Pointed Discussion

Trap cards are such a lovely thing if you know your way to ensure paying the alternate cost.
A lifedrain of 5 for only sounds awesome enough, doesn't it?

Use Grollub;
or splash white and play Putrid Warrior, Wall of Shards or Reward the Faithful;
or splash green and play Skyshroud Cutter, Invigorate or maybe Reverent Silence and pay their alternate cost by giving your opponent some life;
or maybe even both plus red and use Fiery Justice;
or add blue instead and activate Phelddagrif's or Questing Phelddagrif's -ability.
Grove of the Burnwillows is also a great land for a card like this. Someday we'll likely even be able to get the entire cycle of these lands, including those for black mana.

Need removal? Use Swords to Plowshares, Avenger en-Dal, Condemn, Crumble, Seeds of Innocence or Illumination.

Other awesome lifegain-punishing cards are Kavu Predator, False Cure and Punishing Fire.
(You might even to prevent him from gaining life at all by using Everlasting Torment, Sulfuric Vortex, Forsaken Wastes or maybe Stigma Lasher - yet these seriously aren't the cards you want to combine with Needlebite Trap)

Wow, i'm currently just so in the mood of building some sort of "False Lifegift" deck...

(By the way, Soldevi Steam Beast and Armistice also work here, but they're just not worth playing in general.)

Worth a sideboard slot at least for any deck running black.

Use with Sanguine Bond. You do the math.

For that matter, Mode, factor in the number of Zendikar lands which give life boosts, and you've got one very sweet card. Now if only I had drawn this more often...

Additional Comment: These days, any deck that at least splashes black should have a few of these sideboarded, as A LOT of vampires have lifelink/a sorcery which does something and heals them, so this is the natural counter for it.

Very anit-White and I love the art. Reminds me of the Borg from Star Trek.
4.0

in standard lifegain decks, use oust

Bitches don't know about my needlebite trap.

I wanna build a Trap deck!!

I had a W/B deck that used this and Mournful Zombie. WB made them lose 4 and me gain 5.

hmmm, Orzhov Guildmage could also work with this...

sideboard for the mirror-match in Mono-Black Vampires. If they aren't playing Vampire Nighthawk, they aren't a threat in the first place. If they are, you're ready.

I think this is the only trap that can be played for the trap cost in response to itself, too xD

Admiral Ackbar can't save you here, because the life gain can be from your opponent.

1 mana for a potential 4 life loss and 5 life gain in exchange for just giving your opponent 1 life is insane

Lolz with Thragtusk.

Thanks for the 5 life. :)

One of the best traps because it's condition is highly controllable.

Dont know about this one. Seems to be getting high marks, but all its doing is 5 life drain to the player. Its not changing the board position at all, and your spending a card for it.

For the same hardcast I could cast Sorin's Vengeance. The looks nice, but you have to setup another card for it, and there is no guarantee you will draw this at that perfect moment to get the effect. All for a situational card thats not effecting the board position.


But there is those epic lucky moments where you give your opponent 1 life, then pay for 4 of these.

Good in decks that are built around it, but this card can't really fit in the average B deck, because you simply can't guarantee your opponent gaining life (unless you make them, orzhov guildmage for example.)