Will-o'-the-Wisp MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 17 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Spirit
Abilities Flying
Power 0
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Will-o’-the-Wisp excels in defense with its flying and regeneration, a persistent threat to opponents.
  2. Its instant speed regeneration helps it dodge myriad threats, providing a tactical advantage.
  3. While resource-intensive for maintenance, it’s a valuable addition for its versatility and combo potential.

Text of card

Flying; oo B Regenerates

"About, about in reel and rout The death-fires danced at night; The water, like a witch's oils, Burnt green, and blue and white." —Samuel Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Will-o’-the-Wisp provides a resilient board presence that’s difficult to remove permanently, allowing it to be a recurring defensive resource over multiple turns.

Resource Acceleration: While the card doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its low mana cost ensures that you can deploy it early in the game without hindering your ability to play other spells.

Instant Speed: The ability to regenerate Will-o’-the-Wisp at instant speed provides a significant tactical edge, letting you protect it from most threats during any point of the game’s turn cycle.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike some creatures that hit the field without any additional costs, Will-o’-the-Wisp’s ability to regenerate requires a player to continually allocate resources, namely black mana. This repetitive cost can strain a player’s mana pool over time, especially in a game where mana efficiency is crucial. Having to reserve that mana can sometimes hinder the ability to play other cards in a turn, limiting strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: Being a mono-black card, Will-o’-the-Wisp can be a tricky fit in multi-colored decks. Its need for black mana to make the best of its abilities ensures it has a home primarily in black or graveyard-centered decks. Players running other archetypes might find this card less beneficial and might opt for creatures with more flexible mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although one black mana for a 1/1 flying creature with regeneration seems economical, the real expense comes into play when you consider the recurring cost to maintain its regeneration shield. As games progress and more mana is required to deploy impactful spells or creatures, sinking a constant one black mana into this creature’s regeneration ability may not always be the optimal use of that mana as compared to other potential plays.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Will-o’-the-Wisp offers an excellent defensive option for any black deck due to its flying ability and the capacity to regenerate. This makes it a tricky target to remove from the battlefield and a rather adaptable blocker against a multitude of threats.

Combo Potential: As a one-mana creature, Will-o’-the-Wisp fits seamlessly into strategies that benefit from low-cost creatures. Its regeneration ability also pairs well with cards and effects that require sacrificing creatures, ensuring it can be used repeatedly.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where removal spells are prevalent, Will-o’-the-Wisp’s resilience can be a real asset. It remains relevant in environments where dodging fatal damage spells is essential, allowing for strategic play and board presence maintenance against tough opponents.


How to beat

Will-o’-the-Wisp is a classic creature from Magic: The Gathering that poses a unique challenge to overcome on the battlefield. With its ability to regenerate for a single black mana, it can be an unyielding defensive wall. To successfully beat this elusive foe, players need to employ strategies that bypass traditional combat methods. Cards that inflict direct damage to creatures, or those that can change a creature’s ability to regenerate, such as Stifle or Trickbind, are effective tools.

Additionally, spells or abilities that exile creatures from the game instead of destroying them, like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, offer a clean solution. Using cards with the “cannot regenerate” clause or leveraging global effects that deal damage to all creatures simultaneously, such as Pyroclasm or Wrath of God, can ensure that Will-o’-the-Wisp doesn’t stick around to haunt the game. Overall, while this iconic card presents a tricky obstacle, myriad options are available within the game to remove it from the equation decisively.


Cards like Will-o'-the-Wisp

Will-o’-the-Wisp stands out in the world of Magic: The Gathering as a key defensive creature card. It shares similarities with other one-mana creatures like Suntail Hawk with its low cost and flying capability. Yet, the spectral Wisp has the invaluable ability to regenerate, allowing it to survive battles and removal spells that would obliterate most creatures of its size. Other notable one-drops such as Vampire Lacerator bring aggressive tactics to the table, providing higher power, but they lack the resilience of Will-o’-the-Wisp.

