Venser, Corpse Puppet MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Zombie Wizard
Abilities Lifelink,Proliferate,Toxic
Power 1
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Venser excels in card advantage, strategizing with graveyard recursion for sustained board presence.
  2. Resource acceleration and strategic adaptability are key, thanks to artifact synergies and instant speed activation.
  3. Flexibility and combo potential make Venser a must-include in decks that manipulate the battlefield.

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Venser, Corpse Puppet. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

NameFormatArchetypeEvent
UB StandardTraditional Standard Ranked Decklists: February 26, 2024
Dimir Toxic StandardDimir PoisonDEN24 Sun 10:00 - Standard $5k Open 8-slot RCQ

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Venser, Corpse Puppet MTG card by a specific set like Phyrexia: All Will Be One and Phyrexia: All Will Be One Promos, 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, Corpse Puppet and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Text of card

Lifelink, toxic 1 Whenever you proliferate, choose one — • If you don't control a creature named The Hollow Sentinel, create The Hollow Sentinel, a legendary 3/3 colorless Phyrexian Golem artifact creature token. • Target artifact creature you control gains flying and lifelink until end of turn.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Venser, Corpse Puppet can generate significant card advantage by bringing creatures back from the graveyard to hand. This recurring mechanism helps maintain a strong hand presence, enabling a sustained assault or defense.

Resource Acceleration: As an artifact creature, Venser, Corpse Puppet can synergize with decks that benefit from artifact-related mechanics, potentially accelerating your resource development through various synergies within the deck’s strategy.

Instant Speed: With the ability to activate its abilities at instant speed, Venser allows for strategic flexibility. This adaptability lets you respond to your opponents’ moves or optimize your turn sequence for maximum impact, which can catch opponents off-guard and shift the momentum in your favor.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Venser Corpse Puppet card carries the burden of a discard requirement, pushing you to forfeit another card from your hand. This effect can be particularly taxing when you’re grappling with a depleted hand and every card feels vital to maintaining the momentum in your game.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a well-aligned mana base as it has a specific mana cost that may not fluidly integrate into all deck archetypes. The need for the exact mana combination can sometimes restrict the versatility and spontaneous inclusion of the Venser Corpse Puppet in a variety of decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Considering its mana value, Venser Corpse Puppet might not be the most efficient option available. Within the same mana range, you might encounter other cards that offer similar or increased value at a reduced cost, ensuring that your mana is spent in the most economical way during a match.


Reasons to Include Venser, Corpse Puppet in Your Collection

Versatility: Venser, Corpse Puppet provides great flexibility to players, capable of being slotted into a variety of blue or artifact-centric decks. His abilities allow you to manipulate the battlefield, returning key creatures or artifacts to hand for repeated use.

Combo Potential: This card shines in the presence of synergistic pieces, unlocking powerful combos with blink or flicker effects. The potential to repeatedly exile and return creatures with enter-the-battlefield effects can turn the tide of any game.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame that’s heavy on creature-based strategies, Venser, Corpse Puppet has the potential to disrupt opponents’ plans while advancing your own board state. He fits well into both aggressive and control strategies, adjusting to the current meta with ease.


How to beat

Venser, Corpse Puppet is a unique card that can offer significant advantages when played in the right Magic: The Gathering deck. Defeating this card requires disrupting the synergy it creates within an opponent’s strategy. Its ability to exile a permanent and later return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control makes it an asset that enables recurring effects and dodges removal. To counter this, employ instant-speed removal to handle the card before its exile ability resolves. Additionally, graveyard hate cards disrupt Venser’s effectiveness by preventing the return of exiled cards. Controlling the pace and flow of the game with counterspells is also crucial, as it prevents Venser from being cast in the first place. Graveyard-based strategies always need to be kept in check, and Venser, Corpse Puppet is no exception; planning and precise execution will ensure a strategy to beat this tricky card.


BurnMana Recommendations

The art of MTG gameplay thrives on informed choices, and Venser, Corpse Puppet stands as an intriguing contender for your arsenal. Its capacity to strategically pluck resources from the graveyard and keep opponents on their toes with instant speed flexibility can’t be ignored. Recognizing the potential cons such as the discard requirement and the specific mana cost is crucial for deck synergy. Yet, the puppet’s versatility and combo potential make it a force in the right meta. Ready to refine your deck with savvy additions like Venser? Dive deeper into strategic deck-building with us and ensure your collection is primed for victory.


Cards like Venser, Corpse Puppet

Venser, Corpse Puppet is a unique entry in Magic: The Gathering’s array of creature cards, engaging players who enjoy manipulating the battlefield. While the card shares common ground with other creatures that can flicker or exile, Venser stands out due to his ability to target opposing permanents. Unlike Deadeye Navigator that offers a similar ability to exile and return creatures, Venser pushes the envelope by impacting any nonland permanent, not just your own creatures.

