Vodalian Merchant MTG Card

Invasion (INV)
2000-10-02 - Number 85

Vodalian Merchant - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)

World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
2001-08-08 - Number ab85

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Merfolk
Power	1
Toughness	2

Key Takeaways

Provides card advantage by drawing a card upon entering the battlefield, beneficial for strategic planning.
Forces a discard, potentially disrupting your hand’s balance but aiding in deck filtration.
Offers flexibility with instant-speed play, yet requires precise mana and has a high cost.

Text of card

When Vodalian Merchant comes into play, draw a card, then discard a card from your hand.

Not choosing sides in a war can be dangerous—but lucrative.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vodalian Merchant shines by offering players a new card upon entering the battlefield, fortifying their hand and providing more strategic options as the turns advance.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly producing mana or tokens, the intelligent trade-off of cards can indirectly lead to a smoother mana curve, enabling critical spells to be played ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: Flexible by design, this creature can be deployed at the most opportune time, allowing players to adapt swiftly to the shifting tide of the match while keeping mana available for other urgent responses.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With Vodalian Merchant, you’re compelled to toss one of your cards aside, which could be a setback when you’re trying to keep a full hand to maintain your strategic edge.

Specific Mana Cost: Vodalian Merchant calls for a precise blend of mana types to cast. This may not always align smoothly with your mana resources at the crucial moment you need to deploy this creature.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment needed for Vodalian Merchant can feel steep, especially when weighed against other options that may provide more flexibility or a stronger board presence for the same or lower cost.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Vodalian Merchant slides into a variety of blue-centric decks, offering both a chump blocker and a way to filter through your deck for the right cards when you need them.

Combo Potential: This nifty card digs deeper into your library, which can set up pivotal cards for combos, especially in decks that thrive on card synergy and incremental advantage.

Meta-Relevance: Given that blue often excels in control and tempo strategies, Vodalian Merchant’s ability to refine your hand can keep you competitive against various popular archetypes, maintaining relevance across different formats.

How to beat

Vodalian Merchant is an aquatic force in the MTG realm, offering card draw with a merfolky twist. When this creature enters the battlefield, its controller may look for a fishy advantage by drawing a card, granted they send another one from their hand to the watery depths of their graveyard. This ability mirrors strategic moves similar to Merfolk Looter, which allows drawing and discarding as an activated ability, but without the need to give up board presence.

Dealing with such a creature on the battlefield requires a keen strategy. A swift removal spell can ensure it swims no further, disrupting the card advantage it seeks to provide. You might employ instant-speed spells like Shock or Fatal Push, targeting the creature before its controller draws a significant benefit. Additionally, cards like Essence Scatter are preventive measures, countering the Merchant before it can even cast its net.

Comfortable navigating deep waters, Vodalian Merchant fits right into merfolk decks, its synergy undeniable with other gilled companions. Yet, by prioritizing early interaction and control over your opponent’s creatures, the advantage of this crafty merchant can be mitigated, keeping your opponent’s card advantage anchored to the seabed.

Cards like Vodalian Merchant

Vodalian Merchant enriches the blue creature lineup in Magic: The Gathering, sharing common grounds with other creatures that influence card advantage. Consider the likes of Silvergill Adept, also a merfolk, which not only permits you to draw a card but comes with a slightly heftier power and toughness. However, Vodalian Merchant’s distinction lies in its ability to force a card discard when casting under specific conditions, potentially disrupting your opponent’s strategy.

Another comparable card is Sea Gate Oracle, which involves a similar mechanism of looking at the top cards of your library and selecting one to keep. The difference, though, is in the subtlety of the Sea Gate Oracle’s ability—it doesn’t require discarding, offering a slightly less aggressive but safer path to sift through your deck. Whereas opting for cards like Merfolk Looter, you find a consistent card draw mechanic, which requires an active approach and can be used multiple times over the course of the game. However, it lacks the immediate impact provided by Vodalian Merchant’s enter-the-battlefield effect.

When evaluating these options, it’s clear that Vodalian Merchant holds a competitive edge in scenarios where immediate hand disruption is key, standing as a tactical choice for players aiming to blend merfolk synergies with subtle control elements.

Cards similar to Vodalian Merchant by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vodalian Merchant MTG card by a specific set like Invasion and World Championship Decks 2001, 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 Vodalian Merchant and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vodalian Merchant Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2000-10-02 and 2001-08-08. Illustrated by Scott M. Fischer.