Vizier of the Menagerie MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Naga Cleric
Power 3
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances card flow and playing flexibility by revealing your library’s top card, allowing for strategic creature plays.
  2. Acts as a deck extender, enabling you to cast creatures directly and bypassing the need for hand resources.
  3. Instills a surprise element by granting instant-speed creature casting, thus keeping opponents guessing.

Text of card

You may look at the top card of your library. (You may do this at any time.) You may cast the top card of your library if it's a creature card. You may spend mana as though it were mana of any type to cast creature spells.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vizier of the Menagerie enables a consistent flow of creatures to your hand by allowing you to look at the top card of your library at any time. This ability gives you additional options each turn, increasing your opportunities to play the right creature at the right time.

Resource Acceleration: The card not only provides you with more creature options but also allows you to play creature cards from the top of your library. This effectively extends your hand, giving you a wider array of resources to deploy without spending the cards from your physical hand.

Instant Speed: While the Vizier itself is not an instant, it grants you the ability to cast creature spells from the top of your library as though they had flash. This means you can wait until the most advantageous moment during any player’s turn to cast creatures, keeping your opponents on their toes.


Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Vizier of the Menagerie comes with a specific mana requirement of one green and three other mana. This can be restrictive and may require you to build your deck with a manabase that heavily supports green to cast it consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its four mana cost, the Vizier may come into play later than more aggressive cards. This can be a drawback in faster, more tempo-oriented decks where lower-cost cards could provide a quicker impact on the game.

Discard Requirement: While Vizier of the Menagerie does not have a direct discard requirement, it’s worth noting that its ability allows you to play the top card of your library if it’s a creature. In some situations, this might force you to play creatures suboptimally or potentially reveal strategic information to your opponent if you cannot immediately cast them.


Reasons to Include Vizier of the Menagerie in Your Collection

Versatility: Vizier of the Menagerie offers the unique ability to look at the top card of your library at any time. This enhances your game knowledge and allows for adaptive plays. Its allowance for playing creature cards from the top of your library helps streamline several deck types that benefit from seamless creature play.

Combo Potential: Having the Vizier on the battlefield opens up interesting combo possibilities within creature-centric strategies. It pairs well with cards that manipulate the top of your library, ensuring you constantly have access to creatures to play, thus maintaining a strong board presence.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to effectively utilize the top of your library and assist in casting creatures of any color, Vizier of the Menagerie fits comfortably within various metas, especially in formats where creature-based strategies prevail. Playing multiple creatures in quick succession can easily overwhelm opponents who are unprepared for such a surge.


How to beat Vizier of the Menagerie

Vizier of the Menagerie is a unique card that allows players to look at the top card of their library any time and cast creature spells from the top of their deck. This powerful utility can give immense advantage by effectively expanding a player’s hand and bypassing traditional card draw limitations. To undermine its value, it’s important to focus on disrupting your opponent’s library and creature control.

Thankfully, there are strategies to counteract Vizier of the Menagerie’s influence. Spot removal spells, like Fatal Push or Path to Exile, can remove the Vizier before its effect becomes significant. Alternatively, board control cards like Wrath of God or Damnation reset the field, making the Vizier’s ability less impactful. Lastly, hand disruption tools like Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek can preemptively deal with the Vizier before it even hits the table, cutting off the advantage before it can begin.

By being proactive with removal and disruption, one can mitigate the advantage granted by Vizier of the Menagerie and maintain control of the game. Keep pressure on your opponent, manage the threats as they come, and the menagerie will be less of a concern in your quest for victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG gameplay involves deep knowledge of card interactions and deck building. With Vizier of the Menagerie providing both a streamlining element and a strategic advantage, it’s essential to know how and when to integrate it into your deck for optimal performance. Whether it’s the advantages of card acceleration and combo potential or strategies to negate its effectiveness, understanding the dynamics of such a card proves invaluable. Keen to expand your MTG expertise and construct decks that capitalize on cards like Vizier of the Menagerie? Dive deeper with us for insights and tips to sharpen your competitive edge.



Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vizier of the Menagerie MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Amonkhet Promos, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Vizier of the Menagerie and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vizier of the Menagerie Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2020-08-13. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-04-28AmonkhetAKH 1922015NormalBlackVictor Adame Minguez
22017-04-29Amonkhet PromosPAKH 192s2015NormalBlackVictor Adame Minguez
32019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 11002015NormalBorderlessOmar Rayyan
42020-08-13Amonkhet RemasteredAKR 2242015NormalBlackVictor Adame Minguez

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Vizier of the Menagerie has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Vizier of the Menagerie card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2017-04-18 If the top card of your library changes while you’re casting a spell, playing a land, or activating an ability, you can’t look at the new top card until you finish doing so. This means that if you cast the top card of your library, you can’t look at the next one until you’re done paying for that spell.
2017-04-18 Normally, Vizier of the Menagerie allows you to cast the top card of your library if it’s a creature card, it’s your main phase, and the stack is empty. If that creature card has flash, you’ll be able to cast it any time you could cast an instant, even on an opponent’s turn.
2017-04-18 The top card of your library isn’t in your hand, so you can’t cycle it, discard it, or activate any of its activated abilities.
2017-04-18 Vizier of the Menagerie lets you look at the top card of your library whenever you want (with one restriction—see below), even if you don’t have priority. This action doesn’t use the stack. Knowing what that card is becomes part of the information you have access to, just like you can look at the cards in your hand.
2017-04-18 You may spend mana as though it were mana of any type to cast any creature spell, not just creature spells that you cast from the top of your library.
2017-04-18 You’ll still pay all costs for that spell, including additional costs. You may also pay alternative costs such as emerge or that of As Foretold.

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