Trespasser il-Vec MTG Card

Time Spiral (TSP)
2006-10-06 - Number 138

Trespasser il-Vec - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)

Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
2021-03-19 - Number 147

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Rogue
Power	3
Toughness	1

Key Takeaways

Exiling cards from graveyards with Trespasser il-Vec can tip the scales in your favor over time.
The card’s instant speed ability offers tactical advantages during crucial moments of gameplay.
It requires a careful balance of resources, as its abilities come with certain costs and conditions.

Text of card

Discard a card: Trespasser il-Vec gains shadow until end of turn. (It can block or be blocked by only creatures with shadow.)

At the epicenter of the Rathi overlay, the City of Traitors did not align with Dominaria. Many of its inhabitants were caught between the two worlds.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Trespasser il-Vec, you tap into the subtle power of exiling cards from your opponent’s graveyard. This disrupts their strategies and can indirectly lead to card advantage as you deplete their resources while building your own.

Resource Acceleration: This card efficiently converts a common occurrence—death of creatures—in games into a valuable resource for you. Every time a creature is put into a graveyard from play, the card’s ability kicks in, edging you closer to winning the resource war.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of activating Trespasser il-Vec at instant speed is a subtle tactical advantage. It allows you to wait and see how the game unfolds before choosing the optimal moment to use its exile ability, potentially in response to graveyard-triggered abilities or during your opponent’s end step.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Trespasser il-Vec demands the player discard a card to exploit its shadow ability. This can deplete your hand, leaving you vulnerable and with fewer options for future turns.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost for this card includes both black and generic mana. This requirement could hinder players not running a black-centric or compatible deck, thus affecting its flexibility in various MTG strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total casting cost that might be considered steep for its offered abilities, Trespasser il-Vec competes with other three-drop creatures which may provide a higher immediate value or impact on the game state.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Trespasser il-Vec shines in its ability to evade blockers and provides stealthy damage accumulation over time. It can be slotted into various deck archetypes that capitalize on unblockable creatures or that require a steady flow of damage.

Combo Potential: This card’s discard feature allows for interesting interactions, particularly in decks that activate abilities based upon discarding cards. This can set the stage for powerful graveyard strategies or enable madness abilities to surprise your opponent.

Meta-Relevance: Given the fluctuating nature of the metagame, Trespasser il-Vec’s modest mana cost and ability to dodge common removal spells make it a solid inclusion in decks that aim to stay ahead of the curve in threat management. Its synergy with disruption tactics can prove useful against a variety of popular deck builds.

How to beat

Trespasser il-Vec is a card that has flown under the radar in some MTG circles, but has the potential to be a nuisance if not dealt with promptly. This creature card is unique with its shadow ability, allowing it to attack and block only creatures with shadow. It’s the evasion this card brings to the table that demands a specific strategy to counteract.

To effectively beat Trespasser il-Vec, it’s important to have removal spells that can target evasive creatures. Spells such as ‘Path to Exile’ or ‘Fatal Push’ can easily take care of it regardless of its shadow ability. Additionally, having creatures with reach or any form of removal that doesn’t rely on blocking can neutralize the threat of this stealthy attacker.

Remember that Trespasser il-Vec also enables graveyard strategies by discarding cards, so incorporating graveyard hate in your deck could undermine these synergies. Managing the battlefield and keeping graveyard interactions in check will diminish the impact Trespasser il-Vec has on the game, ensuring you retain control of the match.

Cards like Trespasser il-Vec

Trespasser il-Vec finds its place in the grand lineage of shadow creatures within the realm of Magic: The Gathering. At first glance, it shares a resemblance to other creatures like Soltari Trooper, which also carries the elusive shadow ability allowing it to only block or be blocked by creatures with shadow. Trespasser il-Vec, however, boasts a twist with its distinctive discard ability, turning it into a tactical tool not just for unblockable attacks but also for shaping your graveyard strategy.

Diving deeper into the comparison, Doomed Necromancer offers another parallel. While it lacks the unblockable nature of shadow, its resurrection ability significantly impacts the board state by bringing back powerful creatures from the graveyard. Trespasser il-Vec serves a more subtle role, ensuring your key creatures are in the graveyard, ready for reanimation strategies similar to that of Doomed Necromancer.

In essence, Trespasser il-Vec stands out among its cohort with this integral combination of evasion and graveyard setup. For players keen on leveraging its unique skill set, it can seamlessly fit into decks that benefit from discarding cards, such as reanimator or madness themes, thereby cementing its role in specific strategic builds.

Cards similar to Trespasser il-Vec by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Trespasser il-Vec MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Trespasser il-Vec and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Trespasser il-Vec Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Jim Murray.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2006-10-06	Time Spiral	TSP		138	2003	Normal	Black	Jim Murray
2	2021-03-19	Time Spiral Remastered	TSR		147	2015	Normal	Black	Jim Murray

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Trespasser il-Vec has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-03-19	You can activate Trespasser il-Vec’s ability as many times as you can afford to pay the cost, even if it already has shadow. Multiple instances of shadow on the same creature are redundant.