Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Vampire
Abilities Flying,Lifelink
Power 5
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Use Vish Kal for card advantage by sacrificing creatures to overpower and control the board.
  2. Instant-speed ability enables unexpected plays and robust versatility during various game phases.
  3. Mana cost and specific color requirements may limit Vish Kal to certain strategic deck builds.

Text of card

Flying, lifelink Sacrifice a creature: Put X +1/+1 counters on Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter, where X is the sacrificed creature's power. Remove all +1/+1 counters from Vish Kal: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn for each +1/+1 counter removed this way.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter is a catalyst for card superiority, offering a unique sac outlet enabling you to remove excess or unnecessary creatures from the battlefield while bulking up Vish Kal, making it a formidable presence. Each act of sacrifice translates into additional power, thereby providing a dual advantage—board control and an increased threat level.

Resource Acceleration: This MTG card shines by leveraging your creatures as resources, allowing for acceleration in terms of board state and potential damage output. Sacrificing creatures to Vish Kal converts them into immediate value, being both an enabler and recipient of this conversion leading to potentially game-ending plays.

Instant Speed: Vish Kal’s ability to consume creatures operates at instant speed, providing strategic depth to gameplay. You can alter combat outcomes, dismantle your opponent’s strategies or simply grow Vish Kal in response to threats, making the card exceptionally versatile during various phases of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter demands a certain sacrifice for its abilities to be exploited. Each activation of its potent life-gain and removal effect requires you to sacrifice another creature, which might exhaust your board presence and resource pool, especially if you’re not prepared with enough creatures to spare.

Specific Mana Cost: The blend of black and white mana needed to cast Vish Kal can be a hurdle. Decks not tuned to accommodate this color combination may struggle to fulfill the cost, potentially limiting this card’s inclusion to dedicated Orzhov or multicolor strategies that can reliably access both mana types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of seven mana, Vish Kal enters the battlefield at a point where many games could be nearing conclusion. This high mana investment plays a pivotal role in determining the card’s viability, as you could be deploying other high-impact cards with similar or lower mana requirements more efficiently during the course of a game.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter serves as a flexible addition to any deck that thrives on sacrifice mechanics or life-total manipulation. Its ability to dispatch creatures and grow stronger provides value in both offensive and defensive strategies.

Combo Potential: This card can be a cornerstone in combos that revolve around creature control and life exchange. Its capacity to sacrifice other creatures at no cost enables endless synergies with cards that benefit from, or trigger upon, death and sacrifice.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-changing landscape of the meta, a card like Vish Kal can adapt and find its niche, particularly in formats where controlling the board is crucial. Its presence can sway the outcome in matches where longevity and creature management are key.


How to beat

Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its formidable combination of flying, lifelink, and sacrifice mechanics that can rapidly swing the game. Facing this vampiric powerhouse in MTG, a key strategy is to prevent it from hitting the board in the first place through counter spells or discarding it from your opponent’s hand. Strategies such as graveyard disruption with cards like Scavenging Ooze can be crucial in stymieing Vish Kal’s recursion tactics.

Once on the field, keep in mind that its ability to grow in power hinges on sacrificing other creatures. Therefore, creature removal becomes less effective. Instead, focus on enchantment-based removals or exile effects that can deal with Vish Kal irrespective of its size. Cards like Path to Exile or the classic Swords to Plowshares can be especially useful to permanently remove Vish Kal from the game. Remember, timing your removal after an opponent has committed to sacrificing creatures to Vish Kal, but before it deals damage or its ability resolves, can be a particularly devastating play.

Addressing this high-caliber creature effectively requires a blend of preventative measures, precise timing, and a commitment to controlling the board state, ensuring that Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter becomes a manageable threat in your MTG matchups.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re captivated by the dynamic abilities of Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter in MTG, it’s clear that this card can provide distinct advantages to your gameplay. Whether it’s for card advantage, resource acceleration, or instant-speed interactivity, incorporating Vish Kal into your deck could transform your strategy. Its versatility in both sacrifice mechanics and meta relevance makes it a valuable asset to any collection, especially for those who love a good combo. However, keep in mind its mana demands and ensure your deck can support this powerhouse. Ready to dive deeper into the intricacies of Vish Kal and refine your deckbuilding skills? We invite you to join our community for comprehensive insights and strategies to optimize your MTG experience.


Cards like Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter

Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter offers a unique blend of creature control and life management within the commander format. Comparable to other flying and lifelink creatures such as Bloodlord of Vaasgoth, Vish Kal takes the mechanic further by allowing players to sacrifice other creatures to bolster its power and toughness. Unlike Bloodlord, Vish Kal grants the ability to remove opponent’s creatures from the battlefield as it grows stronger.

Another similar card is Karlov of the Ghost Council, which also thrives on life gain to become a significant threat. Where Karlov uses counters to track its growth, Vish Kal directly manipulates its stats through sacrificed creatures, offering versatility in board presence. Additionally, as Karlov only has the capacity to exile creatures with two or fewer counters, Vish Kal provides broader control, targeting any creature regardless of size.

Finally, we analyze Teysa, Orzhov Scion, who shares the sacrificial play style with Vish Kal. While Teysa excels in creating token creatures and exploiting death triggers, Vish Kal serves as a standalone powerhouse that can dictate the pace of the game. Both have strategic merit, yet their distinct approaches furnish players with different paths to victory.

In essence, Vish Kal stands out in direct creature combats and strategic sacrifice maneuvers, highlighting its strength and adaptability among its lifelink contemporaries.

Bloodlord of Vaasgoth - MTG Card versions
Karlov of the Ghost Council - MTG Card versions
Teysa, Orzhov Scion - MTG Card versions
Bloodlord of Vaasgoth - Magic 2012 Promos (PM12)
Karlov of the Ghost Council - Commander 2015 (C15)
Teysa, Orzhov Scion - Guildpact (GPT)

Cards similar to Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter by color, type and mana cost

Angel of Despair - MTG Card versions
Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts - MTG Card versions
Knight of the Last Breath - MTG Card versions
Angel of Despair - RNA Guild Kit (GK2)
Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts - Commander 2021 (C21)
Knight of the Last Breath - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2011 Launch Party and Commander 2011, 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 Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2011-06-17 and 2020-08-07. Illustrated by Michael C. Hayes.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-06-17Commander 2011 Launch PartyPCMD 2342003normalblackMichael C. Hayes
22011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 2342003normalblackMichael C. Hayes
32020-08-07Double Masters2XM 2262015normalblackMichael C. Hayes

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-08-07 Use the sacrificed creature's power as it last existed on the battlefield to determine how many +1/+1 counters to put on Vish Kal.
2020-08-07 Vish Kal's last ability doesn't deal damage. It doesn't cause you to gain any life from its lifelink ability.

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