Pointed Discussion

Zarichi Tiger is impressed.

I can only presume this is an excuse to get untap creatures tapped without throwing them into the fray.

This card sucks for pretty much anything except Inspired-enabling, but MY GOD the artwork!!!

My list of must-have foils for this set is damned long.

This may look weak, but prepare to be surprised in Limited.

Normally, a generally mediocre ability like this gets stitched onto an expensive aura, like Debtor's Pulpit. I don't exactly know why, but it happens more often than not.

However, this is not the case. The ability to hold untapped mana makes people second-guess their moves: "Should I play my bomb? I know he has two Stymied Hopes in his deck...".

Straight-up lifegain isn't always that rigged, except this isn't just straight-up lifegain. As others have mentioned, this helps enable Inspired.

Another card that came out of nowhere and showed us how good costly activated abilities can be in limited is Scholar of Athreos.

All in all, it's not a game finisher. People won't win games with this. Unlike Scholar, this doesn't deal damage, this can't be activated multiple times at once, and isn't on a 1/4 creature. But don't be too sore when someone wins because they had more life than you.

Generic Spike: An enchantment with life gain? This must be the worst card ever.

Amazing art. As I said on Ephara's page, I love the idea of the very idea of civilization as being a gift from a god.

Perfect for Pain Seer, given that Pain Seer let you draw card at loss of life, and this one gains it back.

Hmmm, let's see here. A fragile aura placed on a creature that now can't do anything but block. Now all you need to do is repeatedly pay two mana and you get a Healing Salve each turn! Yeah.. I don't think that's good enough.

You'd think that Wizards would have made the auras good in this set, given how the entire block is designed around you opening yourself up to a 2-for-1 by using spells on your own creatures. But no.

Even though I'm a casual player, I still am not a big fan of "only lifegain" cards, since they don't permit you to win the game (unlike lifelink or card advantage like Sphinx's Revelation). However, as stated, this ability can be used for stalling or enabling things like heroic or inspired, which can give it a "double function", which isn't that bad in limited or casual play.
I guess that the presence of the mana cost in the activation of the ability is to "temper" this kind of double functionality, in that it presents a cost which you should take into consideration (depending on what you have in your hand, the amount of mana you have, etc.)

Am I the only one who want's to slap this on Oreskos sun Guide
Seriously like Tap for 3 life, then next turn you automatically get another 2 then tap again so that each turn after you're getting 5 life.
Also Inspired triggers

Oh my GODS does this art look good, especially in foil.
I tend to dislike Azorius, but man, Ephara is really doing it for me, great work with the Gods Wizards

Ive ben attaching ephara's radiance to my soul mender and tapping the whole thing to add 4 life per turn. ephara gives the ability pay 1w, 1 unspecified and tap to gain 3 life. Soulmender already has a tap gain 1 life ability, is this a situation where the enchantment cancels the creatures original tap gain 1 life ability, or am i ok to use both effects?

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