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Commander Nexus
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  3. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

Command zone

Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

Legendary Creature — Vampire Cleric

Vito wants a deck that gains life over and over and gets rewarded for it. It also suits a deck that sacrifices its own creatures to drain opponents' life.

  • Mana cost2 genericblack
  • Black ()
  • Power / toughness1 / 3
  • RarityRare

Whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life.

3 genericblackblack: Creatures you control gain lifelink until end of turn.

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Archetypes

Cards That Fit Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

Picked for what they do in Vito's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Vito'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

Rulings for Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

explain how Vito 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 23 Jun 2020

Because Vito's first ability doesn't deal damage, you won't gain life when it resolves if Vito has lifelink.

Wizards of the Coast 23 Jun 2020

Each creature with lifelink dealing combat damage causes a separate life-gaining event. For example, if two creatures you control with lifelink deal combat damage at the same time, Vito's first ability will trigger twice and you may choose a different opponent for each trigger. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, and/or planeswalkers at the same time (perhaps because it has trample or was blocked by more than one creature), the ability will trigger only once.

Wizards of the Coast 23 Jun 2020

If an ability triggers whenever an opponent loses life and causes you to gain life, such as the ability of Exquisite Blood, this will loop until either you win the game or a player takes an action to break the loop.

Wizards of the Coast 23 Jun 2020

If you gain an amount of life "for each" of something, that life is gained as one event and Vito's first ability triggers only once.

Wizards of the Coast 23 Jun 2020

In a Two-Headed Giant game, life gained by your teammate won't cause the ability to trigger, even though it caused your team's life total to increase.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Vito, 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 glossaryBPlayers write colors as letters: B for black.LifegainLifegain decks gain life over and over and use cards that reward each gain with extra cards, creatures or damage to opponents. Everyone starts at 40 life in Commander, so the extra life also keeps you safe while you set up.Open the Lifegain pageLifegain PayoffTurns life gain into an actual effect: draining opponents, drawing cards, or growing creatures each time you gain life. Without one of these, gaining life mostly just delays things. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Sanguine BondOpen the Lifegain Payoff pageLife DrainAn opponent loses life and you gain that life from the same effect. Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat. It lets Aristocrats decks win without ever attacking. Every drain card is also tagged Life Gain; this tag is the part where the life comes out of somebody.Open the Life Drain pageLifegain EngineGains you life again and again, on a trigger that keeps happening, rather than once. You start at 40 life in Commander, so life is something to spend as well as a cushion, and a card like this sets off every card that rewards you for gaining it. Soul Warden, Trostani, Selesnya's VoiceOpen the Lifegain Engine pageAristocratsAristocrats decks sacrifice their own creatures on purpose and profit every time one dies, often by draining life from each opponent. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you like, decides when that happens.Open the Aristocrats pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink page