kavu Titan is a compact lesson in sequencing that rewards careful planning as much as raw power 🧙‍♂️. This green creature from the classic Invasion era is deceptively simple on the surface: a two-mana 2/2 with a kicker option. But the real payoff is in how you time that extra cost. When you don’t pay the kicker, you drop a robust early body. When you do pay it, you unlock a 5/5 lifter with trample that can punch through a crowded board and collapse defenses in moments of strategic bravado 🔥.

The card’s mechanics are a neat study in investment and payoff. Kavu Titan costs {1}{G} to cast, with a kicker option of {2}{G}. If you choose to kick it, the Titan enters with three +1/+1 counters and gains trample, transforming a modest 2/2 into a ramped, bruising threat. That “either-or” design invites you to read the battlefield like a chessboard: do you pressure early with a resilient 2/2, or do you invest in a late-game tireless behemoth that laughs at chump blockers? The answer isn’t fixed; it’s a dance you choreograph turn by turn, creature by creature ⚔️.

“A 2/2 that can grow into a 5/5 trampler with counter-pressure is the essence of green’s tempo when you sequence correctly.”

From a gameplay perspective, the kicker option invites some elegant sequencing lines. On a turn where you’ve built mana acceleration, Kavu Titan can be cast with kicker to deliver a surprise spike of raw resilience and reach. If your opponent has stabilized the board with a pair of blockers, the trample on a 5/5 makes life miserable for their defenses—especially when you’re establishing a broad green game plan that loves big fliers in the late game or sends late-game pressure straight at the opponent’s life total 🎨💎. The dual-path design means you’re never glued to a single plan; instead, you’re choosing the most efficient path based on mana, ramp, and the evolving board state.

Let’s situate this in the context of its era. Invasion’s green core thrived on efficient bodies that could scale with resources, and Kavu Titan embodies that philosophy. The card’s rarity—rare—from the Invasion set (inv) speaks to its power ceiling in a world that encouraged multi-color combat math and multi-step sequencing. It’s also a snapshot of Todd Lockwood’s art, which captures the primal energy of the Kavu while hinting at a creature that’s both cunning and unstoppable when the timing is right 🧙‍♂️. In formats where timing is king—Legacy, Vintage, and many Commander games—the Titan can be a hidden gem for players who appreciate the art of plan-aheads and plan-b aheads.

In practical terms, Kavu Titan supports both inexpensive early drops and bigger late-game strikes. If you’re playing a classic green shell with ramp, you can deploy on-curve with a 2/2 and then, when you’ve built up enough mana, switch gears and kicker it into a 5/5 trampler. The beauty is that you’re never locked out of a play; you simply choose the path that keeps pressure on your opponent while preserving your mana for blockers, pumps, or removal. And because it’s a green creature, you’ll often have ways to smooth your sequencing with cantrips or mana dorks that keep you in a position to either accelerate or explode the board later in the game 🔥.

From a design standpoint, Kavu Titan is a brilliant example of a card that rewards timing without punishing early plays. The kicker mechanic—introduced across many sets—still resonates with players who savor the moment when payoff meets anticipation. It’s also a reminder that ‘enter-the-battlefield’ value isn’t always a flashy triggered ability; sometimes the real ETB gift is a growth path that arrives if you choose to invest, and a trampling threat that can break through stalemates when opponents overextend. In a world of instant-speed answers, Titan teaches patience, then power, then payoff ⚔️.

For collectors, the card remains a respected piece from the early days of the Invasion era. In its non-foil form it hovers around modest prices, while foil copies—rare and coveted for their artistry—tend to command a premium. The numbers on Scryfall place the card among the era’s notable entries, and the art by Lockwood continues to draw fans back to a time when MTG’s design space felt expansive and full of bold ideas 💎.

As you sharpen your craft, consider how a seemingly modest creature can transform with the right sequencing. Kavu Titan isn’t just a two-drop that sometimes becomes a big trampler; it’s a blueprint for how to read a board, calculate risk, and time a payoff that shifts the tempo of a game. When you land it with optimal mana and the perfect moment to pay, your 5/5 trampler may be the one card that turns a tense stalemate into a decisive victory 🎲.

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Kavu Titan

Kavu Titan

{1}{G}
Creature — Kavu

Kicker {2}{G} (You may pay an additional {2}{G} as you cast this spell.)

If this creature was kicked, it enters with three +1/+1 counters on it and with trample.

ID: 2c5fb86d-1d9a-4da2-bb5b-4266faa20197

Oracle ID: df166d0e-f944-404d-83b9-8cf53e220774

Multiverse IDs: 23106

TCGPlayer ID: 7539

Cardmarket ID: 3535

Colors: G

Color Identity: G

Keywords: Kicker

Rarity: Rare

Released: 2000-10-02

Artist: Todd Lockwood

Frame: 1997

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 22511

Penny Rank: 5744

Set: Invasion (inv)

Collector #: 194

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — not_legal
  • Timeless — not_legal
  • Gladiator — not_legal
  • Pioneer — not_legal
  • Modern — not_legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — not_legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — not_legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — not_legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — not_legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — legal
  • Predh — legal

Prices

  • USD: 1.08
  • USD_FOIL: 36.00
  • EUR: 1.19
  • EUR_FOIL: 13.70
  • TIX: 0.78
Last updated: 2025-11-16