Vesuva MTG Card

Time Spiral (TSP)
2006-10-06 - Number 281

From the Vault: Realms (V12)
2012-08-31 - Number 14

Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
2021-03-19 - Number 289

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number TSP-281

Card sets	Released in 4 setsSee all
Rarity	Rare
Type	Land

Key Takeaways

Vesuva maximizes land utility by copying any land, offering strategic advantage without using hand resources.
Acts as a resource accelerator, potentially enabling earlier casting of high-mana spells leveraging powerful lands.
Becomes invaluable in adaptable strategies, cloning lands with instant-speed abilities for reactive gameplay.

Text of card

As Vesuva comes into play, you may choose a land in play. If you do, Vesuva comes into play tapped as a copy of the chosen land.

It is everywhere you've ever been.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vesuva offers strategic flexibility by copying any land on the battlefield, which can translate into card advantage without using an extra card from your hand. This mimicry can often lead to gaining the benefits of powerful lands your opponents control or duplicating your own multi-functional lands.

Resource Acceleration: Through its ability to copy lands that produce more than one mana, Vesuva can effectively function as a resource accelerator. This seamless integration into your mana base allows you to ramp up your resources and cast high-mana spells earlier in the game. It’s especially potent when duplicating lands with supercharged mana abilities.

Instant Speed: While Vesuva itself does not operate at instant speed, its interaction with lands that have abilities usable at instant speed is noteworthy. Once Vesuva copies a land with an instant-speed ability, it allows you to leverage those capabilities on par with your opponents, maintaining a reactive and adaptable stance throughout each turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Vesuva does not have an immediate discard requirement, which is generally a positive. However, its ability to copy another land can be self-limiting, as playing Vesuva without a valuable land to copy could potentially be a wasted land drop, indirectly acting like a resource loss if not timed well.

Specific Mana Cost: Vesuva enters the battlefield tapped unless it’s copying a land with a comes-into-play-untapped ability. This means it does not require a specific mana type for its activation, but it can still lag behind other utility lands that offer immediate mana access or other resources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Vesuva itself does not have a mana cost aside from its land status, effectively copying a land with a high mana generation ability could tie up resources that could have been allocated elsewhere. This cost is not directly related to casting but to deck building and the strategizing of mana allocation, which could lead to a slower game progression if not managed properly.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Vesuva can adapt to any game situation by cloning the most impactful land on the battlefield. Whether it’s creating another mana source or replicating a powerful utility land, its ability to copy without entering tapped makes it a flexible addition to any deck.

Combo Potential: With Vesuva, the possibilities for synergies are vast. It can copy lands with enters-the-battlefield triggers for added effect, or serve as an additional piece in landfall strategies, amplifying your ability to exploit those triggers each turn.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where land interactions are key, Vesuva stands out for its capacity to copy any land – crucial when you need to match an opponent’s strategy or when you find yourself in need of that extra land type to turn the tide of battle in your favor.

How to beat

Vesuva is a versatile card in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering, known for its copycat ability to mimic any land on the battlefield. It stands out from other land cards due to its potential to become whatever you require at any given moment, be it a simple basic land or a complex utility land brimming with abilities. Vesuva doesn’t require you to spend mana to copy a land, making it efficient and instantaneous in its effect.

However, beating Vesuva typically involves strategies that limit the utility of the selected target land. Land destruction or land modification techniques can be highly effective. For instance, cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can remove the pivotal lands before Vesuva can clone them. Alternatively, using cards that change the land type or suppress the abilities of lands can neutralize Vesuva’s advantage, as it will copy the adjusted version of the land.

Ultimately, containing Vesuva comes down to proactive land management and disruption. By maintaining control over the key lands or manipulating their characteristics, one can mitigate the impact of a resolved Vesuva and maintain an advantageous position in the game.

Cards like Vesuva

Vesuva has carved its niche within Magic: The Gathering as a versatile land card with a unique cloning ability. A card that it often finds itself compared to is Thespian’s Stage, another land with the capacity to copy any land on the battlefield. However, Thespian’s Stage requires two mana to activate its ability, whereas Vesuva does this upon entering the battlefield at no extra cost, offering immediate value.

Mirrorpool is another card that shares some functional similarities, capable of copying not just lands but also spells and creatures with its various abilities. Despite its broader application, Mirrorpool does have a more restrictive mana requirement and an activation cost. While Vesuva remains focused purely on land capabilities, the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of its effect make it stand out.

Considering the diverse functionalities of these comparable cards, Vesuva holds its ground due to the no-cost cloning feature. It blends seamlessly into various deck strategies that capitalize on potent land abilities, setting a high bar for its kind in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Vesuva by color, type and mana cost

Terramorphic Expanse - MTG Card versions

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vesuva MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral and From the Vault: Realms, 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 Vesuva and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Vesuva Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by 5 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2006-10-06	Time Spiral	TSP	281	2003	Normal	Black	Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
2	2012-08-31	From the Vault: Realms	V12	14	2003	Normal	Black	Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
3	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	TSP-281	2003	Normal	Black	Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
4	2021-03-19	Time Spiral Remastered	TSR	289	2015	Normal	Black	Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Vesuva has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Vesuva 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	Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied land will trigger if Vesuva is entering the battlefield. Any “As -his land] enters the battlefield” or “ -his land] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the copied land will also work.
2021-03-19	If Vesuva somehow enters the battlefield at the same time as another land, Vesuva can’t become a copy of that land. You may choose only a land that’s already on the battlefield.
2021-03-19	If the copied land is copying something else, Vesuva uses the copiable values of that land. In most cases, Vesuva will be a copy of whatever that land is copying.
2021-03-19	If you don’t choose a land on the battlefield, Vesuva enters the battlefield untapped as itself, and will not be able to tap for mana.
2021-03-19	Vesuva copies exactly what is printed on the land it’s copying and nothing else (unless it’s copying a land that’s copying something else; see below). It doesn’t copy whether a land is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras attached to it, or any non-copy effects that changed its types, and so on.