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Commander Nexus
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  3. Venser, Corpse Puppet

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Venser, Corpse Puppet

Venser, Corpse Puppet

Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Zombie Wizard

Venser wants a deck that wins with poison counters instead of damage. It also suits a deck that keeps making its creatures bigger turn after turn.

  • Mana costblueblack
  • Blue, Black ()
  • Power / toughness1 / 3
  • RarityRare

Lifelink, toxic 1

Whenever you proliferate, choose one —

• If you don't control a creature named The Hollow Sentinel, create The Hollow Sentinel, a legendary 3/3 colorless Phyrexian Golem artifact creature token.

• Target artifact creature you control gains flying and lifelink until end of turn.

Build a deck with Venser Find it in the app

Cards That Fit Venser, Corpse Puppet

Picked for what they do in Venser's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Venser's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards
  • Thrummingbird 2 mana · shares ,
  • Sword of Hours 2 mana · shares ,
  • Karn's Bastion 0 mana · shares ,
  • Etched Slith 2 mana · shares ,
  • Vexing Radgull 2 mana · shares ,
  • Turtle Van 3 mana · shares ,

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Venser, Corpse Puppet

explain how Venser works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game. This is a state-based action and doesn't use the stack. In other words, it happens immediately and players can't respond to it, just like a player losing the game due to having 0 or less life.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

An ability that triggers "Whenever you proliferate" triggers even if you chose no permanents or players while doing so.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

Any other effects of that damage, such as life gain from lifelink, still apply.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

Conversely, replacement effects that apply to the number of counters put on a player can modify the counters placed this way. For example, Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider's last two abilities can apply to counters placed this way.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

Damage dealt by a creature with toxic grants the same number of counters regardless of how much damage is dealt. Notably, if a replacement effect modifies the damage in some way (such as that of Gratuitous Violence), the number of counters given remains unchanged.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

If a creature with toxic deals combat damage to a creature or planeswalker, or if it deals noncombat damage, toxic has no effect and no player gets poison counters.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

If a permanent ever has both +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it at the same time, they're removed in pairs as a state-based action so that the permanent has only one of those kinds of counters on it.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

If a player or permanent has more than one kind of counter on it, and you choose for it to get additional counters, it must get one of each kind of counter it already has. You can't have it get just one kind of counter it already has and not the others.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

Multiple instances of toxic are cumulative. For example, if a creature has toxic 2 and gains toxic 1 due to another effect, combat damage that creature deals to a player will cause that player to get 3 poison counters.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

Players can respond to a spell or ability whose effect includes proliferating. Once that spell or ability starts to resolve, however, and its controller chooses which permanents and players will get new counters, it's too late for anyone to respond.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

To proliferate, you can choose any permanent that has a counter, including ones controlled by opponents. You can choose any player who has a counter, including opponents. You can't choose cards in any zone other than the battlefield, even if they have counters on them.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

Toxic doesn't change the amount of combat damage a creature deals. For example, if a 2/2 creature with toxic 1 deals combat damage to a player, that creature will deal 2 damage. The results of that damage are the player loses 2 life and gets a poison counter.

Wizards of the Coast 4 Feb 2023

You don't have to choose every permanent or player that has a counter, only the ones you want to add another counter to. Since "any number" includes zero, you don't have to choose any permanents at all, and you don't have to choose any players at all.

13 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Venser, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryUBPlayers write colors as letters: U for blue, B for black. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.Infect/ToxicInfect and toxic decks win with poison counters instead of damage: a player with ten or more poison counters loses the game. Creatures with infect give players poison counters instead of normal damage, and creatures with toxic give poison counters on top of their combat damage.Open the Infect/Toxic pageProliferateAdds one more counter of each kind already there, on any players and cards on the battlefield that you choose. It grows poison counters, +1/+1 counters and loyalty counters alike.Open the Proliferate pagePoisonGives out poison counters, or gets stronger when opponents have them. A player who has ten or more poison counters loses the game. Cards with the keyword infect or toxic hand out poison counters when they deal damage to a player.Open the Poison pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion page+1/+1 Counters+1/+1 counter decks put small markers on their creatures that make each one permanently bigger, and keep adding more every turn. Each +1/+1 counter adds one to a creature's power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it can take).Open the +1/+1 Counters pageCounter ManipulationAdds, moves or multiplies counters already on permanents. It works on any kind (+1/+1, loyalty, charge), so the same card can serve very different decks. Karn's Bastion, Doubling SeasonOpen the Counter Manipulation pageCounter EngineAdds +1/+1 counters over and over rather than once. A counter here is a small permanent marker that raises a creature's power and toughness for good. It is not a counterspell, which is a different thing entirely. Something that adds them every turn makes your whole board bigger and keeps it that way. Hardened Scales, Corpsejack MenaceOpen the Counter Engine pageLegends MatterCards that care about legendary cards: rewards for casting them, discounts, or bonuses for each one you control.Open the Legends Matter pageCombat TrickAn instant you cast during a fight to change how it ends: making a creature bigger or smaller, or keeping your creatures from dying. Boros Charm, Flawless ManeuverOpen the Combat Trick pagePhyrexiansPhyrexians are the machine-and-flesh villains of Magic's story, found in every color. Many use poison counters through infect or toxic.Open the Phyrexians pageLife GainGains you life, once or over and over. Soul Warden, The Great Henge. In Commander life is something to spend, not just a cushion, and many of these cards also set off others that reward gaining life.Open the Life Gain page