Vengeful Archon MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Archon |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 2010-07-16 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Magic 2011 |
| Set code | M11 |
| Power | 7 |
| Toughness | 7 |
| Number | 37 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Greg Staples |
Text of card
Flying : Prevent the next X damage that would be dealt to you this turn. If damage is prevented this way, Vengeful Archon deals that much damage to target player.
Understanding Vengeful Archon’s Place in the MTG Pantheon
Vengeful Archon is a unique and powerful being within the MTG universe, sharing some similarities with other high-cost creatures but with its distinct abilities. Angels like Baneslayer Angel also offer formidable combat stats and lifelink, essential for late-game sustainability. The Archon, however, includes the rare feature of preventing damage and redirecting it to an opponent, an aspect that can significantly alter the outcome of matches.
Cards like Vengeful Archon
In the realm of MTG, Vengeful Archon stands out as a high-cost force, with both offensive and defensive capabilities. It conjures images of Sunblast Angel, a creature also capable of swinging games with its battlefield influence. While Sunblast Angel excels in clearing out tapped creatures upon entry, Vengeful Archon offers an enduring on-demand shield against damage, making it a bulwark against opponents’ assaults.
Defensive duties aside, we have Avacyn, Angel of Hope, another impactful creature sharing the Archon’s lofty mana values. Avacyn provides indestructible status to other permanents, creating an almost impenetrable defense. Although it doesn’t directly mirror the damage-prevention theme, Avacyn equally shapes the game’s dynamics, ensuring your board remains resilient against most threats.
Evaluating these comparatives, Vengeful Archon reinforces its distinctive niche in MTG. Its ability not only protects but also punishes opponents, marrying aggression with defense, a combination seldom found in one card.
Cards similar to Vengeful Archon by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Vengeful Archon provides a unique form of card advantage by allowing you to mitigate damage through its activated ability. Rather than drawing cards directly, you can prevent significant harm to your life total, effectively nullifying the impact of your opponent’s cards.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly a source of resource acceleration, incorporating Vengeful Archon into your deck leverages your life points as a resource. This can be particularly powerful in formats where gaining life is part of your strategy, indirectly accelerating your game plan.
Instant Speed: Although Vengeful Archon itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its ability can be activated any time you could cast an instant. This defensive utility lets you effectively ‘counter’ damage coming your way, surprising opponents who might not account for its activation after declaring attackers.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Vengeful Archon offers a potent defensive ability, it demands a high strategic cost. To use the Archon’s damage prevention ability, you must discard precious cards from your hand, which may hinder your long-term game plan and resource availability, especially in tight situations where every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: As a creature that requires three white mana symbols in its cost, fitting Vengeful Archon into a multicolored deck can be challenging. This can severely limit its inclusion only to mono-white or heavy white-based decks, restricting its overall versatility across the varied MTG formats.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of seven mana in total, Vengeful Archon sits at the higher end of the mana curve, making it less appealing in fast-paced games. Even within control decks, allocating such a substantial amount of mana could potentially leave players vulnerable to their opponent’s threats or unable to respond with other actions during a crucial turn.
Reasons to Include Vengeful Archon in Your Collection
Versatility: Vengeful Archon offers unique flexibility as a defensive powerhouse, capable of deterring opponents from attacking with its damage-prevention ability. This feature allows it to adapt to a variety of game situations, from stalling aggressive assaults to safeguarding key creatures or your life total.
Combo Potential: With its capacity to prevent damage that would be dealt to you, Vengeful Archon has synergy potential with cards that allow you to pay life as a resource. This opens up opportunities for potent card combinations, especially in decks designed to exploit life totals for strategic advantage.
Meta-Relevance: In metagames where combat damage is a primary victory condition, Vengeful Archon can be a pivotal card. Its presence on the battlefield can shift the tactical landscape, forcing opponents to reconsider their strategies and potentially causing them to overextend or misplay.
How to beat
Vengeful Archon is a powerful creature in the game, known for its ability to prevent damage and turn it back on the opponent. Facing one across the battlefield can be daunting, but like all MTG cards, it has its vulnerabilities. To overcome this high-cost creature, the key is to deploy removal spells that don’t deal damage. Consider utilizing exile effects or spells that force the player to sacrifice a creature; these bypass the Archon’s damage prevention ability.
