Diabolic Vision MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Diabolic Vision aids in setting up future draws, ensuring strategic card quality and play advancement.
  2. Instant speed casting provides flexibility and opportunity for optimized play without sacrificing response time.
  3. The card requires careful consideration due to its discard effect, specific mana cost, and potential graveyard disruption.

Text of card

Look at the top five cards of your library and put one of them into your hand. Put the remaining four on top of your library in any order.

"I have seen the true path. I will not warm myself by the fire—I will become the flame." —Lim-Dûl, the Necromancer


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Diabolic Vision offers players the strategic benefit of looking at the top five cards of their library, reordering them as needed, and drawing a card. This function is crucial in securing card quality and advantage as it can significantly improve your next draws.

Resource Acceleration: While not providing direct mana acceleration, the card filtering ability accelerates your resource access by helping you draw into your necessary lands or spells faster, ensuring a smoother and more efficient game progression.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Diabolic Vision at instant speed means you can wait until the most opportune moment, such as the end of your opponent’s turn, to set up your upcoming plays without sacrificing the flexibility to respond to your opponent’s actions.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Diabolic Vision provides you with the ability to set up your next draw, it comes with the drawback of needing to put the rest of the cards into your graveyard. This can be particularly disadvantageous if you’re forced to discard valuable combo pieces or if graveyard interaction is not part of your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Diabolic Vision necessitates both blue and black mana, making it predominantly suitable for decks that can comfortably generate both colors. This specificity may deter players from including it in more versatile or color-flexible decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Having to spend three mana for this effect, including two that are color-specific, can be taxing on your mana resources, especially during the early game. Other cards in the same cost range may offer more immediate or impactful benefits, reducing the allure of Diabolic Vision in certain strategic setups.


Reasons to Include Diabolic Vision in Your Collection

Versatility: Diabolic Vision offers a unique blend of top deck manipulation and card advantage, making it a flexible addition to control decks that want to ensure drawing the right answers at the right time.

Combo Potential: This card pairs well with library shuffling effects, allowing you to continuously control your upcoming draws. It also works synergistically with cards that benefit from knowing the top deck card, like “Future Sight” or “Mystical Tutor”.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where anticipating an opponent’s moves can be game-changing, Diabolic Vision provides crucial insight. It helps you plan around your adversaries’ threats by giving you a peek into future draw possibilities.


How to beat

Diabolic Vision offers MTG strategists an edge by peeking into the future, rearranging the top cards of their library to craft the perfect draw. But do not fret; overcoming this card hinges on quick and disruptive playstyles. Opt for aggressive tactics that don’t allow your opponent the luxury of meticulously setting up their library. Speed is your ally. Direct damage spells and creature-heavy strategies can pressure a Diabolic Vision user before they can stabilize with their arranged draws.

Control decks packed with counter spells and hand disruption can also derail a Diabolic Vision based strategy. If you can prevent the spell from resolving or strip it from their hand before it’s cast, you’ve effectively nullified its advantage. For those who prefer a more reactive approach, playing cards that shuffle either player’s library can interfere with the meticulous order Diabolic Vision aims to create. In essence, staying adaptable and using a mix of aggression and disruption will frequently outpace any advantage Diabolic Vision might provide an opponent.

At its core, MTG is a game where anticipation and counterplay shine. As Diabolic Vision attempts to script the next few turns, you have the tools to rewrite the narrative in your favor, proving that even the most well-laid plans can be disrupted on the MTG battlefield.


BurnMana Recommendations

As you harness the strategic potential of Diabolic Vision in your MTG endeavors, it’s essential to appreciate its ability to sculpt the perfect hand and anticipate what’s ahead. Pairing such foresight with a well-constructed deck creates formidable synergy and steers you toward victory. We encourage you to explore how Diabolic Vision can serve as a keystone in a control or combo deck, offering a delicate balance between card advantage and tactical positioning. Deepen your understanding and optimize your card selection for that critical edge in MTG. Let’s delve deeper together and unlock new levels of play with Diabolic Vision at the helm of your deck strategy.


Cards like Diabolic Vision

Diabolic Vision enhances strategic depth in Magic: The Gathering, with its unique peak into the future mechanic. This ability draws parallels to the function of cards like Crystal Ball. Both allow a player to rearrange the top cards of their library, but Diabolic Vision steps further by drawing one of those cards. Unlike Crystal Ball’s more versatile, repeated scrying, Diabolic Vision offers a singular, yet impactful, glimpse paired with a card draw.

Another card that shares deck manipulation traits is Index, a simpler option that lets you observe the top five cards and reorder them. However, it stops there, without the added advantage of drawing a card, a key benefit provided by Diabolic Vision. Then consider Anticipate, which lets you look at the top three cards of your library and select one to put into your hand, shuffling the rest. It focuses on accessibility and speed, yet doesn’t allow for rearrangement of the remaining cards, a subtle but significant strategic advantage held by Diabolic Vision.

Exploring the subtleties and tactical edges of these cards underscores Diabolic Vision’s unique position. It offers both insight and immediate card gain, a combination that can be a game-changer in MTG, especially for players who value foresight and precise deck management.

Crystal Ball - MTG Card versions
Index - MTG Card versions
Anticipate - MTG Card versions
Crystal Ball - Magic 2011 (M11)
Index - Apocalypse (APC)
Anticipate - Dragons of Tarkir (DTK)

Cards similar to Diabolic Vision by color, type and mana cost

Sealed Fate - MTG Card versions
Glimpse the Unthinkable - MTG Card versions
Psychic Drain - MTG Card versions
Scarscale Ritual - MTG Card versions
Mind Grind - MTG Card versions
Paranoid Delusions - MTG Card versions
Thought Erasure - MTG Card versions
Extract Brain - MTG Card versions
Cruel Somnophage // Can't Wake Up - MTG Card versions
Wail of the Forgotten - MTG Card versions
Sealed Fate - Mirage (MIR)
Glimpse the Unthinkable - Historic Anthology 6 (HA6)
Psychic Drain - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Scarscale Ritual - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Mind Grind - Gatecrash (GTC)
Paranoid Delusions - Gatecrash (GTC)
Thought Erasure - The List (PLST)
Extract Brain - Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC)
Cruel Somnophage // Can't Wake Up - Wilds of Eldraine (WOE)
Wail of the Forgotten - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Promos (PLCI)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Diabolic Vision MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age and Beatdown Box Set, 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 Diabolic Vision and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Diabolic Vision Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1995-06-03 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Anthony S. Waters.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11995-06-03Ice AgeICE 2841993normalblackAnthony S. Waters
22000-10-01Beatdown Box SetBTD 671997normalwhiteAnthony S. Waters
32008-09-22Masters Edition IIME2 1911997normalblackAnthony S. Waters

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Diabolic Vision has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks