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Instant
Search your library for a card, then shuffle and put that card on top. You lose 2 life.
"I write upon clean white parchment with a sharp quill and the blood of my students, divining their secrets." —Shauku, Endbringer
Ban history
Instant tutor for anything; banned in Legacy since 1999.
- Banned in Premodern
- On or before May 2018
- On earliest archived list; likely since 2012 founding
- Category
- Power
- Research
- Research confidence: Medium confidence
- First printed
- First printed in Visions (3 February 1997).
Why it’s banned
Power level / tutor (no published rationale).
Official reason
No official reason published.
Community & historical context (not an official statement)
Analytical/community: one black mana at instant speed to put any card on top (Draftsim). Restricted in Vintage / banned in Type 1.5 in Sept 1999; still restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy. Was a common tutor in Trix (MTG Wiki).[1, 2, 3, 4]
The story
Vampiric Tutor (Visions, 1997) was restricted in Vintage and banned in Type 1.5 in 1999, and remains so. It was a staple tutor in Trix-era black combo. Premodern has banned it on every archived list; no official reason was published.
Premodern changes
- On listOn the earliest archived Premodern ban list.[5]
Other formats (Wizards)
Related cards
Sources
- Draftsim: The Premodern Ban List: All 33 Cards Banned (A.L. Walser, 2026-04-24) — community
- MTG Wiki: Trix
- MTG Wiki: Banned and restricted cards/Timeline
- MTGBans.info per-card timelines (effective dates; site's AI-generated rationales NOT used)
- Wayback: premodernmagic.com/banned-watched/ 2018-05-06 (34 banned, 5 watched)
- Scryfall card data (printings, release dates)
- premodernmagic.com legal sets endpoint
Research as of 18 October 2026.
In our decks
Not in any of our curated decklists yet. Find similar cards.
Played in tournaments
Share of published Premodern decklists that play Vampiric Tutor (main or sideboard): 2,950 lists from paper events and MTGO in the last 90 days, through .
Not seen in any of the 2,950 tournament lists from the last 90 days. Browse the meta.
Printings (14)
Every tournament-legal paper printing (no gold-border, World Championship or oversized cards). Hover or tap a row to preview that printing.
