Serra Angel

Why collectors notice it

The card has been reprinted in many sets and is widely used to introduce new players to flying and vigilance.

It is where the entire genre started. Read more about Limited Edition Alpha.

A closer look

Reading this card

Serra Angel is a White Creature, and its subtype is Angel. The featured print is an Uncommon, the middle rarity, printed in smaller numbers than Commons. Two keywords sit on the card, and they do different jobs.

• Flying is about blocking. Only creatures with flying or reach can stop it.
• Vigilance is about tapping. Attacking normally turns a creature sideways, so it cannot block later. With vigilance it stays upright and ready.

On the original Alpha card the type line used the older "Summon" wording, followed by the creature kind, and there is no set symbol. Both are quick ways to tell an Alpha print from a later one.

How it compares

Delver of Secrets also ends up as a flyer, but it gets there through a different route. The Delver is a Common from Innistrad in 2011 that must transform first. Serra Angel arrives with flying already printed, in the first set of 1993, and it is one rarity step higher. That makes Serra Angel a gentler first lesson, because you can see the keyword the moment you read the card.

The Flying page explains why the keyword shows up mostly in white and blue, and why even a modest flyer can be a steady attacker.

Questions readers ask

Can a creature with flying block a ground creature?

Yes. Flying limits who can block the flyer, not what the flyer can block.

Is the Alpha version better than a reprint?

The card plays the same way. The differences are in the frame, the art style and the printing details. This site does not give prices or rankings.

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