Another card with comparable mechanics to Venser is Flickerwisp. This card, while it can exile any permanent, can only do so until the end of turn. Venser operates on a delay, exiling the permanent until your next untap step, affecting the board’s state for a longer period. Conversely, Venser’s limitation lies in its summoning conditions, requiring a Planeswalker to be present to harness the full extent of its ability, unlike the more independently functional Flickerwisp.

Ultimately, Venser’s synergy with Planeswalkers adds an interesting dynamic to the game, challenging players to strategize with timing and board control. Its distinct combination of abilities ensures that while there are similar cards in the realm of MTG, Venser offers a different approach to tactical play laborers.

Deadeye Navigator - MTG Card versions
Flickerwisp - MTG Card versions
Deadeye Navigator - MTG Card versions
Flickerwisp - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Venser, Corpse Puppet by color, type and mana cost

Zuran Enchanter - MTG Card versions
Vodalian Hypnotist - MTG Card versions
Metathran Zombie - MTG Card versions
Dimir Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Dimir Infiltrator - MTG Card versions
Lurking Informant - MTG Card versions
Inkfathom Witch - MTG Card versions
Sygg, River Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Zombie Outlander - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Hibernation Sliver - MTG Card versions
Drowned - MTG Card versions
Woodlot Crawler - MTG Card versions
Returned Phalanx - MTG Card versions
Shipwreck Singer - MTG Card versions
Disciple of Deceit - MTG Card versions
Fathom Feeder - MTG Card versions
Shadowstorm Vizier - MTG Card versions
House Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Lazav, the Multifarious - MTG Card versions
Zuran Enchanter - MTG Card versions
Vodalian Hypnotist - MTG Card versions
Metathran Zombie - MTG Card versions
Dimir Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Dimir Infiltrator - MTG Card versions
Lurking Informant - MTG Card versions
Inkfathom Witch - MTG Card versions
Sygg, River Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Zombie Outlander - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Hibernation Sliver - MTG Card versions
Drowned - MTG Card versions
Woodlot Crawler - MTG Card versions
Returned Phalanx - MTG Card versions
Shipwreck Singer - MTG Card versions
Disciple of Deceit - MTG Card versions
Fathom Feeder - MTG Card versions
Shadowstorm Vizier - MTG Card versions
House Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Lazav, the Multifarious - MTG Card versions

Printings

The Venser, Corpse Puppet Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2023-02-03 and 2023-02-03. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be OneONE 2192015NormalBlackIgor Kieryluk
22023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be One PromosPONE 219s2015NormalBlackIgor Kieryluk
32023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be One PromosPONE 219p2015NormalBlackIgor Kieryluk
42023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be OneONE 4772015NormalBorderlessDominik Mayer
52023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be OneONE 3242015NormalBorderlessDominik Mayer

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Venser, Corpse Puppet has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2023-02-04 A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game. This is a state-based action and doesn't use the stack. In other words, it happens immediately and players can't respond to it, just like a player losing the game due to having 0 or less life.
2023-02-04 An ability that triggers "Whenever you proliferate" triggers even if you chose no permanents or players while doing so.
2023-02-04 Any other effects of that damage, such as life gain from lifelink, still apply.
2023-02-04 Conversely, replacement effects that apply to the number of counters put on a player can modify the counters placed this way. For example, Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider's last two abilities can apply to counters placed this way.
2023-02-04 Damage dealt by a creature with toxic grants the same number of counters regardless of how much damage is dealt. Notably, if a replacement effect modifies the damage in some way (such as that of Gratuitous Violence), the number of counters given remains unchanged.
2023-02-04 If a creature with toxic deals combat damage to a creature or planeswalker, or if it deals noncombat damage, toxic has no effect and no player gets poison counters.
2023-02-04 If a permanent ever has both +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it at the same time, they're removed in pairs as a state-based action so that the permanent has only one of those kinds of counters on it.
2023-02-04 If a player or permanent has more than one kind of counter on it, and you choose for it to get additional counters, it must get one of each kind of counter it already has. You can't have it get just one kind of counter it already has and not the others.
2023-02-04 Multiple instances of toxic are cumulative. For example, if a creature has toxic 2 and gains toxic 1 due to another effect, combat damage that creature deals to a player will cause that player to get 3 poison counters.
2023-02-04 Players can respond to a spell or ability whose effect includes proliferating. Once that spell or ability starts to resolve, however, and its controller chooses which permanents and players will get new counters, it's too late for anyone to respond.
2023-02-04 To proliferate, you can choose any permanent that has a counter, including ones controlled by opponents. You can choose any player who has a counter, including opponents. You can't choose cards in any zone other than the battlefield, even if they have counters on them.
2023-02-04 Toxic doesn't change the amount of combat damage a creature deals. For example, if a 2/2 creature with toxic 1 deals combat damage to a player, that creature will deal 2 damage. The results of that damage are the player loses 2 life and gets a poison counter.
2023-02-04 You don't have to choose every permanent or player that has a counter, only the ones you want to add another counter to. Since "any number" includes zero, you don't have to choose any permanents at all, and you don't have to choose any players at all.