Zulaport Duelist MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Rogue
Abilities	Mill, Flash
Released	2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar Rising
Set code	ZNR
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	88
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Bryan Sola

Key Takeaways

Instant speed allows flexible play, turning Zulaport Duelist into a surprise blocker or a timely disruptor.
Its ability to mill escalates resource depletion, indirectly benefitting your victory conditions.
However, its mandatory discard and specific mana cost may restrict its playability in diverse decks.

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.

Text of card

Flash When Zulaport Duelist enters the battlefield, up to one target creature gets -2/-0 until end of turn. Its controller mills two cards. (They put the top two cards of their library into their graveyard.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Zulaport Duelist doesn’t directly grant card advantage but its effect can be used to disrupt your opponent’s strategy, potentially causing them to lose an important creature, which can indirectly lead to a more favorable board state for you.

Resource Acceleration: Though Zulaport Duelist doesn’t provide mana or tokens, its inclusion in a deck can be a strategic form of resource acceleration. By using its ability to force your opponent to mill, you speed up the potential depletion of their resources, hastening your path to victory.

Instant Speed: This card can be played at instant speed, enabling you to surprise an opponent by milling a card at a critical moment or by blocking when they least expect it. This can help to keep mana available for other tactics until it is most effective to cast Zulaport Duelist.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Zulaport Duelist might sometimes feel like a double-edged sword. You need to part with another card in your hand to trigger its flash ability, which can set you back when your hand is running low on cards. It’s essential to weigh the benefit of surprising your opponent with the Duelist against the cost of losing a potentially crucial card from your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Zulaport Duelist demands a precise mana makeup, requiring one black mana to be cast. This specificity can be restrictive as it necessitates a certain deck construction, potentially limiting the card to black-centric or multicolor decks that can reliably produce black mana, thus reducing its flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When considering mana economy, Zulaport Duelist’s cost may appear out of balance. For a single mana, other options in the game may provide a more significant impact on the board state or in your strategic plans. Wise players will assess their options, considering cards that offer more bang for their buck in terms of gameplay advantages.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Zulaport Duelist offers strategic value across various deck types. Its ability to force an opponent to mill a card, combined with its Flash attribute, allows for surprising interactions and defensive plays during your opponent’s turn.

Combo Potential: This card shines in strategies focused on graveyard manipulation. It pairs well with decks that capitalize on both self-mill and opponent mill strategies, facilitating combos with cards that benefit from increased graveyard contents.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where creature-based tactics are prevalent, Zulaport Duelist serves as a tactical response. It unexpectedly alters combat by giving a player’s creature -2/-0, which can disrupt combat math and swing the tide of battle in your favor.

How to beat

Zulaport Duelist stands out in the Magic: The Gathering landscape for its flash ability to surprise opponents and its potential to hinder an attacker’s damage output temporarily. When facing this card, one needs to employ strategic forethought. It’s crucial to hold back your major threats until your opponent has expended the Duelist or lacks the mana to cast it. Additionally, since the Duelist can only target a creature an opponent controls, controlling the timing and target of your spells can mitigate the Duelist’s impact.

Instant speed removal spells are particularly effective against Zulaport Duelist. Casting removal in response to its flash activation ensures that the Duelist is unable to fulfill its role of providing a combat trick or saving a more valuable creature. Grasp of Darkness or Shock can be used quickly in response, negating the Duelist’s effect and keeping your board presence strong. Another angle is leveraging cards with hexproof or protection from creatures to circumvent Zulaport Duelist’s temporary debuff, solidifying your offensive line without worry of its defensive prowess.

Tactically, Zulaport Duelist is a speed bump, not a roadblock, in a match. Predicting its appearance and countering its ability effectively ensures that your planned attacks can proceed without major adjustments or sacrifices.

Cards like Zulaport Duelist

Zulaport Duelist holds its own in the realm of instant utility creatures within Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to force an opponent’s creature to get -2/-0 until end of turn resonates with cards like Siren’s Ruse. Siren’s Ruse also targets creatures but with a different twist, flickering the creature and providing card draw. While Zulaport Duelist lacks the card draw component, it compensates with its flash ability, allowing players to cast it unexpectedly and influence combat interactions favorably.

Merfolk Trickster is another card that shares similar utility, disrupting opponents by removing abilities and tapping target creatures. However, this card does not shift power like the Duelist, offering a more defensive utility. Then, there’s Alchemist’s Gift, which can give a creature -1/-1 while potentially granting deathtouch or lifelink. Zulaport Duelist doesn’t provide these additional options but does offer a slight edge with a guaranteed creature on the battlefield for blocking or attacking into open fields.

Highlighting these comparisons, Zulaport Duelist proves to be a versatile and tactical choice for strategic combat plays, and it’s inclusion in decks adds a subtle layer of depth to in-game decision-making.

Cards similar to Zulaport Duelist by color, type and mana cost

Merfolk of the Pearl Trident - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Zulaport Duelist MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Zulaport Duelist and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Zulaport Duelist has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-09-25	If the target creature is an illegal target by the time Zulaport Duelist’s ability tries to resolve, the ability doesn’t resolve. No player mills two cards.