Plague of Vermin MTG Card

Offers a rare, scalable creature swarm tactic tied directly to players’ life totals. Demands careful hand management due to discard requirements for optimal play. Excellent combo potential with cards that utilize creatures as resources.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	7
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	2008-05-02
Set symbol
Set name	Shadowmoor
Set code	SHM
Number	73
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Carl Critchlow

Text of card

Starting with you, each player may pay any amount of life. Repeat this process until no one pays life. Each player puts a 1/1 black Rat creature token into play for each 1 life he or she paid this way.

Cards like Plague of Vermin

The intriguing card Plague of Vermin is a unique choice for players looking to swarm the board in Magic: The Gathering. It invites a compelling similarity to cards like Bitterblossom which also focus on creating creature tokens. Plague of Vermin allows a cunning player to potentially summon a vast number of Rat creature tokens at once, albeit at the expense of their life points. Bitterblossom, in contrast, provides a steady stream of Faerie tokens at the cost of incremental life loss over time.

Another comparable card is Army of the Damned, which floods the field with Zombie tokens. While Plague of Vermin’s strength lies in its potential for immediate overwhelming presence, Army of the Damned’s Zombies arrive tapped, and the card comes with a heftier mana investment. Despite this delay, Army of the Damned also includes flashback, offering the spell a second chance from the graveyard, something Plague of Vermin lacks.

These comparisons paint a clearer picture of Plague of Vermin’s position in MTG’s roster of token generators. Its one-time, high-risk gambit stands as a stark contrast to other more conservative token-generating strategies, giving it a unique edge in games that reward boldness and tactical life management.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Plague of Vermin offers a unique tool for building an overwhelming board presence. By allowing players to create any number of Rat tokens at the cost of 1 life each, it sets up the potential for a massive surge in creatures, tipping the scales in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: Despite Plague of Vermin not directly providing traditional mana acceleration, the abundance of Rat tokens can be exploited with various synergistic cards. For example, they can be sacrificed for additional mana or used to fuel other potent abilities that turn creatures into resources.

Instant Speed: Though Plague of Vermin is a sorcery, understanding its optimal use during your own turn aligns with instant-speed mindset. Carefully considering your life total, you can summon a tide of tokens right before your untap step to maximize your offensive potential and keep opponents on their heels.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Plague of Vermin necessitates a precise strategic setup as it bears a discard clause to maximize its potential. This prerequisite can be particularly demanding when the player’s hand is dwindling or when the strategic importance of each card is at a peak.

Specific Mana Cost: The card demands a specific mana alignment, requiring both black and generic mana. This cost can be a significant restriction, especially in multicolored decks that might struggle with mana consistency or those that prioritize speed and efficiency over complex mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost leaning on the higher side for summoning multiple tokens, some players might find themselves considering alternative spells that offer more economical token generation. In competitive play, where every turn can be pivotal, investing a large amount of mana in a single spell such as Plague of Vermin could lead to a tempo loss, putting players at a disadvantage.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Plague of Vermin offers dynamic gameplay and can slide into numerous deck archetypes. This card shines in decks that crave token generation or aim to manipulate life totals for victory.

Combo Potential: With its ability to flood the board with Rat creature tokens, Plague of Vermin works seamlessly with synergistic cards that capitalize on creatures entering or leaving the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where board presence is key, the immediate impact of potentially swarming the battlefield gives you leverage in the match. The card’s unique exchange of life for creatures makes it a viable option for any black-inclusive strategy.

How to beat

Confronting Plague of Vermin on the battlefield demands a nimble strategy. This card allows both players the opportunity to create an army of Rat tokens at the risk of their own life points. One way to outmaneuver this card is by maintaining a strong life total to create a gap the opponent can’t overcome by sacrificing life to match your Rat creation. This positions you favorably, especially if you have life-gain abilities in your deck to further bolster your position and outlast their strategy.

Board control spells are also key. Since the Rat tokens are typically swarming strategies, having a card with sweeping damage or “destroy all creatures” effects can swiftly negate the horde amassed by Plague of Vermin. It’s paramount to have these types of spells in reserve or a strategy to retrieve them from the graveyard to use when the rats overrun the field.

Ultimately, the card’s effectiveness hinges on the health reserves and the timing of each activation. By carefully choosing when to sacrifice life and when to clear the board, you can render Plague of Vermin’s potential impact minimal and secure your path to victory.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Plague of Vermin MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor, 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 Plague of Vermin and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Plague of Vermin has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-05-01	After the process stops, the total amount of life each player paid this way is calculated. That’s how many tokens each player gets. All the tokens enter the battlefield at the same time.
2008-05-01	If a player chooses to spend life, their life total goes down immediately. This will affect how much life that player can spend the next time the process gets around to them. If a player chooses to pay life three different times during this process, for example, that counts as three separate instances of losing life, not as one.
2008-05-01	In a Two-Headed Giant game, each player on a team gets a chance to pay life. The team’s life total is adjusted in between.
2008-05-01	In a game of N players, the process ends when all N players in sequence (starting with you) choose not to pay life. It doesn’t end the first time a player chooses not to pay life. If a player chooses not to pay life but the process continues, that player may pay life the next time the process gets around to them.
2008-05-01	The amount of life a player may spend must be equal to or less than that player’s life total; you can’t spend life you haven’t got.