There’s a quest in Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms for daring brewers and the reward is an 8/8 Indestructible token.
As a part of today’s spoilers, the final two pieces of the Vecna package were revealed by Channel Fireball. Eye of Vecna and Hand of Vecna are the combo pieces referred to by The Book of Vile Darkness, which was revealed on June 30.
The Book of Vile Darkness is a three-mana Artifact that gives you a Zombie token if you’ve lost two life in a turn. It’s a fine token generator. The key to this card is the activated ability that allows you to exile it, Eye of Vecna, and Hand of Vecna to create a token of the powerful D&D lich.
Vecna is an 8/8 Indestructible token that has all abilities of the cards used to create it. This combination of abilities turns Vecna into a self-contained token engine and a combat threat that demands an answer.
The Vecna package must be built around. It’s a three-card combo where every piece is a legendary Artifact. The set-up cost is high, but the reward is worth it once Brazen Borrower rotates out of Standard.
Eye of Vecna
- Mana value: Two mana
- Type: Legendary Artifact
- Rarity: Rare
- First ability: When Eye of Vecna enters the battlefield, you draw a card and you lose two life.
- Second ability: At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay two mana. If you do, you draw a card and you lose two life.
This is a consistent source of card draw that works well with The Book of Vile Darkness. The life loss will generate Zombie tokens. On its own Eye of Vecna is a bad Phyrexian Arena. The low mana cost and how well it works with the Vecna package is relevant.
This should be a playable spell in many Commander decks and the best piece in a deck looking to summon Vecna. Eye of Vecna helps you dig deeper in your deck to find the two other support cards.
Hand of Vecna
- Mana value: Three
- Type: Legendary Artifact Equipment
- Rarity: Rare
- First ability: At the beginning of combat on your turn, equipped creature or a creature you control named Vecna gets +X/+X until end of turn where X is the number of cards in your hand.
- Second ability: Equip – Pay one life for each card in your hand.
- Third ability: Equip 2
This is a solid Equipment on its own. The cheap cost to equip Hand of Vecna onto a creature is important. Even if it gives a creature +3/+3 it is worth the investment. Since Vecna gets this card’s ability, evaluating it from that perspective is important as well.
Hand of Vecna gives your Vecna token a boost of power, but not much else. It is a worthwhile effect and works well with The Book of Vile Darkness and Eye of Vecna but this is the weakest card in the trio.
The full set for Adventures in the Forgotten Realms will be revealed on July 6 ahead of the digital launch via Magic Online and Magic Arena on July 8.
