Vizier of Tumbling Sands MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Cleric
Abilities Cycling
Power 1
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Cycling this creature allows drawing and untapping permanents, enhancing combo plays and resource availability.
  2. Instant speed cycling adds flexibility, enabling reactive play to adapt quickly to the game state.
  3. Despite its cycling cost, Vizier’s mana acceleration and untapping utility make it a valuable inclusion.

Text of card

: Untap another target permanent. Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.) When you cycle Vizier of Tumbling Sands, untap target permanent.

"Time is like the Luxa River—though it flows in one direction, it can be diverted."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vizier of Tumbling Sands supports card flow due to its cycling ability, letting you draw an extra card while also untapping another permanent, which could be crucial for combo setups or just finding the right answers when you need them.

Resource Acceleration: This versatile creature not only cycles for a new card but can also ramp up your mana by untapping another target permanent. This means you can untap lands for added mana or even mana rocks and dorks for accelerated resource growth, enabling bigger plays ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: The beauty of Vizier of Tumbling Sands lies in its flexibility; you can cycle it at instant speed. This ensures that you can react to the game’s state, untapping a key permanent or simply drawing a card when the timing is perfect, all without interrupting your own plan.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In certain situations where card advantage is crucial, the cycling ability of Vizier of Tumbling Sands can be less beneficial as it requires you to discard the card itself, potentially leading to a decrease in hand size.

Specific Mana Cost: The card’s mana cost includes one blue mana, which might restrict its inclusion to decks that can produce blue mana reliably, thereby limiting its versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including one blue, this card’s untap ability may seem steep compared to other mana untappers or accelerators available. This factor might make it less appealing when building an efficient mana base.


Reasons to Include Vizier of Tumbling Sands in Your Collection

Versatility: Vizier of Tumbling Sands serves multiple roles within various decks. As a creature, it can be a blocker or a means of applying pressure; as an untapping agent, it can refresh mana sources or other permanents for multiple uses within a turn.

Combo Potential: This card is an essential piece in numerous combo decks. It can untap another permanent, potentially initiating a chain of actions leading to game-winning plays, especially in decks that tap permanents for significant effects.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where controlling the board and maintaining resource advantage is key, Vizier of Tumbling Sands can provide the edge needed by ensuring your mana resources or pivotal permanents are always ready for action.


How to beat

Vizier of Tumbling Sands offers a unique set of abilities that can be challenging to counteract in any Magic: The Gathering match. The card’s potential to untap another target permanent, especially lands or creatures with tapping abilities, can lead to an unexpectedly formidable board state for your opponent. This can result in rapid mana acceleration or repeated use of abilities that can potentially tip the game in their favor.

To effectively incapacitate Vizier’s advantage, consider using instant-speed removal when the Vizier’s ability is on the stack. This disruption ensures that your opponent’s plans to untap a key permanent are thwarted. Cards such as Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization can efficiently handle the Vizier before its controller gets a chance to exploit its capacities. Additionally, incorporating counter spells into your deck can preemptively stop the Vizier from ever hitting the field. Lastly, stifle effects that nullify activated or triggered abilities can be critical in stopping the Vizier from affecting the game’s progression too drastically.

In essence, staying one step ahead and being prepared with instant-speed interaction are your best bets in mitigating the strategic advantage instigated by Vizier of Tumbling Sands. By prioritizing the removal of this card, you can sustain control over the rhythm of the game and prevent your opponent from leveraging its potent effects.


BurnMana Recommendations

Discovering the tactical depth that a single MTG card can bring to your deck is part of the thrill of the game. The Vizier of Tumbling Sands is a multifaceted creature offering card draw, mana acceleration, and instant speed versatility. Understanding how this card interacts with others and the strategies it enables can be the difference between a win or a loss. Dive deeper into the strategic nuances of MTG and enrich your gameplay by mastering cards like Vizier of Tumbling Sands. Ready to expand your arsenal and outmaneuver your opponents with skillful plays? Learn more with us and harness the full potential of your MTG collection.


