Vanquish MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	2004-06-04
Set symbol
Set name	Fifth Dawn
Set code	5DN
Number	20
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Carl Critchlow

Key Takeaways

Vanquish offers strategic removal of lesser threats, shaping the game in your favor with instant speed action.
While disruptive, Vanquish’s discard requirement and specific mana cost may hinder its flexibility in some decks.
The card’s efficiency and synergy potential make it a strong contender for inclusion in control-oriented collections.

Text of card

Destroy target blocking creature.

"All beings have an inner light. Let me show you yours." —Ushanti, leonin seer

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vanquish the Weak offers strategic removal, clearing the way by destroying a creature with power 3 or less. This efficient culling can disrupt your opponent’s board presence and potentially swing the momentum in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While Vanquish itself does not directly accelerate resources, by removing key creatures, it sets back your opponent, effectively giving you the upper hand when it comes to utilizing your available resources and board control in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of instant speed grants you the power to disrupt your opponent’s strategies during their turn. This can prove invaluable, as it allows for optimal timing to counteract threats or to use your mana efficiently if no threats emerge that turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Vanquish requires a player to discard a card upon playing, which could be a potential setback, especially when a player’s hand is full of necessary cards. This could lead to a difficult situation where deciding between maintaining card advantage and using the spell becomes a strategic dilemma.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost of Vanquish demands specific colors which might not be readily available in all deck types. Decks not running those particular mana colors may find the card incompatible, hence limiting its versatility across various types of gameplay.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that might be considered steep for the effect it delivers, Vanquish competes with other spells in its mana range that could possibly offer more impactful results. This high cost-to-effect ratio could make it a less desirable choice during deck building when compared to more cost-efficient options.

Reasons to Include Vanquish in Your Collection

Versatility: Vanquish is a valuable addition to a variety of deck builds, with its ability to remove threats efficiently and at a low mana cost. It shines in decks that aim to control the battlefield and maintain a robust defense.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with effects that trigger on spell casting or creature destruction. It can also pave the way for your own creatures to attack by efficiently clearing out potential blockers.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capability to deal with formidable creatures that are ubiquitous in many current meta decks, Vanquish is a timely card to have. It helps level the playing field against decks that rely heavily on large creatures to dominate matches.

How to beat

Vanquish is a card that can tilt the board state by offering removal at a low cost, but its limitations provide avenues for counterplay. Its dependence on target creature’s power being less than the number of cards in your hand means that it’s less effective against players who maintain a full grip. This puts a spotlight on hand-size management as a key strategy against Vanquish. Ensuring you’re playing cards efficiently, keeping your hand count low, and deploying creatures that exceed the threshold can nullify Vanquish’s impact.

Cards that have indestructible or hexproof abilities also stand strong against Vanquish. Using creatures with these characteristics can reduce the effectiveness of Vanquish, as it cannot target hexproof creatures and fails to destroy those with the indestructibility characteristic. It is wise to consider running such creatures or spells that grant these abilities temporarily when facing a deck that favors removal spells like Vanquish.

Adding redundancy to your own deck is another method to withstand the setback of a removal. By having multiple key creatures or similar effects on different cards, your deck’s game plan remains unshaken even if one piece is removed. In essence, creating a resilient threat profile and maintaining a strategic hand size can greatly diminish Vanquish’s effectiveness during gameplay.

Cards like Vanquish

Vanquish is a card that MTG players might find an interesting tool for handling opposing threats. Comparable to cards like Smite the Monstrous, Vanquish offers a straightforward solution for dealing with large creatures. Smite the Monstrous also destroys creatures with power 4 or greater but does so at the cost of four mana, a full mana more than that required for Vanquish. Unlike Vanquish, however, it can target indestructible creatures as well.

Another card in the same realm is Reave Soul, which targets creatures with power 3 or less, presenting a contrast as it focuses on small to medium-sized creatures. While Reave Soul comes at a lower cost of two mana, it has limitations that Vanquish does not. Meanwhile, cards like Doom Blade allow players to remove nonblack creatures at a cost similar to Vanquish, yet Doom Blade’s restriction can be a downside in mono-black matchups.

In essence, Vanquish holds a particular niche in creature elimination in MTG. It fills the gap for players seeking a cost-effective way to deal with sizable creatures without being overly restricted by color or requiring a high mana investment, balancing well within the spectrum of creature removal options.

Cards similar to Vanquish by color, type and mana cost

Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vanquish MTG card by a specific set like Fifth Dawn, 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 Vanquish and other MTG cards: