Veil of Birds MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment
Released	1998-10-12
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Saga
Set code	USG
Number	106
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Heather Hudson

Key Takeaways

Card Advantage: occupies one slot for a creature and enchantment, offering a unique utility.
Resource Acceleration: boosts resource gain in specific decks through casting triggers.
Instant Speed: Veil of Birds’ flash ability allows for tactical plays at any time.

Text of card

When one of your opponents successfully casts a spell, if Veil of Birds is an enchantment, Veil of Birds becomes a 1/1 creature with flying that counts as a Bird.

When wind marries sky, even the bride's veil sings her praises.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The beauty of Veil of Birds lies in its duality as both a creature and an enchantment. This allows for unique interactions and potential card advantage, as it fulfills two roles with a single card slot.

Resource Acceleration: Although not a predominant accelerator, Veil of Birds can contribute to resource acceleration in decks that utilize effects that trigger upon casting a creature or enchantment, effectively doubling the value of such triggers.

Instant Speed: Veil of Birds can be cast at instant speed, thanks to its flash ability. This enables strategic plays during the end of an opponent’s turn, keeping mana open for responses while setting the stage for your next move without missing a beat.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with Veil of Birds requires you to navigate around the card’s unique mechanic, which, unlike some other options, doesn’t offer a secondary benefit for discarding, potentially placing you at a disadvantage if you’re forced to part ways with a useful card prematurely.

Specific Mana Cost: Veil of Birds comes with a blue mana cost, which means that if your MTG deck isn’t geared towards including blue mana or built to accommodate such specificities, integrating this card could be more of a challenge, limiting its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: In terms of mana efficiency, Veil of Birds might not always be the best use of your resources. There are alternatives that could offer a lower cost for similar effects, or cards that provide greater value at the same mana cost, particularly when considering that efficient and strategic mana usage is often key to securing victory in MTG.

Reasons to Include Veil of Birds in Your Collection

Versatility: Veil of Birds offers a unique dimension to any deck, capable of acting as both an early bird blocker and a surprise enabler for strategies loving creatures eternally entering the battlefield.

Combo Potential: With its ability to turn itself from a mere creature into an enchantment and back again, this card can unexpectedly synergize with a variety of combos, particularly those that capitalize on blink or enchantment-triggered mechanics.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where low-cost creatures or enchantments shape the competitive landscape, Veil of Birds has potential as a flexible counter-play or as a tool to swiftly shift the board state in your favor without committing heavily to the battlefield.

How to beat

Veil of Birds is a unique card in the vast universe of Magic the Gathering, offering players an unassuming yet potentially strategic one-drop creature. This card comes to life under specific circumstances, transforming from a mere enchantment into a creature ready to take flight. Its ability to hide in plain sight renders it safe from most sorcery-speed removals, making it a sleeper threat that can catch an unwary opponent off guard.

To effectively confront the challenge Veil of Birds presents, it is important to anticipate its transformation and adjust your strategy accordingly. Utilizing instant-speed removals can prove to be an effective countermeasure, ensuring that this creature’s potential never takes wing. Board wipes that do not discriminate between creature types or phases of play can serve as another solid answer to the Veil of Birds conundrum, clearing the board of both visible and latent threats alike.

By thinking a step ahead and keeping such checks in your deck, you can neutralize the element of surprise that Veil of Birds relies on. In doing so, you can maintain control of the game and minimize the impact of this feathered foe.

Cards like Veil of Birds

Veil of Birds serves as an intriguing option among MTG’s enchantment creatures, a niche yet versatile category. It shares similarities with its counterpart, Cloudform, which also delicately blends enchantment with creature features. The Veil of Birds shines with its singular blue mana cost and its ability to become a creature when a spell is cast, making it a quick and unpredictable force on the battlefield.

Diving deeper into this category, we encounter the likes of Lucent Liminid. This enchantment creature differs from Veil of Birds by being a creature by default, without triggered conditions. While Lucent Liminid offers a more consistent board presence, it misses the element of surprise and tactical flexibility that the Veil of Birds provides.

Considering these alternatives, Veil of Birds is a unique blend of cost-effective swiftness and opportunistic gameplay, carving out its own space in decks that capitalize on spellcasting triggers and tempo strategies within MTG.

Cards similar to Veil of Birds by color, type and mana cost

Cloak of Invisibility - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Veil of Birds MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga, 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 Veil of Birds and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Veil of Birds has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	It changes into a creature even if the spell is countered.
2004-10-04	It triggers when the spell is cast, which means it becomes a creature before that spell resolves.
2004-10-04	When it turns into a creature, it is no longer an enchantment.
2008-08-01	A noncreature permanent that turns into a creature can attack, and its abilities can be activated, only if its controller has continuously controlled that permanent since the beginning of their most recent turn. It doesn’t matter how long the permanent has been a creature.