Moving on, there’s Mist-Cloaked Herald that, while unblockable, can’t match the defensive prowess provided by the Wisp’s regenerative property. Cards like Healer’s Hawk offer lifelink, allowing for a slight advantage in life total, but again fall short in terms of durability when pitted against Will-o’-the-Wisp. Lastly, comparing it to other regenerative creatures like Drudge Skeletons, the Wisp takes the edge with its flying trait, proving to be an annoyance for opponents by evading ground blockers and surviving what often means certain death for others.

Considering these comparisons, Will-o’-the-Wisp secures a significant position among one-drop creatures in Magic: The Gathering, valued for its flying ability and exceptional survivability.

Suntail Hawk - MTG Card versions
Vampire Lacerator - MTG Card versions
Mist-Cloaked Herald - MTG Card versions
Healer's Hawk - MTG Card versions
Drudge Skeletons - MTG Card versions
Suntail Hawk - Judgment (JUD)
Vampire Lacerator - Zendikar (ZEN)
Mist-Cloaked Herald - Rivals of Ixalan (RIX)
Healer's Hawk - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Drudge Skeletons - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)

Cards similar to Will-o'-the-Wisp by color, type and mana cost

Stone-Throwing Devils - MTG Card versions
Vampire Bats - MTG Card versions
Bog Rats - MTG Card versions
Insidious Bookworms - MTG Card versions
Sewer Rats - MTG Card versions
Kjeldoran Dead - MTG Card versions
Muck Rats - MTG Card versions
Circling Vultures - MTG Card versions
Vebulid - MTG Card versions
Zodiac Rat - MTG Card versions
Urborg Skeleton - MTG Card versions
Carrion Rats - MTG Card versions
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - MTG Card versions
Champion of the Perished - MTG Card versions
Dark Supplicant - MTG Card versions
Bile Urchin - MTG Card versions
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher - MTG Card versions
Rimebound Dead - MTG Card versions
Mindlash Sliver - MTG Card versions
Plague Beetle - MTG Card versions
Stone-Throwing Devils - Arabian Nights (ARN)
Vampire Bats - Renaissance (REN)
Bog Rats - Chronicles (CHR)
Insidious Bookworms - Alliances (ALL)
Sewer Rats - Mirage (MIR)
Kjeldoran Dead - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Muck Rats - Portal Second Age (P02)
Circling Vultures - Weatherlight (WTH)
Vebulid - Urza's Saga (USG)
Zodiac Rat - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Urborg Skeleton - Invasion (INV)
Carrion Rats - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Champion of the Perished - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Dark Supplicant - Legions (LGN)
Bile Urchin - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Rimebound Dead - Coldsnap (CSP)
Mindlash Sliver - Time Spiral (TSP)
Plague Beetle - Salvat 2011 (PS11)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Will-o'-the-Wisp MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Will-o'-the-Wisp and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Will-o'-the-Wisp Magic the Gathering card was released in 15 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 1351993normalblackJesper Myrfors
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 1361993normalblackJesper Myrfors
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 1361993normalwhiteJesper Myrfors
41993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 1361993normalblackJesper Myrfors
51993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 1361993normalblackJesper Myrfors
61994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 1371993normalwhiteJesper Myrfors
71994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 1371993normalblackJesper Myrfors
81994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 1371993normalwhiteJesper Myrfors
91995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 1711993normalwhiteJesper Myrfors
101995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 1711993normalblackJesper Myrfors
112005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 169★2003normalblackRob Alexander
122005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 1692003normalwhiteRob Alexander
132018-03-16Masters 25A25 1152015normalblackRob Alexander
142019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 8262015normalblackRob Alexander
152020-09-26The ListPLST A25-1152015normalblackRob Alexander
162022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 4291997normalblackJesper Myrfors
172022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 1322015normalblackJesper Myrfors

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Will-o'-the-Wisp has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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