Vulturous Aven MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Bird Shaman |
| Abilities | Exploit,Flying |
| Released | 2015-03-27 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Dragons of Tarkir |
| Set code | DTK |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 126 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Kev Walker |
Key Takeaways
- Vulturous Aven shines in generating card advantage by exploiting creatures beneficially.
- Instant battlefield exploit adds surprise tactics during combat phases in games.
- Despite its utility, the card’s mana cost and sacrifice requirement can be challenging.
Text of card
Flying Exploit (When this creature enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice a creature.) When Vulturous Aven exploits a creature, you draw two cards and you lose 2 life.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Vulturous Aven offers the benefit of drawing two cards upon exploiting another creature. This can play a pivotal role in surging ahead in the game by ensuring a steady flow of options in your hand, especially when you’re sacrificing creatures that have already served their purpose or when you can gain additional benefits from the creature’s death.
Resource Acceleration: Although the Vulturous Aven itself doesn’t directly provide mana acceleration, it indirectly contributes to this aspect by potentially clearing the board for more impactful creatures or by making the most of creatures that have effects when they die, thus allowing you to utilize your resources more effectively. It’s about optimizing the value you get from each creature you control.
Instant Speed: While Vulturous Aven isn’t cast at instant speed, its ability to exploit when it enters the battlefield makes it a versatile addition to a turn. You can use it right after declaring blockers, which can surprise your opponent and may lead to a more favorable combat outcome while maintaining card flow.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Vulturous Aven requires you to sacrifice a creature in addition to its mana cost to draw two cards. This could be detrimental when you’re already behind on board presence or if your strategy relies on maintaining a certain number of creatures.
Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that demands both black and colorless mana, this card can be restrictive for multi-color decks that may not consistently produce the required mana types, possibly leading to delayed plays or mismatches within the deck’s mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The four mana needed to play Vulturous Aven might be steep when considering alternative creatures or spells that provide card advantage or board presence for a lesser investment, potentially making it a less efficient option in tempo or aggressive strategies.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Vulturous Aven serves as a flexible card that can be integrated into various Black or Black-multicolor decks. Its ability to offer card draw through sacrificing another creature makes it a valuable asset, especially in decks that benefit from creatures entering the graveyard or that have expendable tokens.
Combo Potential: This bird adds depth to combos by utilizing its exploit mechanic, meshing well with strategies that are focused on death-trigger abilities or reanimation themes. It can be a key piece in setting off chained events that lead to a powerful board state for the controller.
Meta-Relevance: Given the right environment, Vulturous Aven aligns well with the metagame that favors incremental advantage and graveyard interactions. Its ability to replace itself by drawing cards while affecting the board can be an essential move in games focusing on resource attrition.
How to beat
Vulturous Aven presents a unique challenge within the realm of Magic: The Gathering. This card offers both a flying threat and card draw, which makes it particularly noteworthy in limited formats such as draft or sealed. To effectively counter Vulturous Aven, it is crucial to manage both its onboard presence and the card advantage it can provide.
An efficient strategy is to remove it before its exploit ability triggers, thereby negating the potential card draw. Spot removal spells that can target creatures in the air, such as Murder or Doom Blade, are particularly effective in this scenario. Alternatively, controlling the board state to prevent profitable sacrifices for the Aven’s exploit is another sound tactic. This could involve clearing potential exploit targets with board wipes or playing creatures that aren’t worth sacrificing.
In sum, though Vulturous Aven can be a considerable threat, methodical removal and board control can mitigate its impact, allowing the player to preserve card equilibrium and maintain aerial dominance.
Cards like Vulturous Aven
Vulturous Aven serves as an intriguing creature option in Magic the Gathering, sharing space with cards such as Baleful Strix and Vampire Nighthawk. Much like these two flyers, Vulturous Aven offers a flying threat that can affect board presence. Baleful Strix comes with the advantage of deathtouch and draws a card upon entering the battlefield, emphasizing immediate board impact along with card advantage. On the other hand, Vampire Nighthawk delivers deathtouch and lifelink, providing a robust combatant in aerial combat and a means of sustaining life totals.
In the realm of exploiting creatures, Vulturous Aven draws comparison with cards like Bone Shredder and Plagued Rusalka. The Aven’s exploit ability allows it to draw two cards at the expense of another creature, granting card advantage by leveraging on-board assets. Bone Shredder lets you dispatch enemy creatures as it enters but lacks the built-in card drawing utility. Conversely, Plagued Rusalka offers the flexibility to sacrifice creatures for removal but doesn’t reward you with card draw.
Overall, Vulturous Aven reflects a balanced mix of flying prowess and strategic sacrifice, achieving a niche that can blend well with decks focused on incremental advantage and creature-based synergies within MTG.
Cards similar to Vulturous Aven by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Vulturous Aven MTG card by a specific set like Dragons of Tarkir, 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 Vulturous Aven and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Vulturous Aven has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Vulturous Aven card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2015-02-25 | A creature with exploit “exploits a creature” when the controller of the exploit ability sacrifices a creature as that ability resolves. |
| 2015-02-25 | If the creature with exploit isn’t on the battlefield as the exploit ability resolves, you won’t get any bonus from the creature with exploit, even if you sacrifice a creature. Because the creature with exploit isn’t on the battlefield, its other triggered ability won’t trigger. |
| 2015-02-25 | You can sacrifice the creature with exploit if it’s still on the battlefield. This will cause its other ability to trigger. |
| 2015-02-25 | You can’t sacrifice more than one creature to any one exploit ability. |
| 2015-02-25 | You choose whether to sacrifice a creature and which creature to sacrifice as the exploit ability resolves. |
