Sage Aven MTG Card

Onslaught (ONS)
2002-10-07 - Number 111

Ninth Edition (9ED)
2005-07-29 - Number 95★

Ninth Edition (9ED)
2005-07-29 - Number 95

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Bird Wizard
Abilities	Flying
Power	1
Toughness	3

Key Takeaways

Upon entry, Sage Aven grants a preview of your next draws, essential for crafting a winning strategy.
Its ability to reorder deck cards indirectly accelerates your in-game resource efficiency.
Despite its advantages, Sage Aven’s discard requirement and specific mana cost can be restrictive.

Text of card

Flying When Sage Aven comes into play, look at the top four cards of your library, then put them back in any order.

From their mountain aeries, aven scholars see far more than the distant horizon.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sage Aven is a crafty addition to any deck looking to navigate the skies while gaining valuable insights into the upcoming plays. Upon entering the battlefield, this card provides a sneak peek at the top four cards of your library, ensuring that you have the right tools at the right time, which is crucial for outmaneuvering opponents.

Resource Acceleration: While Sage Aven itself doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, its ability to reorganize the top cards of your library can indirectly accelerate your resources. By placing unnecessary cards on the bottom, you ensure that your draws are more efficient, leading to better resource utilization over the course of the game.

Instant Speed: Although Sage Aven operates at sorcery speed, its role in a deck that features instant-speed interactions can’t be overstated. By setting up your upcoming draws, Sage Aven gives you the confidence to pass turns holding up mana for instant-speed control or disruption, knowing that your next draws have been optimized for your strategic needs.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Sage Aven provides the benefit of scrying, its ability to look at the top four cards of your library comes at a price. To activate this capability, you must first expend an additional resource, which involves discarding another card from your hand. This could be a significant drawback when your hand is already depleted, limiting your strategic options and potentially leaving you at a disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Sage Aven demands a particular combination of mana to cast: two blue and two other mana. This mana requirement means it’s destined primarily for blue-based decks, potentially narrowing its utility across diverse deck archetypes. Players not dedicated to blue may find it cumbersome to fit the Sage Aven into their strategy, especially if their mana base is not heavily invested in producing blue mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Sage Aven’s efficiency comes into question, especially given its 1/3 stats. There are numerous alternatives in MTG’s vast card pool that can offer a more impactful board presence or more efficient card manipulation at the same or lower mana value. This makes the Sage Aven a less than optimal choice in competitive play, where maximizing value at every mana point is of the essence.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sage Aven lends itself well to a variety of blue-focused decks. Its ability to reorder the deck’s top cards upon entering the battlefield makes it a smart addition to decks concentrating on library manipulation and card advantage.

Combo Potential: This card shines in strategies built around top-deck synergy. Pairing Sage Aven with cards that reveal the top of your library or allow you to play the top card can create powerful interactions and enhance the effectiveness of your overall game plan.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where knowledge of upcoming draws is crucial, Sage Aven’s foresight ability is particularly useful. It’s adept at keeping pace in metas with a lot of predictability or information warfare, providing you with a strategic upper hand.

How to beat

In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Sage Aven is a unique flier that can be a real thorn in an opponent’s side once on the battlefield. This blue bird wizard isn’t known for its strength; rather, it’s the utility it brings with its ability that allows you to look at the top four cards of your library, then put them back in any order. This card-selection mechanism can set up powerful plays for the following turns, making Sage Aven a must-answer threat.

To effectively counter Sage Aven, removing it from the field is imperative. Direct removal spells are an efficient way to handle the Aven, with options in black like Doom Blade or red spells such as Lightning Bolt, rendering its library manipulation moot. Since Sage Aven has a modest toughness, it can be dealt with via combat damage or board control spells. Ensuring that your deck has a mix of removal and control options will help keep Sage Aven from tipping the scales in your opponent’s favor.

Considering these tactics can ensure that Sage Aven’s impact on the game is a fleeting one. Neutralizing the card quickly prevents your opponent from benefiting from its scry-like ability and maintains an even playing field.

Cards like Sage Aven

Sage Aven soars amongst the variety of creatures in Magic: The Gathering with its intriguing ability to look at the top four cards of a library upon entering the battlefield. This ability is akin to Augury Owl, another flyer with a similar “scry 3” effect, albeit on a smaller scale. Sage Aven offers deeper insight into the upcoming draws but at a higher mana cost and with a larger body.

Looming over similar cards, Omenspeaker also shares the scrying ability with a “scry 2” upon entry but trades flying for an earlier board presence due to its lower mana cost. Furthermore, Seer of the Last Tomorrow, while not providing card filtering, offers a mill option that can be a linchpin in a strategic deck built around graveyard manipulation. It is important to recognize that while the mana cost and stats of these creatures vary, each brings a unique flavor to the art of library manipulation.

Evaluating the value of these utility creatures, Sage Aven holds its own as it combines a respectable body in the air with the potential for significant card quality control, a dual asset that can turn the tides of a game in a player’s favor.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sage Aven MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught and Ninth Edition, 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 Sage Aven and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sage Aven Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2002-10-07 and 2005-07-29. Illustrated by Randy Gallegos.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2002-10-07	Onslaught	ONS	111	1997	Normal	Black	Randy Gallegos
2	2005-07-29	Ninth Edition	9ED	95★	2003	Normal	Black	Randy Gallegos
3	2005-07-29	Ninth Edition	9ED	95	2003	Normal	White	Randy Gallegos