not the best combo, yet since lifelink and trample are quite useful on this card, you might want to combine it either with Loxodon Warhammer or Armadillo Cloak to both double your life total and this guy's p/t. :D
spoonish
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
the only thing i dont like about it is the shuffle into the deck ability... otherwise, i could play around with recurring nightmare-angelic chorus and double my health every 2B...
oasis444
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
the best combo with this card is Through the Breach, but you do need some mana exceleration early. possible first turn win.
This card isn't all that...it doesn't have evasion, it can't be reanimated early due to the shuffle ability, and by the time you actually cast it, your life total might be single digits anyway.
Vadoff
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@mrredhatter Umm, that's a horrible combo, even if it would work... but it doesn't. Serra Avatar's ability keeps it from ever going to the graveyard, so Remembrance never triggers.
Zorque
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
This card's great to get out with an Elvish Piper. Just drop a few Llanowar Elves and Vine Trellises your first turns, put the Piper out, put down your Avatar, and win. And of course, being a green-white deck, I'm sure you have a few Armadillo Cloaks in there at the same time.
Whitepheonix87
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have to stop you guys before you confuse yourselfs, "Remembrance"..re-read Serra Avatar second line text, it states "When Serra Avatar is put into a graveyard, shuffle Serra Avatar into owner's library" Notice the PUT INTO A GRAVEYARD..it is an activating requirement, it must in fact enter the graveyard before it is shuffled into your library. It doesn't state "IF" Serra Avatar WOULD be put into owner's library it is instead returned to the library. No it must infact ENTER the graveyard before the text is satisfide, therefore "Remembrance" does in fact take effect, though i suggest "Sigil of the new dawn" return to your hand for one white and one colorless as a fast effect. As far as casting cost, im personally not a fan of mixing red and white so i believe that Belbe's Portal (Artifact:Cost 5 Colorless) put her into play for 3 colorless or Quicksilver Amulet (Artifact:Cost 4 Colorless) puts her and any other expensice creature into play you mite have for only 4 colorless..i feel thats a much better combination. You can quadruple your life in a single turn with the right cards..think about this, you have 7 life and have already cast "Angelic Chorus", now play Serra avatar..14 life, you should have played an "Animal Bone Yard" now your at 28 life. With "Sigil of the new dawn" you can rise and repeat while puting her back into play for 3 colorless with "Belbe's Portal"..i can't give away all the secret's to my "God Hand" deck but you get the idea
EnV
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Man, this is a great card. Of course single digit life, like some fool would actually play it on the seventh turn. Use this card in a B/W life gain/drain and it will be around a 20/20 at best.
mehillus
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
soltari preist + celestial mantle running backup to serra avatar, and you have a power house. throw in a tower of eons, for 10 life every turn after
scince soltari preist has shadow, and almost no-one runs shadow creatures anymore, celestial mantle gives you a garunteed double life so long as your opponent doesnt kill the preist or zap the enchantment.
for even more fun....get something that gives soltari preist doublestrike
Armadillo Cloak. Ive seen it get to 14k power with that before. (Namely because someone kept attacking into a Sentinel, but it was funny until Intrepid Hero stepped in.
Nuclear_Pony
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Classic just like Superman (Morphling) from the same block.
@zeyette : LOL true, Phtisis is gonna make you cry XD, but funny all the same :)
The avatar has a lotta potential in the field of lifegaining and therefore making it even bigger and stronger Ah, the good ol' days :D
DayeV
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I've been in 5 digit life because of this card. It takes time, but it's very possible (back in the day, I pulled this off many, many times). Make sure you have Angelic Chorus & Angelic Renewel in play. Elvish Piper out your Avatar & double your life (for sake of simplicity, say you're at 10) and you go to 20. Clone your Avatar and you're at 40. Worthy Cause (with buyback) the Clone & you're now at 80, and then bury Angelic Renewal to bring back Clone and you're at 160. Again, I can't tell you how many times I pulled that off. Trust me, it sounds way more difficult and circumstantial than it really is. So anyone who tried to say that this card is over-rated or tried to shoot it down with a single card, eat that.
Leo...Preliator
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
@Vadoff and whitepheonix87
Serra does in fact hit the graveyard, it isnt an "if" clause, so it isnt replaced by going to the deck, it goes to the grave, remembrance goes on the stack, the angels ability to be shuffled back in goes on the stack, angel resolves and sits neatly in the library, and remembrance fishes it out.
I had a friend that used Oath of Druids with this card, along with several Gaea's Blessing for anti self-mill tech, and the Dragon Auras from Scourge. It was a brutal deck, very potent and terrifyingly consistent.
Just saying. You don't have to wait until the eighth turn to cast the Avatar, and you don't need to rely on fragile creatures to summon it.
as awsome as this card is, backlash and phthis can kill it and you in one hit, and backlash is much, much cheeper, dispite it being multy colored. not a bad card, just run counter spells or your own destroy to prevent such thing from hapining.
Also, True Conviction. Quadruple your life total every turn? yes please.