Cards like Vizier of Tumbling Sands

Vizier of Tumbling Sands offers a unique twist within the realm of untapping permanents in MTG. As a creature, it stands in comparison with cards like Kiora’s Follower, another creature that provides the ability to untap another permanent. While both share this functionality, Vizier of Tumbling Sands comes with the added versatility of cycling, allowing you to draw a card and untap any permanent, not just lands.

Peering into other similar utilities, Twitch is in the mix, offering the possibility to untap or tap a creature and draw a card. Although it’s an instant, it lacks the body that Vizier provides, which can be a potential blocker or an attacker on the board. Fatestitcher is another card that echoes a semblance with the Vizier, capable of untapping or tapping an artifact, creature, or land; yet it trades the instant cycling draw for unearth, thereby giving it a potential one-off comeback from the graveyard.

Assessing the strategic adaptability and synergies, Vizier of Tumbling Sands certainly holds its value for players who appreciate flexibility in either cycling for immediate effect or establishing a presence on the board that repeatedly manipulates the state of play.

Kiora's Follower - MTG Card versions
Twitch - MTG Card versions
Fatestitcher - MTG Card versions
Kiora's Follower - Born of the Gods Promos (PBNG)
Twitch - Tempest (TMP)
Fatestitcher - Shards of Alara (ALA)

Cards similar to Vizier of Tumbling Sands by color, type and mana cost

Wall of Water - MTG Card versions
Prodigal Sorcerer - MTG Card versions
Apprentice Wizard - MTG Card versions
Homarid - MTG Card versions
Daring Apprentice - MTG Card versions
Time Elemental - MTG Card versions
Reef Pirates - MTG Card versions
Rootwater Shaman - MTG Card versions
Wind Drake - MTG Card versions
Volrath's Shapeshifter - MTG Card versions
Stronghold Biologist - MTG Card versions
Quicksilver Wall - MTG Card versions
Wall of Air - MTG Card versions
Phantom Warrior - MTG Card versions
Wormfang Drake - MTG Card versions
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions
Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions
Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - MTG Card versions
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions
Svyelun of Sea and Sky - MTG Card versions
Wall of Water - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Prodigal Sorcerer - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Apprentice Wizard - The Dark (DRK)
Homarid - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Daring Apprentice - Mirage (MIR)
Time Elemental - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Reef Pirates - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Rootwater Shaman - Tempest (TMP)
Wind Drake - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Volrath's Shapeshifter - Stronghold (STH)
Stronghold Biologist - Nemesis (NEM)
Quicksilver Wall - Prophecy (PCY)
Wall of Air - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Phantom Warrior - Duels of the Planeswalkers (DPA)
Wormfang Drake - Judgment (JUD)
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - Commander Legends (CMR)
Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Svyelun of Sea and Sky - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vizier of Tumbling Sands MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Commander 2020, 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 Tumbling Sands and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vizier of Tumbling Sands Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Josu Hernaiz.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-04-28AmonkhetAKH 752015normalblackJosu Hernaiz
22020-04-17Commander 2020C20 1262015normalblackJosu Hernaiz
32020-08-13Amonkhet RemasteredAKR 892015normalblackJosu Hernaiz
42023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 1312015normalblackJosu Hernaiz

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Vizier of Tumbling Sands has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2017-04-18 Some cards with cycling have an ability that triggers when you cycle them. These triggered abilities resolve before you draw from the cycling ability.
2017-04-18 Triggered abilities from cycling a card and the cycling ability itself aren’t spells. Effects that interact with spells (such as that of Cancel) won’t affect them.
2017-04-18 You can cycle a card even if it has a triggered ability from cycling that won’t have a legal target. This is because the cycling ability and the triggered ability are separate. This also means that if either ability doesn’t resolve (due to being countered with Disallow, for example, or if the triggered ability’s targets have become illegal), the other ability will still resolve.

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