Viridian Lorebearers MTG Card
Mana cost | |
Converted mana cost | 4 |
Rarity | Uncommon |
Type | Creature — Elf Shaman |
Released | 2004-06-04 |
Set symbol | |
Set name | Fifth Dawn |
Set code | 5DN |
Power | 3 |
Toughness | 3 |
Number | 99 |
Frame | 2003 |
Layout | Normal |
Border | Black |
Illustred by | Darrell Riche |
Text of card
, : Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of artifacts your opponents control.
A small band of elves pledged many years ago to avoid the Edges of Forgetting. They have remained hidden until now.
Cards like Viridian Lorebearers
Viridian Lorebearers is an intriguing addition to creature-based card advantage engines in the world of MTG. It’s reminiscent of creatures like “Elvish Visionary”, which, traditionally, also allows you to draw a card upon entering the battlefield. Yet, Viridian Lorebearers takes it further by potentializing the card-drawing effect based on the number of lands you control, offering a scale-able late-game benefit.
Another card worth mentioning is “Coiling Oracle”, which provides immediate value by revealing the top card of your library and if it’s a land, putting it onto the battlefield, or otherwise drawing the card. While Coiling Oracle may offer instant gratification, Viridian Lorebearers rewards players for a long-term strategy and a populated battlefield. “Tireless Tracker” is an additional parallel, creating clues and drawing cards as lands are played, though it shifts the focus to incremental gain rather than a one-time larger draw.
All things considered, Viridian Lorebearers stands out in the realm of green creatures that provide card advantage. It uniquely leverages land presence to potentially offer a significant boost in card draw, aligning well with the ramp strategies often seen in green’s slice of the color pie.
Cards similar to Viridian Lorebearers by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Viridian Lorebearers promises to keep your hand replenished, capitalizing on the number of lands you control. The ability to potentially draw multiple cards makes it a powerhouse in decks that ramp up their land base swiftly. You’re not just drawing a single card; you’re setting up for successive turns where your options and threats amplify, keeping opponents on their toes.
Resource Acceleration: Thanks to this creature’s synergy with land-heavy board states, it can act as a form of indirect resource acceleration. Each land serving double duty by bolstering your defense or offense while also fueling your card draw engine keeps the resources flowing more reliably, securing a solid path to victory.
Instant Speed: Notably, the card draw ability can be activated at instant speed, offering significant flexibility. This feature allows you to navigate around an opponent’s strategy and find an answer or a threat exactly when needed. During an opponent’s end step, you can convert unused mana into new cards, ensuring that every resource you have can be used to its utmost potential.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Viridian Lorebearers require you to have at least four other green cards in your hand to activate its ability. This demand can prove challenging when trying to manage your hand efficiently, and may force you into hard decisions about what to keep and what to discard.
Specific Mana Cost: This card comes with a rigid green mana cost, making it exclusively viable in mono-green or heavily green-focused decks. Its presence in your deck may limit creative flexibility and force a particular style of play.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The Lorebearers carry a somewhat high mana cost to get on the board, which might not always align with the pace of your game. When the battlefield is demanding quicker or more impactful plays, they might not offer the best value for the mana spent, especially when other creatures or spells could offer immediate impact or versatility.
Reasons to Include Viridian Lorebearers in Your Collection
Versatility: Viridian Lorebearers can be a flexible asset across various deck archetypes, particularly those that harness the power of +1/+1 counters and green’s inherent strengths of creature growth and board presence.
Combo Potential: This card shines in synergistic plays, as it not only grows with your card draws but also works well with proliferate mechanics or any strategy seeking to exploit larger creatures for value or victory.
Meta-Relevance: Given green’s role in the current meta with creature-heavy and counter-centric decks, Viridian Lorebearers may serve as a key component that capitalizes on drawing and playing more cards, reinforcing your board state with a formidable threat.
How to beat
The Viridian Lorebearers present an interesting challenge for MTG players. This card leverages a library’s expanse to empower itself, making it a potentially formidable force in any game. To mitigate the threat posed by the Lorebearers, one strategic approach is to minimize the number of cards in your own library, thereby weakening their potency. This can be achieved with milling tactics, that is, forcing the opponent to put cards from their library into their graveyard. The fewer cards they have, the less intimidating the Lorebearers become.
Moreover, employing removal spells that specifically target creatures, such as Doom Blade or Path to Exile, provides a direct solution to the issue at hand. It’s important to act swiftly before the Lorebearers’ strength grows in correlation with the library size. In addition, prevention is key; countering the Lorebearers before they even hit the battlefield with spells like Counterspell or Mana Leak can ensure that you never have to deal with their potential escalation. Always be ready to adjust your strategy as the MTG landscape changes, and with the right planning, the Viridian Lorebearers can be efficiently contained.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Viridian Lorebearers MTG card by a specific set like Fifth Dawn, 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 Viridian Lorebearers and other MTG cards:
BUY NOWBurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer
- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Viridian Lorebearers has restrictions
Format | Legality |
---|---|
Commander | Legal |
Legacy | Legal |
Paupercommander | Restricted |
Modern | Legal |
Oathbreaker | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Duel | Legal |
Predh | Legal |
Penny | Legal |