Anubisisking
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Powercreep means this should cost CMC 6... still it's a good card.
dragonking987
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Anubisisking Power creep? Omg have you even looked at the set she is from it makes the new sets look week.
You know why I'm happy that this isn't in Standard anymore? Because last game, my opponent got to 4,000,000 life. I likely wouldn't have stood a chance against that with my measly 300 without getting Phyresis on my 160/160 Divinity of Pride, and fast. With Serra Avatar, that would have been just plain creepy to face off with. Anyone got a Quietus Spike?
This and Noble Purpose helped me end a game with 6464 life once. Good times.
The_Trendkill
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
The best game of Commander I've ever seen:
3-player game
T1: Mountain T2: Plains, Pentad Prism with 2 charge counters on it T3: Mountain, remove a counter from Pentad Prism for white mana, cast Brion Stoutarm from the command zone T4: Mountain, Sneak Attack, remove a counter from Pentad Prism for red mana to use Sneak Attack to put Serra Avatar onto the battlefield as a 40/40, attack the opponent who has no creatures with Serra Avatar for lethal damage, exile Simian Spirit Guide from the hand for red mana, use Brion Stoutarm's ability to fling Serra Avatar at the remaining player, dealing lethal damage and gaining 40 life. Game.
Say you have ten life. Then Serra Avatar becomes a 16/13 trample lifelink monstrosity. Upon attacking and dealing damage, the lifelink gives you 16 life before Celestial Mantle's trigger resolves (Celestial Mantle rulings). Serra Avatar becomes 32/29, then your life total becomes 52, and Serra Avatar is 58/55. After a single attack...
Then, for each attack, your life total goes up to...
Awesome card. A very epic feel to it. Works great with Mayael's Aria. I'm not sure if it works with Mayael the Anima though.
Doaj
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Being reprinted as a mythic rare in M13. Welcome back, Serra Avatar.
Makes sense that cards from Urza block would be reprinted eventually, once power creep caught up with their level of overpoweredness.
TheMetalGuy
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
It's going to be reprinted in m13, I just read that on wizards home page.
RedAtrocitus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Sometimes people forget that Urza's block had a bunch of awesome cards and not just insanely broken ones. This is one of the former type. Making lifegain a viable casual strategy is something I think is great for the game.
Comments (44)
Run with Remembrance and he will fish himself when he dies. I higly recomend Loxodon Warhammer.
Umm, that's a horrible combo, even if it would work... but it doesn't.
Serra Avatar's ability keeps it from ever going to the graveyard, so Remembrance never triggers.
scince soltari preist has shadow, and almost no-one runs shadow creatures anymore, celestial mantle gives you a garunteed double life so long as your opponent doesnt kill the preist or zap the enchantment.
for even more fun....get something that gives soltari preist doublestrike
@zeyette : LOL true, Phtisis is gonna make you cry XD, but funny all the same :)
The avatar has a lotta potential in the field of lifegaining and therefore making it even bigger and stronger
Ah, the good ol' days :D
Serra does in fact hit the graveyard, it isnt an "if" clause, so it isnt replaced by going to the deck, it goes to the grave, remembrance goes on the stack, the angels ability to be shuffled back in goes on the stack, angel resolves and sits neatly in the library, and remembrance fishes it out.
Just saying. You don't have to wait until the eighth turn to cast the Avatar, and you don't need to rely on fragile creatures to summon it.
Also, True Conviction. Quadruple your life total every turn? yes please.
Not quite as good but its close... and cheaper
3-player game
T1: Mountain
T2: Plains, Pentad Prism with 2 charge counters on it
T3: Mountain, remove a counter from Pentad Prism for white mana, cast Brion Stoutarm from the command zone
T4: Mountain, Sneak Attack, remove a counter from Pentad Prism for red mana to use Sneak Attack to put Serra Avatar onto the battlefield as a 40/40, attack the opponent who has no creatures with Serra Avatar for lethal damage, exile Simian Spirit Guide from the hand for red mana, use Brion Stoutarm's ability to fling Serra Avatar at the remaining player, dealing lethal damage and gaining 40 life. Game.
Duh, winning!
Serra Avatar!
2. Equip it with Loxodon Warhammer...
3. Attack!
4. ???
5. PROFIT!!!
Say you have ten life. Then Serra Avatar becomes a 16/13 trample lifelink monstrosity. Upon attacking and dealing damage, the lifelink gives you 16 life before Celestial Mantle's trigger resolves (Celestial Mantle rulings). Serra Avatar becomes 32/29, then your life total becomes 52, and Serra Avatar is 58/55. After a single attack...
Then, for each attack, your life total goes up to...
220, 892, 3580, 14332, 57340, 229372, 917500, 3670012, 14680060, 58720252, 234881020, 939524092, 3758096380
..................................
then throw a rancor on it... GG
Makes sense that cards from Urza block would be reprinted eventually, once power creep caught up with their level of overpoweredness.
T1 Swamp, Dark Ritual, Entomb targeting this, Exhume at instant speed while the ability is on the stack.
It may be a pipe dream but dang.
stick in a sol ring and you can play Lightning Greaves for a turn 1 win
wow, now I want to put that in my esper EDH deck