Vizkopa Confessor MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Cleric |
| Abilities | Extort |
| Released | 2013-02-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Gatecrash |
| Set code | GTC |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 205 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Ryan Pancoast |
Key Takeaways
- Vizkopa Confessor leverages hand disruption, offering strategic card advantage by forcing opponent discards.
- Its extort ability provides synergy for life-based strategies, enhancing both offense and defense.
- Despite its mana cost, the Confessor’s diverse capabilities make it a valuable addition to decks.
Text of card
Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {WB}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.) When Vizkopa Confessor enters the battlefield, pay any amount of life. Target opponent reveals that many cards from his or her hand. You choose one of them and exile it.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Vizkopa Confessor offers a unique edge by enabling players to essentially force an opponent to reveal their hand. You gain the upper hand by selectively discarding a card of your choice, effectively diminishing the opponent’s options and plotting your strategy with enhanced knowledge.
Resource Acceleration: While the Confessor itself doesn’t directly provide traditional mana acceleration, it does present a tactical form of resource acceleration. By disrupting your opponent’s plans and eliminating key pieces, you can effectively accelerate your own position in the game relative to your opponent’s diminished resources.
Instant Speed: Although Vizkopa Confessor does not operate at instant speed, the sheer power of its enter-the-battlefield ability is reminiscent of the tactical advantage instant-speed interactions can offer. Timing the Confessor’s trigger when your opponent least expects it can sometimes be just as devastating as any instant, catching them off-guard and paving the way for strategic plays on your turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Vizkopa Confessor demands a hefty price for its extortion ability, requiring players to exile a card from their hand. This can be a serious drawback when hand size is already dwindling, ultimately reducing strategic options.
Specific Mana Cost: The card’s casting cost is peculiar, needing a blend of black and white mana which ties it firmly to Orzhov decks or other decks featuring black and white. This specialized mana requirement can prevent it from being included in a wider array of decks, potentially limiting its playability.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, including two of which must be black and one white, Vizkopa Confessor stands on the pricier side of things. This can slow tempo for players who might wish to establish a board presence with more cost-effective creatures or spells.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Vizkopa Confessor can adapt to various gameplay styles seamlessly. With its ability to disrupt opponent strategies through forced discards while gaining you life, it serves multiple roles in both offensive and defensive aspects of the game.
Combo Potential: The life gain mechanic of Vizkopa Confessor synergizes well with cards that thrive on life point changes, paving the way for potential combo setups that can swing games in your favor.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state where player hand control and life total manipulation are essential, Vizkopa Confessor proves to be a relevant addition. It can shape match outcomes against the backdrop of a meta characterized by these interactions.
How to Beat Vizkopa Confessor
Vizkopa Confessor can be a tricky card to face in your MTG matches with its intimidating Extort ability that can slowly leech away at an opponent’s life total while padding your own. Its high mana cost for such an effect poses a strategic consideration for those wielding it and also opens a window of opportunity for its adversaries. The key to overcoming this nuisance is a timely response—remove it from the battlefield before its controller can make full use of its life-draining capability.
Your arsenal to counter Vizkopa Confessor should include efficient removal spells that can dispatch creatures regardless of their size. Since Vizkopa Confessor demands a considerable investment of mana, casting a spell like Murder or Path to Exile translates to a mana-efficient trade in your favor. Additionally, countering it upon cast with spells like Cancel or Essence Scatter ensures that it never gets the chance to exploit its ability. Negating its initial impact by refusing to pay the Extort cost when the ability triggers can also mitigate the life loss and gain your opponent is banking on.
Assertive playstyles that keep your opponent on the back foot can make it difficult for them to find the comfort to allocate mana towards Vizkopa Confessor’s activation. By maintaining board control and pressuring their life total, you prevent them from leveraging the card’s full potential, ultimately helping you to maintain dominance in the duel.
Cards like Vizkopa Confessor
Vizkopa Confessor is a unique creature in MTG, standing out among other extort cards. Similar to the well-known Kingpin’s Pet, Vizkopa Confessor can impact life totals but with a distinct advantage. Where Kingpin’s Pet offers regular extort opportunities, Vizkopa Confessor allows you to take a peek into your opponent’s hand and disrupt their strategy by forcing a discard, paired with the life-gain and loss from the extort mechanic.
Another akin card is Basilica Screecher, offering a lower casting cost but smaller stat-line. Like the Confessor, it employs extort, a key element shared across the guild of Orzhov. The main difference lies in the Confessor’s one-time hand disruption effect, which can shift the course of a match, especially when timed perfectly to counter your opponent’s plans.
In evaluating similar MTG cards, Vizkopa Confessor provides a dual threat: life manipulation and tactical hand disarmament. While not the cheapest card in its category, the strategic edge it brings to the table in both casual and focused extort-based decks cannot be underestimated, situating it as a powerful ally in any MTG player’s arsenal.
Cards similar to Vizkopa Confessor by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Vizkopa Confessor MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash, 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 Vizkopa Confessor 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 Vizkopa Confessor has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Vizkopa Confessor card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2013-01-24 | If the target opponent is an illegal target when Vizkopa Confessor’s last ability tries to resolve, it won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen. You won’t pay life and no player will reveal any cards. |
| 2013-01-24 | The amount of life you pay is chosen when Vizkopa Confessor’s last ability resolves. |
| 2013-01-24 | You may pay 0 life when Vizkopa Confessor’s enters-the-battlefield ability resolves. If you do, no cards are revealed or exiled. |
| 2013-04-15 | The amount of life you gain from extort is based on the total amount of life lost, not necessarily the number of opponents you have. For example, if your opponent’s life total can’t change (perhaps because that player controls Platinum Emperion), you won’t gain any life. |
| 2013-04-15 | The extort ability doesn’t target any player. |
| 2013-04-15 | You may pay {W/B} a maximum of one time for each extort triggered ability. You decide whether to pay when the ability resolves. |
