Last year was Nadu Summer, but this year Magic is dominated: The gathering of a card: Vivi Ornitier. The Little Black Mag from Final Fantasy 9 has torn up the game since it arrived at his big crossover set, and he has become such a problem that many players now demand that he be banned.
This week, the real extent of Vivi's power has been made clear thanks to great success in tournaments. That being said, he is at his best when he is paired with a previously forgotten card from 2023's Wilds of Eldaine, which can take the case for him instead.
Vivi is just too good
When he talked about /R /MAGICTCG SUBREDIT, players as a user /u /pfworth described Vivi as “destructive standard” and pointed out that the tires that used him took up 53 percent of the 16 best tires in the latest magic: collection arena champinoship, and seven of them were in the last eight. At the same time, the latest MTG -Online challenges have seen a similar Playrate for Vivi, which appears in about half of the upper deck.
The problem with Vivi is that he is far too flexible. When you throw a non -creation spell, he becomes stronger and can then use his freely activated ability to give you mana to throw more magic formulas. On top of all this, he can deal with direct damage to each opponent, if you did not win fast enough as it is. The end result is a card that has been described as “a mess”.
Vivi may be banned
As I avoid earlier, Vivi takes back memories from last year's problematic guide, Nadu, Winged Wisdom. Like Vivi, Nadu had an ability that could be activated for free (thanks to the free equipment cost for Shuko), gave quick access to Mana and was easily abusible. Thanks to exactly how Buisted it was, Nadu was quickly banned in both modern and commander, the two formats for which the seemingly designed.
At the time of Nadus's ban, the main designer Mark Rosewater identified that a major problem was zero cost activations and said they were something sorcerers had “stopped doing”. Less than a year later, we get Vivi, a card that is undoubtedly more broken than Nadu, with a mechanic guides that are alleged to have stopped doing.
Agatha's soul cauldron is also on the chopping block
However, Vivi is not alone in his crimes. He has driven a card that was first printed back in 2023 in the limelight, with Agatha's soul cauldron you can turn virtually all creatures into a vivi. Popular vivification goals include Marauding Mako, thanks to its fast and easy way to get +1/ +1 counters on their own.
Some players claim that Soul Cauldron is the better choice for a ban than Vivi. Optimistically, some believe that Vivi is vulnerable to removal can weaken the tire without completely killing the archetype, while more cynical players feel that the chance for Vivi, a large chase mythical rare from the best-selling set of all time, is probably to be hit.
Anyway, Soul Cauldron has not been a problem since it was released in Wilds of Endraine, and in the past some fun, fringe tires are run. Prohibiting Vivi, who will still be an UNFUN card to play against, feels healthier for the game overall.
Unfortunately, we will not see a ban on standard for at least a few more weeks when Spider-Man is launched. At the moment, Vivi Summer continues.
- Franchise
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Magic: The collection
- Original release date
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August 5, 1993
- Player count
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2+
- Age recommendation
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13+
- Length per game
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Variable
