Vexing Sphinx
Coldsnap 50 • rare
- Set
- Coldsnap
- Collector number
- 50
- Rarity
- Rare
- Mana cost
- 1 generic mana blue mana blue mana
- Type
- Creature
- Colors
- Blue
- Artist
- Lars Grant-West
- Market price
- $0.35
What it does
Flying
Cumulative upkeep—Discard a card. (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
When this creature dies, draw a card for each age counter on it.
Where you can play it
- StandardNot legal
- PioneerNot legal
- ModernLegal
- LegacyLegal
- VintageLegal
- CommanderLegal
- PauperNot legal
- BrawlNot legal
- HistoricNot legal
- TimelessNot legal
- Penny DreadfulLegal
- OathbreakerLegal
Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Card text via Scryfall. Not approved or endorsed by Wizards. As of the last catalogue refresh.
Where to find one
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Where it came from
Vexing Sphinx was released in 2006 as part of the Coldsnap expansion for Magic: The Gathering, a set designed to complete the Ice Age block that had originally concluded a decade earlier. The card was developed to evoke the icy, survival-focused aesthetic of the setting, drawing on the thematic return to the frozen continent of Terisiare where players navigate harsh environments and mystical arctic threats.
The card was illustrated by the artist Aleksi Briclot, whose work is characterized by a high-fantasy, painterly approach to creature design. In crafting the Sphinx, Briclot focused on capturing an air of intellectual superiority and shifting, ephemeral power, resulting in a design that remains a notable example of mid-2000s card art. Upon release, the creature gained a reputation among players for its unique cumulative upkeep mechanic, which forces a complex balance between card advantage and long-term battlefield presence.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
Who's collecting this
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About Vexing Sphinx
Vexing Sphinx is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. Coldsnap 50 • rare. Catalog data is sourced from Scryfall. No public cards collectors track this one yet — adding yours would make you the first on collecto.rs.
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