Vivien, Champion of the Wilds MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Planeswalker — Vivien
Loyalty 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Vivien allows instant creature casting, adding a strategic surprise element that can shift the outcome of matches.
  2. Her abilities offer unique deck flexibility and can quickly sculpt the battlefield to advantage creature-heavy strategies.
  3. Though powerful, Vivien’s specific mana cost and potential hand size reduction highlight the importance of a balanced strategy.
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.

Vigilance card art

Guide to Vigilance card ability

In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.

Text of card

You may cast creature spells as though they had flash.
+1: Until your next turn, up to one target creature gains vigilance and reach.
-2: Look at the top three cards of your library. Exile one face down and put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. For as long as it remains exiled, you may look at that card and you may cast it if it's a creature spell.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vivien Champion of the Wilds offers a unique form of card advantage by allowing players to look at the top three cards of their library and potentially cast a creature card from among them. Not only does this bypass the necessity of drawing the creature, but it also provides a surprise element by keeping opponents guessing.

Resource Acceleration: Vivien’s passive ability lets players cast creature spells as though they had flash, effectively accelerating the resource at which creatures enter the battlefield. This changes the pacing of the game and gives an edge in creature deployment.

Instant Speed: Vivien’s flexibility extends to the speed at which she operates. Her -2 loyalty ability can be used at instant speed, allowing players to adapt to changing board states with the immediate creation of a vigilant, reach, or trample token. This helps maintain a reactive stance while influencing the board.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Vivien Champion of the Wilds allows you to seek creatures with her minus two ability, she does not inherently provide card advantage. Without additional means of card draw or recursion, continuously utilizing her ability may lead to a decrease in hand size, potentially leaving you at a disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Vivien Champion of the Wilds requires a precise combination of green mana and generic mana to cast. This specific mana cost demands a dedicated commitment to green mana sources in your deck, which can limit deck-building flexibility and make the card less accessible for multicolor decks that do not prioritize green.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Even though three mana doesn’t seem overly expensive, within the realm of planeswalkers, sometimes players might find Vivien’s cost a bit steep given that she doesn’t affect the board immediately in a significant way. Decks looking for immediate impact or protection for their planeswalkers might opt for alternatives with lower mana costs or more immediate board presence.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Vivien, Champion of the Wilds bolsters a variety of green and creature-centric decks with her ability to cast creatures as though they had flash. This allows players to keep mana open for responses and dramatically shifts the pace and strategy of their play.

Combo Potential: This planeswalker synergizes with decks that aim to generate a lot of creature value. Her passive and minus abilities are pivotal for quickly building a board presence and finding key creatures to enable powerful combos or maintain momentum.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where instant speed interaction is pivotal, Vivien’s capability to deploy threats anytime turns her into a tactical asset. With continuous shifts in the competitive landscape, her place in sideboards or main decks adapts accordingly, ensuring your collection remains up to date with a solid, versatile planeswalker.


How to beat

Vivien, Champion of the Wilds offers a unique edge in MTG with the ability to cast creatures as though they had flash, upsetting the typical pace of creature play. To successfully counter this planeswalker, understanding and disrupting your opponent’s rhythm is key. Removing Vivien should be a priority; consider using instant speed removal spells like Murder or Bedevil when your opponent is tapped out, minimizing their opportunity to respond or benefit from her abilities. Additionally, employing counterspells such as Negate or Disdainful Stroke ensures Vivien never hits the battlefield.

It’s also crucial to adapt to the increased threat of instant-speed creatures. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Blasphemous Act become more potent, clearing multiple creatures regardless of whether they were played during your opponent’s turn or in response to your actions. Be mindful of the creatures you expect your opponent to cast using Vivien’s abilities and plan your removal or counterspells around those key threats. Ultimately, maintaining control of the board state and being prepared for unexpected creatures will lead to outpacing an opponent relying on Vivien, Champion of the Wilds.


BurnMana Recommendations

Delving into MTG’s complex universe demands not only understanding individual cards like Vivien Champion of the Wilds, but also the synergy they present in a well-structured deck. As you absorb the pros, cons, and tactical advantages of including Vivien in your lineup, remember that the art of deck crafting is ever-evolving. Cards gains new strengths as metas shift and new sets are introduced. We encourage all players to continuously revisit their strategies and consider how additions, like Vivien, can redefine their gameplay. Dive deeper with us, evolve your strategy, and solidify your position as a formidable MTG contender.


Cards like Vivien, Champion of the Wilds

Vivien, Champion of the Wilds is a dynamic force in the world of planeswalker cards within Magic the Gathering. In echo of her abilities, other cards like Garruk Wildspeaker amplify creature utility through untapping lands and creating beast tokens. Unlike Vivien however, Garruk doesn’t grant the power to cast creature spells at any time.

Another kindred spirit can be found in Teferi, Time Raveler, who also gives players the flexibility to cast spells at times they normally wouldn’t be able to. Still, Teferi’s focus is on controlling opponent interactions rather than enhancing creature plays directly. Then there’s Domri, Anarch of Bolas. While Domri aids in mana fixing like Vivien, and impacts the board by boosting creature power, he does not offer the same deck manipulation or flash playability.

Overall, while there are many walkers that intersect with some of Vivien’s strengths, Vivien, Champion of the Wilds stands unique with the synergetic bond she forms with creature-based strategies, allowing for surprise tactics and deck scouting that set her apart in the vast landscape of Magic the Gathering gameplay.

Garruk Wildspeaker - MTG Card versions
Teferi, Time Raveler - MTG Card versions
Domri, Anarch of Bolas - MTG Card versions
Garruk Wildspeaker - Lorwyn (LRW)
Teferi, Time Raveler - War of the Spark (WAR)
Domri, Anarch of Bolas - War of the Spark (WAR)

Cards similar to Vivien, Champion of the Wilds by color, type and mana cost

Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter - MTG Card versions
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar - MTG Card versions
Nissa, Vastwood Seer // Nissa, Sage Animist - MTG Card versions
Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan - MTG Card versions
Wrenn and Realmbreaker - MTG Card versions
Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar - The List (PLST)
Nissa, Vastwood Seer // Nissa, Sage Animist - From Cute to Brute (PCTB)
Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Wrenn and Realmbreaker - March of the Machine Promos (PMOM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vivien, Champion of the Wilds MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Magic Online 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 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vivien, Champion of the Wilds Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2019-05-03 and 2022-06-10. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 722792015normalblackHisashi Momose
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 780132015normalblackMagali Villeneuve
32019-05-03War of the SparkWAR 1802015normalblackMagali Villeneuve
42019-05-03War of the SparkWAR 180★2015normalblackHisashi Momose
52019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 180s★2015normalblackHisashi Momose
62019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 180s2015normalblackMagali Villeneuve
72019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 180p2015normalblackMagali Villeneuve
82019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 5192015normalblackMagali Villeneuve
92022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 8382015normalblackMagali Villeneuve

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Vivien, Champion of the Wilds has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2019-05-03 Once you cast the creature card, it leaves exile. You can't cast it again if that card becomes exiled again.
2019-05-03 While resolving Vivien's last ability, you must exile one of the three cards, even if none of them are creature cards. You may look at the exiled card at any time, even if it's not a creature card.
2019-05-03 You must follow any applicable timing permissions and restrictions if you cast the exiled card. This means that if Vivien leaves the battlefield, you can't cast the creature spell as though it had flash unless another effect allows you to do so.

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