An effective strategy includes using bounce spells to return Vengeful Archon to the owner’s hand, disrupting their game plan and tempo. Removing it from the field without dealing damage means the opponent won’t get to use its punishing effect. Moreover, counterspells are a great pre-emptive measure, stopping the Archon from hitting the field in the first place.
Lastly, it’s imperative to manage the board and maintain control. Keeping the opponent’s mana resources under check will prevent them from having enough to utilize the Archon’s ability effectively. Remember, understanding and anticipating your opponent’s moves and preparing an answer to cards like the Vengeful Archon are integral to mastering the intricacies of playing MTG.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Vengeful Archon MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2011, 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 Vengeful Archon and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
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- MTG Mint Card
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Vengeful Archon 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 Vengeful Archon card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2010-08-15 | If Vengeful Archon’s ability doesn’t prevent any damage (perhaps because a different prevention effect is applied to the damage that would be dealt to you, or because the damage is unpreventable), Vengeful Archon won’t deal any damage itself. |
| 2010-08-15 | If Vengeful Archon’s ability prevents damage, Vengeful Archon deals its damage immediately afterward as part of that same prevention effect. This happens before state-based actions are checked, and before any player can cast spells or activate abilities. If a spell or ability would have caused that damage to be dealt, this happens before that spell or ability resumes its resolution. |
| 2010-08-15 | If multiple effects modify how damage will be dealt, the player who would be dealt damage chooses the order to apply the effects. For example, say you’ve activated Vengeful Archon’s ability with X = 3 targeting Player A, and you’ve activated Vengeful Archon’s ability with X = 1 targeting Player B. You’re dealt 2 damage. You can apply the first prevention effect (dealing 2 damage to Player A), or you can apply the second prevention effect (dealing 1 damage to Player B) followed by the first prevention effect (dealing 1 damage to Player A). The unused portions of the prevention effects remain. |
| 2010-08-15 | If the amount of damage that would be dealt to you is in excess of the amount of damage that Vengeful Archon’s ability would prevent, that source deals its excess damage to you at the same time that the rest of it is prevented. Then Vengeful Archon deals its damage. |
| 2010-08-15 | If the targeted player is an illegal target by the time the ability resolves, the entire ability doesn’t resolve. No damage will be prevented. |
| 2010-08-15 | If you would be dealt combat damage by multiple attacking creatures, you choose which of that damage to prevent. For example, if X is 3 and you’d be dealt combat damage by a 1/3 Scroll Thief and a 3/5 Siege Mastodon, you might choose to prevent 1 damage from the Scroll Thief and 2 damage from the Siege Mastodon. You don’t decide until the point at which the creatures would deal their damage. |
| 2010-08-15 | The effect of Vengeful Archon’s ability is not a redirection effect. If it prevents damage, Vengeful Archon (not the source of that damage) deals damage to the targeted player as part of that prevention effect. Vengeful Archon is the source of the new damage, so the characteristics of the original source (such as its color, or whether it had lifelink or deathtouch) don’t affect this damage. The new damage is not combat damage, even if the prevented damage was. |
| 2010-08-15 | The only target of Vengeful Archon’s ability is the player it may deal damage to. You choose that target as you activate the ability, not at the time it prevents damage. |
| 2010-08-15 | Vengeful Archon’s ability doesn’t have you choose a source of damage. It will apply to the next X damage you would be dealt that turn, regardless of where that damage comes from. It doesn’t matter whether the damage would all be dealt at the same time. For example, if X is 4 and you’d be dealt 3 damage by Lightning Bolt, that 3 damage is prevented and Vengeful Archon deals 3 damage to the targeted player. The prevention effect will still apply to the next 1 damage you’d be dealt that turn. |
| 2010-08-15 | Whether the targeted player is still a legal target is no longer checked after Vengeful Archon’s ability resolves. For example, if a player targeted by Vengeful Archon’s ability puts Leyline of Sanctity (which says “You can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control”) onto the battlefield after the ability resolves but before it prevents damage, the ability will still prevent damage and still deal damage to that player. If Vengeful Archon can’t deal damage to the targeted player (because the player is no longer in the game in a multiplayer game, for example), it will still prevent damage. It just won’t deal any damage itself. |