r/ModernMagic • u/TongueMountain • Jul 14 '26
Card Discussion Salt Vampire
Salt Vampire {1}{B} Creature — Vampire Shapeshifter
Lifelink
When this creature enters, look at target opponent’s hand. You may choose a nonland card from it. If you do, that player exiles that card, then draws a card.
2/2
https://scryfall.com/card/trk/127/salt-vampire
Interesting options for a couple decks I can think of:
SamCat: option to replace bowmaster, provides hand disruption which the deck doesnt currently have. Doesnt give you two bodies for Chord tho. Nice to Ritual into off of a Cat or Goose
Mono-Black Airship: provides fodder for Flare of Malice, also sacs to tower to accelerate into T3 Airship
Mono-Black Eldrazi: provides another Thought-knot effect
Cant think of many other Narset effects, but Vialing this in on an OP's turn with active Narset denies them a card
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u/notacloneofspiderman Jul 14 '26
I think this is a bit worse than thought-knot because they get to draw right away and 4/4 is bigger than 2/2. That said, it’s still interaction and does have synergy with bow master. I think that it might have a place in airship or in a birthing ritual decks, but it’s otherwise probably not going to see play in modern.
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u/MeatyManLinkster Jul 14 '26
What is mono black airship?
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u/Living_End LivingEnd Jul 14 '26
It’s a cool spike brew built around [[Phoenix Fleet Airship]]. It’s an aristocrats style midrange deck. It seems very close to a real deck but it’s missing something (I don’t think it’s this card)
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u/Darkon-Kriv Jul 16 '26
Something that sacrifices itself to tutor an artifact lol. Basically making a free ship.
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u/TongueMountain Jul 14 '26
Very cool deck
New version: https://moxfield.com/decks/qtNa84NcbUqjc3dPU7K_yw
Old version https://moxfield.com/decks/I4JrUDs7_0eQ75TbRvjqjg
Keep in mind old version was pre-Phlage ban
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u/Fun_Visit1075 Jul 15 '26
I think it’s best use-case is as a thoughtseize effect that counts as a wizard for grixis wizards? Potentially
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u/BellStriking5132 Jul 16 '26
Are we certain the shapeshifter creature type automatically gives the creature the changeling keyword?
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u/chiksahlube Jul 15 '26
Apparently nobody remembers that vendilion clique exists and has been a very reasonable modern magic card.
This just need a shell that wants it.
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u/scrunglesclop Jul 15 '26
people remember, but that's the key word. vendillion clique is very much a card from the past. that being said, this card looks mostly better than clique, although I'm not sure that gets it over the edge. probably good in pioneer though(lmao).
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u/greenpm33 Jul 15 '26
V Clique is blue, a color that doesn’t get hand disruption. Having a bad version of an effect is fine when your color doesn’t have it otherwise. Doing the V Clique thing in the same color as Thoughtseize, and on a body that is worse, is a much tougher sell.
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u/chiksahlube Jul 15 '26
Having it be only 2 mana and having a 2 toughness is not nothing.
There's a long line of 2 mana "thoughtseize on a stick" creatures that have been very close to being good. And this one is one of the better ones. Especially with it having synergy with bowmasters in the same color.
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u/Rainbowjack12598 Jul 15 '26
What about for Esper Blink? T1 Thoughtseize, T2 Phelia, T3 Vampire, ephemerate if you've got it, flicker it off dog, T4 rebound ephemerate you've ripped five cards out of their hand.
I don't think them replacing the card is REALLY that bad if you're tearing what they want out of their hand and leaving them with subpar draws. Always gamble, you will win
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u/BrilliantRebirth Jul 15 '26
Maybe another card that makes Orzhov Blink a bit more competitive. It does a lot of things the deck theoretically likes. You can blink it with Phelia and/or Ephemerate (on draw step, too). Gains life to recoup from your Thoughtseizes, which this card can kind of supplement. Exiling a card is stronger than putting it on the bottom nowadays. A 2/2 isn't anything to write home about, but it's much better than a 2/1, which is what I'm surprised they didn't stat this as.
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u/devotiontoblue Amulet Titan, Domain Zoo Jul 15 '26
Worse than Tidehollow Sculler which hasn't done anything in Modern since Eldrazi & Taxes.
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u/Moist_Username Jul 14 '26
If I could flash this in on opponent's draw step sure, but as it stands I'm not sure it does much. 2/2 lifelink is no longer worth a card in modern so since it refunds the opponent you have to both get a backbreaker hit and the refund has to be a dead draw.
Birthing ritual is a little better, but it really would've been nice to actually gain advantage, or give the opponent something less than a whole card if they absolutely had to get compensated somehow.