Prey's Vengeance MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Rebound

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers a combat advantage by temporarily increasing a creature’s power and toughness.
  2. Rebound ability grants the card repeated utility, affecting gameplay over multiple turns.
  3. Seamlessly integrates into green or multi-color decks seeking aggressive strategies.

Text of card

Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Prey’s Vengeance is a boon for green decks looking to sustain pressure. This instant adds an unexpected layer of offense, potentially disrupting your opponent’s calculations and turning the tide of combat in your favor without sacrificing card presence on the board.

Resource Acceleration: Although Prey’s Vengeance does not directly generate mana or additional resources, the boost it gives a creature can help eliminate an opponent’s threat or push through decisive damage, effectively accelerating your path to victory. Moreover, the rebound mechanic can potentially double the effectiveness of your initial resource investment, without spending additional cards.

Instant Speed: The instant nature of Prey’s Vengeance offers strategic flexibility, allowing players to cast it during the combat phase or in response to an opponent’s actions. This unpredictability can serve as a bluffing tool or a reactive measure to surprise opponents and protect valuable creatures from being outmatched.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For Magic enthusiasts eager to incorporate Prey’s Vengeance into their deck, it’s important to note that while this card does not have a discard requirement itself, the high-speed nature of its Instant-type can lead to prematurely depleting your hand, limiting subsequent strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: Playing Prey’s Vengeance requires green mana, which means it seamlessly fits into green-centric or green-inclusive decks. For those running other color combinations, its inclusion becomes less practical, potentially disrupting the deck’s mana curve and consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the mana cost for Prey’s Vengeance is not inherently high, when compared to other combat tricks or creature buffs in the game, the card may seem less mana-efficient. Players might find other cards offering more versatile or powerful effects with a lower or comparable mana investment.


Reasons to Include Prey’s Vengeance in Your Collection

Versatility: Prey’s Vengeance offers a quick and efficient way to boost a creature’s power and toughness, suitable for aggressive strategies or decks that thrive on combat tricks.

Combo Potential: The instant speed and rebound ability allow for a two-turn sequence of strategic plays, enabling synergies with prowess triggers or creature abilities that require stat enhancements.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta teeming with creature-based combat, Prey’s Vengeance can turn the tides of battle in your favor, making it a valuable tool for surprising opponents and securing victories.


How to beat Prey’s Vengeance

Prey’s Vengeance is an instant spell that boosts a creature’s power and toughness temporarily, making it a surprising combat trick in many Magic: The Gathering matchups. To effectively counter this card, players should prioritize removal spells that can target creatures at instant speed. Spells like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can disrupt your opponent’s plans before the buff takes effect, negating the advantage Prey’s Vengeance provides.

Another strategy is to hold back on blockers when you suspect your opponent has this card in hand. Since Prey’s Vengeance can turn the tides of combat, it’s often smarter to avoid unfavorable blocks. Counterspells also serve as an excellent answer, with options like Mana Leak that can prevent Prey’s Vengeance from resolving entirely, preserving your defensive line.

Overall, while Prey’s Vengeance can be an unexpected threat, maintaining board control and being mindful of open mana from the opponent are keys to outmaneuvering its effects. By staying on alert and using the right removal and counter measures, you can ensure that Prey’s Vengeance does not hinder your path to victory.


Cards like Prey's Vengeance

Prey’s Vengeance is a captivating instant in Magic: The Gathering that offers creatures you control a swift boost in power. It shines in comparison with cards like Giant Growth, a classic that also provides a +3/+3 increase in stats. Prey’s Vengeance, however, has the added benefit of rebound, allowing for a second wave of enhancement in the following turn at no extra cost. This rebound mechanism adds strategic depth, as it gives players a predictable advantage that can be planned for.

Delving into other cards like Vines of Vastwood not only gives a creature +4/+4 but also offers protection by making it untargetable by spells or abilities your opponents control. While this protection can be pivotal in certain matchups, Vines lacks the recurring impact of Prey’s Vengeance’s rebound ability. Mutagenic Growth presents another parallel, being a free spell if you pay with 2 life instead of mana. It grants a smaller boost than Prey’s Vengeance, but the ability to cast it without tapping lands can be hugely advantageous in tight situations.

While each of these spells has its niche, Prey’s Vengeance stands out due to its potential for recurring value, making it a unique and powerful option for players aiming to maximize combat tricks and maintain pressure across multiple turns.

Giant Growth - MTG Card versions
Vines of Vastwood - MTG Card versions
Mutagenic Growth - MTG Card versions
Giant Growth - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Vines of Vastwood - Zendikar (ZEN)
Mutagenic Growth - New Phyrexia (NPH)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Prey's Vengeance MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi and Iconic Masters, 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 Prey's Vengeance and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Prey's Vengeance Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2021-08-26. Illustrated by Jesper Ejsing.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-04-23Rise of the EldraziROE 2052003normalblackJesper Ejsing
22017-11-17Iconic MastersIMA 1822015normalblackJesper Ejsing
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 12972015normalblackJesper Ejsing
42020-09-26The ListPLST IMA-1822015normalblackJesper Ejsing
52021-08-26Jumpstart: Historic HorizonsJ21 6202015normalblackJesper Ejsing

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Prey's Vengeance has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Prey's Vengeance card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2010-06-15 At the beginning of your upkeep, all delayed triggered abilities created by rebound effects trigger. You may handle them in any order. If you want to cast a card this way, you do so as part of the resolution of its delayed triggered ability. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type (if it’s a sorcery) are ignored. Other restrictions are not (such as the one from Rule of Law).
2010-06-15 If a replacement effect would cause a spell with rebound that you cast from your hand to be put somewhere else instead of your graveyard (such as Leyline of the Void might), you choose whether to apply the rebound effect or the other effect as the spell resolves.
2010-06-15 If a spell with rebound that you cast from your hand doesn’t resolve for any reason (due being countered by a spell like Cancel, or because all of its targets are illegal), rebound has no effect. The spell is simply put into your graveyard. You won’t get to cast it again next turn.
2010-06-15 If you are unable to cast a card from exile this way, or you choose not to, nothing happens when the delayed triggered ability resolves. The card remains exiled for the rest of the game, and you won’t get another chance to cast the card. The same is true if the ability is countered (due to Stifle, perhaps).
2010-06-15 If you cast a card from exile this way, it will go to your graveyard when it resolves, fails to resolve, or is countered. It won’t go back to exile.
2010-06-15 If you cast a spell with rebound from anywhere other than your hand (such as from your graveyard due to Sins of the Past, from your library due to cascade, or from your opponent’s hand due to Sen Triplets), rebound won’t have any effect. If you do cast it from your hand, rebound will work regardless of whether you paid its mana cost (for example, if you cast it from your hand due to Maelstrom Archangel).
2010-06-15 If you cast a spell with rebound from your hand and it resolves, it isn’t put into your graveyard. Rather, it’s exiled directly from the stack. Effects that care about cards being put into your graveyard won’t do anything.
2010-06-15 Rebound will have no effect on copies of spells because you don’t cast them from your hand.

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