Brimstone Vandal MTG Card
2021-09-24 - Number 130
2022-01-28 - Number 130
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Devil |
| Abilities | Menace |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Brimstone Vandal can indirectly increase card advantage by forcing opponent responses every upkeep.
- Its consistent damage output can hasten victories, boosting the game’s pace without direct resource ramping.
- Synergizes with instant-speed spells, making it a versatile threat during each player’s turn.
Text of card
Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.) If it's neither day nor night, it becomes day as Brimstone Vandal enters the battlefield. Whenever day becomes night or night becomes day, Brimstone Vandal deals 1 damage to each opponent.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Brimstone Vandal creates a subtle, yet impactful, card advantage by dealing direct damage during each player’s upkeep if you’ve cast a spell during your own turn. This can force opponents to spend cards dealing with it, indirectly adding to your hand over the course of a game.
Resource Acceleration: While Brimstone Vandal doesn’t directly accelerate resources in traditional ways such as ramp or treasure creation, its consistent damage output can expedite the game’s tempo, indirectly accelerating your path to victory.
Instant Speed: Although Brimstone Vandal itself is a creature card and not cast at instant speed, its ability triggers during each upkeep, not just your own. This can synergize well with instant speed spells you play on the previous turn, ensuring the Vandal’s ability to deal damage. It keeps opponents on edge, having to anticipate potential damage not just on your turn but also on theirs.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Brimstone Vandal doesn’t necessitate discarding cards itself, but being part of a strategy focused on the ‘Madness’ or ‘Hellbent’ mechanics means you might be discarding more often. This can put you at a card disadvantage against opponents, especially if the card’s impact on the game doesn’t justify the loss of resources.
Specific Mana Cost: As a card that requires one red mana, Brimstone Vandal is firmly placed within red-themed decks. This limits its utility for players looking to craft a multicolored deck unless they have a mana base that can consistently provide the necessary red mana without disrupting their mana curve.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For two mana, a 2/3 creature may seem adequately costed, but when considering Brimstone Vandal’s role, which largely centers around its ability triggered during each player’s upkeep, it can appear lackluster. In formats teeming with low-cost, high-impact creatures, Brimstone Vandal may not be the most mana-efficient choice for a two-drop slot in a deck’s curve.
Reasons to Include Brimstone Vandal in Your Collection
Versatility: Brimstone Vandal holds its ground as a flexible pick, slotting smoothly into red-based aggressive strategies. Its ability to deal damage during each upkeep makes it a consistent threat in games that last multiple turns.
Combo Potential: With its daybound and nightbound mechanic, this creature thrives in decks built around the day-night cycle. It can be a key piece in triggering damage-dealing combos, especially in turns where night becomes day repeatedly.
Meta-Relevance: As the MTG landscape evolves, Brimstone Vandal proves to be a tactical card against decks that rely on drawn-out plays. Its consistent chip damage pressures opponents on a different axis than usual combat damage, aligning well with the tempo of current red deck strategies.
How to beat
Brimstone Vandal presents a unique challenge in MTG matches with its ability to deal incremental damage during each player’s upkeep, especially under the condition known as “daybound.” Negating its effects involves a specific strategy, such as incorporating low-cost removal spells in your deck. Cards like Shock or Fatal Push allow you to remove Brimstone Vandal before it can chip away at your life total. Another tactic is to optimize your deck’s performance during the “night” to sidestep the additional damage normally incurred at “day.”
Since Brimstone Vandal thrives in a matchup where turns are passed quickly, another effective measure is to maintain a steady pace of play that will make it more difficult for the card’s daybound ability to trigger. This can be combined with cards that change the day-night status to your advantage, providing a dual approach of control and prevention.
Ultimately, efficiently managing the battlefield and understanding the daybound/nightbound mechanics are key in mitigating the damage from Brimstone Vandal. With the right removal spells and tempo strategy, you’ll be well-equipped to extinguish this fiery threat from your matches.
Cards like Brimstone Vandal
Brimstone Vandal represents a mischievous twist on the typical creature gameplay in Magic: The Gathering. The card finds relatives in cards like Thermo-Alchemist, which lends itself to a repeatable damage strategy aimed at opponents. Brimstone Vandal excels with its Nightbound ability, enabling consistent damage during turns kept to darkness.
Moreover, Electrostatic Field serves as another analogous card that poses a constant threat of damage with each spell cast. Although Electrostatic Field remains defensive with its higher toughness, it doesn’t offer the same aggressive potential that Brimstone Vandal can bring, especially during night-time turns. Both cards excel in decks that cast numerous spells to whittle down opponents’ life totals.
Considering the interplay of mechanics and the strategic edge they provide, Brimstone Vandal stands out within its niche. Its ability to swing in for damage and further exploit the day-night cycle gives it a distinctive role in decks that look to press the advantage with every spell cast and each turn passed.
Cards similar to Brimstone Vandal by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Brimstone Vandal MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Double Feature, 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 Brimstone Vandal 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
Printings
The Brimstone Vandal Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by Andreas Zafiratos.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-09-24 | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt | MID | 130 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Zafiratos | |
| 2 | 2022-01-28 | Innistrad: Double Feature | DBL | 130 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Zafiratos |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Brimstone Vandal has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Brimstone Vandal card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-09-24 | Before a player untaps their permanents during the untap step, the game checks to see if the day/night designation should change. |
| 2021-09-24 | Day and night are designations that the game itself can have. The game starts as neither. Once the game becomes day (or less commonly, night), the game will be exactly one of them—day or night—going back and forth for the rest of the game. |
| 2021-09-24 | For more information about Day and Night and the Daybound and Nightbound abilities, please see the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Mechanics atricle (https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/innistrad-midnight-hunt-mechanics-2021-09-02). |
| 2021-09-24 | If a triggered ability triggers whenever day becomes night or night becomes day, it only triggers if it was already either day/night and becomes the other. It does not trigger when the game becomes day or night for the first time. |
| 2021-09-24 | If it is day, and the active player of the previous turn cast no spells during their turn, it becomes night. |
| 2021-09-24 | If it is night, and the active player of the previous turn cast two or more spells during their turn, it becomes day. |
