River Kelpie
River Kelpie Price Summary
As of Aug 9, 2026, the cheapest tracked printing of River Kelpie is $0.34 (TDC #166), and the most expensive is $13.99 (SHM #49, Foil). The benchmark price (cheapest playable nonfoil) is $0.34, down 94.6% over 7 days, up 13.3% over 30 days, up 6.3% over 90 days. All-time tracked high: $6.28 (2026).
River Kelpie Printings & Prices
River Kelpie has 4 tracked printings across 4 sets, in nonfoil, silver foil and foil finishes, including borderless treatments.
Sell River Kelpie: Buylist Offers
Card Kingdom currently pays $9.00 cash for SHM #49 (Foil); the retail-buylist spread on that printing is 50% (wide).
| Buyer | Printing | Finish | Cash offer | Retail | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card Kingdom | SHM #49 | Foil | $9.00 | $17.99 | 50% |
| CoolStuffInc | SHM #49 | Foil | $7.00 | — | — |
| Card Kingdom | LTC #524 | Silver Foil | $5.00 | $9.99 | 50% |
| Card Kingdom | LTC #524 | Nonfoil | $3.80 | $9.49 | 60% |
| CoolStuffInc | LTC #524 | Nonfoil | $3.50 | — | — |
| CoolStuffInc | LTC #524 | Silver Foil | $3.00 | — | — |
| Card Kingdom | SHM #49 | Nonfoil | $0.15 | $0.99 | 85% |
| Card Kingdom | C19 #93 | Nonfoil | $0.12 | $0.79 | 85% |
| CoolStuffInc | TDC #166 | Nonfoil | $0.10 | — | — |
| Card Kingdom | TDC #166 | Nonfoil | $0.03 | $0.49 | 94% |
River Kelpie Rules Text & Legality
Whenever this creature or another permanent enters from a graveyard, draw a card.
Whenever a player casts a spell from a graveyard, draw a card.
Persist (When this creature dies, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.)
River Kelpie is legal in Modern, Legacy and Commander, and not legal in Standard, Pioneer and Pauper.
River Kelpie Rulings
- Jun 7, 2013 If a creature with persist stops being a creature, persist will still work.
- Jun 7, 2013 If a creature with persist that has +1/+1 counters on it receives enough -1/-1 counters to cause it to be destroyed by lethal damage or put into its owner's graveyard for having 0 or less toughness, persist won't trigger and the card won't return to the battlefield. That's because persist checks the creature's existence just before it leaves the battlefield, and it still has all those counters on it at that point.
- Jun 7, 2013 If a permanent has multiple instances of persist, they'll each trigger separately, but the redundant instances will have no effect. If one instance returns the card to the battlefield, the next to resolve will do nothing.
- Jun 7, 2013 If a token with no -1/-1 counters on it has persist, the ability will trigger when the token is put into the graveyard. However, the token will cease to exist and can't return to the battlefield.
- Jun 7, 2013 If multiple creatures with persist are put into the graveyard at the same time (due to combat damage or a spell that destroys all creatures, for example), the active player (the player whose turn it is) puts all of their persist triggers on the stack in any order, then each other player in turn order does the same. The last trigger put on the stack is the first one that resolves. That means that in a two-player game, the nonactive player's persist creatures will return to the battlefield first, then the active player's persist creatures do the same. The creatures return to the battlefield one at a time.
Reprints & Reprint Risk
River Kelpie has been reprinted 6 times. The Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander reprint cut the price 74% in 30 days.
| Set | Date | Rarity | Treatment | Price before | Day 1 | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TDC #166 | 2025-04-11 | Rare | Standard | $0.50 | $0.21 | $0.13 | $0.16 |
| LTC #524 | 2023-06-23 | Rare | Borderless | — | — | — | — |
| LTC #524 | 2023-06-23 | Rare | Borderless | — | — | — | — |
| C19 #93 | 2019-08-23 | Rare | Standard | — | — | — | — |
| SHM #49 | 2008-05-02 | Rare | Standard | — | — | — | — |
| SHM #49 | 2008-05-02 | Rare | Standard | — | — | — | — |
River Kelpie in Commander
River Kelpie is the #3,475 most-played card on EDHREC, up 9 places over the last 30 days.
River Kelpie FAQ
How much is River Kelpie worth?
River Kelpie is worth about $0.34 for its cheapest playable printing as of Aug 9, 2026. Prices range from $0.34 to $13.99 across 4 tracked printings.
Is River Kelpie legal in Commander?
Yes — River Kelpie is legal in Commander. It is also legal in Modern and Legacy.
Has River Kelpie been reprinted?
Yes — River Kelpie has been reprinted 6 times, with 4 printings tracked on The Index.
Why is River Kelpie cheap?
River Kelpie trades at about $0.34 — 6 reprints keep supply plentiful.