Is Vivi Ornitier legal in Standard, Modern, and Commander?

Vivi Ornitier is legal in: Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage, Commander. It is banned in: Standard.

Vivi Ornitier

Q: What type of card is Vivi Ornitier?

Vivi Ornitier is a Legendary Creature — Wizard. Its oracle text reads: "{0}: Add X mana in any combination of {U} and/or {R}, where X is Vivi Ornitier's power. Activate only during your turn and only once each turn. Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi Ornitier and it deals 1 damage to each opponent. Power/Toughness: 0/3"

Legendary Creature — Wizard

: Add X mana in any combination of and/or , where X is Vivi Ornitier's power. Activate only during your turn and only once each turn.

Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi Ornitier and it deals 1 damage to each opponent.

Power/Toughness: 0/3

Set Final Fantasy

Rarity Mythic Rare

Mana Value 3

Artist Toni Infante

Collector # 248

Scryfall

Standard	Banned
Pioneer	Legal
Modern	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Commander	Legal
Pauper	Not legal
Historic	Not legal

Why Play Vivi Ornitier

Vivi Ornitier excels in spell-heavy decks that can consistently trigger its second ability while leveraging the explosive mana generation from its first ability. The combination of growing power and mana production creates a snowball effect where each noncreature spell makes subsequent turns increasingly powerful. Deploy Vivi early in games where you have multiple cheap instants and sorceries to chain together, as the incremental damage to all opponents adds up quickly in multiplayer formats.

Format Notes

Commander represents Vivi's strongest format, where the multiplayer damage triggers provide significant value and the mana acceleration supports explosive late-game turns. The standard ban stems from oppressive interactions with cheap cantrips and the card's ability to single-handedly take over games in competitive environments. In Pioneer and Modern, Vivi sees fringe play in spellslinger decks but faces stiff competition from more established threats.

Combos & Synergies

Curiosity effects like Ophidian Eye create powerful card advantage engines by turning Vivi's damage triggers into draw triggers. Cheap cantrips such as Brainstorm and Ponder fuel Vivi's growth while providing card selection and immediate mana returns. Storm decks particularly appreciate Vivi's mana generation, as cards like Grapeshot become significantly more threatening when backed by the additional resources Vivi provides mid-combo turn.