Vazal, the Compleat MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Artifact Creature — Phyrexian
Abilities Trample, Vigilance
Power 7
Toughness 7

Key Takeaways

  1. Graveyard use with Vazal turns previous game actions into strategic advantages for sustained power.
  2. Instantaneous card actions allow for flexibility and surprise tactics during complex gameplay.
  3. While powerful, Vazal’s higher mana cost and specific needs impede its ease of use.
Vigilance card art

Guide to Vigilance card ability

In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.

Text of card

Megalegendary (Your deck can have only one copy of this card.) Vigilance, trample CARDNAME has the activated abilities of all other permanents on the battlefield.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vazal, the Compleat lets you delve into your graveyard, effectively turning your past plays into powerful fuel. This feature means you’re less likely to run out of steam, as your deck’s history contributes to its future plays. Essentially, the more cards you have in your graveyard, the more Vazal enables you to leverage those toward victory.

Resource Acceleration: Vazal’s ability to harness your graveyard for casting can rapidly accelerate your in-game resources. This card lets you utilize cards you’ve already played, making it easier to cast larger spells or activate abilities sooner than you otherwise might be able to. This leads to a more formidable board presence and can swiftly tilt the scales in your favor.

Instant Speed: Vazal’s mechanics can be activated at instant speed, offering you the strategic advantage of adaptability. You can respond to your opponent’s moves with surprise plays, preserving your mana for the right moment and making Vazal a nightmare for opponents to predict. This flexibility affords you a powerful tool in the fast-paced world of strategy required by expert MTG play.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Vazal, the Compleat requires a card to be discarded to utilize certain abilities. This stipulation may prove taxing on your hand, particularly in tense stages of the game when maintaining card advantage is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: Commanding a unique combination of mana colors, Vazal, the Compleat necessitates a precise mana base. This aspect can pose a deck-building challenge, often confining it to decks that can consistently generate the exact mana needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Vazal, the Compleat’s abilities are potent, its casting cost is on the higher side. In formats where speed is of the essence, this card could be outpaced by others that provide similar impacts at a lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Vazal, the Compleat offers a flexible profile that can adapt to numerous deck builds, whether you’re aiming for control or looking to streamline a potent infectious strategy. This versatility means it can be a vital card against a diverse array of opponents.

Combo Potential: As a card with definite combo potential, Vazal can become a lynchpin in strategies that amplify its infect capability, potentially leading to fast game conclusions if combined with the right set of cards and conditions on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: With so many decks focusing on large creatures and commanders, having Vazal in your repertoire gives you an edge. Its potential to disrupt your opponent’s strategy and resilience in the face of many common removal spells makes it a card worth considering in competitive play.


How to Beat Vazal, the Compleat

Vazal, the Compleat can be an intimidating card to face in any MTG matchup. Known for its potent abilities and the threat it poses once on the battlefield, players need to strategize carefully to overcome this imposing creature. It inherits all activated abilities of each other creature card in its controller’s grave, making it increasingly powerful as the game progresses. Therefore, keeping your opponent’s graveyard empty is key to diminishing Vazal’s potential.

Graveyard hate cards, such as Scavenging Ooze or Rest in Peace, are essential weapons in your arsenal when trying to contain Vazal’s threat. By managing your opponent’s graveyard, you limit Vazal’s capabilities, making it easier to manage. Additionally, direct removal spells that exile, such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, can bypass Vazal’s potential indestructibility and take it out of the equation permanently. Keeping a versatile removal package in your deck will help ensure that Vazal, the Compleat does not dominate the game.

Overall, facing Vazal requires foresight and a game plan centered around graveyard control and exile-based removals. By incorporating such answers into your deck, you stand a much better chance of triumphing over this formidable adversarial card and maintaining an edge in your matches.


Cards like Vazal, the Compleat

Vazal, the Compleat stands out in MTG as an innovative showcase of what the Phyrexian theme has to offer. It can be paralleled with creatures such as Traxos, Scourge of Kroog, due to their shared trait of formidable power and the notable artifact type, bringing a mechanical edge to the battlefield. Vazal, the Compleat elevates the archetype adding infect, making it a formidable threat that bypasses traditional damage, whereas Traxos focuses on raw power and is unlocked through historic spells.

You could also draw lines between Vazal and Blightsteel Colossus with both cards embodying the fearsome nature of Phyrexian creatures. They boast infect, offering a path to victory bypassing the opponent’s life total. However, Blightsteel commands a more considerable mana investment and offers the famed indestructible keyword, making it harder to remove from play compared to Vazal.

Assessing Vazal in the broader context of MTG powerhouses, it’s clear that this card introduces a strategic depth to Phyrexian-themed decks. Infect enthusiasts and artifact aficionados alike can appreciate Vazal’s unique combination of features that can create new opportunities for deck building and gameplay dynamics.

Traxos, Scourge of Kroog - MTG Card versions
Blightsteel Colossus - MTG Card versions
Traxos, Scourge of Kroog - Dominaria Promos (PDOM)
Blightsteel Colossus - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

Cards similar to Vazal, the Compleat by color, type and mana cost

Bootleggers' Stash - MTG Card versions
Malachite Golem - MTG Card versions
Thundering Tanadon - MTG Card versions
Cradle Clearcutter - MTG Card versions
Sylvok Battle-Chair - MTG Card versions
Bootleggers' Stash - Streets of New Capenna Promos (PSNC)
Malachite Golem - Mirrodin (MRD)
Thundering Tanadon - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Cradle Clearcutter - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Sylvok Battle-Chair - Phyrexia: All Will Be One (ONE)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vazal, the Compleat MTG card by a specific set like Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 and Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021, 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 Vazal, the Compleat and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vazal, the Compleat Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-11-07 and 2021-08-20. Illustrated by Damian Tedrow.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-11-07Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019CMB1 852015normalblackDamian Tedrow
22021-08-20Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021CMB2 852015normalblackDamian Tedrow

Rules and information

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

DateText
2019-11-12 Activated abilities contain a colon. They’re generally written “
-ost:
-ffect].” Some keyword abilities (such as equip) are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text. Vazal won’t gain triggered abilities (which start with “when,” “whenever,” or “at”).
2019-11-12 If Vazal gains an activated ability that’s normally linked to a non-activated ability of the card it came from, the ability Vazal has isn’t linked to any ability.
2019-11-12 If Vazal gains an activated ability that’s normally linked to another activated ability of the card it came from, those two abilities Vazal gains are linked for as long as Vazal remains on the battlefield.
2019-11-12 If Vazal has a crew or equip ability, activating it won’t cause anything to happen.
2019-11-12 If an activated ability references the card it’s printed on by name, treat Vazal’s instance of that ability as though it referenced Vazal by name instead.
2019-11-12 If you’re fortunate enough to have two copies of Vazal in a Limited event, you can still put only one into your deck. The other remains in your sideboard.

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