Venser, Shaper Savant MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Wizard
Abilities Flash
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Venser offers both card advantage and indirect resource acceleration, enhancing your play flexibility.
  2. Its instant-speed utility allows for surprise play and superior board control during matches.
  3. While powerful, Venser requires careful mana and hand-size management to avoid potential drawbacks.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Flash (You may play this spell any time you could play an instant.) When Venser, Shaper Savant comes into play, return target spell or permanent to its owner's hand.

His marvels of artifice pale in comparison to the developing machinery of his mind.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Venser, Shaper Savant, allows players to return a spell or permanent to its owner’s hand upon entry, disrupting opponent strategies and tipping the scales in your favor. This can effectively negate an opponent’s move, acting as a form of card advantage by preserving your board state or invalidating an opponent’s play.

Resource Acceleration: While Venser himself does not directly accelerate resources, his ability to bounce permanents can reset mana artifacts or other utility creatures to be reused. As a result, Venser can contribute to resource acceleration indirectly by providing additional uses of your permanents that generate or interact with mana sources.

Instant Speed: Venser’s ability to be flashed in gives a significant tactical advantage. With this, you can react to threats immediately or at the end of your opponent’s turn, retaining the element of surprise and optimal timing, akin to the advantages provided by an instant. This characteristic enables you to make decisions with full knowledge of your opponent’s actions, making Venser an agile and versatile card in any match.


Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Venser, Shaper Savant requires both blue and white mana, compelling you to have a two-color deck or a mana base that can support multiple colors, which may not always be feasible depending on your deck’s construction.

Discard Requirement: Although Venser does not have a discard requirement himself, bouncing your own spells or permanents to re-use their enter-the-battlefield effects might lead to discarding if you exceed your maximum hand size at the end of your turn.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, including two that are color-specific, Venser’s utility comes at a high price. This can be a notable disadvantage early in the game or in scenarios where mana efficiency is crucial.


Reasons to Include Venser Shaper Savant in Your Collection

Versatility: Venser Shaper Savant provides a unique flexibility to deck builders; it allows you to bounce spells or permanents, not just creatures. This enables it to fit into a plethora of blue-based decks and strategies, adapting to control, tempo, or even combo-centered play styles.

Combo Potential: As a piece in many combo puzzles, this card’s ability to return itself or another creature to your hand when coupled with cards that allow you to cast creatures multiple times in a turn can set off a chain of beneficial actions, making it a wise choice for players looking to construct intricate combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where stack interaction and board presence are key, Venser Shaper Savant remains a relevant card. Its instant-speed interaction can disrupt opponents’ plans, making it a valuable tool against a variety of decks that dominate the current meta.


How to beat Venser, Shaper Savant

Venser, Shaper Savant is a versatile card in the MTG universe, capable of returning spells or permanents to their owner’s hand. Its flash ability allows it to be played at almost any time, making it a potent tool for disrupting strategies. To stand a chance against this formidable card, one needs to adopt smart tactics and play with precision.

Begin by limiting Venser’s effectiveness with cards that restrict spell casting or penalize the opponent for bouncing your cards. Torpor Orb, for instance, nullifies enter the battlefield abilities, making Venser a simple 2/2 creature. Pithing Needle can also be played naming Venser to prevent the activated ability from wreaking havoc on your game plan. Moreover, tactics involving instant-speed removal or counterspells can negate Venser’s impact. Quick removal can dispatch Venser before its controller gets the chance to capitalize on the tempo gained. Counterspells are harder to utilize as Venser can target them, but with careful timing and baiting out the Savant, one can get around it.

Ultimately, playing around Venser involves foresight and the willingness to adapt your playstyle. By choosing the right countermeasures and anticipating your opponent’s moves, you can mitigate the effects of Venser, Shaper Savant and maintain control over the game’s flow.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the depth of strategy in Magic the Gathering can be as intricate as it is rewarding. With a card like Venser, Shaper Savant, you gain a tactical ally that can sway the battle to your side. The card’s capacity to bounce spells or permanents, coupled with its flash ability, can nullify your opponent’s actions and maintain your board’s advantage. If you’re intrigued by the complexity and utility that Venser, Shaper Savant brings to the MTG table, we invite you to dive deeper into the nuances of gameplay it offers. Enhance your deck with this card’s multifaceted prowess and embrace the ability to adapt swiftly to an ever-changing battlefield. Discover more tips and strategies to optimize your deck with Venser and similar cards by joining our MTG community.


Cards like Venser, Shaper Savant

Venser, Shaper Savant offers a unique blend of flexibility and control in Magic: The Gathering. With a similar disruption ability, we can draw parallels with cards like Remand. Both allow for a spell or creature to be returned to their owner’s hand, but while Remand is limited to spells and replaces itself by drawing a card, Venser can target any spell or creature without the card draw benefit.

Moving to creatures, Reflector Mage is a worthy analogue to Venser’s creature-bouncing ability. However, Venser grants immediate bounce-back of any spell or creature during either player’s turn due to having flash, unlike Reflector Mage which only targets creatures and operates at sorcery speed. A comparable utility can be found in Aethersnipe, which also evokes to return a nonland permanent to hand but lacks the same versatility and instant speed Venser provides.

In essence, Venser, Shaper Savant stands out among its peers for its broad target scope and instant-speed interaction, which positions it as a versatile tool in players’ arsenals. While there are other options with similar effects, Venser’s swift and flexible response capabilities make it a card that can cleverly navigate and influence the rhythm of the game.

Remand - MTG Card versions
Reflector Mage - MTG Card versions
Aethersnipe - MTG Card versions
Remand - MTG Card versions
Reflector Mage - MTG Card versions
Aethersnipe - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Venser, Shaper Savant MTG card by a specific set like Future Sight and From the Vault: Twenty, 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 Venser, Shaper Savant and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Venser, Shaper Savant Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2007-05-04 and 2022-07-08. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-05-04Future SightFUT 462003NormalBlackAleksi Briclot
22013-08-23From the Vault: TwentyV13 152003NormalBlackEric Deschamps
32017-03-17Modern Masters 2017MM3 552015NormalBlackEric Deschamps
42020-09-26The ListPLST TSR-962015NormalBlackAleksi Briclot
52021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 962015NormalBlackAleksi Briclot
62022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 662015NormalBlackAleksi Briclot
72022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 4352015NormalBlackAleksi Briclot

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Venser, Shaper Savant has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2017-03-14 If Venser’s triggered ability targets a spell cast with flashback, that spell will be exiled instead of returning to its owner’s hand.
2017-03-14 If a copy of a spell is returned to its owner’s hand, it’s moved there, then it will cease to exist as a state-based action. It can’t be recast.
2017-03-14 If a spell is returned to its owner’s hand, it’s removed from the stack and thus will not resolve. The spell isn’t countered; it just no longer exists. This works against a spell that can’t be countered.
2021-03-19 If a spell is returned to its owner’s hand, it’s removed from the stack and thus will not resolve. The spell isn’t countered; it just no longer exists. This works even against a spell that can’t be countered.

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