Fell Flagship MTG Card

Provides card advantage, forcing opponents to discard upon dealing combat damage. Enhances pirate creatures, making them more formidable in combat. Requires a crew cost, which can sometimes conflict with your game strategy.

Ixalan (XLN)
2017-09-29 - Number 238

Ixalan Promos (PXLN)
2017-09-29 - Number 238s

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact — Vehicle
Abilities	Crew
Power	3
Toughness	3

Text of card

Pirates you control get +1/+0. Whenever Fell Flagship deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card. Crew 3 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 3 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)

Cards like Fell Flagship

Fell Flagship stands out as a unique vehicle card in Magic: The Gathering, offering a blend of offensive capabilities and creature control. A comparable card is Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, which also exerts a dominating presence on the battlefield. Both cards share the vehicle subtype and require a crew to become animated. However, Skysovereign offers a direct damage ability upon entering the battlefield or attacking that Fell Flagship lacks, providing immediate board impact.

Another akin card is Heart of Kiran, a vehicle with a lower crew cost and the added versatility of using planeswalker loyalty to animate it. While Heart of Kiran offers a defensive edge with vigilance, Fell Flagship stands alone with its ability to debilitate opponents’ creatures, reducing their power and thus mitigating their offensive threat. Additionally, Fell Flagship’s synergy with pirates elevates pirate-themed decks, providing an additional layer of strategy.

Evaluating these similarities and differences showcases Fell Flagship’s niche in pirate decks and its role in disrupting opponent’s strategies, making it a card that can sail your pirate crew towards victory in Magic: The Gathering.

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Fell Flagship by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Fell Flagship offers a unique edge in managing card advantage. When it deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card, subtly depleting an opponent’s options while bolstering your own board state.

Resource Acceleration: This pirate ship doesn’t provide direct resource acceleration in the form of mana or treasure, but it enhances the efficacy of your pirate crew. By giving all your pirates +1/+0, it accelerates your offensive capabilities, helping you capitalize on a more commanding presence on the board.

Instant Speed: While Fell Flagship itself isn’t an instant, it does offer some flexibility similar to instant speed dynamics. It serves as a looming threat that continuously pressures your opponents during each combat phase, compelling them to act or else face detrimental consequences like forced discards and a growing board presence, often leading to quicker victories.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Activating Fell Flagship’s crew ability necessitates tapping any number of creatures you control with a total power of 3 or more. This can sometimes lead to a discard dilemma, especially if the creatures you’re tapping are your key strategy pieces or if they’re needed for defensive purposes.

Specific Mana Cost: Playable only with three specific mana, Fell Flagship might not fit into every deck archetype, especially those that run on a tight mana curve or favor multiple colors. It restricts deck building to strategies that can reliably produce the required mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although the cost to cast Fell Flagship is not excessive, it is significant enough to impact your early game. This is especially relevant in formats where tempo is crucial, and other three-mana spells might contribute more immediately to board presence or control.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Fell Flagship is a card that can seamlessly integrate into various Pirate-themed decks, as well as other decks that need a boost in their creature’s power. Its ability to give other Pirates you control +1/+0 lends substantial synergy to your tribal strategies.

Combo Potential: Beyond its static buffs, Fell Flagship opens room for combos with its discard effect. When it deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card. This mechanic can be the linchpin in a deck focused on the opponent’s hand disruption, thereby amplifying its strategic value significantly.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Fell Flagship serves as both an offensive enhancer and a tool to weaken your opponent’s options. This dual capability can make it a pertinent choice when constructing a deck that aims to stay ahead of the meta’s curve.

How to beat

Fell Flagship, a unique vehicle card in Magic: The Gathering, can be quite the challenge to deal with once it’s crewed and on the offense. Its ability to give other Pirates you control +1/+0 is a buff that can quickly turn the tide of a game. Not to mention, its potency is further amplified by its capacity to discard your opponent’s cards whenever it deals combat damage to them.

To successfully navigate around this formidable opponent, it’s crucial to apply creature removal or artifact destruction spells before it can become a threat. Cards like Abrade or Naturalize allow you to target the Flagship directly, while board wipes, such as Wrath of God or Damnation, can efficiently dismantle the crew needed to drive this ship. Similarly, countering key pirate creatures that would otherwise enhance the power of Fell Flagship can mitigate the card’s impact, allowing you to maintain control of the game. It’s essential to address the Flagship immediately, as a full board of powered-up pirates is a ship no one wants to see set sail.

In essence, keeping removal spells in hand and anticipating the need to disrupt an opponent’s fleet strategy is paramount to conquering the challenge presented by Fell Flagship in a match of Magic: The Gathering.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Fell Flagship MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan and Ixalan Promos, 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 Fell Flagship and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Fell Flagship Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-09-29 and 2017-09-29. Illustrated by Titus Lunter.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2017-09-29	Ixalan	XLN		238	2015	Normal	Black	Titus Lunter
2	2017-09-29	Ixalan Promos	PXLN		238s	2015	Normal	Black	Titus Lunter

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Fell Flagship has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2017-09-29	Any untapped creature you control can be tapped to pay a crew cost, even one that just came under your control.
2017-09-29	Creatures that crew a Vehicle aren’t attached to it or related in any other way. Effects that affect the Vehicle, such as by destroying it or giving it a +1/+1 counter, don’t affect the creatures that crewed it.
2017-09-29	Each Vehicle is printed with a power and toughness, but it’s not a creature. If it becomes a creature (most likely through its crew ability), it will have that power and toughness.
2017-09-29	For a Vehicle to be able to attack, it must be a creature as the declare attackers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to attack with it is during the beginning of combat step. For a Vehicle to be able to block, it must be a creature as the declare blockers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to block with it is during the declare attackers step. In either case, players may take actions after the crew ability resolves but before the Vehicle has been declared as an attacking or blocking creature.
2017-09-29	If a permanent becomes a copy of a Vehicle, the copy won’t be a creature, even if the Vehicle it’s copying has become an artifact creature.
2017-09-29	If an effect causes a Vehicle to become an artifact creature with a specified power and toughness, that effect overwrites the Vehicle’s printed power and toughness.
2017-09-29	Once a Vehicle becomes a creature, it behaves exactly like any other artifact creature. It can’t attack unless you’ve controlled it continuously since your turn began, it can block if it’s untapped, it can be tapped to pay a Vehicle’s crew cost, and so on.
2017-09-29	Once a player announces that they are activating a crew ability, no player may take other actions until the ability has been paid for. Notably, players can’t try to stop the ability by changing a creature’s power or by removing or tapping a creature.
2017-09-29	Vehicle is an artifact type, not a creature type. A Vehicle that’s crewed won’t normally have any creature type.
2017-09-29	When a Vehicle becomes a creature, that doesn’t count as having a creature enter the battlefield. The permanent was already on the battlefield; it only changed its types. Abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield won’t trigger.
2017-09-29	You may activate a crew ability of a Vehicle even if it’s already an artifact creature. Doing so has no effect on the Vehicle. It doesn’t change its power and toughness.
2017-09-29	You may tap more creatures than necessary to activate a crew ability.