Vindictive Vampire MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Vampire
Power 2
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants card advantage and synergizes with creature sacrifice, dealing damage and elevating life totals.
  2. The card’s black mana requirement may limit its use to specific deck types, affecting versatility.
  3. A sound inclusion in decks countering creature-heavy strategies, enhancing board trade benefits.

Text of card

Whenever another creature you control dies, Vindictive Vampire deals 1 damage to each opponent and you gain 1 life.

In theory, the Guildpact keeps guild feuds from spiraling out of control. Personal feuds, however, are not covered.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vindictive Vampire offers a strategic edge by granting you card advantage every time another nontoken creature you control dies. This presents a recurring value each turn in long-drawn matches or creature-heavy strategies.

Resource Acceleration: While Vindictive Vampire itself doesn’t directly provide mana, it supports resource acceleration by threatening additional damage upon creature death. This pressure can accelerate the game’s pace to your favor, effectively reducing the resource gap between you and your opponent.

Instant Speed: Vindictive Vampire’s ability triggers instantly and doesn’t require mana investment at the time of trigger. This allows you to allocate resources effectively while maintaining a powerful board presence, keeping your opponents on their toes.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One limiting aspect of Vindictive Vampire is the necessity of sacrificing another creature to fully leverage its abilities. In a deck low on creatures or where each creature plays a pivotal role, this can be a damaging requirement.

Specific Mana Cost: With its black-specific mana cost, Vindictive Vampire demands a substantial commitment to black mana sources within a player’s deck. This can restrict the card’s inclusion to mainly mono-black or heavy black-based decks, possibly excluding it from a wider range of mana-flexible strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Vindictive Vampire may arrive on the field later than desirable. Other cards at a lower mana cost can provide similar or even more immediate effects, making them potentially more attractive options for deck builders aiming for efficiency and speed.


Reasons to Include Vindictive Vampire in Your Collection

Versatility: Vindictive Vampire offers a diverse role within various deck types. It enables strategies centered on creature sacrifice, acting as a source of damage against your opponents while bolstering your life total.

Combo Potential: This card can work hand-in-hand with sacrifice mechanics, amplifying the effects of other cards that thrive on creatures dying. Its ability scales well in multiplayer formats where it can impact each opponent, making it a formidable piece in combo engines.

Meta-Relevance: Tailoring to the current metagame, Vindictive Vampire slides seamlessly into decks that are likely to face creature-heavy opponents. It shines in an environment where trades on the board are common, providing you a passive way to gain an advantage.


How to beat

Vindictive Vampire can be a thorn in one’s side, especially in decks that focus on sacrificing creatures for value. An effective approach to countering this card involves limiting its opportunities to trigger its ability. Removal spells that can target Vindictive Vampire before its controller has the chance to build a board presence are an optimal choice. Direct spells such as Murder or Shock are prime examples; they can disrupt your opponent’s game plan by removing this key piece before it can do significant damage. Another tactic is utilizing graveyard disruption to decrease the value obtained from creature death, with cards like Scavenging Ooze.

Board control is also vital. Ensuring that you can sweep or control the board with cards that neutralize multiple creatures at once will minimize the blood loss from this pesky vampire. Look for cards like Wrath of God or Shatter the Sky to reset the playing field. Always manage your threats carefully, knowing when to hold back or go all in can be the difference between victory and defeat when facing vampiric troubles. In sum, timely removal and strategic control over the board are key strategies in overpowering the insidious influence of Vindictive Vampire.


BurnMana Recommendations

Improving your MTG journey means embracing the ebb and flow of gameplay, deck-building finesse, and making the most of each card’s potential. With Vindictive Vampire, you get a creature that thrives in the death of others, becoming a strategic asset in the right setting. Weaving this card into your collection could shift the tide in creature-heavy matchups and enable intriguing combos. Deepen your understanding of card interplay and unlock new levels of deck potency. Dive into our in-depth articles and resources to refine your tactics and master the art of strategic play with Vindictive Vampire.


Cards like Vindictive Vampire

Vindictive Vampire is a unique creature that finds its niche in Magic: The Gathering’s vast array of creatures designed to provide value upon death. It’s akin to cards like Blood Artist or Zulaport Cutthroat, which also capitalize on creatures dying. Vindictive Vampire offers a twofold advantage by dealing damage to opponents and granting you life whenever another creature you control bites the dust. Blood Artist, by contrast, allows for target flexibility in allocating life loss and gain, but it does not intrinsically deal damage like our vampiric friend.

Falkenrath Noble is another relative in this comparison. This flying vampire yields the same benefit of life-draining upon creature demise. However, its four mana cost places it at a different curve than Vindictive Vampire, which can begin impacting the board earlier. Additionally, while Falkenrath Noble has the advantage of flight providing offensive and defensive utility, Vindictive Vampire is more accessible mana-wise and will frequently hit the battlefield sooner, allowing for quicker synergistic plays.

Each of these death-triggering cards holds its own in terms of strategy and synergy in a deck. Vindictive Vampire stands out as a solid inclusion, especially in decks looking to leverage an endless cycle of creature death and rebirth.

Blood Artist - MTG Card versions
Zulaport Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Falkenrath Noble - MTG Card versions
Blood Artist - MTG Card versions
Zulaport Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Falkenrath Noble - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vindictive Vampire MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance and Ravnica Remastered, 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 Vindictive Vampire and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vindictive Vampire Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2019-01-25 and 2024-02-23. Illustrated by Randy Gallegos.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-01-25Ravnica AllegianceRNA 902015NormalBlackRandy Gallegos
22024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 3301997NormalBlackRandy Gallegos
32024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 972015NormalBlackRandy Gallegos
42024-02-23Ravnica: Clue EditionCLU 1262015NormalBlackRandy Gallegos

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Vindictive Vampire has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2019-01-25 If Vindictive Vampire dies at the same time as one or more other creatures you control, Vindictive Vampire’s ability triggers for each of those other creatures.
2019-01-25 If your life total is brought to 0 or less at the same time that creatures you control are dealt lethal damage, you lose the game before Vindictive Vampire’s triggered ability goes on the stack.
2019-01-25 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Vindictive Vampire’s ability causes the opposing team to lose 2 life and you gain 1 life.