Venerated Teacher MTG Card

Enhances decks utilizing Level Up creatures by accelerating their abilities for an early game advantage. Acts as a form of resource acceleration, saving mana that would be spent on leveling up creatures. Presents a powerful niche effect but requires a focused Level Up strategy to be effective.

Venerated Teacher - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
2010-04-23 - Number 93

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number ROE-93

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Wizard
Power	2
Toughness	2

Text of card

When Venerated Teacher enters the battlefield, put two level counters on each creature you control with level up.

"The unfathomable is upon us, students. I have no doubt you will rise to the occasion."

Cards like Venerated Teacher

Venerated Teacher is a unique figure in the realm of Magic the Gathering, bringing a specific utility to the deck it’s played in. It’s often compared to cards like Totem-Guide Hartebeest for their shared trait of having an impactful enter the battlefield (ETB) effect. While Venerated Teacher focuses on proliferating level up counters, enhancing creatures with level-up abilities, Totem-Guide Hartebeest searches your library for an Aura card which can set up powerful combinations or provide protection.

Another card that echoes a similar utility activation theme is Ancestral Knowledge. Although it manipulates the library rather than directly amplifying creatures’ abilities, both cards aim to configure your forthcoming plays, giving you a strategic advantage. While Venerated Teacher’s effect is limited to leveling up creatures, Ancestral Knowledge offers in-depth deck organization.

Examining the selective support Venerated Teacher provides, its niche effect makes it a potent inclusion in decks crafted around the level up mechanic. This distinguishes it from broader utility ETB cards like Sea Gate Oracle, which allows you to look at the top two cards of your library, or even Solemn Simulacrum, which has the benefit of land ramp and card draw. Though their functions diverge, these similar MTG cards highlight the strategic diversity offered in the game.

Totem-Guide Hartebeest - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Venerated Teacher boasts the ability to significantly enhance decks focused on Level Up creatures. When it enters the battlefield, it immediately places two level counters on each creature you control with Level Up. This immediate uptick in creature levels can outpace an opponent’s setup, providing you with advanced abilities and stronger creatures earlier in the game.

Resource Acceleration: While Venerated Teacher itself does not directly provide traditional mana acceleration, its ability to add level counters bypasses the mana cost usually required to level up creatures. This translates to an effective form of resource acceleration, as you save valuable mana typically spent on leveling up, allowing for a more efficient deployment of other spells and creatures in your game strategy.

Instant Speed: Although Venerated Teacher’s ability is not an instant-speed action, its immediate effect upon entering the battlefield resembles an instant speed impact in MTG. It catches opponents off-guard and promptly advances your board state without waiting for sorcery speed timing, which can catch an unprepared opponent at a disadvantage, making it a strategic move during your main phases.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Venerated Teacher does not have a direct discard requirement, it’s worth noting that it synergizes with Level Up creatures. Without these cards in play, the value and utility of Venerated Teacher significantly decrease, potentially making it a less desirable choice in decks not focused on this mechanic.

Specific Mana Cost: Venerated Teacher requires two blue mana in its casting cost. This specificity can restrict its inclusion to decks that can reliably produce blue mana, potentially limiting its utility in more color-diverse strategies or decks where blue mana is not a primary focus.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of two colorless and one blue mana for a creature with modest stats, Venerated Teacher’s mana cost is considered high for its direct impact on the board. While its Level Up ability can be powerful in the right context, there are scenarios where players may prefer a more immediately impactful creature or spell for the same or lower mana cost.

Reasons to Include Venerated Teacher in Your Collection

Versatility: Venerated Teacher supports decks that capitalize on level up mechanics, seamlessly integrating into strategies that focus on growing creatures over time.

Combo Potential: When paired with creatures that have level up, this card can rapidly accelerate their progression, unlocking powerful abilities much sooner than anticipated.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where slower, more methodical play is the norm, Venerated Teacher can give you a critical advantage by speeding up the development of your key creatures.

How to beat

Venerated Teacher brings a unique dynamic to the playing field with its ability to escalate the power of level up creatures in your deck. Understanding how to counteract this spell proves crucial to maintaining control of the game. When facing a deck that employs Venerated Teacher, keep in mind that removal spells are key. Directly countering Venerated Teacher upon casting maintains your pace and prevents your opponent from gaining the upper hand through advanced level up creatures.

Moreover, spot removal during the opponent’s turn can disrupt their strategy, necessitating careful timing. Inclusion of instant speed interaction—notably those that can exile or bounce—hinders the Venerated Teacher’s influence before it becomes a threat. Strategies employing graveyard manipulation can also be effective, thwarting reanimation attempts to seize the advantage. Lastly, maintaining board presence with creatures that can block or pressure life totals discourages reliance on creatures that need time to grow.

Tactically speaking, dealing with Venerated Teacher boils down to preemptive disruptions and a keen awareness of the level up mechanic’s pacing. Balancing offense with strategic removal will maximize your chances of emerging victorious against decks centered around this card.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Venerated Teacher MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi 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 Venerated Teacher and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Venerated Teacher Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2010-04-23. Illustrated by Greg Staples.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2010-04-23	Rise of the Eldrazi	ROE		93	2003	Normal	Black	Greg Staples
2	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST		ROE-93	2003	Normal	Black	Greg Staples

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Venerated Teacher has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2010-06-15	A creature’s level is based on how many level counters it has on it, not how many times its level up ability has been activated or has resolved. If a leveler gets level counters due to some other effect (such as Clockspinning) or loses level counters for some reason (such as Vampire Hexmage), its level is changed accordingly.
2010-06-15	Effects that modify a leveler’s power or toughness, such as the effects of Giant Growth or Glorious Anthem, will apply to it no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature’s power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters) and effects that switch its power and toughness.
2010-06-15	Effects that set a leveler’s power or toughness to a specific value, including the effects from a level symbol’s ability, apply in timestamp order. The timestamp of each level symbol’s ability is the same as the timestamp of the leveler itself, regardless of when the most recent level counter was put on it.
2010-06-15	If another creature becomes a copy of a leveler, all of the leveler’s printed abilities — including those represented by level symbols — are copied. The current characteristics of the leveler, and the number of level counters on it, are not. The abilities, power, and toughness of the copy will be determined based on how many level counters are on the copy.
2010-06-15	The abilities a leveler grants to itself don’t overwrite any other abilities it may have. In particular, they don’t overwrite the creature’s level up ability; it always has that.