Blex, Vexing Pest // Search for Blex MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Blex, Vexing Pest enables you to gain card advantage through card draw and graveyard recursion. Its back side, ‘Search for Blex’, allows you to look at the top five cards of your library, potentially drawing multiple Pest cards you reveal this way, and thus replenishing your hand efficiently.

Resource Acceleration: With Blex, Vexing Pest in play, your creature spells that are Pests, Bats, Insects, Snakes, and Spiders cost one less to cast. This ability increases your resource acceleration by effectively generating an additional mana each time you cast one of these types of creatures, which can be pivotal for deploying multiple threats in a single turn.

Instant Speed: Although Blex, Vexing Pest itself does not operate at instant speed, ‘Search for Blex’ can be cast at the end of your opponent’s turn, which keeps your mana open and may catch an opponent off-guard. This adds a layer of strategy to your game, allowing you to make the most out of your mana and time your plays to disrupt your opponent’s plans while they are low on resources.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When playing Blex, Vexing Pest, any strategy built around it is hampered by the demand to maintain a creature-rich hand to optimize its passive ability. This can be a major drawback in games where card advantage is crucial, and players find themselves needing to discard to maintain board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost of Blex, Vexing Pest is uniquely split between black and green mana. This precise requirement can restrict deck-building, making it less flexible and harder to cast, especially in multi-colored or colorless decks that don’t focus on these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing four mana to cast, Blex, Vexing Pest’s ability to boost creature stats and provide other benefits might not contend with other cards at a similar or lower mana cost. Its costliness can slow down the tempo for players who are trying to establish an early-game advantage, which is often crucial in competitive play.

Reasons to Include Blex, Vexing Pest in Your Collection

Versatility: Blex, Vexing Pest thrives in decks that need a boost in power across creature types, particularly those built around Pests, Bats, Insects, Snakes, and Spiders. Its ability to buff these creatures while giving you life gain ensures your swarm is mightier in battle.

Combo Potential: On its flip side, Search for Blex offers you the opportunity to dig deep into your library for key pieces, enabling various combos within ‘Golgari’ graveyard-centric themes or ‘Sultai’ value-oriented playstyles.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where small creature strategies are prevalent, the power pump and life gain from Blex can sway matches in your favor. Integrating well with the current metagame trends can often mean the difference between a mediocre deck and a winning one.

How to beat Blex, Vexing Pest

Blex, Vexing Pest is a unique creature card that brings a blend of support for Pest creatures and life gain. When facing Blex, an effective strategy is to remove him quickly from the battlefield. Direct damage spells or targeted removal like Path to Exile or Doom Blade can efficiently handle Blex before his static abilities and life gain benefits become a deciding factor in a match. Additionally, because Blex can also be a source of card advantage if the backside is cast, graveyard disruption tools can be paramount to inhibit this secondary use. Cards like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze disrupt the graveyard synergy and can hinder your opponent’s ability to utilize Blex to their fullest. Lastly, incorporating board wipes can neutralize the swarm of pests and other creatures that Blex is likely to accompany, paving the way for a cleaner board state and stalling your opponent’s momentum. Adapting these tactics could effectively contain Blex’s pestering presence in your next game.