Bleak Coven Vampires MTG Card

Bleak Coven Vampires - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)

Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)
2010-10-01 - Number 55

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number SOM-55

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Vampire Warrior
Abilities	Metalcraft
Power	4
Toughness	3

Key Takeaways

Elevates gameplay by removing threats and strengthening board presence simultaneously.
Maximizes artifact synergy, offering swift board control and strategic advantage.
Instant-speed interactions complement the Metalcraft ability, catching opponents off-guard.

Text of card

Metalcraft — When Bleak Coven Vampires enters the battlefield, if you control three or more artifacts, target player loses 4 life and you gain 4 life.

As the shadow of the Mephidross spread over the Tangle, the vampires' territory expanded.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Bleak Coven Vampires offer notable advantage by potentially removing an opponent’s threat while adding a robust creature to your side of the battlefield. This duality can shift game momentum in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: Emerging from the shadows, this card can efficiently utilize resources, particularly in decks designed around artifact synergy. It rewards you for playing artifacts with a significant power boost, essentially accelerating your path to a commanding board presence.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, the Metalcraft ability of Bleak Coven Vampires synergizes well with cards that operate at instant speed. Dropping artifacts onto the battlefield at the end of an opponent’s turn can suddenly turn these vampires into a formidable threat, catching opponents unprepared.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Bleak Coven Vampires demands a specific board state to fully capitalize on its benefit. To trigger its metalcraft ability, you must control three or more artifacts. This requirement means that without the necessary setup, it’s merely a vanilla creature, lacking the impact you might expect from a card of its cost.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature card carries a restrictive mana cost that includes not just three mana of any color but also two black mana. This specificity in mana requirement means that it’s not easily splashed into decks that aren’t heavily focused on black mana, potentially limiting its versatility across different deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Bleak Coven Vampires enters a battlefield where players expect substantial impact. Considering other creatures and spells available at this same mana value, it can turn out to be an inefficient choice for the slot, especially when its conditional ability isn’t guaranteed to activate in every game scenario.

Reasons to Include Bleak Coven Vampires in Your Collection

Versatility: Bleak Coven Vampires offers strategic flexibility in black-focused or artifact-heavy decks. The life loss for opponents can be a critical swing in many gameplay scenarios, especially in multiplayer formats.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes with deck mechanics that capitalize on artifacts. Pairing it with cards that create or exploit artifact interactions can lead to potent combinations and enhance its impact on the game.

Meta-Relevance: As the meta shifts, so does the importance of having adaptable cards. The presence of aggressive strategies makes Bleak Coven Vampires a card worth considering for its potential to disrupt opponent tempo and provide a significant advantage in life totals.

How to beat Bleak Coven Vampires

Bleak Coven Vampires enters the battlefield as a solid black creature in MTG, offering a unique interplay of lifegain and damage that can turn the tides of a match. This card requires a strategic approach to combat effectively. When facing this vampiric threat, prioritize the removal of artifacts from the battlefield. This moves Bleak Coven Vampires away from its optimum condition, weakening its Metalcraft ability which hinges on controlling three or more artifacts.

Spot removal spells are also highly effective. Use instant-speed removal like Fatal Push or Path to Exile before the Metalcraft condition is met to eliminate the Vampires with efficiency and minimize the opportunity for your opponent to benefit from the lifegain and damage trigger. Always keep in mind the importance of timing and prioritize keeping the board clear of artifacts. This reduces the overall impact Bleak Coven Vampires can exert on the game, providing you with a clearer path to victory.

Maintaining control over the artifacts and employing timely removal is crucial when going up against Bleak Coven Vampires. By doing so, you can neutralize its potential and keep the upper hand in your MTG duels.

Cards like Bleak Coven Vampires

Bleak Coven Vampires is a unique creature card bringing subtle strategy changes to Magic: The Gathering gameplay. This card stands in line with others like Moroii and Vampire Nighthawk. What makes Bleak Coven Vampires distinct is the Metalcraft ability, which grants the advantage of dealing direct damage if you control three or more artifacts. Unlike Moroii, which deals damage to its controller each turn, Bleak Coven Vampires gives you the benefit without any self-inflicted loss.

Considering Vampire Nighthawk, which is popular for its deathtouch and lifelink abilities, Bleak Coven Vampires lacks these features but compensates with the potential for an immediate impact on the board state through its Metalcraft-triggered ability. It’s a tradeoff between ongoing value and an instant damage burst provided by the vampires. Another similar card, Gatekeeper of Malakir, offers a different approach with its kicker cost which sacrifices an opponent’s creature, favoring control-based strategies over Bleak Coven Vampires’ conditional aggression.

Assessing these comparisons, Bleak Coven Vampires offers MTG players an opportune combination of creature benefits and strategic play, especially in artifact-rich decks looking to leverage the Metalcraft ability for added board control and direct damage output.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bleak Coven Vampires MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin and The List, 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 Bleak Coven Vampires and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Bleak Coven Vampires Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-10-01 and 2010-10-01. Illustrated by Randis Albion.